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Published: July 18th 2011
Empty museum
The prisoners with David at the end of the hallWednesday, July 13, 2011
Accademia The hostel is conveniently located just two blocks away from the Accademia, which made it easy to make my 8:15am reservation to the gallery. The building front was bland and I would have walked right by it had I not seen the line of people. Surprisingly, I was once again in line behind the couple from New Hampshire. We chatted some, but most topics had been exhausted when we were in line together yesterday for the Uffizi. As before, my purse went into the scanning machine and I walked through a metal detector. There was some kind of confusion in line with the other visitors, and I ended up being the first one into the museum that morning.
It was a surreal moment, walking into the empty hall lined with “Prisoners,” leading up to the giant David statue at the end, and being the only one in the room. I managed to snap off a photo before there was a FLASH behind me from another person’s camera, immediately followed by “No photo!” from the guard at the end of the hall. Way to ruin the moment, fellow tourist. They happened to be American.
There were still very few people in the gallery for some 20 minutes after the doors opened, so I got to view David up close and walk all the way around the statue without having to fight for space. Listening to my audio guide, my attention was drawn to specific features of the statue, like the reattached hand or the damaged toes. It really was a magnificent statue.
I moved back down the hall to view the “Prisoners.” These are statues Michelangelo never finished, and part of their bodies are still encased in stone. My favorites were the “Struggling Bearded Man” and “Man with Giant Block on Head.” These are not the official titles the museum gave to the pieces, but I think they are accurate. By this point, the hall filled with a surge of tourists all jabbering in different languages. This actually worked to my advantage, and I snapped a couple photos of the “Prisoners.”
Moving away from the crowd, I toured the other rooms in the gallery. There was a room full of plaster duplicates of famous statues; many of the originals were in a separate room in the gallery. A set of rooms were
Accademia
"Man with block on his head" full of gold Madonna and Child portraits from the 1300’s, but I had my fill from the Uffizi. A large room, the first one you enter as you come into the museum, had a handful of paintings and one very interesting statue. “Rape of the Sabines” was a complex piece featuring three figures spiraling around each other. It portrays a Roman stealing a Sabine woman and trampling her husband in the process. The statue is full of emotion and action, but unfortunately, “No photo, per favore.”
Deeper into the gallery are a set of rooms dedicated to musical instruments. A piano looks like a piano and a bass looks like a bass, but it was interesting to see how the design hasn’t changed much since the 1600’s. Upstairs, more religious art from the medieval ages was on display. They looked about the same as the art I had seen in the churches or other galleries, except the pieces from Russia, which had a little more flare than the dreary Christian depictions of main Europe.
Market and Bargaining After the Accademia, I returned to the farmer’s market I toured for my cooking class to snap some photos. I also
Accademia
"Bearded Man Trapped in Stone" picked up an apple for snack; it was so sweet and juicy. Then I set out to peruse the street vendors in search of scarves. Some probably deal better than others. I only purchased one scarf at one stall and two at another, knocking off €2 total. But that was enough to pay for a gelato later. There were stalls for all sorts of things – tacky souvenirs, “made in Italy” leather, boxers with David’s dong appropriately placed. I enjoyed looking at all the loot, though I was not tempted to buy anything else.
Santa Maria Novella My guide book suggested visiting the church of Santa Maria Novella, a large church campus across the street from the train station. The exterior was very pretty, with colored marble making a pattern on the front façade. I was amused that only the face of the church was decorated; if you walk to the side it’s plain red brick everywhere else.
The church charged admission and gave away hospital gowns to women not dressed appropriately. It still surprises me how people go up to a church in short shorts and tank tops and expect to be let in. A sign of
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Plaster copies ignorance or arrogance, I’m not sure which. Inside, I was disappointed. Not only did they forbid photos, but there was nothing to take pictured of anyway. It was dark and bland, with nothing out of the ordinary. Some Madonna and Child portraits, a crucifix, a couple tombs. And that was it. Santa Croce was much better.
Happiest Lunch Hour By the time I was done with the church, I was hungry. I wandered the streets and randomly stopped at Ciro & Sons, somewhere between the Duomo and Santa Maria. Maybe it was the air conditioning and maybe it was the joy of having a full stomach, but I think it was one of the best meals I’ve had so far. To start I ordered a salad made up entirely of tomatoes, which was so refreshing. Normally restaurants require that you order risotto for two or more people, so when I saw that it was fine to order for one, I jumped on it. The meal was fantastic, and topped off with a glass of white wine. After, I sipped highly sugared espresso before venturing back out.
Train Station Stopover Before returning to the hostel, I went to the
Duomo Museum
mary magdalene. from the 1500's, it looks like modern art. train station and checked the schedules for Pisa, and also made a reservation on the fast train to Napoli for Saturday. Standing in line for 20 minutes seemed like a pain, but getting a seat on the crowded fast train would be worth it. Instead of 5+ hours to Napoli, I would arrive in just 3 hours.
Siesta I returned to the hostel and intended to relax in my room and write up my noted for the last day. But one of my roommates was taking a nap, and the dark air conditioned room got to me and I also fell asleep, face down in front of my computer. I woke up at 4 o’clock to my roommate’s alarm clock – thank goodness, or else I may have slept all afternoon! I freshened up and set back out.
Duomo, Again Since I didn’t get many photos when I visited the Duomo the first time, I wanted to make another trip for pictures. The line was even shorter today, just 45 minutes before closing. Last minute tour groups massed in and out again while I was there, looking aimlessly around as they listened to the guide on their headphones.
Duomo Museum
mary magdalene Downstairs was a gift shop and a peak into the church’s foundations. The latter area required a ticket, and was most likely not worth it. I peeked around the corner of the ticket booth and saw a little chapel in the basement ruins. The ticket agent said that they only use the area on special occasions, like on the day the Duomo’s patron saint is celebrated.
Duomo Museum Most of the art removed from the cathedral is stored in the museum behind the Duomo. Right now I am more intrigued by looking at statues than paintings, and the museum didn’t disappoint. Many statues were of apostles or other religious figures, taken from the Duomo. There were also many pieces of the exterior façade of the Duomo, baptistery and bell tower. The famous piece in the museum was one of Michelangelo’s pietas. I was looking forward to this piece so that I could compare it along with the unfinished pieta in Milan and the glorious pieta at the Vatican. This one was more traditional than the one in Milan, with the figures making a triangle shape. I was surprised at how unfinished it was, though. The finished marble pieces I’ve
seen are always smooth and shiny, but this piece was still rough cut. I saw the chisel marks around the base, and it seemed that only Christ was polished. It gave the pieta a different tone; it made the figures seem strained and more in agony than the smooth and polished statues of other pietas.
In Which I Decide I like Firenze Best Thus Far Florence, spelled Firenze and pronounced “fee-renz-eh” by Italians, is my town. From the Duomo, everything is ten minutes or less walking distance. Being located less than a block from the Duomo, everything is central to me, too. But more than location, I like the way the city feels. Venice had tight alleys connecting the city in a random assortment of passages with the occasional small piazza. Florence gives you space to breathe, with bigger spaces and streets, while still retaining its old-world charm. And being the birth place of the Renaissance, the artist and science geek in me connects to the city.
Mine is Bigger than Yours The bragging right among American tourists is the Cinque Terre. “Have you been? Oh,
we just came from there.” “
I hiked all the trails.” “
We hiked
Duomo Musuem
"Aslan was here" all the trails
both ways.” “
I stayed in
that town.” It’s like men boasting about the stats from their high school football heydays, or women bragging about their child birthing stories. If I had known about the Cinque Terre competition, I would have made up something outrageous to top all their stories.
What do you get when you add 2 Brazilians, 1 American and a bottle of vodka? I planned to spend the evening bumming around the hostel, having seen many of Florence’s main sites already. Then my Brazilian roommates invited me to join them in the dining area, where they were mixing vodka and sprite over ice. Now, my years of college taught me that vodka is not always my friend, but who was I to say no to a drink, or three?
In our stupor, my roommates taught me some Brazilian Portuguese. I repeated slang phrases like, “you’re a bitch,” and “fuck you, ass hole,” to the delight of my professors. After the booze ran out, they called a cab to go to a club. I declined their invitation and remained at the hostel, stumbling back to my room. Alana and Guilherme were by far the
best roommates I’ve had yet (especially after the angry British woman). Fun and energetic, and eager to exchange international experiences, I hope that one day, upon visiting Brazil, I can call on them for a reunion visit.
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Michelle Torseth
non-member comment
I love Florence!
I'm so glad you love Florence! It is such a great city. It was definitely my favorite city I visited in Italy when I went, too. Isn't Santa Croce great? I really wanted to go in there because of a section in "A Room With A View" (which I had started re-reading as we entered Florence); I was not disappointed. I highly reccomend watching the movie of "A Room With A View" when you get back. It's fun to see all the sights in the movie and be like "Hey! I was there!" Glad you're enjoying your time!!