Petersontravels

The second part of our “Tours by Locals” with Cristina involved a short hike towards the Accademia Gallery, another of the “must-do” visits in Florence.  Before we made the walk Cristina pointed out this  bronze scuplture of “Perseus with the Head of Medusa” by Benvenuto Cellini, created between 1545-1554.  It’s literally sitting on the edge of the Piazza dell Signoria (next to the Uffizi) and definitely attracts a crowd of photographers.

A quick note that I didn’t mention about the two galleries – if you plan to visit either of these you need to book your tickets well in advance.  Even in October these tickets sell out!  They are timed entries so you need to book accordingly.  Glad I planned ahead!

Along the way towards the Accademia we passed by the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, henceforth known as “the Duomo”.  This is a shot of the front of the Duomo as you pass by.  You can see the clock tower on the right us undergoing some work, so it’s not the most attractive right now.  You can barely see the famous Duomo in the background.

A better shot of the front of the cathedral.  About two thirds of the way up are a line of sculptures of famous Italians, including Brunelleschi (designer of the dome), Michelangelo, Dante, Leonardo, Raphael and two other Mutant Ninja Turtles to be named later.

We walked by the side of the Duomo later and I’ve gotta say it looks to be in pretty bad shape!  They seem to mostly be focusing on repairs to the facade.

More on the Duomo later.  We then made our way into the Accademia Gallery, and Cristina first took us to a part that most tourists overlook.  Inside the gallery on a side wing is a music museum with these incredibly valuable Stradivarius instruments.  This Tenor Viola was built by Antonio Stradivari in 1690 specifically for the Medici family, and is valued at $30-$45 million!  It’s hard to know exactly as it’s so rare and will never go up for sale.

There were several Stradivarius instruments from the Medici collection in the gallery.  You can see the Medici coat of arms adorned directly on the instruments.

We then entered the most important part of the Accademia Gallery.  This is a bust of Michelangelo, created shortly after his death in 1564 at the age of 88.  It was modeled using a death mask and studies of the famous artist.  I’ve gotta say if that’s his death mask he looks damn good for 88!

This is where you can view his most famous work, David, created between 1501-1504.  It stands 17 feet tall, and literally dominates the room.  I’m just glad it’s on a tall stand, and it’s the most crowded room we have seen yet!

Cristina advised that in 1991 a crazy unemployed Italian man snuck a hammer into the gallery and managed to smash the second toe of the left foot before being wrestled to the ground by visitors and guards.  When he was asked why he did it he said “a 16th-century Venetian painting ordered me to do it”.  My advice, don’t mix magic mushrooms with Venetian paintings!  They were able to restore the toe with the pieces that broke off, but it still looks funky to me.

Cristina advised that Michelangelo toned down the size of David’s willy as it would have been a little too in your face if they had made it to scale.  Still pretty in your face if you ask me!  Michelangelo intentionally carved the hands to be disproportionately large, as the statue was supposed to stand high up on the roof-line of the Duomo, but it turned out far too heavy (over 5 tons) to be put on the roof.  It sat for years in front of the Palazzo Vecchio until they moved it here in 1873 for preservation purposes (there is a copy in the original location that is probably the only one that most tourists see).

If you zoom in on the face you can see David has an interesting look of calm mixed with apprehension, as he’s about to meet Goliath.  In his hand he is holding the pouch and cords of his sling.

The gallery also has several other Michelangelo sculptures.  This is Palestrina Pieta, created in 1555-1556, and depicts the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist supporting the lifeless Jesus Christ.

This unfinished Michelangelo sculpture is a representation of Saint Matthew.  Following the massive success of his David, the authorities of the Duomo commissioned him to carve 12 statues of the Apostles.  Saint Matthew was the first block he worked on, before he was called away to Rome by the Pope.  While he initially felt it was incomplete, he was satisfied as he felt it was the sculptor’s job simply to “liberate” a figure already trapped inside the marble block.  To Michelangelo, the unfinished work perfectly captured a soul struggling to break free from the stone.

Here is another night shot of Palazzo Vecchio, simply because it looks so good all lit up at night.  If you click on the photo and zoom in you can see the copy of David in the original location in the lower right.

Coming up next, we visit the interiors of the Duomo and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the two most important churches in Florence.

 

For our first full day in Florence I booked a “Tours by Locals” with Cristina, a local expert.  She would be our guide for visiting two of the most important sites in the city, the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries that are filled with renaissance artworks.  This post will just cover the Uffizi Gallery.  If you are not a fan of renaissance artworks you might want to skip this!  Here is Cristina with William just outside the Uffizi.

Just inside the entrance the first thing you see is the Medici Family Coat of Arms.  Cristina explained that the five brown orbs represent coins as the Medici were primarily bankers.  Above the coins is a Fleur-de-lis, representing the strong relationship the Medici had with the French.  This coat of arms is pretty much everywhere in Florence.

The gallery displays their art in chronological order, starting from the oldest items in their collection.  Cristina pointed out that this painting on wood represented the earliest version of how Mary and baby Jesus appeared in Italian artwork.  This is by Cimabue and dates from 1290-1300.  Cristina referred to this as “Ugly Mary”, as you can barely tell it’s a woman.

Fast forward 20 years to Giotto’s version from 1310 and Mary is starting to look more feminine, which Cristina called “Sexy Mary”.  Maybe slightly more attractive Mary??

This is the Annunciation of Mary from 1333, and if you click on the photo you can see words being spoken across the painting from Archangel Gabriel to Mary.  I’ve never seen this in a painting.  Cristina referred to this Mary as “Angelina Jolie” Mary.  Maybe 30 years ago!

Here is one of the most famous paintings in the Uffizi, “Primavera”, painted by Botticelli around 1480.

The even more famous Botticelli is just across the room.  This is “The Birth of Venus”, painted around 1485.  Cristina advised us that Botticelli used the same model as the central figure for both paintings.

One more Botticelli from 1483 that was painted in a unique round format that was reserved for works commissioned by aristocrats for their private homes.

The Uffizi is a U-shaped museum, and as you round the U there are several city views from the windows.  This is the Palazzo Vecchio with the Duomo in the background.

As well as a view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

The hallways of the museum are beautiful works of art all on their own!

This painting has an interesting back story.  This was painted by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1475, who had a young student named Leonardo da Vinci.

The teacher was impressed by Leonardo and asked him to paint the angel on the left of his own painting, shown in more detail here.  Verrocchio was said to be so amazed by the superior skill of his pupil that he resolved to never paint again.

Here is another painting by Leonardo from 1481-2 that he never finished, as he left for Milan shortly after starting it.

Cristina advised us that the figure on the lower right is said to be a self-portrait of Leonardo at 30 years old.

One last work from Leonardo is Annunciation from 1472-5, which took on different looks depending on the angle you were looking at it from.

Cristina advised it was best to look at it from the right side.  From straight on Mary’s arm looks too long, but it’s appropriate when viewed from the right.  The furniture also looks too wide from straight on.  Leonardo did this on purpose as it was designed to be hung high up on a wall and viewed from the right.

Getting close to done with paintings.  This next one is the only painting on wood by Michelangelo.  It was commissioned by a local merchant on the birth of his daughter in 1507.  He ended up not liking the painting, but the Pope ended up seeing it on a visit to Florence and liked it so much he invited Michelangelo to Rome to paint the Sistine Chapel.

We went downstairs to see a few more artworks, and I saw this plaque on the wall.

This is the impact from a window in the stairwell being blown out by a car bomb placed by the Mafia.  The bomb ended up killing 5 people and injuring 40.

One last painting at the Uffizi.  This is Testa di Medusa painted by Caravaggio in 1597.  It was actually painted onto an curved shield of armor, which gives it an extra creepy look as the eyes and mouth follow you as you move past it.

Remember that Mafia car bomb?  This is a statue called The Tree of Peace erected at the site of the blast to honor the victims.  You can still see some damage to the framing of the right window

Up next, we visit the Accademia Gallery for more Florence masterpieces!