Firenze Day 3

This morning we slept in . . .not leaving our hotel rooms until 10:00am. After having breakfast in our hotel we decided to take the Rick Steve's renaissance walk. Using a combination of Iphone, Itouch and Kindle Fire we followed the guided walk. Much of it we had already seen . ...except that we did get to see the Triumphal Arch in the Piazza Della Repubblica. We also went to the Orsan Michelle. This church was unique in many ways, but a unique item of interest was the fact that it was originally built as a loggia (covered courtyard) home of a market for selling grain. It was later closed in to make a church. You could see the grain chutes and the rings used to hoist the product up into the storage areas. Ron enjoyed the statues in the niches outside. His favorite was a bronze statue of doubting Thomas touching the wound in the side of Christ. One of his feet was clearly inside the niche with another foot outside of the niche in our world . . symbolizing how Thomas was one of us.

We had a 2pm appointment with a guide for a 5 hour tour so we stopped into a self serve spot for lunch. Worst meal of our trip. Not to be repeated we hope.

Before we left the U.S. we had contracted with Simone Gaddini founder of www.Florentia.com. We had asked for a guide that could give us a greater appreciation for and understanding of the renaissance period, with a special focus on Michelangelo. He arranged for a custom private tour with Olivera as our able guide. Our tour was to focus on the social, political, economic and cultural context of the Renaissance in which Michelangelo was able to flourish. Olivera had a degree in art history and had spent 22 years enjoying and working in Florence surrounded by world class art. She reminded everyone of my dear friend Gwen Anderson in her mannerisms . We met her at the Medici chapel an extension of the Church of San Lorenzo. (Whenever meeting someone we can be quckly identified by explaining that our son is extremely tall. Once spotted... our guide instantly knew she had found us.) We marvelled at the inlaid marble work in this building. Precious and semi precious stones inlaid in marble to create beautiful art. This chapel was designed to house the tombs of one of Florence's great ruling families. This building also includes the Crypt and the all-Michelangelo Sacristy. This was a wonderful treat as I was able to see the Day and Night, Dawn and Dusk statues that he had created for this tomb. Michelangelo had a great love for the Medici family who had housed him during his teen years. He was especially influenced by Lorenzo Medici also known as "Il Magnifico". It was a good history lesson to learn more about this Medici family (the same family that Catherine Medici the Queen of France was to come from) The family line died out I believe by the 17th century. The interior of the chapel was never finished an most of them were not buried there .. . but it is a monument to their family influence just the same.

Next stop Palazzo (palace) Medici-Riccardi. This was the home of Lorenzo the Magnificent built in the 1400's. In the 1700's it became home to the Riccardi family.

Olivera took us through the streets of Florence pointing out the ancient walls and the House of Dante (which wasn't really his house) on our way to Casa Buonarroti which really was the home of Michelangelo. She was delighted that we had chosen to go here as she says that most visitors do not come to see it. His grand nephew (Michelangelo the Younger - more of an art dealer than an artist) had turned the house into a memorial honoring his Great uncle. What a memorial it was . . after viewing all the rooms we all declared of the Younger . . . "mission accomplished". This site only got a two triangle rating from Rick Steve's. . . it deserved a three.

Next stop . . Santa Croce . . the church where Michelangelo's tomb is. His tomb symbolized the marriage of the arts of painting, sculptor, architecture and poetry. There was some controversy over his tomb because the section of the sarcophogus symbolizing sculpture was not front and center. I thought to myself that I would not want to have been the one to sculpt this master's tomb! Galileo is also buried here . . and there is an empty tomb for Dante. Dante was actually in exile the last years of his life . . .so he is not even buried in Italy. Still a magnificent tomb was built to honor their native son.

 

Our final stop was Palazzo Vecchio. This old palace and city hall is a Florentine landmark. It is home to the current Mayor of Florence. This structure is another monument to the Medici influence. It was built for the first Medici . . Cosimo, the father of the Magnificent Lorenzo. While we were touring it there was a function going on in the grand hall. Museum visitors just quietly worked around it. Apparently they were opening some new rooms to the Uffizzi and distinguished guests were listening to the head of the Uffizi introduce them. Following their gathering they all went through the Vasari corridor from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Uffizi Gallery to see the new rooms. We did not . . but our guide did show us the corridor and explained that it took the Medici from the Uffizi (wich means offices - and was the business area for the Medici) to their palace.

Olivera recommended the Trattoria 4 Loni (4leoni.com) for dinner. This was to be a delightful dining experience. Ron had a pear stuffed cheese pasta that was simply divine. She had described it as a "charming" spot full of ambience and it was. A place where the locals eat off the beaten tourist path.

A couple of side notes . .We have been using the "Crumpled city" maps to find our way around. They are designed in such a way that you can pull them out full size and then screw them up in a ball and stuff them in your pocket. They are designed with English explanations .. but all the streets names and landmarks are in Italian. We also like and have used the Map Easy maps . . but the crumpled city maps help you get around better. We discovered the crumpled city map of Rome in Barnes and Noble and then went to their website to order Florence and Venice maps. Interesting to note that the creator of the maps is based in Florence.

We live in a small world....whilst walking outside the Dumo and in the streets of Florence we have run several times into a family that have been our patients for many years. Who would think that we would run into them in Florence. Lauren has also identified a friend that she went to school with.