Fifth Day - Florence

September 24th, 2008

This was an amazing day, we saw so much! We got an early start and kept on moving until well after dusk - we took advantage of the extended visiting hours of the Accademia in the evening.

Our first stop on this busy day was the cathedral of Florence. The huge cathedral, called the duomo, is a marvelous Renaissance structure. It has a colorful marble facade, and a vast interior space capped by its famous dome. When the duomo was built, the skills for constructing such a large dome did not yet exist, so for decades the center of the duomo was open to the rain and pigeons. The brick dome was completed in 1436 AD. We got in a short line, paid our admission, and soon were climbing up the tight winding staircases inside the walls of the duomo. Eventually, we reached a level at the base of the dome on the inside of the cathedral, - walking around, we could look up at the paintings on the inside of the dome, or look all the way down to the marble floor.

Another set of stairs takes you to the top of the dome. The dome is actually two domes - an interior dome that supports the shell, and an exterior dome that protects against the elements. The stairs to the top are in the space between these two domes. We reached the top and we able to look out at Florence in the morning light.

The top of the dome is a spectacular place to be. We had a great view in all directions. We must have spent 20 minutes up there, looking out in each direction, trying to identify landmarks and - of course - taking a multitude of photographs.

After descending, we went back into the Duomo on the ground floor. We met Rose and Mom inside. We had the Rick Steve's guidebook, which does an excellent job describing some the key artworks on display. There is a crypt level down below the main floor, but we did not go down there.

Leaving the Duomo behind, we parted ways with Mom and Rose and walked south to the Orsanmichele church. This building was once a warehouse, but it sat in an ideal location, and so it was converted into a church. Various guilds paid for the statues standing in the outdoor niches. Orsanmichele is not very big, but it isn't crowd and it is free, and it right along the path from the Duomo.

A short distance further south is the famous Piazza della Signoria. This square has a lot of statues on display out in the open - but I think most of them must be replicas. Certainly the statue of David outside the Palazzo Vecchio is a copy.

Next we went to the world famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. This bridge is lined with gold and jewelry shops on both sides of the bridge. You can't see the Arno River because of all the shops - though at the center span there is one gap that allows you to look out. When standing on the bridge, you can just see the top of the Duomo dome. The bridge is tremendously crowded - all the tour groups push through here - I can't imagine what the place must be like at peak tourist season. I think of everything we saw in Florence, I thought only the Ponte Vecchio was a disappointment. The Accademia, the Duomo, the Boboli Gardens - everything in Florence is a marvel, but Ponte Vecchio did not live up to its world acclaim. (Maybe if you are into buying expensive jewelry, you will have a different opinion.)

On the south bank of the Arno River, we walked over to the Pitti Palace. We did not actually have time to see the palace, we spent most of our afternoon wandering through the extensive gardens. There are statues and fountains and artworks all over the place. I really wish they would have handed out maps to the tourists. You can tell by the large number of photographs that I took in the gardens that there is a lot to see. I have identified some of the statues, but not all. This is a hilly garden, on a hot day it might have been unpleasant to hike up to the top.

We left Boboli Gardens through one of the side entrances that took us right by Fort Belvedere. Unfortunately, it was not open for touring. The Bardini Gardens are a half mile walk further on, so we did a quick tour through those gardens too. Best thing in Bardini Gardens is a terrace that allows you to look across the river at the City. These gardens are much smaller than the Boboli Gardens, so our tour did not last long.

We walked back across the river (on a bridge, of course!) and returned to the Duomo. We then bought our tickets to climb up to the top of Giotto's Bell Tower. Since we had climbed to the top of the Duomo in the early morning, we wanted to do the bell tower in late afternoon, just so we could see the cityscape in different light. This turned out to be a good strategy, since the Duomo is east of the Bell Tower, so the side of the Duomo that faces the Bell Tower receives sunlight in the afternoon. It was such a nice day, I am sure any time of day would have produced nice photographs. Climbing up and down the tower is great fun! I tried taking a series of photos to merge together later to create the panoramic views of the city. There is a fence along the top of the Bell Tower, presumably to discourage suicidal behavior, but the mesh is wide enough to allow cameras to shoot between the bars.

We climbed back down and continued north to the Accademia. Our plan was to meet Mom and Rose there at 7 PM - and sure enough, we met up again just as scheduled (it seemed like everything turned out right on this trip for us.) Because of the relatively late visit it to the museum, there was no line to get in. Many of the guidebooks recommend getting reservations for the Uffizi and the Accademia, but since we were traveling in the offseason, and since we had several days in Florence, we felt we could skip paying for the reservations, and this strategy worked out fine. The Accademia has some other works on display, but the highlight of course is the statue of David. I am guessing that this is the most famous sculpture in the world. It is a massive piece, the statue is over seven tall, and it is mounted above you, so that you have to look up at it. You can walk all around it. Since it was late in the evening, the museum was relatively uncrowded, it was no problem for us to find a bench and sit down and admire Michelangelo's masterpiece. I think we spent at least 20 minutes just sitting there - moving from one bench to another to get different viewpoints. You are not permitted to take photographs inside the museum, though many tourists do. I did not. Of course, there are plenty of photographs available on-line.

There are other art works on display in the Accademia, but I was pretty tired by this point, so we went back to the apartment and had a late dinner. An incredible day. Florence is a great place to visit.

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Duomo Dome Climb

Melanie on the stairs to the Duomo Dome Old sculptures in the Florence Duomo Vasari painting inside the Duomo Dome Melanie climbs the stairs between the inner and outer dome of the duomo The Medici Chapel in Florence A view of Michelangelo Plaza seen from the top of Duomo Dome Fiesole seen from the top of the Florence Duomo The Bargello Museum, seen from the top of the Duomo Dome. Florence Art and Melanie on top of the Duomo Dome The Bell Tower as seen from the top of the Florence Duomo Dome On top of Florence Duomo Dome Pitti Palace in Florence The Santa Croce Church seen from the top of Duomo Dome

The Duomo and the Baptistry

The Florence Baptistry A bronze figure on Gates of Paradise, the famous Baptistry doors The Gates of Paradise, doors of the Florence Baptistry One of the Gates of Paradise door panels on the Florence Baptistry The Duomo in Florence Inside the Florence Duomo Example of trompe-loeil painting in Florence duomo Example of trompe-loeil painting in Florence duomo Mosaic marble floor of the Florence Duomo Closeup of the Florence Duomo marble floor Painting inside the Florence Duomo Dome Statue inside the Florence Duomo Stained glass window inside the Florence Duomo

Orsanmichele Church

The Orsanmichele church Orsanmichele blacksmith sculpture The Quattro Coronati sculpture on the Orsanmichele, Florence The Saint George statue on the Orsanmichele church Donatellos statue of Saint Mark on the Orsanmichele Sculpture of Saint Mark on the Orsanmichele Orsanmichele Altar

Piazza della Signora

Bicycle parking on a Florence street Statue of David standing in Piazza della Signora, Florence Statues on the Loggia of the Piazza della Signora, Florence Dinner in Florence

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence The middle of the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence Cellini Bust at the center of Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens

The Pitti Palace entrance A pool in Pitti Palace Courtyard Statue in niche beside the pool at the Pitti Palace Hercules wrestles Antaeus The statue of Hercules, Boboli Gardens Medusa! Boboli Gardens Florence City view as seen from Boboli Gardens A statue in the Boboli Gardens Obelisks and Amphitheater at the back of the Pitti Palace The Egyptian obelisk in Boboli Gardens Modern obelisk in Boboli Gardens The turtle at the base of the obelisk in Boboli Gardens Snake obelisk at Boboli Gardens Sculpture of a cat in Boboli Gardens Turtles at the feet of the cat statue in Boboli Gardens Tree shrouded path in Boboli Gardens Statue of Abundance by Giambologna in Boboli Gardens The statue of Ceres in Boboli Gardens The Cypress Avenue in Boboli Gardens Tindaro Screpolato, Big Giant Head sculpture The Knights Garden outside the Porcelain Museum The Fountain of Monkeys in Boboli Gardens The Fountain of Monkeys, Boboli Gardens Plates on display in the Porcelain Museum, Boboli Gardens Tea sets on display in the Porcelain Museum Turtles in the Porcelain Museum Strange crystal sculpture in the Porcelain Museum Plates with Greek patterns in the Porcelain Museum A set of dishes on display in the Porcelain Museum Florence City Walls Statues in the Boboli Gardens A statue in the Boboli Gardens A statue in the Boboli Gardens Statues of alarmed figures, Boboli Gardens The Fountain of Little Ugly Faces, Boboli Gardens Fountain of Little Ugly Faces in Boboli Gardens Bust of Jupiter by Giambologna in Boboli Gardens The Fountain of the Ocean by Giambologna, Boboli Gardens The statue of Cupid by Susini, in Boboli Gardens Triton Fountain at Vasca dell Isola, Boboli Gardens Capricorns guarding the gate of the Isolotto at Fountain of Neptune at Boboli Gardens Barbino portrayed as Bacchus riding a turtle in Boboli Gardens Sculpture of a dog in Boboli Gardens Statue of Paris and Helen of Troy in the Grotto at Boboli Gardens A statue near the Grotto of Boboli Gardens

Forte Belvedere and Bardini Gardens

Forte Belvedere, the Viewpoint Fortress, Florence Main Gate of Forte Belvedere Bardini Gardens, Florence Statues in Bardini Gardens, Florence View of Porta San Niccolo from the Bardini Gardens, Florence Lion Fountain in Bardini Gardens, Florence A delicate fountain in Bardini Gardens, Florence Statue along the banks of the Arno River in Florence

Giotto Bell Tower Climb

At the base of the Bell Tower The Bell Tower of Florence The Bell of the Bell Tower Looking up through the Florence Bell Tower Temple Israelitico, Florence Looking down on the roof of the Duomo from the Florence Bell Tower Art standing at the top of the Bell Tower, Florence Top of the Duomo Dome as seen from the top of the Bell Tower Florence City View The Palazzo Vecchio seen from the top of the Florence Bell Tower The Florence Baptistry Santa Maria Novella, church in Florence Coffee House in Boboli Gardens, Florence Florence Bell Tower looking east Florence Bell Tower looking west

The Accademia

No pictures were permitted inside this museum