Continuing our journey from Venice [confusion.cc], our next stop was Florence, capital of Tuscany and of the Renaissance. With the exception of not spending a night in Milan before going to Venice this holiday followed the same plan my wife and I took on our honeymoon in 2007 — Venice [confusion.cc], Florence [confusion.cc], Rome [confusion.cc], including Vatican City [confusion.cc] and Milan [confusion.cc]. The side trips were a little different: we didn’t visit Verona [confusion.cc] or San Gimignano [confusion.cc] or Como [confusion.cc], but Pisa [confusion.cc], Siena [confusion.cc] and even Pompeii (which I never posted about?) were all on the itinerary again this time.
Anyway, enough of itineraries. What did we do in Florence [wikipedia.org]? In addition to being the base of operations for our visits to Pisa and Siena, among the many, many things to see in Florence, we visited:
- The Uffizi Gallery [wikipedia.org], where we saw; The Birth of Venus [wikipeida.org] by Botticelli —one of Victoria’s favorite paintings— Primavera [wikipeida.org] also by Botticelli, Medusa [wikipeida.org] by Caravaggio, and many, many, more. Some of the most celebrated paintings in history (full list [wikipedia.org]), including works by three of the four Ninja Turtles.
- The Ponte Vecchio [wikipedia.org]. It’s pretty, a great backdrop for photos. The most interesting thing, to me, is that London Bridge once looked like this, only bigger as I understand.
- The Duomo, formally Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore [wikipeida.org]. As far as cathedrals go, this one, which marks the end of Gothic and start of Renaissance styles (no buttresses!), has, I think, the most beautiful exterior. The green and white gives it character. The interior is much brighter than most other cathedrals and the dome is amazing. We climbed the dome, 463 steps for the amazing views. We also climbed the bell tower; another 414 steps for more amazing views.
- Galleria dell’Accademia [wikipedia.org], housing Michelangelo’s David [wikipedia.org]. Probably the most famous sculpture in history. It’s monumental and technical amazing. But I think I prefer La Pieta among Michelangelo’s sculptures that I have seen.
- Basilica di San Lorenzo [wikipedia.org], which is notable as it has no grand façade, just the raw, naked brickwork. Michelangelo designed a facade, even built a wooden model but it was not built. This makes San Lorenzo look rather plain on the outside, hiding how beautiful it is on the inside. Donatello is buried here.
- Medici Chapel [wikipeida.org]. Which is attached to San Lorenzo but a seperate tourist site, because, Michelangelo designed it and it contains several celebrated sculptures or his and some charcoal sketches attributed to him.
- Basilica di Santa Croce [wikipedia.org]. Yet another magnificent church in Florence. The interior, is very different from either the Duomo or San Lorenzo but beautiful. This place is notable for the many important tombs found in the nave —from midieval knights, to some of the most famous people in history; Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli, and more.
One thing we were not able to do this trip was to visit the Vasari Corridor [wikipedia.org] as it was closed. As I recall from last time it’s interesting, but not a make-or-break thing. C’est la vie. We. Also didn’t visit the Palazzo Pitti [wikipedia.org], or the Bargello [wikipedia.org]. I think the kids were tired of paintings of Madonna and Child, Christ on the Cross, the Adoration of the Magi, and statues of naked men and women. Livi had an app on her phone to keep count of different themes. It can be mind numbing all the renaissance and pre-renaissance art day-after-day in Florence, indeed, in Italy.
We did stumble upon a decidedly not renaissance exhibit that we decided to go to. In the Palazzo Strozzi there was an exhibit of Anish Kupoor’s works called Untrue Unreal [palazzostrozzi.org]. Including early, colorful works like To Reflect an Intimate Part of the Red [anishkapoor.com], and Endless Column [anishkapoor.com], as well as the more grotesque Three Days of Mourning [anishkapoor.com] and First Milk [anishkapoor.com], some of his mirror work and even a bunch of his newer Vantablack works. Lots of things I didn’t catch the name of and didn’t find for sure when searching online. I would not say I’m a big fan of Anish Kapoor in general but it was a nice departure from renaissance and pre-renaissance art.
And if you are keeping count, we saw the tombs of two of the four ninja turtles in Florence.
You can see the full Florence, Italy, December 2023 [flickr.com] photoset on Flickr.