Europe on a shoestring - Day 8 (Florence) [October 1, 2005]

A room with a view

After another hearty breakfast we managed to make an early exit and headed (yes walking – we always walked) to the Barghello gallery. The gallery is the preserve of most of Michelangelo works along with others of Bruneleschi and Donatello. It’s primarily a museum of sculpture. As with all other buildings the Barghello has its own unique history being used as civic building and a prison. There are some stunning terracotta sculptures and marbles ones of Mercury, Hercules and other Roman and Greek heroes from mythology. Just seeing the sculptures makes one marvel at the heightened level of artistic excellence during the Renaissance period. The busts of the emperors – the Italian rulers (especially Cosimo I) were obsessed in portraying themselves as Roman Emperors – by distinguished artists were pretty good. I though the ones of Cellini were one of the best – especially those of Persues and Medusa. However the ‘Adam and Eve’ resembled a stroll in the park… a site of mediocrity in a hall of excellence.
It was then on to the church of Santa Croce (Cross) – a façade of green and white marble which was similar to the one found at Santa Maria Novella, and apparently built in the 18th century (a few centuries after the church was consecrated). It is like all the churches we saw spectacular insides – with several chapels and tombs dedicated to different saints and bishops along the recesses. One of the most visited tombs is of course that of Michelangelo – which was designed by… himself.

Here lies the grand master...

By then it was lunch time – and following our gastronomic adventures went to the San Ambroglio market for another helping of good native food, washed down with a swig of the local vino. We happened to meet a British woman who chatted up with us sitting at the table – yeah here you just about grabbed the closest empty bench near you and sat down. Made interesting conversation with the people next to you for sure. Hmmm, apart from the bread and vino and some kind of cutlets and pork I do not remember the third dish that we ordered. Anyways whatever it was – as like yesterday it was good – great value for money. At the end of it all – we all staggered out into the warm Italian sun – awash with wine, a good hearty meal and some nice company. Aaaaah now for a nice siesta… one interesting titbit about the way things are carried out in places like these – you get a huge pitcher of wine with markers indicating levels on it. At the end of the meal – you pay for the amount you have drunk… which like a credit card you end up drinking more than you think you need. I don’t think we were tipsy, but lethargic most certainly. However there was no time to waste, and with help from Rivoli Gelato (the BEST I have eaten – I think I had scaggitella, cappuccino and pistachio combo) we meandered through the narrow streets of the centro storico (city center) to reach the square housing the gallery Uffizi (Offices). All along the square were interspersed sculptures of Neptune, a copy of the David, the original 'rape of the sabines' among others.

at Palazzo Vecchio - with Neptune in the background

Although you may think we did just that eat-see-walk-eat (well we did do a lot of that!) we did take time to read about the history of the place.

The Vasari passageway ... everything here has its own fascinating story to tell...

From the secret Vasari passageway which enabled the duke to escape when he was under siege to the historical events that shaped the Florentine past.

Looking out from the Uffizi

The Uffizi (yes you most DEFINITELY need advance tickets for this one) is the one of the largest painting galleries I have ever seen. More than 60 odd rooms which are impossible – yes impossible to see in a day. We had actually marked what we wanted to see, and pretty much stuck to that. It’s a choice we made – either cursorily walk aimlessly from room to room (listening to lectures from guides along the way), or just concentrate and appreciate a few selected works of art. This approach suited us just fine. Of course there are a few must sees like Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ and others like Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and Caravaggio.

Looking over the ArnoThe 'atypical snap' - Anil just starting to smile... Sam looking constipated and me peering in the background

By the time we got out it was way past 19:00 hours and we reluctantly moved out picking up our bags on our way to the railway station stopping by a park alongside the river to enjoy the last remnants of the day. It had been a long day, and in some ways Firenze had clung to us in a way no other place had done. It had a bit of everything great food, fantastic heritage and museums to show off, the best girls I had ever seen in Europe (no doubt of that) and oooh yes – the best Gelato. This is one place I will most definitely return to… someday.