Three Days in Florence

What a difference a few (million?) cars make! Florence: a dramatic Vespa-infested change from the pedestrian city of Venice. Florence just reverberates with cars and Vespas zipping by, but the energy is invigorating even if stepping off the curb to cross the street can be a bit intimidating.


After finding our hotel, the Residenze Anitca Dimora Firenze, which turned out to be a fantastic place to stay - oh so quiet and within easy walking distance of most of the sites - we headed out to find the Duomo which was easy to do as the dome is easily glimpsed from most of the streets in the downtown area. The Duomo, a Gothic cathedral covered in pink, green and white Tuscan marble looks much like an over-the-top wedding cake. My eyes couldn’t get enough. The Santa Maria del Fiori cathedral (il Duomo) was built without the famous dome - the technology didn’t yet exist that would allow the builders to build a dome large enough to span the roof, yet they knew that somebody would soon be up to the challenge. A local architect - Brunelleschi did finally succeed and the dome was the model for subsequent domes including St. Peter’s in Rome.


We’d arrived just prior to dusk so didn’t have time to venture inside any of the buildings of Santa Maria del Fiori, but we did find a fantastic restaurant just a block away from il Duomo where we had another amazing meal followed by the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. It was here that I had my first taste of mozzarella buffalo (fresh mozzarella). Served with fresh tomatoes, mixed greens, olive oil and vinegar it was quite a treat. I hope to be able to find an Italian deli or restaurant that does it justice here in the states.


Back at the hotel, the line of Vespas parked outside the hotel made us a bit anxious about getting a quiet night’s sleep, but neither of us heard a sound all night. We slept a bit late, but breakfast wasn’t served until late morning anyway so while we were waiting we called to make our reservations for both the Uffizi and Accademia Gallery. We’d waited until arriving in Florence to make reservations - probably not the best idea if you’re traveling in the high season as we couldn’t get the time we wanted for the Uffizi. I think we were lucky to get any reservation at all for the Uffizi so do call several days in advance or see if your hotel can make the reservations for you. It sure beats standing in the long line of people who didn’t get reservations at all and it doesn’t add too much to the price.


After a decent breakfast we set off to find the Science Museum where one of Galileo’s fingers is on display alongside some of his telescopes including the lens through which he first glimpsed the moons of Jupiter. As I’ve idolized Galileo ever since becoming interested in science this was as much of a thrill for me as it must be for a young girl who gets to meet her favorite rock star (but without the screaming). The Science Museum has a fantastic assortment of innovations from the last 1000 years including clocks, mathematical tools, sextants, telescopes, and ingenious optical illusions. The degree of care and workmanship that went in to the making of all of the objects was astonishing. It was here that we ran into a British couple - the woman was seemingly even more enthusiastic than I over some of the science tools and artifacts so we struck up a conversation. It seems that she is also a science teacher - the first of several teachers we'd encounter on our trip. We both got a chuckle over the tour groups of students (teenagers) that reminded us that kids the world over just aren't that much different.


From the Science Museum we set off across one of the bridges so that we could get a good view of the Ponte Vecchio - the bridge that is lined with shops selling gold and silver and is crowded with other tourists. Near the middle of the bridge is a statue of Cellini, the master goldsmith of the Renaissance. His statue is ringed by a fence that has hundreds of padlocks locked to it. According to our guidebook, romantic young men bring their ladies here and demonstrate their enduring love by locking a padlock to the fence and throwing the key into the Arno River. We’d heard that somewhere on the fence there is a combination lock, but we couldn’t find it nor could we find the entrance to the Vasari Corridor - a passageway atop the bridge that links Vecchio Palace and the Uffizi with the Pitti Palace on the south side of the Arno River. This fortified passageway was intended to be use as safe passage for the city leaders in times of attack.


Back on the north side of the Arno we found an excellent place for gelato called Gelateria Carrozze. I’ve lost track of all the flavors we tried and can’t pick a favorite, but melone (cantaloupe) is pretty high on the list. The gelateria is just steps away from the Ponte Vecchio toward the Uffizi. We found a nice shady spot near the Uffizi to sit and watch all the other tourists while we ate our gelato and planned our next stop: Santa Croce Church.


Santa Croce Church is a 14th century Franciscan church with a 19th century Gothic façade and houses tombs of Galileo (hidden from view for repair during our visit), Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Rossini and a memorial to Dante (who was banished from Florence for political differences). In addition to visiting the tombs of some of the great Florentines, I was impressed by the stained glass and the detail of the ceiling beams (more pink, green and white ) in this particular church. Unfortunately I was already beginning to tire of the early art depicting Madonna & Child and the Crucifixion. I have almost no knowledge of art, but what I did find intersting and somewhat compelling was the detail of the faces in the artwork. It looked to me almost as if faces had been cut from photgraphs and then glued onto very flat (usually gold) backgrounds. I found that I enjoyed the art much more when it was on display inside a church rather than a gallery, but grew weary of the early subjects.


Continuing on our wanderings we stopped back in at a restaurant we’d passed earlier along the Arno River and had a couple of plates of delicious appetizers before heading out to visit the interior of the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiori - Holy Mary of the Flower) which has the 3rd longest nave in Christendom. The Duomo was started in 1296 with the laying of the first brick by the architect Arnolfo di Cambio, but the neo-Gothic façade wasn’t completed until nearly the end of the 19th century. The impressive dome which measures 46 meters in diameter at the base and is 91 meters tall wasn't finished until 1434. I must have 20 or more pictures of just the exterior of il Duomo - it really captured my attention and I could have spent hours just looking at all of the details in the marble facade.

Other than the sheer size, the inside of Santa Maria del Fiori is not nearly as impressive as the exterior and after having already spent most of the day walking we skipped the 463 steps climb to the top and the base of the dome. The marble floor and mosaics that decorate the interior are, however, quite beautiful.


From here we headed toward the Bargello, but found it already closed so we spent the rest of the evening wandering through the many street markets. We’d passed through one earlier in the day where each ‘booth’ had what looked and sounded vaguely like a tortilla chip maker. We had several samples of what turned out to be nothing like a tortilla chip at all - in fact we are still wishing that we’d bought a bag as we never found them again. These little treats are called Brigidini and were once made by the Brigidine Nuns of Lamporrechhio. The nuns made the communion wafers and added a little bit of anise and honey to the batter making a sweet, ever so slightly licorice flavored wafer. Nowadays the chips, or wafers, are sold at many street markets - just not the markets we stumbled across later that day.


Of course we also took in the Galleria Accademia and the Uffizi on our last two days in Florence. Yes, Michelangelo's David is everything that you've heard him to be. (see link below for images) A few facts: David stands at just over 4 meters tall (between 13 and 14 feet), was completed in 1504 and created a slight uproar when his nude body was placed in the town square - some people threw rocks. One travel book suggested that for a century or more his groin was covered with a bronze figleaf to satisfy the more conservative (prudish) members of society. Regardless, David is beautiful as he's poised to load his sling; ready to slay Goliath. I got as much of a kick watching the people watch David as I did staring at the statue myself. The sheer enormity of Il Gigante coupled with the beauty of the form is truly breathtaking. However, when we toured the Bargello, I found Donatello's David much more pleasing to gaze at. Perhaps, Michelangelo's David is just a wee bit too intimidating in size and impressive musculature.

The Bargello is very much worth a visit if you are the least bit interested in sculpture. It houses Donatello's bronze David - a statue of the biblical hero that is very nearly the exact opposite of that done by Michelangelo and created about 50 years earlier. This version of David (image link below) is quite petite and significantly feminine. Rather than a chiseled abdomen, he has a soft, rounded belly. The unruly locks of hair are replaced with long, curly hair topped by a straw hat adorned with a laurel. If there ever was a biblical David, I prefer to believe that Donatello's was the best approximation of the man-child that slayed Goliath. Il Gigante is too close an approximation to an ideal of masculinity to be the hero that slayed a giant that I'd heard about in Sunday school.

Also at the Bargello are other works by Michelangelo, vast rooms of Medici Treasures, exquisite glazed terracottas, and works by Desiderio da Settignano, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Andrea Sansovino, Jacopo Sansovino, Baccio Bandinelli , Bartolomeo Ammannati and Benvenuto Cellini - many of the famous artists of the Tuscan region in the 1400 and 1500's.


To let our experiences in Florence sink in, we headed for a little cafe' near il Duomo for a glass of wine before dinner where we met three women from Washington - two of whom are also teachers. Small world. We joined them, or they joined us for dinner in a nearby restaurant where the talk ranged from our favorite experiences thus far to the death of John Paul II and a prayer for a less conservative pope (which by now we all know didn't happen), to what else do teachers talk about on their vacations? - kids and school. It's a good thing that my husband is such a good sport - we can travel halfway around the world and he still can't get away from me talking about work! The restaurant was Antico Ristorante il Sasso di Dante and is located just south of il Duomo. The food and service were fantastic. It was here that I became hooked on Limoncella - a lemon liquor. You've got to try it. Lemonaid with a serious kick. Forget about Mike's Hard Lemonade. This stuff is is goooood.


On the morning of our last day we stashed our luggage at the train station and then headed of to the Uffizi which contains a vast assortment of Italian art beginning with work from the 13th century and ending with the work of artists from the 17th century. Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael, Rubens, Titian, Michelangelo and my favorite - a room filled with the work of Botticelli (see link below) including Birth of Venus and The Allegory of Spring both painted in the mid 1400's. Breathtakingly beautiful. I could have sat and stared at them for hours. In addition to the works of Botticelli, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk through art history starting with Giotto's altarpiece which shows little, if any, concern for believable depth/perspective; passing Uccellos's Battle of San Romano - early use of perspective, but with some goofs; and culminating with Titian's Venus of Urbino (with countless other amazing pieces throughout).


At the end of our visit we were both quite overwhelmed and impressed so once we boarded the train to Rome we spent the time lost in thought about the amazing array of art we'd seen and worrying a bit about getting to our hotel in Rome which was just a block from Vatican City. We'd heard news about the millions of people expected to visit Rome to pay their respects to Pople John Paul II - we were arriving on Wednesday night and his funeral was scheduled for Friday morning (our departure time). We'd heard people were waiting in line for more than 12 hours and had no idea what 'the scene' would be like around our hotel, but thought maybe we'd jump in line to either take part in the moment or to see St. Peter's Square if we got the chance. Neither of us are Catholic so I can't say we felt any great desire to pay our respects, but thought that if the line wasn't going to be too very long, we'd at least give it a shot.





Links and Recommendations:

Michelangelo's David

Donatello's David

Sandro Boticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera

Hotel: Antica Dimora Firenze

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