Michelin
suggests 4 days to see Firenze (I refer to the city throughout per its Italian
name, Firenze), but I have only 2 as I want to go to Pisa and Lucca by train 1
day, and my stay is shorten by 1 day due to flight cancellation!
There is no better introductory comment to
Firenze that I know of than this quote from the 1989 English version of the
Michelin guide: “Florence is without doubt the city where the Italian genius
has flourished with the greatest display of brilliance and purity. For three
centuries from the 13C to the 16C the city was the cradle of an exceptional
artistic and intellectual activity… (from) which evolved … modern civilization
throughout Europe…” one could say throughout the western world…
I spent the
week prior to my visit in touch with the B&B where I was going to stay (Residenza Johanna I).and in reading
about Firenze in the books I had on the topic and on the Net! But when you get
there, going down from the hotel, along Via San Gallo, all the way to Uffizi,
and Uffizi itself, that is something else…!
I spent all
the first morning at the Uffizi (see
Wikipedia for a full description of the museum that I will not reproduce here –
I could have spent a lot more time but one gets tired! You have to see it in tranches
– we will be back!) (Better booked online beforehand to avoid wasting time
waiting in line to get in – which was even true as early in the year as in
February!) It is one of the finest museums in the world that I have been given
to visit! Its reputation and facility of access would have been affected
though, I read, by the terrorist attack in 1993… Such an abundance to see! Just
skimming it! Giotto, Michelangelo, Caravaggio…and that temporary exhibition on “Gherardo
Delle Notti”, what a spectacle!
I am glad
it is only February: the crowd is already thick! I can only imagine what it is
in July when tourists are swirling around in the summer months...!Lots of
Asians (not to say Chinese!) en groupe ou en famille, but also a fair amount of
Caucasians (I would think in majority Italians, but you can also hear a lot of
English and some French that I can identify…
I had lunch
at the Il Santo Bevitore, a
suggestion from the Wallpaer City Guide on Firenze (p.040): risotto as primo,
and I don’t remember as a secundo with a glass of red wine; I succumbed to dessert:
some fruits (pineapple!), and a coffee. I decided to rest for the afternoon.
And for the evening I had a quiet meal at the neighboring trattoria (Tiberio).
I spent the
morning after at the Galleria dell’ Academia,
one of the museums you have to see while in Firenze! So rich, aside from
the famous David (you wonder: where is Goliath?), it has a section devoted to
instruments of music: several strings (among others, a Stradivarius) and wind
instruments, plus an explication on the invention of the harpsichord! (I bought
a little guide written by the former director of the gallery).
Then I had
lunch at La Boussola on Porta Rossa,
another suggestion from WallPaper (p 045). After some pizza and a glass of red,
decided to go and climb up the dome of
the Duomo; its building by Brunelleschi in the 15C is fascinating! It’s a
double shelled structure – no one thus far, until Brunelleschi, had find a way
to cap the cathedral (which is pretty non-descript except for its exterior,
made of white marble and green, quite impressive!). Attention though: to climb
up there is some 450 steps to the top (464 to be precise), and it is pretty
tight, between the 2 layers, at the very top! But it offers a magnificent view
of Firenze! There is also a great view from the top of the lovely Campanile, designed by Giotto (he died shortly
after) and built up by the end of the 14C (again some 400 steps to the top!)
There is also the Baptistery (all
wrapped up, for restauration I would think!) you could still admire the doors
facing the cathedral (The “Gate to
Paradise” as they got to be known after Michelangelo’s saying!) (The Museum
dell’ Opera (inside the cathedral) was closed until the end of the year, also for
renovation)
Finally, a
walk to Santa Croce, east of the
Pallazo Vecchio, a church that gives
on one of the oldest squares of Firenze! It is the church of the Franciscans,
completed in the second half of the 14C; very large but empty (single spacious
nave); it has a great choir (the stained glasses) but the real interest for me
is that it contains the tomb of Machiavelli…and a great (but simple) cloister!
To close
the day, what better than some music: one hour or so with Malher’s lieders, interpreted by Sara Mingardo (contralto), and the
ensemble Musici Aurei, directed by Luidgi Piovano (direttore), at the Teatro
della Pergosa (sala Saloncino) under
the parrainage of the Amici della Musica, Firenze!.
It was
overcast all the time I was in Firenze, but who cares!
Firenze,
February 24, 2015
