Woke about 6 to a lovely but cloudy Wednesday. This morning was a challenge, as our shower-in-the-corner was going to be tested for the first time. Well, it worked! I used my friend Jeannette’s idea of putting a shower cap over the t.p. to keep it dry, and turned on the water! Well…not a bad shower at all – in fact, one can sit on the toilet to shave one’s legs; very convenient! Down to breakfast about 7:30 – not terribly fancy; hard boiled eggs, ham, prosciutto, cheese, Italian croissants, museli and yoghurt. Linda says the coffee was good, and the hot chocolate was nice and rich and thick.
Our first stop this morning was the Bargello Museum, and we were there about 8:30 a.m. Not really a line, and we were in. The problem here is that with the exception of the courtyard, photographs are not allowed … bummer! Lots of Michelangelo, Della Robbia and Donatello on display. Besides all the sculpture on display, they have an amazing collection of articles from illuminated manuscripts to tile and carved ivory from around the world. Very impressive, and for the most part the museum was nice and quiet!
From the Bargello we started back to the hotel, but as the Duomo was just opening when were passing by, we waited in a REALLY long but quickly moving line to get in. It’s interesting, because rather than just open the building up to everyone at all times, they control the numbers entering (it’s free to get in) so that everyone can enjoy a non-crowded environment. Really smart, even though I HATE waiting in line! My personal feeling is that the Duomo is much more interesting on the outside – lots of wonderful sculpture – than the inside, where it is really rather plain!
After the Duomo, we walked back to the hotel to collect some batteries for Linda’s camera and headed out just a couple of blocks to the Museo San Marco, where Fra Angelico lived and painted. Here again, absolutely NO photographs, not even in the cloister of the monastery! The second floor of the monastary/museum encompassed all the individual cells for the order, and in each one, there was a beautiful fresco painted by Fra Angelico; talk about a prolific painter! He considered painting his form of prayer…I’d have to agree- Linda here. Some of them were the same designs, but many were different, illustrating various highlights in the life of Christ. Savonarola had been a monk of this order, and his quarters also included some personal effects from those long years ago. Very interesting!
By now it was lunch time, so we headed across the piazza San Marco to a small café on the corner. We each had a glass of prosecco, a BIG bottle of sparkling water and split a pizza Marguerita – very thin and really delicious! Decided we had had enough culture and needed a bit of a rest, so back to the hotel (just a very short walk) for a nap.
Up and out again about 4 p.m., this time to Santa Croce, one of the most famous churches in Florence. Nice walk to the piazza, and we walked right up to the ticket office at the church. Absolutely stunning! And, you could photograph anything you liked, just as long as you didn’t use flash! Many famous people are buried here, including Dante, Florence Nightengale, Galileo, Enrico Fermi, and the list goes on and on! The church and its out buildings are really amazing. They have three cloisters, including one they call their “old” cloister, which is at a very low level outside between chapels. The art work was spectacular – lots of Giotto among many others. It is amazing to think of all the unknown artists who worked here and produced some stunning work! There was also a pictorial display of when the Arno flooded in 1966, and the water in the piazza was 15 feet deep. One of the main crucifixes was damaged so badly, and either has yet or is not going to be restored – very sad seeing such a beautiful work of art in that condition. This crucifix dated to 1280! It must have been heartbreaking to see such a relic in ruin. -Linda
By this time, it was after 5:30, so we decided to walk back along the Arno, and back through the central part of town … stopping, of course, to get today’s gelato! Linda is adventurous and this time tried the limone … I’m the old stick in the mud who likes chocolate and stracciatella…YUM! Back to the hotel to recover before dinner – although neither one of us is really hungry, so may go out for a salad or something light and a glass of wine rather than a full meal!
More later!
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