FLORENCE – city of the Medici
Wednesday – a wonderful night’s sleep in our apartment but what’s this? Kylie is already up – this life is full of surprises. It is a relaxing morning – Florence is still not fully awake and we head to the little Cafe Martelli for breakfast.
The seating is out in the street but lucky for us the street is blocked off so we cannot get run over as we enjoy our morning sustenance. Our included breakfast consists of coffee and a pastry – either a danish or croissant – if you want anything else like juice or a cooked breakfast it is an extra fee which is only to be expected but the regular brekky is enough to keep me going and also it is nice to sit and just enjoy the morning and see Florence waking up.
We have our trusty itinerary and it tells us that today we are going to visit some of the most important and famous sights of Florence – the Basilica of Santa Croce; Piazza della Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio; the Uffizi; Museo dell’Opera del Duomo; Duoma Cathedral and the Galleria dell’Accademia.
That doesn’t sound so much you say – but read on and discover just how much there is to see in Florence – home to the House of Medici; Michelangelo; Galileo and so much more.
A little bit of history to get us started while we enjoy our extra strong Italian coffee.
The Medici was a bourgeois family of bankers who rose to a power that ruled Florence and, later Tuscany, during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, except for two brief intervals (from 1494 to 1512 and from 1527 to 1530). It provided the church with four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI) and married into the royal families of Europe (most notably in France, in the persons of queens Catherine de Médicis and Marie de Médicis).
As in the itinerary our first stop will be the Basilica Santa Croce which is about a fifteen minute walk from where we are. On our way we see many interesting sights including this car – at least I think it is a car – looks like one but it is so tiny – I suppose that comes in handy in the tiny, narrow streets.
Speaking of streets, they are very interesting. Everything is so compact and certainly centralised that you can walk around this entire city section. I did not see one bus or tram or anything that would move more than 4 people around. Coming from such a city like Sydney it certainly is an eye-opener and I secretly wish that I lived in a city like this.
Still on our walk we pass this majestic statue of Dante Alighieri that is situated in the Piazza di Santa Croce.
Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante, (c. June 1, 1265 – September 14, 1321) was an Italian and Florentine poet.
His greatest work, the epic poem The Divine Comedy, is considered the greatest literary statement produced in medieval Europe. In Italy he is known as il Sommo Poeta (“the Supreme Poet”).
He, Petrarch and Boccaccio are also known as “the three fountains” or “the three crowns”. Dante is also called the “Father of the Italian language”.
He looks out on a wonderful area which is bordered by restaurants, statues and before the day is over the ever growing lines of tourists all wanting to see what Florence has to offer.
We are lucky and as you can see there are not many tourists around so on this magnificent morning we can leisurely stroll from one end of the Piazza to the other.
Looking at the photo of Dante, to the right is the Basilica Santa Croce – our first stop for the day. Legend has it that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The current church was probably begun in 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city’s wealthiest families.
Santa Croce is a vast church. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its funerary monuments which include those of Michelangelo and Machiavelli. We take our time to stand outside and marvel at the workmanship that created this building. In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.
We pay our entrance fee of Euro 5.00 which is remarkable considering in Sydney you pay nearly $40 to look at some fish in a tiny aquarium at Darling Harbour. But that’s another story. Our entry fee includes an audio guide but we think we know everything and don’t take up the offer – yes we are stupid, but all is not lost as there are many signs to tell us what we are seeing.
From the main entrance our first sight of the interior is the Gerini altar – but alas, we are greeted by the ever expected and present construction works.
The Gerini Altar which is the High Altar of the Basilica is practically covered in scaffolding. A sign tells us that the works are due to be completed in 2011 – just our luck they mean anywhere between October and December 2011.
The interior is divided into the nave and two side aisles.
In the right side aisle there is the tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti: 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564. HISTORY LESSON ; Michelangelo lived an extremely busy life creating a great number of artworks some of which are among the most famous that have ever been made.
They include two very famous marble statues – The Pieta in Saint Peter’s Basilica and David which once stood in a piazza in Florence but is now in the Accademia Gallery.
His most famous paintings are the huge frescos of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and the Last Judgement while the east end and dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica are his most famous works of architecture.
His main arts (painting, sculpture and architecture) are represented on the tomb by three muses.
Michelangelo died in Rome in 1564 and the general design of his tomb, pictured right, was by Vasari. The bust of the great master, seen above the central figure is by Battista Lorenzi, and if a good likeness, does not show Michelangelo to have been a very handsome man. The figure of architecture – the one on the right – is by Giovanni dall’ Opera. The central figure represents Painting and is by Lorenzi ; while the third represents Sculpture and was executed by Cioli.
Michelangelo exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art and as our tour progresses we will come face to face with many of his incredible works both here and in Rome so stay tuned.
At the end of this side aisle there is the tomb of Niccolo Machiavelli. HISTORY LESSON : The father of modern political theory, Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was born in Florence, May 3, 1469, and saw the troubles of the French invasion (1493), when the Medici fled.
In 1498 he became secretary of the Ten, a post he held until the fall of the republic in 1512. He was employed in a great variety of missions, including one to the Emperor Maximilian, and four to France. On the restoration of the Medici, Machiavelli was involved in the downfall of his patron, Gonfaloniere Soderini. Arrested on a charge of conspiracy in 1513, and put to the torture, he disclaimed all knowledge of the alleged conspiracy. Although pardoned, he was obliged to retire from public life and devoted himself to literature.
It was not until 1519 that he was commissioned by Leo X to draw up his report on a reform of the state of Florence. In 1521-25 he was employed in diplomatic services and as historiographer. After the defeat of the French at Pavia (1525), Italy was helpless before the advancing forces of the Emperor Charles V and Machiavelli strove to avert from Florence the invading army on its way to Rome. In May 1527 the Florentines again drove out the Medici and proclaimed the republic — but Machiavelli, bitterly disappointed that he was to be allowed no part in the movement for liberty, and already in declining health, died on June 22.
Among all the others chapels of famous Florentine families, there is also the chapel of the Medici. Near the transept there are smaller chapels lined up with the Mayor Chapel: they belong to Bardi and Peruzzi and they are painted with frescos of Giotto. In the central chapel in the north transept there is a wood crucifix made by Donatello.
Near the entrance, on the left side aisle there is the tomb of Galileo Galilei.
HISTORY LESSON : Galileo was a 17th century Italian who laid the foundations of modern science. Galileo made himself one of the world’s first telescopes and discovered the moons of Jupiter.
He supported Copernicus’ theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun and this brought him into conflict with the Catholic Church. By threatening him with torture, the Church forced him to recant his views in front of a tribunal, and sentenced him to house arrest.
However, Galileo’s trials and theories inspired others like Newton and Kepler to prove that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe. Some years ago, the Pope accepted that Earth does revolve around the Sun and issued a rare apology for what the Church had done to Galileo, i.e., the Catholic Church recanted!
By this time the tourist numbers have increased and we find it very difficult to get some tourist free photos but we are patient and are rewarded. There are many tombs in the Basilica and not all of them are on the walls, many are in the floor and they are roped off. There are no signs to say who they are but after some ‘after tour’ emailing Kylie is lucky enough to receive some information on one.
Besides the tombs of famous persons as mentioned above there are also the tombs of the composer Gioacchino Rossini, the poet Ugo Foscolo and the architect Leon Battista Alberti.
One of the sixteen incredible Chapels is the Baroncelli Chapel located at the transept’s end of the church. It has frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi painted between 1328 and 1338.
HISTORY LESSON : the fresco cycle represents the Stories of the Virgin. In this work, Gaddi showed his mastership of Giotto’s style, with a narrative disposition of the characters in the scenes, which are more crowded than his master’s.
In the Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple and Presentation of Jesus at the Temple the delicate and soft features are characteristic of Gaddi’s late style. The adoption of night light in the Annunciation to the Shepherds is nearly unique in the mid-14th century painting of central Italy.
Gaddi also designed the stained glasses, with four prophets on the exterior, and perhaps had a hand in the altarpiece also: this, dating to c. 1328, has the signature Opus Magistri Jocti, but the style shows the hands of assistants, including Gaddi himself. It is an elaborate masterpiece which depicts the Coronation of the Virgin surrounded by a crowded Glory of Angels and Saints.
Here are some more photos of the interior of Santa Croce. The pulpit (centre) carved in relief by Benedetto da Maiano (c. 1475), with Scenes from the life of St Francis, is one of the most beautiful in Florence. On the left are the relics (remains) of the Blessed Umilana. Beata Umilana was worshipped in her living day for her virtues of modesty, charity, obedience and many miracles.
After walking around inside the Basilica we head for the Museum which is an alley underneath the main church.
Exiting the church we discover this immaculately manicured garden area, a wonderful space to gather your thoughts after what we have seen in the Basilica. It is very quiet and you would not think that just a few metres away Florence is up and rearing to go.
Down a small staircase to the left of this photo we find lots more funerary monuments and graves and still not a tourist to be seen – well not yet anyway.
Many interesting and beautiful monuments line this cool, dark walkway. The sculptures are incredible.
As with all my other trips, it is very hard to select the appropriate photos that will give you an idea of what the places of interest are really like. After taking about three and a half thousand photos on this journey – it is hard to choose so you will just have to indulge me if I put more than is necessary. I panic to think what I will do when I have to journal Rome and Pompeii!
It is still early in the day when we emerge from the Museum alley. Walking around Santa Croce has been a most uplifting experience and I am actually beholden to modern travel that allows me to be able to pay my respects to great men like Michelangelo and Galileo.