Florence - Firenze
We arrived in Florence about 3PM. Our hotel, Loggiato dei Serviti, is almost extravagant. It sits on the west side of Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, the first true renaissance piazza. On the north side is the Chiesa (Church) della Santissima Annunziata, which has been rebuilt several times since first construction in 1250. It is the mother church of the Servite order of nuns and priests. On the eastside is the Spedale degli Innocenti, the oldest orphanage in Europe (constructed 1413-1445). It is now a museum.
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
Though it appears a little run down today, the piazza is getting a facelift. The city has recently made it a “no cars” zone.
Our hotel (built 1527) was originally a Servite monastery. It has been an inn or hotel of some type since the middle of the 19th century, and has been restored to faithfully reflect its 16th century beginnings.
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Spedale degli Innocenti
The closeup shows the terra cotta medallions adorning its façade, babies in swaddling clothes. Some of them are the originals done in the 16th century by Luca della Robia.
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Our hotel room
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Firenze (speaking properly) is a big city, 360,000 – but our group will stick to a few neighborhoods in the city center: Duomo & Piazza della Signoria, San Marco, and Oltrarno. The hotel is very well located. Just behind it is the Galleria dell’Accademia (home of Michelangelo’s “David,” ). Ten minutes away are the Uffizi Gallery and the Duomo. We can see the tip of its dome from our room.
After settling in we went on a quick walking tour of the historic center of Florence, seeing the exteriors of the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio (with its copy of Michelangelo’s David) and finishing at the Galleria dell’Accademia, home of the real David.
The Accademia is a small museum and Michelangelo’s David is its claim to fame.
The Accademia is a small museum and Michelangelo’s David is its claim to fame.
Michelangelo's David
Michelangelo began working on the piece in 1501 and completed it in 1504. He was 26 years old when he started. The statue was intended to be one of 12 figures that would sit atop the Duomo’s roofline, But when city officials saw it completed they decided to put it at the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall. David was seen as a political statement: an image of strong government and a warning to all who would see it.
We were one of several groups viewing the statue. My first impression was how big it was (17 feet from floor to top of head). But Bonnie found a spot on a bench about 20 feet from David’s right hand. Now we could relax and enjoy the work. The head and hands are too large for the rest of the body (as we had read) but this does not take anything away from its power and strength. I was impressed by the musculature and the veins, especially in the right hand and arm. It is a marvelous piece.
Since taking art appreciation courses in high school and college, in my mind David has always been “the greatest piece of sculpture” and to actually see it only confirmed that impression. This photo is from Wikipedia. No photography inside the Accademia.
We were one of several groups viewing the statue. My first impression was how big it was (17 feet from floor to top of head). But Bonnie found a spot on a bench about 20 feet from David’s right hand. Now we could relax and enjoy the work. The head and hands are too large for the rest of the body (as we had read) but this does not take anything away from its power and strength. I was impressed by the musculature and the veins, especially in the right hand and arm. It is a marvelous piece.
Since taking art appreciation courses in high school and college, in my mind David has always been “the greatest piece of sculpture” and to actually see it only confirmed that impression. This photo is from Wikipedia. No photography inside the Accademia.
A "Hearty Tuscan" Dinner
That evening our group had a “hearty Tuscan “ dinner at Ristorante Giulio Rosso, where the food was great and our waiter turned master entertainer when he wheeled out the dessert cart and distributed his goodies like a beneficent Medici.
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Friday October 4 - A Walking Tour of Florence
Today we are scheduled for a walking tour of Florence. And our guide is the excellent, knowledgeable, witty Antonia Lanza. Antonia was born in England, came to Florence as a young woman, married an Italian, and became an Italian citizen. She is a walking encyclopedia of Florentine history and culture. If you get to Florence and want a guide, look up Antonia.
We met her at the Piazza della Republica under the Colonna dell'Abbondanza (Column of Abundance) which is considered the center of the city, and where she gave us a short history of Florence.
We met her at the Piazza della Republica under the Colonna dell'Abbondanza (Column of Abundance) which is considered the center of the city, and where she gave us a short history of Florence.
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This piazza was originally the forum during the Roman Empire. But by the 19th century it had become an overbuilt clutter, and when Italy united in the 1860’s and Florence was proclaimed its capital, much of it was cleared away.
Since then refined palaces, luxury hotels, department stores and elegant cafes have sprung up around it, and is “the” place for artistic expression, protesting, and conversation among the literati.
Since then refined palaces, luxury hotels, department stores and elegant cafes have sprung up around it, and is “the” place for artistic expression, protesting, and conversation among the literati.
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We followed Antonia along the arcade of the Via Pellicceria past old renaissance buildings into the Pallazzo Davanzati, a 14th century palazzo, owned by the Davanzati family from the 16th to the the 19th century.
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In 1951 the Italian government bought the Palazzo and kept it open as a museum. They closed it from 1995 to 2005 for major restoration. Now all of it is open to the public. But no photography is allowed. Here is a link to the site Museums of Florence which has some fine photographs, and gives a good idea of how wealthy Renaissance families lived.
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/palazzo_davanzati.html
The door to the front courtyard was state of the art early renaissance security. If an unwanted intruder broke through the doors he would find himself standing under a kettle of hot oil which was tipped on his head.
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/palazzo_davanzati.html
The door to the front courtyard was state of the art early renaissance security. If an unwanted intruder broke through the doors he would find himself standing under a kettle of hot oil which was tipped on his head.
After the Davanzatti it was across the Arno River into the neighborhood of Oltrarno. Downstream from where we crossed the Arno is the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s oldest, most important and most crowded bridge. There has been a bridge at this spot since Roman times. This version dates from the 14th century. It was always lined with shops, originally butcher shops which used the river as dumping grounds. But in the 16th century the Medici decreed that gold and silver merchants should replace the butchers. Why? Because the Medici built the Vasari Corridor across the bridge as a safe and private passage between the Pitti Palace and the Pallazzo Vecchio on opposite sides of the river. The corridor allowed them to go from their palace to their offices (uffizi) unmolested.
Our last stop with Antonia was the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Santo Spiritu, or more simply, Santo Spiritu. The interior is a fine example of renaissance architecture and was designed by Brunelleschi in the mid 1400s. But no photography allowed.
But the exterior is very simple and reminded me of a California mission.
IL DUOMO - Cattedrale di Santa Maria dei Fiore
The First Renaissance dome and the Model for Domes to Follow
The dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. It is “the” landmark for Florence, the first Renaissance dome and the model for domes to follow.
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"Duomo" is the Italian word for Cathedral, the place where a bishop lives. The Italian word for dome is "cupola."
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It took more than 100 years to build the church (1296-1436). In 1418 the Wool Merchants Guild (principal patrons of the church) announced a competition for the design and building of a dome to cover the church. Fillipo Brunelleschi, a local architect who had designed the Spedale degli Innocenti, won. The dome would have to be bigger than the dome of the Pantheon (diameter of 142 feet), but the knowledge need to do that had been lost since the building of the Pantheon in the first century AD.
Brunelleschi not only had to figure out how to build the dome, but also invent the machines needed to do it: such as a hoist for getting the bricks from the ground to the workers 170 feet above the floor .
Ross King has written a fascinating history of how all this was accomplished in the book Brunelleschi’s Dome.
Brunelleschi not only had to figure out how to build the dome, but also invent the machines needed to do it: such as a hoist for getting the bricks from the ground to the workers 170 feet above the floor .
Ross King has written a fascinating history of how all this was accomplished in the book Brunelleschi’s Dome.
The church and dome are huge – 370 feet tall. The nave of the church is the third longest in Christendom. It was more than 400 years before a larger dome was built (Devonshire Royal Hospital, England, 1881). It remains the largest brick dome in the world.
The Duomo is located in a relatively small piazza, it is hard to get a good picture, both mentally and photographically.
The Duomo is located in a relatively small piazza, it is hard to get a good picture, both mentally and photographically.
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The façade was not completed until the 1870s. It is covered with pink, green and white Tuscan marble.
Numerous statues of saints and popes are placed in niches around the front. |
The interior of the Duomo: The first thing you notice about the interior is its clean almost spare lines – a real contrast from the exterior. Much of the wall space is bare - many pieces that were once in the church have been removed to the Duomo’s museum.
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The marble floors are floral or geometric designs.
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The interior of the dome, unlike the walls and floor, is a riot of color and activity. It is a portrayal of the Last Judgment.
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The Duomo Museum
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Works of the Cathedral)
The Museum holds many of the original works created for the Duomo. It is in the piazza to the right of the Duomo.
Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise are being restored there, and portions of them are on display. These Gates were originally created for the Duomo's Baptistery (across the piazza from the Duomo) in the 1400's. But in 1990 they were moved indoors to the Museum for restoration, and some of them are on display and can be photographed.
Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise are being restored there, and portions of them are on display. These Gates were originally created for the Duomo's Baptistery (across the piazza from the Duomo) in the 1400's. But in 1990 they were moved indoors to the Museum for restoration, and some of them are on display and can be photographed.
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These gilded bronze doors were executed by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistery in the first half of the 15th century. Ghiberti won a competition for the commission to create the doors and it took him more than 40 years to complete them. They were hung on the north and east entrances to the Baptistery. The panels depict the life of Christ from the New Testament, scenes from the Old Testament, and portraits of the four evangelists, John the Baptist and the Church Fathers Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Gregory and Saint Augustine. |
Also in the Museum is "The Deposition" a sculpture by Michelangelo which depicts Jesus being taken down from the cross. Michelangelo intended this to be placed on his own tomb.
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The Uffizi Gallery
One of the oldest
and most famous art museums of the western world.
In his Guidebook Rick Steves says the Uffizi it is the “greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere…it is not nearly as big as it is great." And a lot of people go there, and it is crowded. And you are not allowed to take pictures. But we did have the advantage of a guide (Juliane Krumacher) who led us through the transition from medieval to Renaissance art.
Many of the paintings we saw I remembered from art history classes:
. Boticelli’s Birth of Venus & Primavera . Ghirlandaio’s Duke of Umbria . Rembrandt, self – portraits . Ucello’s Battle of San Romano . Titian’s Venus . Caravaggio’s Bacchus . da Vinci’s Annunciation . Michelangelo’s Annunciation
And we saw many more that I did not know about. Here is a link to Wikipedia’s page on the Uffizi; from there you can get to information on specific paintings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi
Many of the paintings we saw I remembered from art history classes:
. Boticelli’s Birth of Venus & Primavera . Ghirlandaio’s Duke of Umbria . Rembrandt, self – portraits . Ucello’s Battle of San Romano . Titian’s Venus . Caravaggio’s Bacchus . da Vinci’s Annunciation . Michelangelo’s Annunciation
And we saw many more that I did not know about. Here is a link to Wikipedia’s page on the Uffizi; from there you can get to information on specific paintings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi
The Palazzo Vecchio & The Piazza della Signoria
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It was in this piazza in front of this palazzo ( Florence's "Town Hall") that, at the end of the 15th century, the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savanarola denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor. The Florentines expelled the ruling Medici and established a popular republic. Later Savanarola defied the pope and instigated bonfires of vanities. For this he was excommunicated, imprisoned, tortured, and hung and burned - in this piazza. And eventually the Medici were restored to power.
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The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) dates from the early 14th century. Today it is mostly a museum, but was originally Florence’s town hall. Cosimo de Medici made it his personal palace in the 16th century, and in the 19th century it was the seat of Italy’s provisional government when Florence was the temporary national capital. Now the Mayor of Florence and the City Council have offices there.
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To the right of the Palazzo is the Loggia dei Lanzi, once a terrace from which the Medici princes could watch ceremonies in the piazza. Today it is an outdoor covered display area for large renaissance statuary.
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Bargello Museum
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The Bargello, originally a barracks and a prison, is the oldest public building in Florence. Now it is a Museum, housing sculptures mostly, and some ceramics. It is smaller than the Uffizi and nowhere near as crowded, which made it a much easier place to view art. One can wander from statue to statue, spending as much time as you want at each piece. But you are own your own, with no guide to give perspective on the works. Probably its most famous piece is Donatello's David - done 60 years before Michelangelo's David, and the first nude male scultpure in 1000 years. Compare this young teen to Michelangelo's muscular young adult. |
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Pietro Francavilla’s Jason and the Golden Fleece (late 1580’s)
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A most unusual sculpture – a canon with the head of St Paul on the back end and two little lion critters sitting on its top. (by Cosimo Cenni, 1638).
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There are also two rooms with excellent ceramic and terra cotta pieces. Among them: several Montelupo ceramics from the early 17th century (right) and an Andrea della Robbia glazed terra cotta from the 1470s (left). |
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