Un'Abbondanza di Tempo

Today turned out to be all about Michelangelo. It wasn't planned that way, and I've really only just realized now that that was what happened, but he is quite a presence in this city and therefore perhaps difficult to avoid. And what was even better about our expeditions today was that there was no rush - we had an abundance of time.

We woke up around 7, got up slowly and lazily, had breakfast slowly and lazily, and finally left the house a bit before 9.30. Our only plan for the day initially was a 12.15 booking for entrance into the Accademia Gallery.  Looking around for something nearby to fill in the time, we saw the Medici Chapels were there, so that's where we made for first.

I really should know more about the Medicis. If we'd had a guide at any of these places, I'm sure I could have filled you in on the details, but all I've gleaned is that they were a hugely important and influential family in Florence (and therefore over much of Europe at the time) for three centuries from the mid-15th century. They produced three popes and two queens of France, and acquired a duchy, which made them all dukes. And of course they were outrageously rich, until they died out in the early 18th century, when the last female of the line handed over all their stuff to Tuscany to look after.

Reliquary with fragment of the "True Cross"

The Medici Chapels are the mausoleum of the latter members of the family, and it includes crypts and statues, and an amazing collections of relics and reliquaries, including (ostensibly) part of the True Cross. I had always heard of "splinters" of the Cross, but they had two strips like cinnamon sticks tied together in the shape of a cross. And of course in a hugely ornate container. It's all a bit over the top for a humble Presbyterian like me.

Medici Chapel

Another room in the chapel was again under repair, but still able to make a visitor gasp when they walk in. A huge octagonal marble room, with cupola, not unlike the Pantheon in Rome, but the splendor comes from the marble. All the walls in so many colours - ornate, yes, but somber. There is a chance to smirk at all this self-aggrandizement when you see that there are only two statues when there is space left for six. The family died out a bit prematurely.


From here you go down to the crypt, where Michelangelo's "Night" and "Day'' and "Dawn" and "Dusk" are. They were smaller than I expected, I have to say. Art books don't usually show the scale very well. Maybe they should put a

Night and Day, in front of a Medici

banana alongside, so we can imagine the real size.

We came out again into yet another day of glorious sunlight and heat, and immediately went into a nice cool café for some coffee and cake. We still had to find the Accademia Gallery, but it was nearby and we had over an hour. When we did get there, we were still very early and the queue was quite short, so we had another drink in a shop opposite while we were waiting. It got to 12 o'clock, and we went outside to join the queue so we would be going in on time at 12.15 but, oh horrors, the line was even shorter! So we just joined  on at the end to see what would happen, and nothing did. We were waved on through; the ticket-takers were human, not bar-code reading machines, and they didn't even look at the time, so there we were, inside at 12.05. This Gallery had a couple of rooms of pre-Renaissance art - lots of gold and haloes - and then the arrow led you towards where David is, but I was expecting him to be at the end of the museum. I thought we had to walk around in loops before we'd be allowed to see him. But here he was, at the end of the third room! I was also quite interested in the "Prisoners", six statues where males figures seem to be trying to free themselves from the marble itself, which line the room leading up to David, but you can't ignore the David. He is lovely. I really wasn't prepared for that.  Yesterday we took a selfie in front of a plaster David outside the Palazzo Vecchio, where he used to stand, and you just think, "Okay, it's David." But the real marble job is magnificent. That's what all the fuss is about. Now I get it.

There were another few rooms of 19th century plaster statues (works of the students of the Academy) and more medieval art, and then we went back to some rooms on the opposite side of the gallery, which was a museum of musical instruments, but that was it. A very small gallery, really. Lucky for them they had one famous exhibit.  Lunchtime, then.  We had lunch at a small corner shop on the way back to where we'd come from, and we decided to go home and have a snooze, because we could, and then... what?

Stephen had the idea of finding a lookout point, somewhere we could get a view over the city and go there later in the afternoon or evening, so that's what we did. We googled the necessary information and after our (lately neglected) afternoon nap, we went back out again, by tram and by bus, up to Piazzale Michelangelo. This was an area laid out in about 1869 to pay tribute to Michelangelo, but which still has just the one copy, this time a bronze David, to give any context to the name. It was a nice enough lookout, but full of people - tourists and locals - so it was difficult to get to the perfect spot for a photo. There was always someone in the way. There was an event on too, a Gelato Fair, so that didn't help.  The choices for dinner up there seemed to be a hotdog or a fancy meal, and we decided to take the latter option. The restaurant was certainly quite expensive, but I suppose it could have been dearer if it wanted to be. It could also have been better if it wanted to be. It was fully dark by the time we finished, so we took a few more night shots, then took a bus back down the hill. It wasn't the same route we'd taken to get there though, so there was a bit of confusion getting back to the tram line, but it was sorted soon enough. Home again, and time to write the day up, and think about tomorrow.   See you then.

Florence in the afternoon

Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence by night

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