Touring Italy — Florence
Florence is a city that’s most well-known for its history and art, and considered by many to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. As such, Florence is home to many world-famous art museums including Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell’Accademia. I was fortunate enough to visit both museums during my visit but not allowed to take any photos to show for it. Both museums are very large in size and take several hours to explore; a whole day if you really take your time.
Uffizi Gallery is home to several paintings and artefacts ranging from artists like Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, and countless others. The most famous paintings in Uffizi include Birth of Venus, Primavera, Venus of Urbino & Doni Tondo.
The main highlight from Galleria dell’Accademia is, unquestionably, the world famous statue of David which was sculpted by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504. The naked David statue depicts the expression of the Biblical David looking upon Goliath before battle, with a sling over his shoulder.
David was originally supposed to be part of a collection of statues to go atop the roof of the Florence Cathedral but its sheer weight and beauty was too great a risk. It is reasoned by scholars that the reason David stands at an impressive 17 feet tall with exaggerated disproportionate hands and head were to make up for the viewing angle since David would be mounted so high up and viewed only from the ground level. David’s eyes were positioned to look toward Rome, a warning to their rival city.
The rest of the museum consists of various sculptures and paintings by various artists including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Sarto and others. Also among the gallery’s collection are a few pieces by Michelangelo including his four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, and an unfinished statue of Saint Matthew. Interestingly, Saint Matthew was the first of 12 statues commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb but were not finished (in some cases were not even started) since Michelangelo was stopped to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
While tourists are not allowed to take pictures indoors, a replica of David stands outside the Palazzo Vecchio.
The Palazzo Vecchio is home to Florence’s town hall and consists of a fortress-palace (the David replica stands to the left of the entrance) with various courtyards within it, such as the one pictured below.
This old town hall is located in Piazza della Signoria, which is a square central to many tourist attractions including the previously-mentioned Palazzo Vecchio, the famous Ponte Vecchio (the old bridge) and the gateway to Uffizi Gallery. There are also several statues and monuments located here, namely Loggia dei Lanzi which is adjacent to the Palazzo Vecchio.
Within the same square is the Neptune fountain, which represents the Roman god of the sea surrounded by satyrs.
As mentioned earlier, the old bridge, Ponte Vecchio, is a short walk away. Subject to several floods and destruction, the current bridge has been standing since 1345. This bridge is iconic for the shops that line the bridge, similar to Rialto Bridge in Venice.
As with most of Italy, there are several basilicas and churches to be seen. The basilica that deserves your attention, however, is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (also known as Florence Cathedral). While the exterior has a pretty horrid colour scheme, there’s far more to this basilica than meets the eye.
The front façade, while beautifully sculpted, makes the building appear deceivingly small. In reality, this is a very large building in both height and length.
The size of the interior sure makes you feel small.
Above the altar is the basilica’s dome, which is coloured in a beautiful 360 degree fresco that encircles the window atop the inner dome.
For those who like climbing, you have the choice to tackle either the basilica, the tower accompanying it, or both! We only wanted to spend money on one attraction, making it a tough decision choosing between the two, but we ultimately decided upon the basilica. While both are roughly the same height, the basilica has a wider viewing area and a more beguiling method up.
From a height this tall, you really can see all of Florence until the orange roofs reach the hills.
Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view and the final stop on this tour of Florence. It’s a bit of a hike from the city since it’s located on a hill that oversees the city. Budget a couple hours to get there, explore and walk back. Since there are no closing hours, this is something best done at the end of the day especially before sundown. In fact, it was during twilight that I took the following photos of the city.
It sure makes for some beautiful photography. In the following picture, you’ll see the silhouette of Ponte Vecchio (the largest bridge on the river) and the tower on the right is Palazzo Vecchio, the fortress-palace used as town hall, both of which I visited earlier.
The view from Piazzale Michelangelo is a testament to the sheer size of the Florence Cathedral. It’s amazing how the buildings surrounding the cathedral shrink in its grandeur.
That wraps up Florence! We now work our way to the final city on this Italy trip — Bologna!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels & was originally written on September 15, 2014
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
