Florence, Italy

Florence, the Renaissance City (Photo Gallery)

Florence, a city where Renaissance was born is packed with history on education, culture and art. In Florence you are, literally, walking around in the very quarters of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Gallilei, Donatello, Petrarch and other immortals.

The Journey ~
As if fated, I spent my long weekend in Rome after all. In fact, I was delighted as we managed to throw in Florence and Pisa into the package as well. This time around, we started our journey barely a few hours after we left office. We were suppose to meet up at 11 pm but the guys were so exited about it that they arrived at my hotel at 10 pm, just when I wanted to take a nap.The route planned is Florence – Pisa – Rome. At the break of dawn, we arrived at Florence.

San Lorenzo Square (Piazza San Lorenzo) ~
A bustling “pasar pagi” street led us to Piazza San Lorenzo, our first real stop in Florence. It is regarded as one of the city's purest Renaissance churches. This lovely area recalls Florence in its prime, when Cosimo de' Medici was king and cultural creativity abounded. The eastern facade of San Lorenzo Basilica is especially interesting, as it is sparsely decorated and reveals the antique brickwork. It was the Medici family's parish church, and many of the members of the family are buried here. Donatello designed the bronze pulpits, and he is buried in one of the chapels as well.

Duomo (Santa Maria Del Fiore) ~
When I first came upon the Duomo from the crowded streets around its square, I was taken aback by its pink, white and green marble facade. The colors and details of the buildings are outstanding, just hard to imagine without being right there! The sight is totally unbelievable and it is so massive that it is difficult to get a good view of it entirely landing it the fourth largest cathedral in the world title. Several architects worked on the building for 150 years, the most famous being Bruneleschi.
Entree to the church is free which probably explains the super long queue. I read that it isn’t really necessary to go in as many of the best pieces of art and sculpture have been moved to the nearby Duomo Museum. What is left is a rather hollow and dark church in contrast to its extravagant exterior. It's as if all the money was spent on the outside and they ran out when it came to the inside.

Baptistery ~
Just across the Duomo is the Baptistery. It has an octagonal plan with a pyramid roof. Like the Duomo, it is also decorated in green and white marbles. Of great interest here are the three brass doors which were some of the first works to capture the ideals of the Renaissance. The first door illustrates stories from the life of John the Baptist and the Cardinal and Theological Virtues; the second illustrates Stories from the New Testament, the Gospel and Doctors of the Church; the third, admired also by Michelangelo, who said that it was "the door of Paradise", is a series of ten panels depicting Stories from the Old Testament. The original are preserved in the Cathedral Museum.

Signoria Square (Piazza Della Signoria) ~
Being the city's most splendid piazza, Piazza Della Signoria is a massive holding tank for tourists. Is it also one of my favorite spots in Florence as it is lined with replicas of famous sculptures and historical buildings. It is as if I was walking in an open air museum.
From left to right one can admire: the bronze equestrian statue of Great Duke Cosimo I; the large Ammannati’s Fountain of Neptune, Michelangelo’s David, Palazzo Vecchio, Cellini's Perseus, holding Medusa's severed head and many more. However, there can be no doubt that the true crowd-pleaser here is the world famous image of Florence, David - although it’s only a replica.

David ~
The piece was intended as a monumental work, a testimony to the city's republican pride, not one for close confinement, but was moved to the Accademia in 1873 from outside the Palazzo Vecchio, where a replica now stands, to protect it from the ravages of time and the weather.David looks odd; his upper body and head are both out of proportion, and out of keeping with the Renaissance obsession with the perfect harmony of form and proportion. However, it's argued that this is yet more evidence of Michelangelo's boldness - not only is David an incredible feat of technical skill, the scale is deliberate, as from the original viewpoint of the viewer the upper body would have been much farther away.

Vecchio Palace (Palazzo Vecchio) ~
In 1293, after the political success of the guilds, the new Priors built a monument which would become the most important civic monument in Florence. It has the appearance of a fortress, topped by a huge open gallery, from which rises the slender tower known as the Arnolfo tower.

In medieval times, political speeches were often delivered from the oration platform in front of the palace while public gathered at the Signoria Square.

Uffizi Gallery (Galleria Degli Uffizi) ~
By the time we reached the Uffizi Gallery, the queue line was already snaking all over the courtyard. We knew at once that we would have to bypass this gallery. Anyway, among others, the masterpiece in store includes Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Paolo Uccello's Battle of San Romano and the very sexy Medici Venus sculpture.
Here, illegal street vendors spread their prints and sunglasses in hope of making some money. It is funny to watch how fast these people fold up their make-shift spreads whenever a police car passes the area and how equally fast they unfold it when the car left. In the midst of this chaos, a print suddenly caught my eyes. I am no art buff but I knew it was one of Michael Angelo’s prints. Before I knew it, I already parted ways with my 5 euro. Sadly, I realized that it would be too troublesome to bring back this print and it only served as a deco in my hotel room :(

Vecchio Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) ~
It is argued that Ponte Vecchio is one of the most unusual and romantic bridges in the world. It has stayed in place since being rebuilt in 1345 and amazingly withstood the flood of 1966. There is a "secret passageway" running above the stores, connecting the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti.
History aside, I was little unimpressed by the shops that line the sides of the bridge. Almost all of them sell overpriced jewellery! Not that I’m interested in any…hahaha. Better not to bring your gf or wife there :) But, crossing the Ponte Vecchio is something every visitor should do. It is a great spot for people-watching, or taking pictures of the river. It’s a part of the experience when you're in Firenze!

That marks the end of our Florence trip and it was already 1 pm. It’s a shame that we had only ½ a day to explore Florence. You should however, reserve time for wandering about planlessly in this serene and yet vibrant city. Anyway. I thought we had made the best out of whatever we had. Coming up next is a 1 hour drive to Pisa!!!

more pix...