La Porti un Bacione a Firenze (Give a kiss to Florence)

They start early

Outside David

Another relaxing train journey took us from magical Venice to the stunning city of Florence.  Our apartment was just a short walk from the station and what a beautiful apartment it was.  The ceilings were covered in ornate frescos and our windows overlooked the lovely Piazza della Repubblica.  We just knew that we were going to love Florence.

Ceiling of the apartment

We lunched at the Mercato Centrale, which is a two-level indoor food market.  The downstairs is full of market stalls selling fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and deli goods, whilst upstairs there is a seating area and all manner of food vendors selling everything from fresh mozzarella and tomato salads, antipasti, pasta, panini and more besides.  There was also beer and wine so once again it was great to sit down to a good meal amongst the locals and watch the busy market going about its routine.  We liked the market so much that we went back the following day for lunch.

Florence, like Rome and Venice, is chock full of churches and we wandered into just about everyone that we passed.  The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito was one of the churches we visited.  Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, building began in 1446, just 10 days before his death.  Today, the church is most famous for the sculpted wooden crucifix by Michelangelo, which hangs in the sacristy.

Santissima Annunziata was founded in 1250.  One of the monks began a painting of the Annunciation but became disheartened when he did not feel that he could paint a beautiful enough image.  He fell asleep and an angel completed the painting.  Pilgrims came from all over to venerate the painting and today Florentine brides traditionally visit the shrine to leave their bouquets.

Possibly the grandest church in Florence was the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo).  This is the main church of Florence and really stands out with its exterior of green, pink and white marble.  The complex is made up of three buildings, the cathedral, Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile.  The dome of the cathedral is the largest brick dome ever constructed.  Michael climbed the 439 steps to the top of the cupola where he had a great view of the inside of the church and then he was able to go outside to see the glorious view over Florence (I would have loved to have gone with him however there was a large sign warning against people with claustrophobia attempting the climb).  Michael thoroughly enjoyed himself.

 




Another magnificent church was the Basilica of Santa Croce where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are buried along with many others.  There are also many funerary monuments dedicated to honoured Florentines including Marconi and Dante.

 

The main reason for our excursion to Florence was to visit the Uffizi Gallery.  Once again we counted our lucky stars to be visiting in the off-season, as while there were lots of tourists, we weren’t uncomfortably crowded out.  Michael was over the moon to see both The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Botticelli.  There were many other artworks by Italian artists such as Titian, da Vinci, Giotto and Raphael.  I loved the painting of Medusa by Caravaggio.  The gallery itself is a work of art and it was difficult to take in the paintings and sculptures as well as the ornate ceilings, walls, floors and furnishings.

The Galleria dell’Accademia was next on the list and it was definitely the highlight of Florence for me.  Sometimes you look forward to seeing a famous piece of artwork only to be disappointed.  Perhaps it is not as big as you expected or the colours are not what you wanted or for whatever reason the piece is disappointing.  Well, I have wanted to see Michelangelo’s David for as long as I can remember and I can honestly say that I was not disappointed.  In fact, the statue was outstanding.  It was much larger than I had imagined and the fact that it was displayed in the museum under a dome that was specifically constructed to showcase the statue made it awe inspiring.  I could have stared at the statue for hours and kept walking around to view it from all sides.  I even snaffled a coveted seat and was able to sit there admiring him for a time.  It was definitely worth the trip to Italy just to see David alone.  The rest of the small gallery was interesting, particularly Michelangelo’s Slaves and Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabines.

The Ospedale degli Innocenti was closed for renovations, however we were allowed to walk around the cloisters and view a small museum detailing the history of the building.  This huge complex was built by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15^th century and was a hospital and dormitory for abandoned children.  We saw the place where a rotating drum used to be, into which unwanted babies could be placed without the parents having to reveal themselves.  It was very sad and reminded be of the Foundling Museum in London.

The Bargello was another fantastic art museum, the highlights of which were Bacchus and Crucifix, both works by Michelangelo.  There were other Michelangelo works there as well as pieces by Donatello and Bernini and many others.

The food in Florence was excellent, whether it was a simple cornetto or a more elaborate dish, every meal we had was memorable.  Michael had read a review of Trattoria Marione and so we headed there for dinner one evening.  When we arrived, we observed the enormous queue but were assured that we would be seated in 10 minutes.  We were finally seated after some 40 minutes of queuing in the cold and I was quietly grumbling to myself that no restaurant is worth queuing for.  I was wrong.  The food was fabulous, the wine was great and the service was friendly and unhurried.  The owner, on seeing that Michael and I were tourists, gave us each a limoncello to finish our meals.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to return the following evening.  This time, knowing that they did not take bookings, we decided to make sure that we were there when they opened at 7.00pm.  We took up our position at a bar a few doors down from the restaurant and at exactly 7.00pm Michael and I made our move.  Imagine our dismay when we saw a horde of people surging through the door of the just opened restaurant!  Thereafter followed the unedifying spectacle of Michael and I sprinting down the street to join the mob.  We made it in and were then able to smugly watch the ever-growing queue through the window.  The meal that night was even better than the previous night’s.

The Palazzo Pitti is the largest museum complex in Florence.  Originally it was the town residence of a banker and was then bought by the Medicis in 1549.  Napoleon also used the residence and then it became a royal palace until it was donated to the Italian people in 1919.  The Palatine Gallery is the main gallery and houses a dizzying array of works by Raphael, Titian, Correggio and Rubens among others.  The frescos on the ceilings and walls are extremely intricate and elaborate and without doubt were the best we have seen out of the many hundreds so far.  The Silver Museum contains a collection of priceless silver and gems and some of the jewellery was exquisite.  The extensive Boboli gardens were beautifully landscaped and Michael really liked the sculpture of a fat Bacchus astride a turtle.

We also visited the Museo Galileo, which Michael enjoyed immensely.  I wandered around but I must confess that since my two most hated subjects at school were mathematics and science, I really didn’t understand much of what was on display.  Both Michael and I agreed that his brother, Matthew, would love the exhibits.  We also had a quick look at Dante’s House however it might have meant more to me if I had read his works.

Completely by chance we came across a bronze fountain of a boar, Il Porcellino.  I immediately thought he looked familiar and I was right – a copy of him stands outside Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street.  I can remember as a child rubbing his snout and putting a coin in the fountain for luck.  Well, now I can say that I have done the same in Florence.  Legend has it that if you put a coin into his gaping jaws and rub his snout for good luck, then you will return to Florence.  Michael and I visited the statue and undertook the ritual twice so it seems that we will definitely return to Florence one day, even if it induces a bout of Stendhal Syndrome!

Arrivederci Roma

We took another comfortable train to return to Rome.  Our previous apartment was unavailable so we had chosen a hotel at EUR Magliana.  The hotel itself was lovely however it was situated a 30 minute walk from the train station and the suburb was a quite a distance from the centre of Rome.  Luckily we were only staying for 2 nights.

We lost no time in reacquainting ourselves with the city and undertook the pilgrimage to the Trevi Fountain.  Renovation works sponsored by Fendi have recently been completed so the fountain looked as if it had been built yesterday.  Crowds of people gather at this fountain and traditionally throw a coin over their left shoulder to ensure that they will return to Rome.  Naturally Michael and I joined the throng and so now Rome has joined the list of places that we will return to.  I have since discovered that approximately 3000 Euro is collected from the fountain each night and is donated to the Catholic charity Caritas.

On our final day in Rome we visited Vatican City.  We decided to take a three hour guided tour to navigate the throngs of people.  This was the only place in Rome where we experienced horrendous crowds and it did make you wonder what it would be like in the summer when the queues, heat and crowd must be suffocating.

Everything about the Vatican is magnificent – from St Peter’s Square, the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica.  The guide was very informative and we learned much about the buildings and artworks along the way.  The Sistine Chapel of course, was the highlight and it was amazing to finally see the famous Michelangelo frescos.  It was especially thrilling to see the Creation of Adam.  It would be wonderful to view them without the hordes of people jostling and talking however at least photography was banned so were spared the duck-faced selfie brigade!  

We finished our tour with a visit to St Peter’s Basilica.  We were especially lucky to be visiting this year, as 2016 has been proclaimed the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. The Great Door of St Peter’s was open (the holy door which is normally bricked up and only open during jubilees) and we were able to pass through.  Once inside, there were two Saints’ bodies on display, Padre Pio and St Leopoldo Mandic.  We could have queued to view the saints however Michael did not want to see them up close. Thousands of pilgrims came to Rome to venerate them for the week that they were on display.  We walked around the massive basilica viewing the architecture, statues, tombs and chapels.  It must be awesome to attend a mass there where the capacity is 60,000 people.

Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Italy.  It is a beautiful country with friendly people, fabulous food and wine as well as wonderful art works, history and architecture.  We would love to return as we only scratched the surface of what this country has to offer.