Advertisement
Published: January 18th 2018
Edit Blog Post
The "Must-Sees" of Florence The past couple weeks have been filled with the “must-sees” of Florence and the surrounding cities. Somehow we have managed to see the famous views at the Piazzale Michelangelo, the leaning tower of Pisa, multiple churches and chapels famous for their ancient frescoes and stained glass, the Istituto degli Innocenti, the Uffizi filled with renaissance artwork, Siena and its Duomo, the ballet of Cenerentola (Cinderella), the Galleria dell’Accademia housing the world-famous David, and finally the Duomo in Florence. And all in 14 days!
So far my favorite architectural pieces have been the Church of Santa Croce and both of the Duomos in Siena and Florence. Sienna’s Duomo had similar architectural features compared to Florence’s Duomo, despite its black and white striped façade and bell tower, representing the symbolic colors of Siena. The Duomo of Siena does not compare to Florence’s massive Duomo in size, but the gothic styles are similar and evoke the same emotional reaction.
As I stood in front of Siena’s Duomo, admiring its massive presence and detailed beauty, an Italian woman stood next to me, took a deep breath, and whispered “Mama Mia”. We looked at each other and smiled, and
then looked back at the gothic cathedral rising into the blue sky. Despite our cultural (and language) differences, we experienced the same sense of awe while looking at this historic piece of art.
The Church of Santa Croce has always been one of my favorite buildings since my first night in Florence. It feels like so long ago, but we met at Santa Croce for our welcome dinner the night of our arrival. Even in the dark, the building displayed beautiful detail (as most buildings in Florence do) and colors. This past week I was finally able to tour the inside, confirming my appreciation for it. The inside is decorated with beautiful stained glass and gothic arches. The ceilings are detailed with wooden paneling and painted designs. The interior of the church is spacious, housing the tombs of both Michelangelo and Galileo. I compare my church at home to the breathtaking churches here in Florence, where daily masses are still held, and am amazed at how these churches are part of people’s everyday lives.
Today we were able to climb up the stairs of the Duomo leading to the top of the dome. Not only is the exterior
of the Duomo one of my favorite everyday scenes I encounter on my walk to class, but the inside was just as impressive. Initially, I thought to myself; the inside of the Duomo is not as decorated as other churches I have seen. As I continued to climb the stairs, I eventually noticed how high I was in the cathedral. I looked up to see how far we were from the dome, when I finally noticed the frescoes that covered the interior of the dome, with a small octangular window placed in the center. The frescoes were beautiful, depicting many religious figures towards the center, as well as multiple devilish creatures lining the bottom of the dome, depicting Hell.
We continued upward, following winding, concrete staircases lined with small windows looking out at the city. After many steps (my phone says I climbed 36 floors today), we emerged from the top of the dome. The city looked like a sea of tans, yellows, and browns, ending with dark mountains in the distance. I was able to spot Santa Croce in the mix of tans and yellows (she stuck out with her white façade facing us). The view was worth
the claustrophobic staircases, especially being one of my favorite memories of this trip thus far.
Italian Families While in Florence, I have not noticed very many families within the city. When I do though, the young children are adorable, especially when they are speaking Italian (probably because I am not understanding anything they are saying, making them much cuter).
Although, while at the Galleria dell’Accademia, I saw many students on field trips around the age of 12. I considered the fact that these students, as young as 12, are witnessing some of the most prominent pieces of art in the history of the world. I tried to look at their worksheets they were working on to see what their assignment was regarding the statue of David, but I couldn’t understand it (two weeks of Italian and I’m still not fluent). My past couple weeks in Florence makes me wonder if children raised in the city, or at least around it, appreciate art on a deeper level than Americans. Art is an important part of their roots. They grow up seeing art on every street, in every building, on every building. Just by being in Florence for these
short amount of days, my appreciation for art (in all forms, especially architecture) has grown. Therefore, considering children who have grown up here with this exposure to art in their everyday lives, they must feel a deeper and stronger appreciation for the art that has built their culture.
STEPS:
January 17: 12,851
January 18: 10,368
Advertisement
Tot: 0.067s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0357s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb