We have arrived in Florence, the capital city of Tuscany and the birthplace of the Renaissance, a period when literature, art and science brought forth many new ideas. Some say the reason it started in Florence in the 14th century was due to the wealth that existed there at that time especially with the wealth of the Medici family. One of the artists the family supported was Michelangelo who was famous for his sculpture of David...
We visited David who is now in a museum called The Accademia and is one of the most visited sights in Florence. The lines are long and a reservation is necessary so we made ours through a company called Florence for Foodies....the Nude and Food tour. Our tour guide Sam met us there and then gave us a great history of Michelangelo and his work including David.
He was 25 when he started the statue and it took him 3 years. He was the third choice to do it as the first two sculptors could not work the marble. This monument was commissioned to mark the founding of Florence as a Republic so is very much a symbol of the city.
David weighs 5 tons, is 17 ft tall and very detailed...
He is the Biblical David with a rock in one hand and a slingshot in the other. Goliath is Rome and he is intently starring in that direction ready to take on the enemy.
I was very taken with David and the genius of Michelangelo to create him. Our guide told us that he studied human anatomy by buying body parts of the executioner so he could create a realistic man!
Florence is full of art everywhere you look including the Duomo which is not as fancy as the one in Milan but still impressive...
The dome of the Cathedral is its most distinguishing feature as it was considered an engineering marvel at the time of construction and is still the world's largest masonry dome even though it was constructed in the 15th century...
Inside the dome...
The church grounds also hold the Baptistry which has a magnificent ceiling fresco done in the style of the mosaics in St.Mark's in Venice.The centrepiece is Christ on the throne rendering judgement on who went to Heaven and who went to Hell...
Notice thumbs up or thumbs down!!!
In the Duomo Museum which is under construction there were also two beautiful pieces of art work. There was another sculpture by Michelangelo called the Pieta which he designed for his own tomb with the largest fiqure having his own likeness...
Then there were the Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti who spent 25 years making them. They were made of bronze, gilded with gold and were created with a 3D perspective never seen before this time...
In the detail you can see the perspective in the receding arches that stretch into infinity. Also all of the arches and steps converge at the center of the panel where the two monarchs meet uniting their respective people's.
These doors were nothing short of magnificent to see given when they were created. I so wished the rest of the museum was accessible as there were many other great works work of art hidden because of renovations.
We also wandered over to the market which is in the shadow of the San Lorenzo church that hold the Medici Chapels.
Michelangelo did the sculptures for their tombs as well...
These pictures came from Internet as no pictures allowed.
The Chapel of Princes...I guess if you are rich in life you can decide how you want to be remembered in death and these guys want us to know they were rich!
The San Lorenzo market was full of stalls selling leather, in fact as you walk the streets of Florence you smell leather everywhere...
Purses of every color
And for some reason lots of Pinocchios of all sizes for sale...
" Now I know you are telling a lie."
They also have these places called Enotecas that sell wine by the glass but then provide a large and delicious buffet to go along with it for no extra cost...
We enjoyed a nice lunch here.
Florence is also notorious for their drivers and because the streets are so narrow some of their vehicles are so tiny...
The SUV wasn't that big but this delivery truck was small.
As opposed to Venice where it rained every night here we walk the Piazzas and enjoy the sights. Our favourite is definitely Piazza della Signoria which is the square filled with statutes and the site of the City Hall.
In the day it is filled with tour groups...
But at night it is quieter and with the light reflecting of the buildings and statutes it feels very peaceful...
This guy plays classical guitar every night...
Beautiful sculptures which is my favourite type of art and Florence is filled with them.
The other part of our Nude and Food tour was a walk through the center of Florence stopping at a lot of little, local shops. The first one was a cafe and pastry shop where I finally found an expresso I could drink and feel like an Italian....
Then to the butcher to explain the meat...
Here Sam explains the beef used in the typical Florentine stark which we would seek out later...special cow only grass fed.
We wouldn't be seeking out any of these parts...
Now for cheese and meat tastings including wild boar and truffle salami
Then olive oil, 25 year old balsamic vinegar, pestos, ragus and the list went on.
Next stop a 500 year old wine shop...
Don was happy to be there.
We had wonderful wine tastings of the local Chiantis and then a spray of Grappa as it was too strong to drink straight!
We ended up at the Gelato shop were we tasted 6 types of freshly made gelato.
It was a great way to see a different side of the city with a local guide and a great group of people. We like Florence.
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