If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.
Michelangelo
Our visit to Florence was very brief in relation to all of our other stops. We only really had one full day, so we did a lot of walking! It didn’t help that our accommodation was a 45 minute walk into the city centre…poor planning.
Our first stop was the Uffizi Gallery, home to many beautiful Italian artworks, mostly from the Renaissance period. The building itself is stunning, with ornate ceilings, doors, flooring, window frames…you get it. To our surprise, photographs were allowed and encouraged (even though we weren’t allowed to bring our water bottle inside) – priorities?? It’s pretty amazing to come so close to works by such influential artists. Michelangelo, Botticelli and Da Vinci are just the beginning. I didn’t manage to get many photos of the artworks themselves thanks to the crowds. It’s dog eat dog in there. I did manage to get one of The Birth of Venus though, with a guest appearance from a random tourist. I think I really got his best angle.
We spotted another inclusive strategy here, with 3D models of some of the most famous paintings so that visually impaired visitors could experience them as well. Alongside the models was a description of the work in both text and braille. They’re pretty good at inclusion over here!
We walked around the city and saw the major sights. The Duomo is extremely impressive to look at. The scale of it is so enormous, and the detail in the stone cladding is amazing. If we had more time we would have loved to climb to the top of the tower, but we had to keep moving!
We walked along the Ponte Vecchio, which does not feel like a bridge at all. It is a bustling street clad with multi-story buildings on either side, all sparkling full of golden jewellery. We learnt that when Florence was bombed during WWII, all of the bridges along the river were destroyed except for the Ponte Vecchio. Pretty unbelievable. There is actually a secret passageway all the way from the Piti Palace to the city centre, which runs along the top of the shops on the Ponte Vecchio. So much history in one little strip.
We visited the churches of some smaller communities in the city, and we were privileged enough to see Michelangelo’s first sculpture. He sculpted Jesus on a crucifix, which he gifted to the church who allowed him to conduct medical research on bodies before they were buried. The sculpture depicted Jesus nude, so the church were too ashamed to display it publicly. It was hidden for centuries, and only rediscovered after there was a flood in the church and it had to be cleaned out. It is very little known and we were the only people visiting – we felt extremely fortunate to have stumbled upon this opportunity!
We went to a traditional Italian Opera performance, which was held in a beautiful little chapel called Santa Monaca Church. It was not a full Opera as we had expected, but a collection of songs from different Operas. There was just one pianist, one male and one female singer. In such close proximity, their voices blew us away. Such an amazing experience. Unfortunately photos were not allowed, although a picture couldn’t have done the performance justice anyway! We enjoyed the long walk home much more than our brisk morning walk! The river is beautiful and shimmering at night time.
We will definitely be back to Florence. We really didn’t have enough time to enjoy the city properly – we saw most of the main sights, but we couldn’t explore much further. We loved the feel of this city, brimming with art and culture; there is certainly more for us to discover!