Last day in Tuscany and a visit to Florence

Our last full day in Tuscany and we’re off to tour Florence. Months ago, we purchased tickets to enter the Galleria dell Accademia to see Michelangelo’s sculpture, “David” early morning to beat the tour groups. First though, back to Poggibonsi to catch the train to Florence. Getting pretty good at this one, and we know what to expect so not a stressful time.

The train goes through a lot of small towns where there are lots of young people waiting with backpacks and books. In Tuscany, this is how they get to school (scoula), loads of young people crowd the train early morning to start their day. And just like in the States, several have their books out reading yesterday’s assignment and a few are putting final (sure) touches on their assignments. Most are chatting it up with their friends or engrossed in their phones.

We arrive and now get out the GPS to see what direction we need to walk to get to the gallery. It’s not far from the train station, about 15 minutes or so and we have plenty of time. Our entry tickets are for 8:45-9:00am but it never hurts to get there early. Besides, it really cooled down last night and this morning is only 10C (50F). Quick and dirty way to convert C to F, double the value and add 30, close enough.

We arrive at the gallery and the whole world is in line! Actually, two lines going both directions from the door, and there are two additional lines going parallel to the first lines, 4 lines total. Must be 2-300 people here easy.

Having purchased our tickets online, I asked one of the attendants where I exchange the voucher for the actual ticket. Fortunately, he directed me to door #51 for the exchange and then added to return where he was to enter, ahead of all those people standing in line. Almost like I planned it!

The statue, “David” was commissioned to Michelangelo in 1501 for the Cathedral of Florence. The original plan was to place the statue in one of the niches some 260 feet above the cathedral floor. However, the finished statue was never to be placed in the cathedral.

At the time, Michelangelo was 26 years old and was the highest paid artist in Florence, and the most famous. Because of the size, 14 feet tall, Michelangelo had to work outside in the weather and was often soaking wet from the rain. He worked on the project for two years in total secrecy.

In 1504, the statue was presented to the Vestry Board for their approval. Upon seeing the work, they all agreed it was too perfect to be placed so high up in the cathedral and needed its’ own location. It was agreed that the statue would be placed in the center of Florence, the Piazza della Signoria, where it remained until 1873 when it was moved to the gallery.

Truly an amazing statue! When we walked into the gallery, there were no more than 20 people in the viewing area. Totally different than when we visited the Louvre museum for the Mona Lisa. There were so many people viewing that painting, it was almost impossible to see it! This was like a private viewing and was well worth it.

OK, saw David now on through the gallery to take in some of the historical religious artifacts. Getting close to 10am so time to find a coffee shop for morning pastry. Our next scheduled visit is at 11:30am to see and climb Brunelleschi’s Dome.

The history behind the building of Brunelleschi’s Dome is pretty complicated, and very interesting. If you care to read about the details, see National Geographic magazine, February 2014. Some of the highlights, Florence Cathedral was started in 1296 with most of the work completed by 1418. The remaining work was the largest cupola in the world, 150ft across, with no design or architect. So, the townspeople did what most would do, held a competition for a design. Out of all the known architects and builders, none had a design that was acceptable, but there was one who thought he had a design that would work, he was a goldsmith.

Fillipo Brunelleschi, through some fancy talking and drawings, convinced the committee of his design and was awarded the job. In 1420 he began his work and finished in March 1436. Brunelleschi died in 1446 and was buried in a crypt in the Florence Cathedral.

Facts about the dome:

-spans 150ft wide, with a base that starts 180ft above the cathedral floor, 376ft tall

-today it is still the largest masonry dome in the world

-there are actually two domes, one inner, one outer that serves as a support shell and exterior roof

In 1572, Cosimo I commissioned the artist, Giorgio Vasari, to paint frescoes on the inside depicting the three themes from the Last Judgement. The top level depicts the 24 elders of the Apocalypse; beneath them are choirs of angels, groups of saints, personifications of the Holy Spirit; and on the bottom, the regions of hell with various deadly sins. Pretty uplifting fresco. The amazing thing is how the artist painted these depictions to appear size correct from a distance of 180 to 370ft.

One last comment on the dome, 463 steps to the top with the last 100 or so steps going straight up, like climbing a ladder! Fortunately, Collette let me rest occasionally but once her Navy Seal training kicked in, she left me in the dust. Yes, the views are amazing and well worth the effort!

So, 463 steps down and it’s time for lunch, and maybe a nap. Strolling through town, now we have to fight our way through massive crowds of tourists. The place is a sea of people, wandering aimlessly in and out of shops, booths, cafes, trying to find their guide among the hundreds of flags being waved in the air. They turn right, we turn left.

During our stroll, we had one other artifact we were looking to find, a brass boar. Somewhere in Florence there is a brass boar that it is said if you rub his nose, you will return to Florence. Not a “must see” but if we find it, good, if not, good. Still pushing on for lunch and wouldn’t you know it, Collette looks to the right and calmly says, “there it is”, the brass boar and there’s only 300 people around it. Let’s go! Someone should have tipped off the Chinese visitors that you only needed to rub the nose once, and you only need 5-10 pictures of yourself with the sculpture. I didn’t think there is any brass left but Collette made her way in, again thanks to her Seal training, and posed for 1 picture with the boar.

Done now on to lunch a little more walking and then head back to Cedda to get ready to go to Rome. Tomorrow we take the train to Rome, about 1.5hrs, to begin our month there. Loved Tuscany, highly recommended if you enjoy the countryside, good food, vineyards, wine and nice people.

Now to eat and relax.

Few more pics of Florence…..

Oh yeah, and knockers….

Ciao