Visiting Florence, Italy

To celebrate my birthday in mid-February, I visited Florence, Italy for three days. We were lucky to get out of there just before the coronavirus started to spread. It is one of my favourite cities to visit. Apart from visiting the wonderful museums, houses, and art, it is a pleasure just to walk the streets. It takes you back to the Italian renaissance and the glory of this city.

We stayed at a small B&B just neighbouring Il Duomo. What a view to wake up to in the morning! There were many tourists and the line to get into the dom was too long for us to try. I have seen it during an earlier visit. It is a beauty just to walk around from the outside. The building started in 1296 in the Gothic style, and with a design by Arnolfo di Cambio. It was not completed until 140 years later in 1436 when the dom was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Il Duomo as seen from our B&B

Il Duomo from street level

We had three visits on our itinerary;  Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria, Galleria degli Uffizi and Galleria dell'Accademia. We started with Palazzo Vecchio in the afternoon of our arrival. It is the town hall of Florence as well as an art museum. It was originally called Palazzo della Signoria, after the ruling body of Florence. Outside is a copy of the David statue, as well as Loggia dei Lanzi containing a gallery of statues.

Palazzo Vecchio

The next morning we had tickets to see the original statue by Michelangelo, David. When we arrived it turned out that the personnel of the museum had a union meeting, so the opening was postponed one hour! We took this opportunity to pop into another amazing building; Palazzo Medici Riccardo. Built for Cosimo de' Medici between 1444 and 1484. Well known for its stone masonry, it is an impressive building. The highlight is the wall decorations in Magi Chapel and its famous fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli. One of the most impressive artworks I have seen. It surrounds all the four walls of the chapel.

Entrance to the Palazzo Medici Ricardi

After this morning's surprise, we headed back to the Galleria dell'Accademia for a glimpse of David. He is more than impressive. Standing at the end of a gallery, with light flowing down from the ceiling, he is almost like a revelation. A masterpiece by Michelangelo.

David

Walking through Florence, looking at the beautiful houses, the tiny streets, the shops, and restaurants is a treat in itself. I visited the house of Dante. The house is situated in the place where he lived, but his house is long gone. It is now turned into a small museum. If you are short of time, you do not have to visit. I continued towards the river to visit the Palazzo Davanzati. Unfortunately, it was not open, and you have to order tickets in advance. It should be a very interesting house, with furniture and items belonging to the better-off citizens. I continued to the Arno and got a glimpse of Ponte Vecchio (which we visited later).  Crossed the bridge to visit another grand palace; the Palazzo Pitti.

Ponte Vecchio

The palace is the largest museum complex in Florence, including the Boboli Gardens, the Galleria Degli Uffici, and other museums. The core of the palace dates from 1458, and from the beginning the town residence of a Florentine banker, Luca Pitti. It was bought by the Medici family in 1549 to become the main residence of ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. At the end of the 18th century it was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later on, used as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. It was donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919.

View from a palace window over the Boboli Garden

Gallery in the Palazzo Pitti

Gallery in the Palazzo Pitti

It is another fantastic museum, with beautifully decorated rooms, filled with paintings, statues and artful tapestries. A real treat to walk through this big palace, and see one room after the other, more impressive than the former.

The last day was dedicated to Galleria Degli Uffizi. The famous art museum which houses an impressive collection of ancient sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. It was constructed between 1560 and 1580 with Giorgio Vasari as the designer. Here we find some of the absolute masterpieces from the Renaissance period; Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio.  There are also fine works by European painters (German, Dutch, and Flemish).

My favourites were from Botticelli. The famous The Birth of Venus is, of course, magnificent, but what also caught my eye was his Primavera.

Not far from the station, we visited the old pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella. It is probably the oldest still-operating pharmacy in the world, established in 1221 by Dominican monks. They began growing herbs to make balms, salves, and medicines for their infirmary. The superior quality of their products became well known, and they opened the doors to the public in the 17th century. Wonderful, old rooms, where decorations can be traced back to earlier times. They still sell balms, salves, and perfumes, but there is also a more modern section for modern medicins. Today, it hosts a tea-room where you can try out their products in very special surroundings.

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

That was the end of this tour in Florence. It is so inspiring, and I am now reading up on the Medicis and other families and city towns of the Italian Renaissance. Head over to The Content Reader if you are interested in reading about the history of Florence. First out is an account of a remarkable woman, Caterina Riario Sforza in Elizabeth Lev's The Tigress of Forli.