We came back to the apartment, folded it away and headed out. What was strange is that we were both a little unenthused to head out. Not really sure why, as Florence looks great.
We headed out to the Duomo square with the intention of visiting inside it first. The sun was now out after some early rain and so were the people. The lines for the duomo were ridiculously long, snaking around its base. We made our way to the ticket office although Sim and I got separated for 20mins as there was a massive amount of people out. Great, what else can go wrong. I don't have any way of contacting her and she's not great with directions. We eventually caught up with each other again, sorted ourselves out and got tickets to go in. We decided however we would do it later as tickets are valid for 48hours.
We decided to make a plan of things to do while here. With a direction in mind we headed for the Leonardo Da Vinci museum figuring there would be less of a line.
We got there and there was no line at all. Fantastic. It was a small exhibit but a captivating one. It was filled with models of all his contraptions and studies into flying, machines, optical mirrors and war weaponry. This guy was a freakishly talented man. As well as doing several masterpiece paintings, notably the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, his work on flight and machines was what impressed me, as it is still largely untilised today. One of the great things we saw here was his sketch/notebooks, where he wrote his thoughts and ideas down. The amazing thing is that he wrote them down backwards, his famous Codex. This guy was beyond Genius.
We both found the museum captivating, it's great when you can interact with the exhibits and move and pull the contraptions.
We then make our way to the Gallery Academia to see the Statue of David. Within 5 minutes we were there. It's great how close everything seems to be in this city. Not a very big city at all. We queue up in what is another longish line to get in, but we figure we have to bite the bullet. Sim heads off to get gelato while I hold our place in the line, she returns with it dripping all down her arms as it's 1ish and quite warm now. The dripping gelato ends up dripping all over my shirt, I have about 4 or 5 gelato stained shirts now. Something is wrong with me!
After a good hour queuing, we make it in to the gallery. It's a rather small gallery with a mixture of Renaissance paintings and sculpture. We first view the famous Rape of the Sabine Women, a three figured marble sculpture of a younger man stealing a woman from an older man. It's quite interesting.
We wander the rooms filled with religious paintings. Sim asks why is it all religious and why are they all so sad and somewhat creepy. It's an interesting question. The contexts between their time and ours are vastly different. I must admit I find it hard to connect with these works. I appreciate the skill and detail in them but I struggle with most of them to really hold interest.
How creepy is the baby in this painting?
We then enter the great room with a glass round roof over it that houses the taller than expected David. It's quite impressive. The detail in the hands and feet alone is incredible. We take a selfie and sim can't help herself, gesturing to pinch his member as I take the photo. She got me good! Very funny. It's not as bad as other people though, one girl has her tongue out for crying out loud.
We then enter the sculpture room which is full of model studies and casts of the famous sculptures adorning buildings and squares around town. I can't help but watch this young boy, who must be 2-3 years old running around as his parents watch on. This kid could tear this whole place apart. His parents are crazy letting him roam free in a room full of plaster sculptures. He swings on the ropes guarding the pieces and the gallery usher finally loses it telling the parents No No No!
Damn, part of me was wanting to see what would happen if he went to town!
After an hour we are pretty much done and slightly underwhelmed. We're a little Renaissanceed out I think!
We head back towards the centre of town, the Duomo, and stop for a light lunch. Sim has a pasta and I, a focaccia.
We then finally head in to see inside the great church. The first thing that strikes me is how much simpler and understated it is in detail internally than the outside. The outside is a myriad of patterned stone tiles of different colours and profiles creating a patchwork of texture on a huge scale. Internally however it is much more subtle. The highlight pieces are the floors, with its patterned stone; the large fresco on the ceiling of the dome; and of course the beautiful stained glass windows.
One of which is by Donatello.
We then head down into the recently (1970s) excavated section under the church which reveals the layers of history on the site, from Roman ruins of early centuries, to the medieval church of Raparita, which stood here before this was built over it. Like a lot of what we've seen on this trip, the history and age of things astounds you.
We then make our way to the smaller, but in reality still quite large and impressive , baptistry building. A storm is approaching so we seek refuge inside. The building has an octagonal dome roof that is also painted internally only with lots more shimmering gold paint. We stay a while inside sitting in the pews to wait for the storm to pass. It's quite a pleasant experience as its a peaceful place to sit.
The rain finally diminishes enough and we head outside making our way across the square and to the Duomo Museum building. There's quite an impressive collection of material here, from all the sculptures that adorn the facades, to the original large bronze doors and a huge amount of religious paraphernalia.
But the most impressive part for me is the exhibit on the buildings construction and in particular Brunelleschi's dome. Quite an incredible engineering achievement for it's time. We get to see his original timber models for both the Cupola and the lantern. Pretty amazing. Can't wait to go inside it tomorrow.
After a good hour or so exploring the gallery we head back to our apartment rather fatigued. It's now 7ish and what started as a slow day with no real plan turned into a huge day of museums and sightseeing.
We sit on the couch and I actually doze off for a nap, which is unusual as I'm not a napper. Sim wakes me after an hour and says lets get some dinner.
We head out and stroll down through the duomo square, down through the Piazza della Repubblica and the new market until we reach the Ponte Vecchio. Whilst it's an interesting bridge in that it's an extension of the streets of the city, I find it a little underwhelming and somewhat tacky with all the gold shops and hawkers.
The area over the river however, in Spirito Santo, is quite beautiful. It has a more relaxed and content feeling over here, somewhat like Trastevere has to the Storicio of Rome. We wander the streets which are buzzing with people in bars and heading out to trattorias and ristorantes. We are on our way to Gusta Pizzeria which has come highly recommended.
We get there and whilst busy we don't have to wait too long as it's a fast turnover. We grab some seats and wait for our pizzas to be called. A nice American couple, similar in age to us sit down on our table and we get chatting. It's a really casual vibe in here. We find out that they're from LA and on their honeymoon and we swap travel stories of our experience of Italy so far. We naturally talk about Donald Trump and the prospect of him being president. Sim asks what they do for work, she's a clothes buyer for stores and he works for Isagenics or Isagenix not sure. He says do you guys know what that is, I say no but sim nods. He's like, "Yeah it's really big in Australia". Simone is now confused I can tell. She later devulges that he thought he worked with frozen corpses, but then when he said it was big in Australia she knew she had the wrong thing. Yes, I tell her, that's cryogenics.
Ahhhhh dear.
We stroll the piazza Spirito Santo which is really nice. Finally a public space with some trees. Italian piazzas and squares really are devoid of greenery and trees. I now have a greater insight into the concrete backyard garden culture of places like Leichhardt back home.
We stop for gelato at the place named after the adjacent bridge, the Ponte alla Carraia. Baccio and Pistacchio White Chocolate for me - BEST GELATO of the trip so far. So creamy. It's awesome. We sit on the bridge to eat it before heading back over into the main part of town to home.
It's pleasant outside now after the evening thunderstorm and the city is beautifully lit up at night.
What a big day.
mat + sim
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