Day 10: Uffizi Galleries and downtown Florence
A 7 o'clock wake-up today got us into the Uffizi museum right when the doors opened at 8:15. The line actually moved very quickly and we got a few rare moments to walk around the old Medici family offices practically on our own.
We headed straight for the Botticelli room before it could get too crowded, and stood for a full fifteen minutes admiring the Birth of Venus. There weren't very many people there and we could get right up close and stay for as long as we liked. I remember learning about this painting and La Primavera in grade five, in the renaissance unit. As a big classical mythology fan, I'd always been captivated by them and they were amazing to see in person, almost side by side in the same room. I didn't feel like seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre quite lived up to the hype since there were so many people and it was rather small, but these two definitely did. We looked at Birth of Venus and La Primavera alone for a long time, until a tour group came up and the guide began to discuss the paintings. We listened in, and then tagged along with the group; the guide was amazing, the best one I'd ever listened to. He explained the difference between Botticelli's view of the world as a dreamer, in contrast to Da Vinci's view as a scientist, and how that was reflected in their works. We saw Da Vinci's Annunciazione and the Baptism of Christ, and Michelangelo's Tondo Doni.
The Uffizi itself was also wonderful to walk through. The second floor windows offered a great view of the Ponte Vecchio and Florence.
One of my favourite parts was the ceiling in one of the second floor corridors, which depicted famous Florentines by category of art or profession (i.e. history, politics, poetry, etc.).
For example, Dante Alighieri is depicted in the poetry section, surrounded by some mini paintings of Dante and Virgil in The Divine Comedy.
It was really cool to go down the corridor and spot such big names -- Machiavelli, Da Vinci, Donatello, etc. -- and the depictions and designs were simple but elegant.
We met up with my friend, Aidan, shortly after. As a renaissance art student in Florence, she was able to guide us through many of the earlier works that mainly depicted Mary and Jesus and other scenes from The Bible. I was able to appreciate the ancient mythology depictions a lot more than Christian ones, and for that reason, I did prefer the Louvre overall. However, Uffizi was definitely worth the visit and I certainly intend on coming back. One of my other favourites included the room of Niobe.
I've also realized that I'm more of a sculpture fan than a paintings one, but Botticelli's works were still the day's highlight. In addition to those main points, we also saw some works by Carvaggio, Raphael, Lippi, the special exhibition of works by Gerardo di Notte, as well as many more.
Since we were pressed for time, we weren't able to peruse the building for longer than four hours, and therefore weren't able to get an entirely thorough visit.
Unfortunately, after lunch, we had to move our stuff from one B&B to another, further away from the city centre, since our current room wasn't available for more than two nights. The move cut into a few crucial hours of our day, and we didn't get a chance to see Santa Croce as we'd intended. Instead, we went to the city centre and the Duomo.
As stunning and impressive as this architectural masterpiece is on the outside, the inside was a bit underwhelming compared to Notre Dame or Siena's Duomo. There was little decor and the big standout was definitely the painted ceiling at the very high top.
Although the Baptistery was under construction, we did get to look at the famous doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti, dubbed by Michelangelo as the "Gates of Paradise." The doors took 21 years to complete and show the individual faces of a thousand people.
After getting our daily gelato, we walked over to the San Lorenzo market and walked around the stalls upon stalls of leather goods, jewelry, journals, hats, coats, and more. It was a lovely market but the catcalling and and push and pull of merchants did grow tiresome and overwhelming after a bit. Inside the actual Mercato Centrale, the first floor was unfortunately closed, so we took a look around the second floor. It was mainly restaurants and the entire place had recently been renovated to look very modern and North American, not entirely consistent with the Italy we'd seen so far.
We sat outside to eat a more fair-priced meal.
After dinner, we walked around downtown for a bit longer, ending up in my favourite place in Florence at night, the Piazza della Repubblica, centre of the ancient Roman city. The archway and carousel were lit, and elegant cafes and restaurants lined the square. People were milling around or sitting casually, taking in the atmosphere, which is actually not a very common scene in Toronto. I associate life in Toronto with a much faster pace than here; it made for a really nice change to see people not on electronics, but looking up and fully aware of the scene around them.
The sky was a deep velvet blue, so smooth and clear. The gradient in colour, from pale blue to black, was mesmerizing. The highlight in the square tonight was a busker, an amazing opera singer, dressed in jeans and a plain shirt, belting out opera that I would've expected to pay for. She'd gathered quite a crowd around her. Again, it was not something that would've ever fit in in North America, but among the cobblestones and mood lighting, it was perfect. It made for such a captivating soundtrack in that picturesque setting. We stayed for a few songs, then headed back along a long street, thankfully well lit and actually quite pleasant to stroll through, to our room.