Day Trip to Florence

Yesterday we spent the entire day in Florence. Much to our own surprise, we left the house -- all five of us -- by 7:00 am to catch a train out of Bucine (boo-chee-nay), arriving in Florence an hour later. This was SOOO much better than trying to drive and park in Florence, which is akin to Rome in terms of crazy scooters, trucks, narrow streets, expensive lots, etc.

Our first stop was the Accademia Museum where the famous statue of David resides. It did not disappoint. I really thought all the hype would make the moment anti-climatic, but it is an astounding piece that changes in mood and temperament as you walk 360 degrees around it. At 26 years young, Michaelangelo Buonarroti immortalized himself.

In the hallway leading to the dome where David stands are six unfinished Michaelangelo sculptures that were supposed to be part of Pope Julius' tomb; Pope Julius is the one who commissioned (forced) Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling and many other things. Modern scholars have collectively named these pieces "Prisoners", as they almost appear to be trying to escape their native marble blocks. With these pieces you get a much better feel -- and appreciation -- for how a slab of stone can be turned into a David and how much work that must take. In some respects, I actually more enjoyed these pieces than David himself.

No pics allowed in La Accademia, so postcards will have to suffice.

After lunch we then toured the Duomo, home of "Brunelleschi's Dome", the largest free-standing dome since the Parthenon. I've provided pictures from both the outside and inside, although the inside pics are hampered by protective plexiglass. The science to build such a dome was known by the Romans in 450 BC, but was then lost for nearly 2,000 years until Brunelleschi figured it out. He used no supportive scaffolding to raise this dome, which was incomprehensible at the time -- even the Romans used an internal scaffolding skeleton to raise the Parthenon dome. In fact, the Duomo was built with the intent of having the world's largest dome, but sat "topless" for several hundred years until someone could figure out how to cover it. The five of us climbed the 462 steps to the cupola at the top for an amazing view of Florence.

Later in the afternoon Ellen and I toured the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, while the kids sat in a bar for cool drinks. This museo is home to Michaelangelo's Pieta (see pic), another amazing piece. The Pieta was to be Michaelangelo's own tombstone and is actually a self portrait. He used his own face for the carving of Nicodemus, the tallest figure supporting both Jesus and Mary. Michaelangelo was an old man when he carved this and, insightful to his personality, decided the marble wasn't perfect so took a hammer to it knocking off limbs and fingers. A friend/protoge put it back together, but it never became part of his tomb.

We'll spend a second full day in Florence later in the week. For some it is the art capitol of the world, so there's plenty to see.

Bye for now.

Joel