After the market we started to wander again and came upon the Laurentian Library. What a remarkable family the Medici family were, Cosimo the Elder collected ancient manuscripts of classical authors and opened the library for anyone to read/interpret.
The building was designed and built by Michelangelo in 1524. We were very lucky when we walked in, we were the only one there and the custodian was passionate about her work and gave us a 30 minute talk about the building, Michelangelo and the Medicis. The thing I found most interesting that she told us was that during the renaissance everything had an interpretation. The stairs going up to the library were a dark grey with a bright door at the top. Hence you walked from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. When you walked up the stairs you went up the middle and when you left you went down the sides showing your enlightenment.
The library itself consisted upon row upon row of pews. On the side of the pews were the list of important books that were kept there (which I gather now can be found in their on-line library). The seats were always filled with scholars reading and interpreting these historical works. The floor above was laid by Michelangelo, the carpet was installed to try and keep it safe.
While we were there, there was an exhibit by Leonardi Bruni, he wrote what was considered the first modern history book of its time. Ciao and Arrivederci being my only Italian, these books were amazing to look at. Being brought up in Canada with such a young history I am amazed by the skills and education of this whole region.
Right next door to the library is the San Lorenzo Cathedral and the Medici crypt. If you are listing your house today, chances are you are using the colour palette from this church. Grey and white looked stunning even 600 years ago.
Along with the burial site of the Medici family, the tomb of Donatello is here.
What is a reliquaries you say??? So did I. It's a little creepy actually. It is a container for relics, which in most cases may be a piece of bone taken from the important religious leader that has died. For some saints and popes the bones and clothing were put into these beautiful reliquaries and then transported across Europe so each church would have a little piece of the Saint to pray too.
We knew nothing about the above when we arrived in Florence, this is what makes the city so amazing is around every corner there is a masterpiece and amazing piece of history.
Next stop THE DAVID. The first time I saw the DAVID was in Caesar's Palace - yep Las Vegas, a full replica. It was pretty impressive. The next time was in the Palazzo Vecchio where the original was until they moved it inside to protect it. I'm not sure why I have always been so enthralled with his statue (as millions of people around the world are LOL). I always loved the story of David and Goliath, he was the 2nd King of Israel and I did name my son David which means "beloved". Maybe it had something to do with the little man taking on the giant. When we walked in there was this large corridor and at the bottom looking down over everyone was the DAVID. The effect was amazing. Yes I cried, well teared up.
He looked brand new not 600 years old. There are interpretations on everything from the size of his head, the large right hand and yes the size of his privates, I'll leave that to you to look up :)
"Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome." (wikipedia)
Thank you Florence for an amazing time. With all our wandering we still didn't see everything this beautiful historical city had to offer.
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