Quo Vado

Thursday 2/26- I've only been to Florence once, about 16 years ago, so I don't remember much from that visit. I haven't made it back for whatever reason, most likely the summer prices and mobs of tourists have something to do with it. In February, tourists are still numerous, but nothing like the summer crush. I overheard a local tour guide say that the line for San Lorenzo can be an hour long somedays. Sounds like a blast. I'm already a tourist snob- I don't need an aneurysm!

Speaking of San Lorenzo, that's where I started today. Underneath its unfinished and unassuming brick façade is a Brunelleschi basilica par excellence. Classical, restrained, and somewhat cold. There are some fine frescoes and sculptures inside. The entry ticket also includes the cloister and treasury next door. Speaking of entry tickets, every little thing in Florence requires a ticket. Forget the multi-pass here. They will bleed you dry with tiny pin pricks and throw leeches on your corpse. The fact that the churches here cost money to enter is a travesty, but perhaps a sad necessity, though even the French don't go that far. Each church is in pretty good condition as a result, which is more than I can say about those said French churches.

But I digress- after S. Lorenzo and its cloister, I walked around to the apse where the Medici chapel is located- another ticket, of course. Beyond the metal detectors, x-ray machines and Italian studenti from your id lies the chapel that serves as the monumental tomb for all the Medicis. Also attached is the new sacristy designed by Michelangelo with 3 statue groups also by his hand. Very impressive.

Santa Maria Novella loomed down the street, so I turned towards its gravitational pull. Its façade is richly finished, and quite spectacularly by Alberti. Another ticket and I was inside. Among the many treasures is Masaccio's Trinità, a masterpiece of the early Florentine Renaissance. It is a trompe l'oeil triumph with barrel vaulting receding into space as if actually three-dimensional. There are also some inspired frescoes by Lippi and paintings by Vasari among others. For the money, S. M. Novella trounces S. Lorenzo plus it is not as crowded.

The Duomo's dome dominated my cone of vision and I began to walk. (Aside: if you are wondering why the word for Cathedral in German is Dom, Italian Duomo and French Cathedrale, answer is that the Cathedral is the seat (Latin: cathedra) and house (domus) of the bishop.) Kcals were needed to provide energy to climb the cupola and bell tower. A prosciutto sandwich and coke was promptly devoured while staring at the façade of the Duomo, HDTV at its finest. It is free to come and pray, but what if you want to look around AND pray? No reduction? Not to mention that I caught some of the supposedly praying people looking around. They ought to pay double.

The crypt beneath was another ticket. There one can view the earlier Roman/early Christian church that lies under the present structure. Back upstairs, the interior space is a marvel of Florentine harmony and order, almost to a fault. But I glimpsed people in the dome gallery and knew where to go next.

Another ticket and I was on my way up to the inside of the dome (frescoes of the Last Judgment) where I was forced to rush a bit by the people behind me. After a total of 463 steps in spiral staircases and ladder-like stairs angled against Brunelleschi's dome, I emerged outside on the lantern. The view is truly grand even through the Florentine haze. The city was spread like a Renaissance map below me, and I took many a photograph. Just opposite lay the Bell Tower. How could I resist? Yet one more ticket and I stood on the Campanile designed by Giotto. I MacGyvered a self-picture of myself and the dome using my backpack, the camera strap and the tiled roof.

The shadows grew longer and there was still the Museo Archeologico to visit. Luckily I had walked over there the previous night and knew it was open until 7pm on Thursdays. So, following a café gelato pick-me-up, I got a ticket and walked in- the eighth of the day! Some parts were closed for an upcoming exhibition on counterfeit coinage and the famous Arringatore was 'in restauro', a phrase I dread. But there were some decent ancient works, with an understandable focus on Etruscan art. Also, a group of artifacts dealing with childhood was of particular interest. They even had a bulla on display.

7pm had come and the museum was closing. Somehow I had finished all the galleries with 10 minutes to spare- amazing! Since I had a semi-late lunch, a walk around nighttime Florence was in order. Past the Duomo lies the Orsanmichele, the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia della Signoria, the latter where Michelangelo's David had once stood and several Roman and Renaissance sculptures now stand. I photographed them under the artificial lights because it could be too crowded during the day. Walking through the Uffizi courtyard, a man was playing Baroque music on his violin. When he finished his current piece, I asked him if he knew any Bach- he replied, "what piece?" I asked for the first concerto for solo violin of which he proceeded to play the first movement completely from memory. Worth 2 Euros.

After pausing at the Arno to photograph the Ponte Vecchio, I crossed said bridge and wandered around looking for food. I texted my father to get a few suggestions and he responded with two in my area. Il Cantinone was my choice, an enoteca in a brick-vaulted basement. I had a sfumatino of zucchini (almost like a flan) with melted, fondue style cheese on top. Almost ate the plate. Then a peposo- stewed beef and vegetables with a side of polenta cake. Even used the bread to sop up the stew. Then a crème caramel for dessert. Ate the powdered sugar and ameretto sauce off the plate. All that and water and a glass of wine for €27.50. Not too bad.

I walked back to the hotel, passing the pricey stores like Gucci and the four and five star hotels. I have a Foot Locker next to my hotel, which is holding onto its third star by the skin of its teeth. So endeth the twenty-fourth day.

Façade of S. Lorenzo

Sundial on S. Maria Novella

S. Maria Novella façade

Baptistery of Duomo

Campanile, decoration by Giotto

Façade of Duomo

Copies of bronze doors to Baptistery by Ghiberti

Interior of Duomo

Romano-Christian mosaics under Duomo

Interior frescoes of Dome by Vasari and Zuccaro

Detail of Dome frescoes

Climbing dome- note the sloping walls of lower dome on right

Steep climb to the cupola

View from cupola looking southwest

Might be fun sliding down for about two seconds...

Nave and campanile

The hazy Tuscan countryside through my zoom lens

S. Croce and the SW hills

Open air market near S. Lorenzo

Tourists on Campanile- my self timer shot was taken from the near corner

Trompe-l'œil in dome near lantern

Unfortunate graffiti on sculpture in dome

19th century façade decoration- detail of Madonna and child

Tourists on cupola

Palazzo Vecchio as seen from Campanile

Hazy Tuscan hills and city walls

Brunelleschi's Dome from Campanile

Most technically advanced self-timer shot of trip

Inside bell tower

Vignette of Palazzo Vecchio from Campanile 1st level

Looking up at Campanile

Probably not the best name for a store...

Fountain in Piazza SS. Annunziata

Equestrian statue of Ferdinand I in Piazza Annunziata looking towards Duomo (pigeon on head)

Museo Archeologico- Very nice Etruscan kline urn lid

Museo Archeologico- "Temple Boy" from Cyprus

Museo Archeologico- Portrait of boy with dog

Museo Archeologico- three statues of Harpocrates

Museo Archeologico- gold bulla

Museo Archeologico- bronze weight with Attis head?

Museo Archeologico- Vase with cock fighting Cupids

Museo Archeologico- Fabulous Etruscan sarcophagus painting

Museo Archeologico- This looked familiar- it was in the Getty Villa until a year or so ago

Museo Archeologico- Bronze athlete

Museo Archeologico- Bronze horse head

Museo Archeologico- Bronze head of Tiberius

Museo Archeologico- Young boy as Hercules

Now my advisor, John Pollini, sells clothes in Florence?

Palazzo Vecchio at night

Loggia della Signoria at night

Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines framing the Palazzo Vecchio tower perfectly

Uffizi courtyard

Ponte Vecchio reflected in the calm Arno River

Shops on the Ponte Vecchio with antique wood coverings

The Arno at night

Friday 2/27- The Uffizi is the main event today. I didn't get to sleep early due to excessive noise from an Italian school group that has taken over my hotel. Not only do they talk incessantly and at high speeds, but they stomp on the stairs which seem to go over my bed. Italian kids are the worst in the world without a doubt.

After walking around the Orsanmichele and the Loggia della Signoria for a bit, I went to the Uffizi. There I made the first major travel mistake of my trip- no reservations. Contrary to what Anthony Bourdain would tell you, I had to wait in line for an hour to get in. Since I was rushed to complete my itinerary, only have wireless in some hotels, and basically live day-to-day, I didn't really have the chance to look into it. Also, it is the winter and I've had no problems so far. I will not make that mistake again.

So I spent that hour in that infernal line surrounded by smoking Spaniards and a young English couple who also didn't get the memo about PDA. I paid my €6.50, a fair price, and proceeded up the stairs where there were some random Roman portraits that everyone naturally passes by unless someone happens to be studying them, like myself. I get to the first floor, and am told "no photographs!" Anywhere. What is it with no photographs allowed in Florence?? The whole city is already a museum, get over it.

The layout of the 2nd floor is Roman sculpture along the very long corridors and in a few of the rooms, with European paintings in the majority of the rooms off the hallways. I managed to sneak in a few pics with my camera, holding it with the strap around my neck and pointing the lens from under my notebook with which I was taking stock of the collection. Caught once, I just played dumb. And in the Hall of the Niobids, there was a sarcophagus of a general with a fascinating side relief scene. A guard sat directly on the other side of the sarcophagus, so I discreetly took a movie with my cell phone. The lengths that I must go to in order to obtain material for my dissertation! At any rate, I got the relief, showing the wife and mother with a newborn and nurse. Then to the right is a boy (perhaps the same one) with his pedagogus and holding a book, at his studies. Odd that it is on a soldier's sarcophagus, but perhaps the man is advertising his status and ability to offer his son an education. Hopefully I can find more information and images of this piece.

Other than antiquities, I saw everything on display: the Birth of Venus, Spring, Judith and Holofernes, the Venus of Urbino, Bacchus, the Madonna of the Long Neck, Julius II, the Duccio and Giotto enthroned Madonnas and other cultural treasures. The Rubens rooms were closed and there were no large special exhibitions at the moment, but I saw enough to satisfy. The masterpieces are always surrounded by Japanese tour groups or Italian children. Can't the Japanese go anywhere without guides? What about experiencing at least some things without a hand to hold? But they are fascinated by Western culture and art.

It was late and all the museums would soon be closed. I might attempt the Accedemia tomorrow before my early train if I can get my act together. Walking around for my last evening in Florence, I passed through the piazza in front of Santa Croce, the Orsanmichele, went into Santa Trinità (a fine church), Santa Maria Maggiore and the Diesel shop- just to look. I even found my BNP Paribas ATM to avoid those pesky fees. I gotta say today was a good day.

The day would end at Trattoria Enzo e Piero, a family-run establishment very near my hotel. I had the octopus and squid salad to start, the orrichette with grouper and the grilled sea bass. The server cleaned my fish in front of me by cutting off the head and tail and pulling out all the bones with a deft touch, earning her tip. Finally, tiramisù and herbal tea for dessert, I ate everything but the lemon. My only hope is that the ragazzi in my hotel have left, but I won't hold my breath. It is Friday night, after all, and everyone will be out drinking, perhaps in the Irish and British pubs that continental Europeans are positively infatuated with. Really, in France and Germany as well as Italy, these 'authentic' Irish pubs are both numerous and popular. Whatever floats their boat. So endeth the twenty-fifth day.