Firenze - Art and Culture

We departed Rome late in the morning, arriving in Florence around noon. A ten-minute cab ride later we reached our rental apartment near a well known seafood restaurant, Fuor d'acqua. Unfortunately, we arrived early and had no option but to wait outside the apartment. Sadly, we stood adjacent to the refuse container of the famed restaurant - the unmistakable stench of spoiled maritime meals overwhelmed our olfactory senses. The owner of the apartment arrived fifteen minutes later, but like our arrival in Roma, the apartment awaited cleaning services. We dropped our luggage off and started our day and a half tour of Firenze.

Giambologna - The Rape of the Sabine Woman

Spruce and Maple

Antonio Stradivari - Viola - 1690

Having gotten off to a late start, we thought it would be good to begin with the Accademia Gallery (Galleria dell'Accademia), the museum home to Michelangelo's David. The line appeared to be long, but it was only a thirty-minute wait until we were inside the gallery. Before heading to see the featured masterpiece, we walked around the smaller exhibits. Two of my favorite pieces in the museum, Giambologna's The Rape of the Sabine Woman and the impeccable craftsmanship of a 1690 Stradivarius viola (Cosmo III de' Medici). Another 1690 cello by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona) was supposed to be returned to the exhibit two days before our visit after being loaned out for a research project, but it was still missing. Julie made fun of me as I marveled the perfection of the instrument before we made our way towards the main attraction.

Side View

Liars!!! I took this photo on October 15th

Had Michelangelo made a statue of Goliath in proportion to David, it would have been colossal - no museum could hold it - well maybe the Louvre given the large ceilings. The statue of David stands 5.17 meters tall (including base, ~17 feet) and is believed to have taken three years to complete. Carrara marble is clearly a very difficult medium to work with, but the hands, forearm, and neck are delicately detailed - the brilliance cannot be overlooked. The sculpture's presence dominates the gallery and is obviously a must see.

Goliath isn't all he was talked up to be

Michelangelo - David

Impressive detail

Seemed to have committed to captions

Upskirt

Perspective

To finish our day, we made our way down Via Ricasoli towards the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, famously known as Il Duomo. It was early evening and by the time we could get tickets and ascend the stairs, darkness would have been upon us. Instead, we simply enjoyed the beautiful structures; the cathedral and Campanile di Giotto (Bell Tower). However, the Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence Baptistery) was undergoing major renovations, the entire building covered with scaffolding. We walked a few more blocks southeast and stopped to get our first glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio. From here, we hailed a cab and returned to out rental apartment to make plans for our evening feast.

We finished our night with a dinner at Sanfrediavino, a restaurant on the same street as our rental apartment. Our 19:45 arrival appeared to be the early bird special as we were the only patrons in the establishment - a favorable employee to customer ratio. Although, by the time we left there was a packed house which could have made for a displeasing dinner. The owner is the only server -regardless, our palates were satiated as we departed.

After a busy day, Julie and I had made plans to visit the Uffizi gallery the next day while my parent's planned to visit the birth city of my Grandfather, Lucca.