Florence. Firenze - Italy

Ponte Vecchio

OPEN AIR MUESUM

Piazza dell Duomo

Florence. Firenze – Italy

Story and photographs by Allison O’Donoghue

Florence is an open–air museum that overtly flaunts its magnificent beauty. In the late15^th and early16^th centuries, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo competed fiercely for approval of the Medici’s. In fact, every artist went cap-in-hand to the Medici’s family who were largely responsible for the Italian Renaissance in Florence and patrons of Botticelli, Machiavelli, Cellini and Raphael, Donatello and of course Leonardo da Vinci. The Medici family unit enjoyed a fearsome reputation as authoritarian aristocracy nonetheless cultivated and facilitated the flourish of creativity and discovery of genius. And that is why Florence is a magical city surrounded by greatness. It is hard to get your head around the fact that you are walking the same streets and eating in the same cafes as the gaints of architecture, art and culture, who fashioned; with help from the Medici’s, the beauty of Florence.    

Conveniently located just 10 minutes from the city centre, the unassuming Airone Hotel, on the Via Toselli 147, is reasonably priced at $740.00 for six nights with full continental breakfast and friendly service. Take the # 17 bus Via Ponte Alle Mosse directly in front of the Bar Caffetteria Il Ritrovo, where you can buy your bus tickets for  1.20 (valid for 70 minutes) and have a fantastic coffee at  1.05 to get you going for the endless walking you will do. Bus drivers only sell tickets on weekends, so be prepared. All bus tickets can be purchased at any Tabaccheria (tobacco) shops or most cafés. However, riding the buses in Italy is an honour system, no one checks your tickets although random transport inspectors hop on and off checking valid tickets, otherwise incur a hefty fine.

Piazza dell Duomo

Piazza dell Duomo

The #17 bus stops directly out the front of the spectacular Piazza dell Duomo with the Cathedral Duomo, Baptistery, and Campanile. The Gothic Duomo was built in the 13^th century made completely of marble with two magnificent doors, one created by Michelangelo and the other by Brunelleschi. Again, the Medici’s commissioned both doors fostering intense competition between the artists. No matter how many times you walk past this extraordinary building, your mouth will drop. Brunelleschi’s monumental Cupola or dome set the benchmark for all other domes around the world. Your ticker permitting, do climb the 465 steps (no elevators) to the top of the tower for panoramic views of Florence. The vista is worth the effort.  

Uffizi Gallery

There are 470 museums all worth visiting but obviously not possible unless you plan on living in Florence for a while. Do the classics. Beat the massive queues by going directly to the Uffizi Galleries at Loggiato degli Uffizi, just off the Piazza dell Signoria and near the Ponte Vecchio where you can get advance tickets for other galleries. It might be a bit more costly but well worth it when you sail past the queue and walk directly into any of the awe-inspiring museums. Alternatively you can buy your tickets on line. The Uffizi Galleries are to Florence what the Louvre is to Paris or the MET to New York. The Uffizi is the principal museum of the city and one of the most famous on the planet. On two floors a block long, the 16^th century building houses priceless paintings, tapestries, sculptures and archaeological relics collected by generations of the Medici family. The museums’ undisputed highlights include Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Spring, and Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi as well as works from Giotto, Cimabue, Perugino, Uccello, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Veronese’s, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Durer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Canaletto and Guardi and list goes on.

Pitti Palazzo

After that amazing experience stroll across the Ponte Vecchio, an extraordinary bridge spanning the Arno River, where you will have to use all your will power to not to buy anything along this strip. The jewellery shops alone will have your mouth watering because of the eye-stinging prices. Cross the Ponte Vecchio, walk 100 metres until you reach the Palazzo Pitti and the Piazza dei Pitti, another grand gallery of Florence and an absolute must. Give yourself plenty of time there is so much to see like: the exhibition of I Medici e le Scienze, displaying such artefacts as Galileo’s telescope and the book that put him under house arrest until his death. The State Apartments have been converted into galleries exhibiting costumes throughout the ages. A wealthy Florentine banker, Luca Pitti built the Pitti Palazzo in the 15th century. And it is massive. Rumour has it the Medici’s moved from their Palazzo Vecchio into the enormous Pitti Palazzo and made it their private residence. There is some speculation as to whether the Medici’s confiscated the magnificent Palazzo from the Pitti family. What the Medici’s want the Medici’s got. Nonetheless, it remained the Pitti Palazzo in name. Many of the Medici’s private belongings and jewels are displayed here. Take a stroll around the gardens and grounds of the Giardino di Boboli and Giardino Bardini.

Giardino di Boboli - Pitti Palazzo Gardens. 

Pizza bars are everywhere in Florence, unfortunately catering to the tourists and not resembling anything truly authentic unless you go to one of the many restaurants and pay a king’s ransom. I did and was served 4 ravioli with spinach sauce and paid $50.00 for the privilege. What the hell, splash out on some luxury and authenticity? Thankfully I stumbled upon a very small pizza, cake & biscotti bar not far from the Pitti Palazzo, where a slice of pizza is only  2.50 ($5.00AUD) catering more for the locals than the tourists. When you see the local Italians frequenting cafes, bars and restaurants then you know it’s got to be good. Gelataria bars are the finest indulgence and the greatest gelato you will ever taste.

Piazza Della Signoria

The Piazza Della Signoria is an impressive square, surrounded by expensive cafes, bars and restaurants with moving works of art. These impressive living statues stand dead still until someone throws money into the tin whereupon he/she moves. They must be grateful for a change of position and have got to be incredibly hot in those heavy costumes. Please tip these amazing street artists. The Piazza Signoria is home to the 15^th century Neptune Fountain where you will also see a brass plaque in the pavement marking the spot where the mad monk, Savonarola was burnt at the stake in 1498.

David

The Piazza Signoria houses great sculptures of Roman and Greek themes. And of course this is where the fake David lives. The original David is in the Galleria dell ‘Accademia – 60 Via Ricasoli near San Marco Square. No mater how excellent the copy is, it does not begin to match the impact of the original. Michelangelo took only 2 years (1502-1504) to sculpt this masterpiece. His studio is now the Museo dell’ Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, opposite the Duomo. Michelangelo gained permission from the Grand Duke Cosimo de Medici to use an inferior slab of marble sitting idle in the Piazza Signoria to transform the marble into David. With many obstacles to overcome and ridicule from contemporaries, Michelangelo produced a work of art that has stood the test of time and regarded as the most beautiful sculpture in the world and a marvel to behold. Warning: you are not permitted to take photos of the original; if they catch you the guards confiscate your camera. I saw it happen a few times. Not worth it, buy a post card in the gallery shop at the end of the tour.

Neptune's Fountain

The Opera di Santa Maria Del Fiore Novella had me in tears. The beauty of the frescoes, architecture and enormous proportions overwhelmed me. The Opera Medicea Laurenziana or San Lorenzo church, built by Brunelleschi in the 15^th century is one of the many Medici chapels where Donatello adorns the church with sculptures. However, the highlight is Michelangelo’s Dawn and Dusk/Night and Day draped over the tombs of Lorenzo and Guiliano Medici. The enormous crypt is where most of the Medici family are buried. Thankfully the Medici’s did not embrace the concept ‘less is more’.

Big tip: cover up any exposed skin if you plan to visit some of the Cathedrals or churches. If you reveal too much flesh security guards will block your entry. Italians consider this utterly disrespectful. You cannot enter a house of god unless the sinful flesh is covered. If you’re wearing a singlet, mini skirt or tiny shorts with thongs, forget it, you wont get in. I did see benevolent nuns loan patrons a long red see-through (?) smock to cover the sinful flesh. Play it safe, dress modestly.

Modernity has crept in but has not aesthetically overwhelmed Florence nor detracted from its ancient beauty.

Pont Vecchio

There are various day trips to be taken outside Florence. You can join a tour group, explore the vineyards, hop on a local train or bus or alternatively do your own thing. Top off your holiday, catch the # 7 bus to Fiesole in the Florentine Hills and visit the ancient Roman remains, museum and amphitheatre still in use today. Fiesole is said to be the oldest part of Florence where the Romans made their base. End your wonderful holiday watching the sun go down over Florence from the many restaurants ideally situated on the rim of the cliff. Enjoy and marvel at the phenomenon of Firenze.    

www.uffizi.com/accademia-gallery-florence.asp
www.viator.com/uffizi-Gallery
www.visitflorence.com
www.florence-museum.com
www.uffizi.com
www.operaduomo.firenze.it

Duomo Tower

San Lorenzo Church

Pitti Palazzo - Artworks & sculptures.

Pitti Palazzo

Markets in Florence

Smoke break in Florence