Day 5: Florence
Following breakfast in the apartment and putting in a laundry, we head across the river to visit the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Works from the Cathedral). The sun is shining, the temperature is in the low-70s and there is a light cool breeze—one couldn’t ask for better weather. Since we have had a slightly leisurely morning, we decide to take the bus to the Duomo. We hop on the C bus which is sitting at its stop around the corner from the apartment, waiting to start its run. The bus takes a roundabout route that first swings east and then north of the Duomo so when we do finally get off, we are still about four blocks away. We may have saved our feet but we certainly don’t save any time.
We first take a look at the Baptistery (just across from the Duomo) with its famous bronze doors, the most famous set paneled with scenes from the Old Testament and the others with scenes from the life of Jesus. Armed with our guidebooks, we read about the competition to decorate the doors and how the doors’ creation marked-- in the opinion of many writers--the beginning of the Renaissance. (The panels on the Ghiberti Door (also known as the Paradise Door) are actually copies and the original panels are in the Duomo Museum.) There are lots of tour groups vying for position in front of the doors but we are able to get a good vantage point and try to make out the ten Biblical scenes in the panels. While we were looking at the doors, the line to get into the Duomo has grown and now stretches for 50 yards into the street.
We decide that we should visit the Museum first and avoid the crush. The Museum has been recently renovated and has a modern entranceway and wonderful lighting…aided by skylights in the many of the ceilings. The museum contains many of the statues, paintings, and architectural fragments from the Duomo; they are nicely arranged and the descriptions of the collection has the best English translation we have seen in Italy. The highlights of the collection are eight of the original panels from Ghiberti’s Door of Paradise. They were removed from the Baptistery to prevent further deterioration from the weather and the atmosphere, cleaned up and now are displayed at eye level in individual glass cases in a well lit courtyard. It is a pleasure to see them up close where you can appreciate the details and see all the aspects of the stories being portrayed. Another highlight is a late Michelangelo Pieta, done just before the artist’s death (actually completed by an assistant after Michelangelo took a hammer to it and broke off part of an arm). Michelangelo has put himself in the work as Nicodemus overlooking the scene of Mary. Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It is very accessible and provides a real emotional experience for the viewer.
There are also some spectacular Donatello sculptures of Biblical figures arrayed around the museum, but overshadowing them…high up on opposite walls are two chorus lofts from the cathedral…one by della Robbia—inspired by Psalm 150-- beautiful carvings of young people singing and dancing….and one by Donatello with angels dancing across the front. They are simply breathtaking… and especially wonderful to be able to see all the details in the well lighted room.
In this museum (as in San Marco), our primary guide is Rick Steves’ Guide to Florence and Tuscany. We find his self-guided tours easy to follow and very informative for ignorant amateurs (like us) who haven’t ever had an art history course. Using it in conjunction with the Eve Borsook guide, the Blue Guide and the museum explanations adds a lot to our enjoyment of the museum. Of course the outstanding collection, the wonderful display and lighting also contribute. The Duomo Museum in Florence shouldn’t be missed.
We grab a quick lunch up the street at an informal restaurant called Oliandolo. We have very good sandwiches but they also have pasta, soups and salads. Service is very quick and friendly.
After the museum, the Duomo itself is something of a letdown. Of course, the dome is spectacular and the interior space is formidable, but the art and the surroundings are less inspiring. There are some beautiful stained glass windows, a couple of interesting paintings and frescoes….one showing Dante standing between the city of Florence (with the dome prominently featured) and his version of Purgatorio and a couple of portraits of two soldiers who defended Florence…John Hawkesworth (an Englishman) and Nicolo di Tolentino.
We walk through the center of Florence, down to the Ponte Vecchio and over to our apartment to read, write and rest. At about 6 pm, we decide to take a ride on Bus #13…it makes a circular route around Florence—along the river, up to the Piazzale Michelangiolio, through the very green hills just beyond the Boboli Gardens, descending back into Florence on the west side, crossing the Arno, continuing past the station and the residential districts to the north and east until it completes the circle and recrosses the Arno. It gives us a look at how quickly the countryside starts to the south of the city and underscores how little green space there is in the center of Florence. And it gives us a look at parts of the city that tourists rarely venture into….the Florentines’ Florence.
We stay on the bus and get off at the Piazzale Michelangiolo to admire the view. Dusk is just setting in, there is a rosy glow in the sky and the city churches and monuments seem close enough to touch. We walk back to the apartment, taking the short way down the steep stairs and roadway that leads to the Via San Niccolo (where we had our first breakfast) and finally to the Lungarno Torrigiani.
We return to the Osteria Vasari for dinner….since it is our “neighbor” and we had enjoyed our meal there on our first night in Florence. We are greeted warmly by the waiter and ushered back to the dining room…which is empty. It is disconcerting to eat in an empty restaurant (although we have had some very good meals in places where there were few customers) and we wonder why the place has so few customers. Eventually another single diner (an Italian) shows up.
The waiter is very friendly (as often happens when we return to a restaurant) and the meal is excellent again. We share a plate of very good “fettunta”….this time served with some fresh herbs. Diana enjoys her linguine all’arrabiata (a very fresh and spicy tomato sauce) and steak served with roasted potatoes. My “maccheroni alla Sorrentina” (pasta tubes with basil, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) is great as is my “secondo”—sausages and beans in a different tomato sauce. We drink a delicious sangiovese/cabernet blend from southern Tuscany…Col di Sasso 2001; we used to get the wine at home but it seems to have disappeared recently. We share some cantucci (Tuscan almond cookies) and sweet Tuscan wine (vin santo) for dessert. The bill comes to almost Euro 70.00…it seems the level of our dinner checks is inching upward. On the way out, we ask how long the restaurant has been open and they say that they took over five months ago, although the restaurant has been there for ten years. We hope that they get some more customers soon.
It is truly “due passi” (in Italian, literally two steps but in fact an idiom meaning a very short distance) back to the apartment.
We first take a look at the Baptistery (just across from the Duomo) with its famous bronze doors, the most famous set paneled with scenes from the Old Testament and the others with scenes from the life of Jesus. Armed with our guidebooks, we read about the competition to decorate the doors and how the doors’ creation marked-- in the opinion of many writers--the beginning of the Renaissance. (The panels on the Ghiberti Door (also known as the Paradise Door) are actually copies and the original panels are in the Duomo Museum.) There are lots of tour groups vying for position in front of the doors but we are able to get a good vantage point and try to make out the ten Biblical scenes in the panels. While we were looking at the doors, the line to get into the Duomo has grown and now stretches for 50 yards into the street.
We decide that we should visit the Museum first and avoid the crush. The Museum has been recently renovated and has a modern entranceway and wonderful lighting…aided by skylights in the many of the ceilings. The museum contains many of the statues, paintings, and architectural fragments from the Duomo; they are nicely arranged and the descriptions of the collection has the best English translation we have seen in Italy. The highlights of the collection are eight of the original panels from Ghiberti’s Door of Paradise. They were removed from the Baptistery to prevent further deterioration from the weather and the atmosphere, cleaned up and now are displayed at eye level in individual glass cases in a well lit courtyard. It is a pleasure to see them up close where you can appreciate the details and see all the aspects of the stories being portrayed. Another highlight is a late Michelangelo Pieta, done just before the artist’s death (actually completed by an assistant after Michelangelo took a hammer to it and broke off part of an arm). Michelangelo has put himself in the work as Nicodemus overlooking the scene of Mary. Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It is very accessible and provides a real emotional experience for the viewer.
There are also some spectacular Donatello sculptures of Biblical figures arrayed around the museum, but overshadowing them…high up on opposite walls are two chorus lofts from the cathedral…one by della Robbia—inspired by Psalm 150-- beautiful carvings of young people singing and dancing….and one by Donatello with angels dancing across the front. They are simply breathtaking… and especially wonderful to be able to see all the details in the well lighted room.
In this museum (as in San Marco), our primary guide is Rick Steves’ Guide to Florence and Tuscany. We find his self-guided tours easy to follow and very informative for ignorant amateurs (like us) who haven’t ever had an art history course. Using it in conjunction with the Eve Borsook guide, the Blue Guide and the museum explanations adds a lot to our enjoyment of the museum. Of course the outstanding collection, the wonderful display and lighting also contribute. The Duomo Museum in Florence shouldn’t be missed.
We grab a quick lunch up the street at an informal restaurant called Oliandolo. We have very good sandwiches but they also have pasta, soups and salads. Service is very quick and friendly.
After the museum, the Duomo itself is something of a letdown. Of course, the dome is spectacular and the interior space is formidable, but the art and the surroundings are less inspiring. There are some beautiful stained glass windows, a couple of interesting paintings and frescoes….one showing Dante standing between the city of Florence (with the dome prominently featured) and his version of Purgatorio and a couple of portraits of two soldiers who defended Florence…John Hawkesworth (an Englishman) and Nicolo di Tolentino.
We walk through the center of Florence, down to the Ponte Vecchio and over to our apartment to read, write and rest. At about 6 pm, we decide to take a ride on Bus #13…it makes a circular route around Florence—along the river, up to the Piazzale Michelangiolio, through the very green hills just beyond the Boboli Gardens, descending back into Florence on the west side, crossing the Arno, continuing past the station and the residential districts to the north and east until it completes the circle and recrosses the Arno. It gives us a look at how quickly the countryside starts to the south of the city and underscores how little green space there is in the center of Florence. And it gives us a look at parts of the city that tourists rarely venture into….the Florentines’ Florence.
We stay on the bus and get off at the Piazzale Michelangiolo to admire the view. Dusk is just setting in, there is a rosy glow in the sky and the city churches and monuments seem close enough to touch. We walk back to the apartment, taking the short way down the steep stairs and roadway that leads to the Via San Niccolo (where we had our first breakfast) and finally to the Lungarno Torrigiani.
We return to the Osteria Vasari for dinner….since it is our “neighbor” and we had enjoyed our meal there on our first night in Florence. We are greeted warmly by the waiter and ushered back to the dining room…which is empty. It is disconcerting to eat in an empty restaurant (although we have had some very good meals in places where there were few customers) and we wonder why the place has so few customers. Eventually another single diner (an Italian) shows up.
The waiter is very friendly (as often happens when we return to a restaurant) and the meal is excellent again. We share a plate of very good “fettunta”….this time served with some fresh herbs. Diana enjoys her linguine all’arrabiata (a very fresh and spicy tomato sauce) and steak served with roasted potatoes. My “maccheroni alla Sorrentina” (pasta tubes with basil, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) is great as is my “secondo”—sausages and beans in a different tomato sauce. We drink a delicious sangiovese/cabernet blend from southern Tuscany…Col di Sasso 2001; we used to get the wine at home but it seems to have disappeared recently. We share some cantucci (Tuscan almond cookies) and sweet Tuscan wine (vin santo) for dessert. The bill comes to almost Euro 70.00…it seems the level of our dinner checks is inching upward. On the way out, we ask how long the restaurant has been open and they say that they took over five months ago, although the restaurant has been there for ten years. We hope that they get some more customers soon.
It is truly “due passi” (in Italian, literally two steps but in fact an idiom meaning a very short distance) back to the apartment.
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