Day 15 - Renaissance Man

We are now in Firenze (Florence) installed in a beautiful apartment about a decent torpedo punt from the entrance to the Uffizi gallery.  All through this trip, Annie has done a magnificent job in finding us great places to stay.  She worked very hard on setting all of this up beforehand, and now all that work is paying off.  I did nothing, so thanks to my lovely wife for making this trip run like a well-oiled machine.

Now.  Florence.  We started our first full day in Florence with a guided walking tour.  We leave our apartment and make our way to the meeting point.  We walk along our street and are almost immediately face to face with a shipload of ancient artwork.  Turns out that our front door is not only next to the biggest gallery in Florence, but also just along from the Piazza della Signorina.

Before going further, I need to tell you a bit about Florence.  Florence is completely dominated by the Medicis and their legacy. It's a long story, but in a nutshell, the Medici dynasty began as a banking family that made good.  They grew to become the most important financiers in Florence, where they ruled the city, and then began to dominate Europe for most of the 15th - 18th centuries.  Probably more importantly these days, the Medicis fostered artists and collected their works.  The renaissance movement was centred around Florence and many of the great works of the renaissance are still here. We'll be talking more about that later.

Here's a shot taken from outside our front door. Annie is underlined.  A side view of the Loggia della Signoria is in view.  This is basically an old shed full of statues, but it's a nice shed, and the statues are ok too.

In the photo above, you can see the Palazzio Vecchio, which has always been, and is still, the centre of government here. Naturally, as is the case all around Florence, there is an abundance of old statues.  Mainly of Cosimo I - everyone's favourite Medici. You might also see the fake David - a copy of the original, which is safely hidden away in the Galleria dell'Accademia.

We met up with our guide Francesca and a dozen or so culture buffs, and set off to see the sights. Here we are at the Piazza di San Giovanni (religious district) where Francesca is telling us what we need to know.  You can see many sights in the background.

Here we are looking at the big church and its tower.  I can recall that while the church is very old, the facade was added in the 1860s. I can't recall the name of the church but it's a safe bet that it has San Giovanni somewhere in it.

The real star of this area is the Batteristero di San Giovanni.  Built in the eleventh century, it's a striking edifice.  You will notice, as I did, that it's been built in the Florentine Romanesque style. The geometric shapes are a giveaway. This was where the early Florentine Catholics were educated and baptised before they could enter the Church.  As they couldn't read, they learnt the rules (and how to feel guilty all the time), by looking at the mosaics on the ceiling as they swam laps of the pool inside.

Francesca has captured Annie's attention as she tells us about the old Medici Castle in the background.  They eventually moved out to the suburbs too (just like Louis Quatorze) - we'll be heading over the river to their new place a bit later.

Here's the Medici chapels just up the street from the Palace.  Most of the shiny bits are on the inside (apparently).  Lots of Medicis are buried here, but not the one that came third in the 1975 Melbourne cup. Annie looks distracted now - Francesca might be losing the crowd.

It wouldn't be the same without Cosima I (here dressed up as a Roman centurion).  There was one of him dressed as Neptune somewhere but no photo.  Or maybe I dreamed that - can't be sure.

Francesca shows us one of the old vino windows that can be found around the outskirts of town. There were many wine producers here and it was customary to provide a small wine to any poor soul who knocked on this window.  We tried, but tragically, this practice has now died out.

Here you can see the church of something or other, which is very famous for some reason.
In the Piazza it faces, the Medicis used to hold horse races (around the Obelisks).  See, I was paying some attention.

Can't think of anything to tell you about this one, except that Annie looks happy. And we are in Florence.

Today is the day of the Florence marathon. People in these bright shirts are everywhere. Later we will see real marathon runners, but there are also a lot of people who are walking. Good on them for having a go.

Afterwards many were seen having ciggies.

 Off to check out the new palace.  The highlight for me will be the gelati we have outside.  No photos, but gelati was invented in Florence.  A likely story.

Here we are on the Ponte Santa Trinita.  Annie should have gone for the sunnies. All of the bridges across the Arno river were demolished by the Nazis during WW2.  Except the one in the background, Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) which has been there since Jesus was going to trade school.  It's lined with shops. These used to be filled with butchers and fishmongers, and apparently, the smell was quite something. Our old friends the Medicis built their new palace over the bridge and wanted a way to get back and forth without being mobbed by the crowds, so they built this long passage  (The Vasari Corridor) which stretches from the old Palace to the new palace.  They also turfed out the smelly butchers downstairs and installed Jewellers instead.  They enjoyed the smell of gold more than fish and meat.
We'll see some of the interior of the Corridor below, in the Uffizi gallery.
Incidentally, one of the girls on the tour asked me if I was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin because it's on my shirt.  We explained that it's a Violent Femmes shirt and they are from Milwaukee.  The girl was from Iowa and has never heard of the Femmes.  Annie said she'd know the song Blister in The Sun, but the girl remained dubious.

Here's the new palace.  Now it's a museum of course.  The last Medici, Anna Maria Luisa had no heirs and she bequeathed the entire Medici collection to the Tuscan State on the condition that nothing was ever removed from Florence. A lot of tour guides and gallery workers owe their jobs to her.

The tour is over and it's time to eat.  We head to the market and Annie looks happy with her mixed seafood and white anchovies.  Or maybe it's the wine she's anticipating here.

I decide on a local delicacy - the Bistecca Fiorentina.  I line up to order and am directed to the next counter which is this window.  The fellow serving me asks "How many people?".  I tell him just me, and he selects on of the enormous slabs and says "One Kilo?"  I laugh and tell him no, it's just for me.  He laughs and tells me I could do it easily.  Sadly, he's probably right, but I shake my head and we select another piece.  "800?"  More laughter and I tell him no.  Eventually, with a slight hint of disgust, he agrees to cut me a slice which turns out to be about 400. I give up, and after they briefly wave it over some hot coals, I knock it off with ease.

I am reminded of Homer Simpson.

Another in my Merry Go Round series. This is the original spot that Florence was founded upon.  The Piazza di something or other.
From here we head off to the Uffizi where the queues are reminiscent of the MCC members on Grand Final day.

Donatello is waiting in line

 As is Leonardo.  We will see Michelangelo and Raphael inside later but as hard as I looked, there was no mention of Splinter.

We cunningly buy a "skip the line" tour with our guide Cosetta (shown here telling us everything we need to know about the history of Florence).
She has plenty of time ... because many, many other people are in the skip the line queue too.
It's a little paradoxical to be in a skip the line queue, but there we are.  Eventually, we are inside.

 Here's proof that we made it inside.

The tour was wonderful.  Inside the Uffizi there are thousands of artworks and sculptures.  Our guide showed us selected works and demonstrated how the Renaissance artists built upon the earlier styles and added perspective to give a 3D effect.  Here we are looking at pre-Renaissance Madonna and Child paintings.  We then look at various other Madonna and Child paintings until ...

 We end up at this Renaissance version.  It's fascinating - even to an art ignoramus like me.

We see various works - Allegory of Spring by Botticelli is a favourite.

Most of us would know this one - Botticelli's Birth of Venus.

We weren't; allowed in this room, but they let us peep in.












Below is the only canvas painting by Michelangelo known to exist. He also made the frame.  Although he is famous for the Sistine Chapel, that's a fresco. He was reputed to dislike painting - much preferring sculpture.

Here we are inside part of the Varsari Corridor. From here we head down the stairs, check out a bit of Leonardo's work and then the tour is done.

I'm not telling you about dinner.  I had a salad. And if you believe that, I have a nice bridge you might be interested in buying.