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You are wondering about that last one, aren't you? You'll see ... there's a logical explanation ... somewhat.
The first stop of the day was the Basilica San Lorenzo. This was not originally on my list of things to visit specifically ... walking by it ... yes ... but not necessarily going in. The reason that it was added as a must-do was because of the Michelangelo - Architecto exhibit that I saw in Milan. He designed the adjoining Biblioteca, the facade and the new sacristy.
I had actually walked by this church when I had popped into the Mercato Centrale and it had not jumped out at me. Turns out that the facade that Michelangelo designed was never built. What? I saw drawings upon drawings and multiple scale models and they never got around to actually building it??? They have a wood model of it at the Casa Buonarroti ... it might be time that someone do something about that!!!
It was quite something to see the biblioteca because I vividly remembered the drawings. It was actually one that had a video display that took it from Michelangelo's drawings to more precise architectural designs to a 3-D
representation to showing the real thing. And it was as I expected it. There was also an exhibition that were showing antique books.
The church itself is quite sedate. They definitely enforce the dress code. There were two girls in a group that went in before I went in who were given this big blue square that basically had a hole for their head and they had to slip that on before even setting foot in the church. They looked like they were about to go and have their annual physicals.
One of the things that struck me was in the old sacristy was this painted ceiling which represented the sky in Florence. There are representations of planets and constellations. Based on the positions, they have established that it was the sky as it was over Florence on July 4, 1442. The same ceiling can also be found in a side chapel at the Basilica San Croce (which I actually got to see).
From there I headed towards the Palazzo Vecchio, former home to the Medici family (before heading to the Palazzo Pitti which I visited yesterday). This building is actually still being used by the Mayor
of Florence. The visit takes you through the apartments of Leo X (pope), the Rooms of the Elements, the Apartments of Eleanora di Toledo and the Residence of the Priors. What struck me at one point is how each room has a theme and this was most obvious in the Rooms of the Elements. One room was dedicated to Air, Water, Fire and Earth. The subsequent rooms were dedicated to Gods and Goddesses like Ops, Ceres and Jupiter. And believe me ... there is a very good reason why each was chosen. It struck me that we certainly do not do that anymore ... the rooms we have are simply referred to based on their function. The highlight for me though was the Hall of Maps which was decorated with frescoes of antique maps ... I love maps! I always find these kinds of visits so interesting because I love seeing how people lived back then.
And this is where the skull comes in ... I know you've been wondering. I didn't really know even what I was in store for. There was a sign advertising this temporary exhibit (which was actually extended by about a month!) called Damien
Hirst: For the Love of God and the photo is that of a sparkly skull. That's all I knew when I went into it. I thought that it was going to be an exhibit with multiple pieces. Nope. You are essentially lead into this dark room (the security guard follows you with a flashlight). I of course tripped on the curtain or something. Anyways ... in the middle of this very dark room is this glass casing with a skull that is covered in diamonds. It is quite something to see. There was a book in the bookstore that showed how it was all put together but unfortunately it was in Italian. So I looked it up on the internet when I got back to the hotel.
So here's the deal ... first the title comes from the fact that Damien Hirst's mother would have said to him "for the love of God, what are you going to do next?" I had never heard of him before but he is considered to be the wealthiest living artist and this particular piece the priciest art piece. It is not a real skull but was copied in platinum from a real
one that dated back to the 18th century. The teeth are real though. There are 8,601 diamonds that total 1,106.18 carats. The value is estimated at 50 million British pounds. Hence the heavy security!
I meandered a little bit in the piazza outside of the Palazzo. I was being highly entertained by one of the street performers. He was dressed as Cupid. He had his arrow that had big red heart at the end that said "I Love You". You could hear him loudly giving out kisses to about everyone that walked by. He certainly attracted a lot of attention! He was just hilarious.
I then made my way towards the Piazzale Michelangelo. This is actually in what is considered the historic centre of Florence. You can see the fortification walls. It is quite a climb to get there. There is actually crosses along the way ... and you know how the "chemin de croix" are never easy!! It reminded me of my trek to the basilica in Marseille. About halfway up, there is a lovely rose garden. I stopped going up (and coming back down) to just sit among the roses and read my book. The piazzale
in itself is nothing exciting BUT the views are insane! You can see the Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo and Campanile, the Basilica San Croce and on and on. David is up there too ... he's a green copper version but he's just as lovely.
On my way down, I stopped at a small osteria and had an amazing beef carpaccio. I seem to be eating a lot of raw meat on this trip!!! The parmesan, the olive oil ... mmmm ... I am drooling just thinking about it!! And my table was right beside this tree that was in full bloom and that just smelled like heaven.
My last stop would be the Basilica di San Croce. I had walked by it a couple of days ago but had not gone in. It is the one that I had confused for Santa Maria Novella when I was on top of the Duomo. It is also where Michelangelo and Gallileo are both buried. It was kind of fitting that I visited Michelangelo's tomb seeing that I have, at this point, seen many of his works.
When I walked out of the basilica, you could hear thunder rumbling and
the sky was getting to be a dark grey colour. Mmmm ... not good. I threw out my umbrella in Bologna because it was broken. So I walked in the pouring rain and I just didn't care. I am already starting to look a lot like my passport picture so sopping wet ... I don't care at this point. Some of the streets are so narrow that it always seemed like one side didn't get any water. I popped into a couple of shops along the way. I saw one girl enjoying the rain just as much as I was ... she was up on bench dancing! And this lead to my next question ... where do those guys who sell the umbrellas on the street all come from?? Do they all sit at home hoping for rain??? They were everywhere!!! I just decided to be a drowned rat today.
So now I have packed my suitcase once again. I actually really hate packing a suitcase. There's an irony in there somewhere. It is definitely becoming trickier ... the expander may have to be unzipped ... and yet I haven't bought anything that big!! Trinkets really!! Actually I am
stocking my pantry ... I seem to have a lot of spices and food stuff!!
Tomorrow I am heading to Pisa. Oddly, I am there for four days. I do plan on doing the Cinque Terre (my knee better be in a good mood that day!!!!) and I want to head out to tiny Tuscan towns around there. I will also be enjoying some general laziness if I cannot find anything to do!!
I am sad to be leaving Florence behind. I loved being here. It is an amazing city ... definitely a highlight of this trip so far. I do have to say that I have also been very spoiled here at the Hotel Berna. It has definitely added to the experience.
Ciao!!
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