firenze part 1: "i can smell the leather from our window"

I just presented my independent project (5 credits, check) and finally have time to write a blog about our trip to Florence, home of the Renaissance and the great Medici family.

The whole trip was kind of themed around the Medici, their rise to and fall from power, and most importantly their prolific patronage of art. A lot of the Renaissance art that we saw in Florence was commissioned by the Medicis. This was definitely a trip centered around art, which I loved! Florence was fun and a nice change of pace from Rome, although I feel like Rome is more where I belong. At one point during the trip I even felt a little "Rome"-sick!

So we left last Wednesday and took the Eurostar train to Florence (aka Firenze in Italian), and got great views of the hills of Tuscany from the train. Upon arrival we checked our bags at the Hotel Giada, which is right in the middle of the leather market. Then we went to our first site, the Orsanmichele, which is a 13th century Guild hall (upper floors) and church (first floor). The outside of the hall is covered with niches that house statues of various saints scuplted by artists like Ghiberti and Donatello (the originals are now in museums, so these are just casts). Each guild (e.g. wool, grain..) had their own niche, and competed to fill them with the best statue. Inside is a beautiful, old Christian church.

One of the statues in the niches of the Orsanmichele

After this we went to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (aka "Il Duomo") and the Baptistery, both of which we walked by every day. The Duomo is huge and incredibly ornate. None of my pictures show the whole thing because it is so huge. When it was built the architect was told to make a cathedral that would never be rivaled in greatness, and I think he succeeded. It actually went about 150 years without a roof until Brunelleschi designed a dome to cover it.

Later we went to Santa Croce, a Franciscan church which houses the tombs of people who were important to Florence (Michelangelo, Galileo, etc.). The church also had some pretty outdoor courtyards and smaller capellas (chapels).

Michelangelo's Tomb

In the evening we had our group dinner at Trattoria Za Za. I had ravioli with some kind of truffle cream sauce for primi, and beef with a really good sauce and arugula for secondi. Both were delicious! A friend and I also split Tiramisu (always a must at group dinners). After dinner Lisa took us on a little nightime walk around Florence.


On Thursday, we started off the day by visiting a restored Renaissace palace, called the Palazzo Davanzati. It was cool to see what the house of a rich and powerful Florentine family would have looked like during the 1500's.

Later we went to the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, which houses art by great Renaissance artists such as Donatello, Brunelleschi, and Michelangelo. Then we went to the UFFIZI! I was so excited to visit one of the best art galleries in the world. I was blown away by Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "La Primavera." I also saw works by Da Vinci, Bellini, Michelangeo, Raphael, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Goya, Caravaggio.... the list goes on and on. The gallery was huge and it took me three hours just to walk through it at a fairly quick pace, stopping only at my favorites. Definitely a huge dose of great artwork that I can appreciate much more now that I have seen it in person, and also with the background I have from our Art History class.

(no pictures are allowed in all of these galleries, and only some of the churches allow photography).

For dinner, we crossed the Arno river on the Ponte Vecchio (super old bridge!) and found a place in Piazza San Spirito, where we all ordered pizza. It was refreshing to explore a part of Florence that was not swarming with huge tourist groups. After dinner we headed back across the river to listen to some live music in the Piazza Signoria, complete with some wine to share.