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Published: October 7th 2007
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Tuesday was an early start in Florence. We agreed to leave the house at 6 so we could make the 6:45 train from Rufina. There were about 40 others taking the train from Rufina and we felt lucky to each have a seat on the train. When we arrived in Florence we headed towards the River, Arno. When we got to the river, the sun had just hit the buildings and the water was calm. We took some fabulous pictures of early morning in Tuscany with the buildings and bridges reflecting in the river. We walked towards the Ponte Vecchio the only bridge in Florence not bombed by the Germans when they left the city during the Second World War. The Ufizzi Gallery is on the river, just down from the Ponte Vecchio and we arrived about 45 minutes before our ticket reservations for 8:15. Sarah, Fay and I found Door 3 where you pick up your pre-paid tickets for the museum. They opened the doors at 8 am, but only let those with 8 am tickets enter. Then finally they called for 8:15 am tickets. Just at that moment, Julie came over from the other line (where our group was
first in line) to find out where we were with the tickets. With tickets in hand (thanks to Sarah for ordering them in advance online) we entered the museum, passed through security, and went straight to the restrooms for a quick pit stop. The restrooms are in the basement and beautifully designed with marble walls and floors. We didn’t want to leave!
Finally we decided it was time to head to the galleries. The first floor had a special exhibit of photographs that documents how the Italians were able to preserve so much art during the Second World War. They built brick tombs shaped like honey bee hives around the sculptures, packed sand bags around important structures and sent many of the paintings to the countryside with rich families who were able to keep them stored and safe. The exhibit also showed the destruction of many of the bridges in Florence in 1944 by the Germans who were retreating.
The Ufizzi is filled with religious art with a few gems including Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (1485) and Doni Tondi by by Giovanni Bellini (1505). I was tired of the museum after room 25 and skipped the rest
on that floor so we missed art by Michelangelo, Raphael, Van Dyck, Rubens and Rembrandt. Silly girl - I should have more patience with museums! We had a successful shopping trip stopping at the Mercato Nuovo for presents and treasures including leather purses, belts, wallets, t-shirts and scarves.
We headed towards the Galleria dell’Accademia where Michelangelo’s famous sculpture David was moved in the 1800s. We had tickets reserved for 2:30. We arrived early and were let in right away. This is the best way to see the art here in Italy - reserved tickets put you at the front of the line! This museum was created especially to house this sculpture. They have added other paintings, sculptures and special exhibits over time, but you are immediately struck by the brilliant light coming through the glass domed room above David. The marble is radiant and beautiful. Unfortunately you are no longer able to take photos at the museum or get close enough to touch it as I was when I visited in 1987. Apparently a vandal entered the museum 15 years ago carrying a chisel and hammer and tried to ruin the sculpture!
The museum is packed with tour
groups listening to their Whisper brand headsets and the tour guide descriptions. If you take your time through this small museum you’ll find it is a tranquil place to cool down from the afternoon sun. The benches that line the wall behind David offer a nice view of his tush as well as air conditioning blowing up from the floor onto your legs!
The current special exhibit is one of musical instruments including a Stradivarius violin, several harpsichords, recorders guitars, mandolins and lutes all lavishly decorated.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lost in the streets of Florence looking for the Mercato Centrale (never found it). We finally asked directions from a travel agent across from the train station. She said go to the corner and turn left at MacDonalds! We were on the way there when we found a bar where we bought a sandwich. Then we realized it was already time to meet Julie at the Ponte Vecchio. So we hurried through town towards the bridge. We found Stephanie and Sarah, then picked up Julie at the Mercato Nuovo and headed to the train station and our villa.
We warmed up the leftovers from Doriana’s dinner the night before, drank some good wine and enjoyed our dinner. Then the other group arrived and informed us “we’re going to use the other kitchen to make our dinner.” I mentioned to Karen that they might want to check to make sure the kitchen had everything they needed to prepare their dinner since it is not as well equipped as the main kitchen. They came back up a few minutes later with a new plan to use the main kitchen for dinner.
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