Italy – Day 3a – Florence Museums

Been wanting to return to Florence since 1999 when our only day in town was a Monday and all the great museums were closed. Who visits Florence on a Monday?

Florence, the Birthplace of the Renaissance, was a center of medieval trade and wealth. It was the home of Leonardo, Galileo, Dante, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, the Medici Family and so many more intellectual giants who lit the way out of the Dark Ages.

We took a fast train out of Milan’s Central Station and arrived in Florence less than two hours later. It was a gloomy, drizzly morning but we were going to spend much of the day inside. First stop, the Accademia Gallery and Michelangelo’s ‘David.’ I’ve heard about it. I’ve seen reproductions of it in places like Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. But, there’s nothing like the original, white marble masterpiece here in Florence.

David by Michelangelo Buonarotti

Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence 

(18 February 2018)

After a quick run through other Renaissance and earlier works, we had to be at the Uffizi Gallery for our next reserved tickets. Advice to anyone who plans to visit world-class museums like this… if you can, get your tickets online in advance. There are two entrances to the Accademia and Uffizi. One with no lines where your advance tickets get you right in, and the other for people who need tickets and hundreds of visitors in a line that stretches around the block.

Inside the Uffizi Gallery, Florence (18 February 2018)

Completed by the ruling Medici Family in 1581, the building held the city magistrates (‘Uffizi’ = “offices”) and the upper floor has the family’s art and sculpture collection. If you’ve taken any western art appreciation or Renaissance period classes, you have seen pictures of the originals that reside here. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, Giotto, Caravaggio…they’re all here.

Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli

Uffizi Gallery, Florence (18 February 2018)

Born in the sea, the goddess on a giant scallop shell is gently blown ashore by the wind god Zephyr. The painting’s title was actually conferred four hundred years later in the 19th century. Some believe the subject was simply a scene in the Venus story and is really about her arrival on land, specifically, Cyprus.

Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci

Uffizi Gallery, Florence (18 February 2018)

Painted in 1472, when Leonardo was just 20 years old, Annunciation depicts a very popular topic for Renaissance artists – the moment the Angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary she will miraculously become pregnant with the Son of God.

The Ponte Vecchio on the Swollen Arno River (18 February 2018)

The Ponte Vecchio (“old bridge”) sits on the narrow part of the Arno River where the Romans built the first crossing. The bridge dates from 1345 and is known for the jewelry and art shops built onto it.

Not the usual perspective for this Florentine landmark. I took this shot through the upper floor window of the Uffizi. The river was high, swift and brown with sediment from the recent rains.

There was one more important stop this wonderful day but it deserves its own post.

Stay tuned.

Shot of the Day – 25 – Siena Cathedral

22 May 1999

As long as we’re detailing our recent trip to Italy, it seems appropriate to bring back images and stories from the first time we were there…back in the days of film.

On this Saturday, we left Rome for Tuscany. We were headed for the small town of San Gimignano and the train dropped us off in Siena. The central square of the wonderfully preserved medieval town and UNESCO World Heritage site is the scene of the famous ‘Palio, a break-neck, bareback horse race with colorfully-dressed riders who represent the various wards in the city.

Also on that square is the magnificent Siena Cathedral. Alternating layers of white and almost-black, dark green marble give the building a distinctive appearance. Begun in 1196 and completed in 1263, the cathedral was undergoing a huge expansion when the ‘Black Death’ bubonic plague halted construction in 1348. 

In this pre-digital era, I was using outdoor, low-ISO film and the interior was not bright enough to hand-hold the camera for any satisfactory result. A longer exposure was required. Tripods are not allowed in places like this. I had to prop the camera facing up on a ledge or back of a pew, guess about where to point the lens, set the timer so the shutter would trip without me pressing it and hope for the best.

I like the shot and would love to return one day and do the place justice with today’s technology.

Italy – Day 2c – ‘I See Dead People’, Italian Style

Entrance to Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

I believe by now I have demonstrated an appreciation for cemeteries, their styles and customs along with the fact that they are also the last resting places of notable people.

On February 17, 2018, after a long day visiting some of the outstanding attractions in Milan, our last stop was Monumental Cemetery, the grand public burial ground for the city’s upper crust.

I’m sorry the above image appears so gloomy. It was late afternoon on an overcast day. I brightened it up a bit but this shot would have been much nicer in the sun. On the other hand, the clouds diffused the light and that means there were no bright spots and distracting shadows on what we came to see.

Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

What makes the place so interesting are the elaborate and ornate graves, many decorated with dramatic sculptures of death and mourning. It has been referred to as an open-air museum of late 19th and early 20th century funerary sculpture.

Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

This may be the start of a series on interesting cemeteries because Cimitero Monumentale di Milano is really fascinating. The place is relatively new, having opened in 1866, around the time of Italian unification. Since then, it has accumulated tombs and graves of many of the business and cultural titans of the region.

Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

This was clearly an aesthetic/visual experience more than a historical one. Apart from names and dates, I could not understand any other writing that might explain something significant. With few exceptions, I did not recognize the people highlighted in the public visitor materials. Later, I was sorry I didn’t pay closer attention because we missed conductor Arturo Toscanini and pianist Vladimir Horowitz, two giants of 20th century classical music. Horowitz was actually Toscanini’s son-in-law and currently resides in the family tomb here.

Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

It is extremely rare to see a sculpted male mourning figure on these graves. Why is that?

I went to The Google and asked about women representations in cemeteries. Up came a 4-year old post on a blog called ‘A Grave Interest’. The author, Joy Neighbors, in a post about ‘Statues of Grief’ noted,

Women in Mourning
Women are the mourners of the human race: the ones who are expected, and allowed, to express emotions.

Monumental Cemetery, Milan (17 February 2018)

When a male figure is included, it may be a child or sad angel/cherub. There are certainly depictions of the deceased…a proper, stuffy bust of the patriarch himself. However, there is another male figure that you can find. The Grim Reaper himself may appear to remind you that no one gets out alive.

Great way to end the day.