Florence is 274 km (170 miles) north of Rome, Italy, but the trip by high-speed train takes only about 1 hour and 37 minutes. Since it had been such a long trip, after checking into our hotel, the first thing we had to do was find food for the granddaughters.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Our hotel in Florence was located in the main tourist area near Palazzo Vecchio, which was the seat of the city's government for over seven centuries. From our hotel, everything that we wanted to see was within walking distance.
After checking into our hotel, we walked to the Piazza della Signoria (Square), which is the main gathering area for Loggia dei Lanzi, Palazzo Vecchio (more about these two attractions later), and the Galleria degli Uffizi (Uffizi). We decided to first visit the Uffizi, one of the most important Italian museums and the most visited in Italy, with over 2 million visitors per year. It is also one of the largest and best-known art museums in the world. It holds a collection of priceless artworks, particularly from the Italian Renaissance period.
There is a narrow courtyard between the two wings of the museum where people gather and artists sell their paintings and crafts.
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| From Our Hotel - Walking Toward Loggia dei Lanzi (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Palazzo Vecchio from Uffizi Courtyard (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Uffizi Courtyard |
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| Uffizi Courtyard (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Uffizi Courtyard Arch - leads to River Arno |
The Uffizi is adjacent to the River Arno, which has a length of 241 km (150 miles) before flowing into the Ligurian Sea. It is the largest and most important river in central Italy with a drainage basin of 8,200 sq km ( 3,166 sq miles).
Just downstream from the Uffizi we could see the medieval Ponte Vecchio (bridge over the River Arno). It is the only bridge in Florence that was not destroyed during World War II.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Before entering the Uffizi, we were greeted by a "living" statue that was posing for pictures.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Since no one in our group was an art expert, we simply photographed interesting art pieces. Fortunately, many of the art objects had placards in English that helped us learn more about the various displays.
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| 1779 Matteini Painting - Grand Duke Leopoldo (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| 1743 Vernet Painting "Shipwreck in a Storm" (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Ceiling Painting (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Marble Sarcophagus |
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| Gaius Ceasar (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Funerary Relief (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Empress Helena - Mother of Constantine (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Julius Ceasar (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Peter, Paul, Christ, Mary, John (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Ceiling painting (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Painting by Luca di Tomme (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Unknown Artist - Marble Horse |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Bronzino - "Girl with a Book" (Picture by Kolohe) |
After leaving the Uffizi, we walked by the Loggia dei Lanzi into Piazza della Signoria (Square) to see the Fountain of Neptune by Ammannati (1575) and Equestrian Monument of Cosimo by Giambologna (1594). We wanted to see Michelangelo's statue of David while we were in Florence, so we decided to walk up to the Galleria dell'Accademia (Gallery of the Academy of Florence). Along the way, we passed the Florence Cathedral and Giotto's Campanile. We assumed that the "Stop" sign had some reference to World War II.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The Galleria dell'Accademia (Gallery of the Academy of Florence) is the second most visited art museum in Italy and contains a large collection of works by Michelangelo. The David statue is the most visited.
In 1501, Michelangelo found a block of marble that had been abandoned in the Cathedral of Florence courtyard and obtained permission to use it for a statue of David. When finished, the statue was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio until it was moved to its current location in 1873. Scholars still debate whether the statue represents David before or after his victory over Goliath. I'm not an art critic, but this is a no-brainer. If they were to ask me I could tell them that it is after the battle. Before the battle, David would have had the sling in his hand ready for action, but after knocking off the big guy, he nonchalantly throws the sling over his shoulder and walks home to get some clean clothes.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
In 1505, Michelangelo started work on four statues for a funerary monument, but work was put on hold several times and was never finished. The statues were called "Prisoner, Called Atlas," "Prisoner, Called Awakening Slave," Prisoner, Called Bearded Slave," and "Prisoner, Called Young Slave." Together, the four statues were known as "Tragedy of the Sepulchre," and called Prisoners. Some scholars think Michelangelo never intended to do any additional work on the statues because left unfinished, the statues "symbolize the eternal struggle of humanity to free itself from the bonds of material existence."
A fifth statue of Saint Matthew was also started, and abandoned, at the same time and was to be the first of twelve statues that were to be placed in the Cathedral of Florence.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
In addition to the sculptures by Michelangelo, there were a number of other artworks on display by other famous artists.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The Tree of Life by Pacino di Buonaguida had such a complex explanation that I cannot even summarize everything that is represented by this painting.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici (1665-1713) had a passion for collecting music, and although most of his collection was lost, some of the most important pieces were saved and are on display in the museum.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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