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Published: November 27th 2007
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The forecast was for rain today so I planned my agenda to be full of museums. Started out to see Michelangelo's David. I had seen a replica before but wanted to see the real thing. I thought there was going to be line so got to the Academy entrance by 8 am (opens at 8:15) and I was actually the first in line who didn't have reserved tickets (which amounted to maybe 20). As a result, I got in shortly after 8:15 am. You start out by walking through several unfinished works of Michelangelo's. The unfinished Pieta is there (not sure if there's another in the Museum) and some other unfinished sculptures of his. And then, there's David. There's no missing him. He stands extremely tall at well over 10 feet. He was moved inside in the late 1800s from the Piazza della Signoria where he had stood since Michelangelo had finished him. They discovered he was starting to show wear and tear from the elements and put a replica in his place and moved the original indoors. The base around him is protected by glass so people can't get too close. This the result of some lunatic years ago going
after his big toe with a hammer. It truly is remarkable that someone could carve something so lifelike and so large and so perfectly out of a single piece of marble. No room for mistakes. Incredible. There are a number of plasters and sculptures also on display other artists but Dave was all that had my interest. Pictures not allowed. Headed out...
Next up was a tour of the Capelle Medici. The Medici were the main ruling family for some time in Florence. They also had a lot of money to burn and this place was built between the years 1520-1534. This place was built to hold some of their tombs. Two of the tombs were designed by Michelangelo and a 3rd has a sculpture he did on it. According to my guide book, Mike's work was kind of wasted given that the two tombs he designed for were not the most reputable of people. Regardless, I was there to see his work. That area is upstairs in a multi floor room which is a stunning use of marble design, cut outs and my favorite colors of greens, browns and blues. Very dark but absolutely gorgeous. We could not
take any pictures inside (with or without a flash) so you'll have to take my word yet again.
After that, I went over to the Piazza della Signoria which is considered the most famous square in Tuscany. It's home to several sculptures including a David replica (original used to stand there) and originals of the Rape of the Sabines, Hercules and Cellini’s Perseus holding Medusa’s head. There's also a very large fountain of Neptune. Wonderful area to sit and enjoy the scenery. I had never imagined a square full of such original sculptures.
After this, I made my way over to the Museum Bagello. No photos were allowed. This Museum is home to Donatello’s bronze David which is being restored. You can still see him but at the time I was there, he was laying on his back getting worked on. He’s a tiny little thing. I’m betting 4 feet tall at most. He might be small but he’s a big deal given that he was first nude statue in some time when he was created.
It was now after 10 am and the rain still hadn't arrived and I was beginning to think that maybe the
Italian weather predicting service was similar to that in the States and got it wrong. So...decided I'd best do the climb just in case it's my only chance of a half way decent sky. My option was to either climb the Duomo Dome which was 467 stairs and great views of the city or climb the Campanile which was 414 steps and had great views of the Dome but not the entire city. I decided to suck it up and climb the Dome since I could see the Dome from my hotel room and get some pictures there. The climb wasn't that bad. I was definitely sweating when I got to the top but didn't feel like I was going to have a heart attack. It was classic dome stairway of that time in that it was circular and winding most of the way and only room for single file. The views were outstanding. I could also see that there were major rain storms on the way so was happy that I climbed it when I did. Check out the photos...
After lunch, I headed over to Palazzo Vecchio which is another Medici home with the building going back
to the 1200s. Has also served as a Town Hall. Some rooms were closed because of meetings so wasn’t able to see everything as a result. It has a huge ballroom which seats 500 which a completed painted ceiling. The facility is still used today for meetings. As the pictures show, has several floors of rooms as well as a tower.
I was making great progress on my site seeing and it was starting to rain so decided to try to get in one more indoor site. Headed over to the Basilica San Croce. When I turned the corner on the Piazza, I thought I had taken a really wrong turn and was back at the Duomo! On closer inspection, I saw that it was a different building even though it had similar green, pink and white marble. Inside were the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo as well as some other Florence famous folk. Another huge church that is rather sparse except for the altar. Does have an attached museum which also had some very pretty paintings.
After that, I was pretty wet and tired. It had been a long day of being on my feet and the
sun was going down. More rain is forecasted for tomorrow so will try to do some more indoor activities on my last day in Florence.
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