Florence

If Rome is ancient history, Florence is the renaissance. The renaissance was born here, the most important figures of the this era were from here or worked here. Michelangelo, Galileo, DaVinci to name a few.  The Arno river runs through the heart of the city, separating the city into two parts. The Medici family controlled Florence for 150 years. On Easter Sunday 1478, Lorenzo de’Medici and his brother Giuliano were attacked in the Duomo in what is known as the Pazzi Conspiracy, killing Giuliano. The Medici offices of state were in Ancient Florence, while their palace, The Pitti Palace was across the Arno in the area called the Oltrarno . Today the building housing those offices – Uffizi in Italian – is the Uffizi Gallery, the finest art gallery in Italy. The Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens are well worth seeing.

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio is the iconic bridge joining the two parts of the city. The original bridge here was built in the late 900s. The bridge we see today was built in the mid 1300s. It is the only bridge across the Arno not destroyed by the retreating Germans during WWII- The German general refused to carry out the order to destroy it. The pedestrian level is on the first level, lined with (expensive) jewelry shops. This level originally was occupied by merchants and bankers who did business on a table. If a merchant could not pay their bills, officials would break their tables to show they could not pay. The Italian word for table is banco and the word for broken is rotto, hence the merchant had a banco rotto, this is where we get our word bankrupt.

The windows across the top are to the Corridoio vasariano, a private hallway the Medici family had constructed. The Medici family used the Corridoio Vasariano to safely move from the offices of state to the Pitti Palace.

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Piazza della Republica and Porcellino

Piazza della Republica today is a favorite gathering place in historic Florence. This spot was originally the Roman forum. It is lined with restaurants and shops and has a carousel. Nearby there are several markets of interest. The Mercato Nuovo specializes in leather goods. A popular tourist attraction in the market is the Fontana del Porcellino, a bronze boar (This one is a copy of the original which is in the Bardini museum). Tradition says if you place a coin in the boar’s mouth and it drops through the grate below, you will have a wish come true. You can also just rub his nose for good luck.

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Piazza della Signoria

This piazza is the town square of Florence. The Palazzo Vecchio, which was originally called the Palazzo della Signoria and was the town hall. The city council was called the Signoria and was composed of 500 elites. The meeting hall was called the Salone dei Cinquecento. When the Medici controlled the government, they moved into the building and made it a palace. After they acquired the Pitti Palace across the river, it was called the Palazzo Vecchio or old palace. On the square you can see a copy of the famous David statue where the original stood.

A friar named Girolamo Savonarola was able to take control of the government in 1494, expelling the Medici. He called secular art and literature vanities and staged burnings of them in the square – The bonfires of the vanities. By May 1498, The people of Florence finally had had enough of him and burned him in the square. There is a marker on that spot. The Logia on the edge of the piazza houses a number of significant sculptures. Adjoining the piazza is the Uffizi Gallery.

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Duomo

Several blocks from the Piazza della Signoria is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as the Duomo with Brunelleschi ‘s dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistry. In the middle ages you were not allowed into the church until you were baptised and so Baptistries were created. The doors of the Baptistry, called “The Gates of Paradise” were designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Note that the doors you see here are copies of the originals which are located in the Museo del Duomo(see below). It is possible to climb to the top of both the Duomo and the Bell tower, but reservations are required. Construction of the Duomo began in 1296, and was consecrated in 1436. The marble exterior was not completed until 1887. That means it took an amazing 591 years to complete!

Across from the Duomo is the often missed ” Il Grande Museo del Duomo ” which contains art and artifacts related to the Duomo. The original doors “The Gates of Paradise” from the Baptistery and many of the original statues from the outside of the Duomo can be found here, as well as some of the tools and models used by Brunelleschi in the construction of the dome.

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Galleria dell’Accademia

The Accademia Gallery is best known for Michelangelo’s masterwork of David. Completed in 1504, it stands almost 17 feet tall and weighs over 6 tons. However, the David is just the greatest of many sculptures by Michelangelo and other artists.

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B & B

In 2019 I visited Florence and stayed in a small B&B on the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. The kitchen overlooked the piazza facing the Ospedale degli Innocenti, an orphanage built in 1419 and was designed by Brunelleschi. The idea of an orphanage was very forward looking, Prior to it’s construction, orphaned or abandoned children were considered outcasts and often mistreated. In the orphanage the children were feed, cared for and taught skills for them to enter society.

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My room was on the back of the building facing a courtyard between the building and the back of the Accademia Gallery, where the famous David is located. In the courtyard I watched current students working on projects. Perhaps one of these students is the next great sculptor.

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