Florence - our last day and more treasures - the David

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.

Florence - Love at first Sight

Our next adventure began with a train trip from Venice to Florence - home of the Renaissance , one of the wealthiest cities of Medieval Europe and home to the Medici Family.  If you haven't watched the Netflix series about the Medici I highly recommend it.  Florence came to life for us as we wandered over bridges and through squares with little bits of the Medici Family everywhere.

Our Windows on Italy - Raffaello apartment exceeded all our expectations.  It is located in the Oltarno district which is famous for it's craftsmen, restaurants and a buzz of activity filled with tourists but also lots of locals.  Another great advantage to our apartment it was easy to find :) which is important with all the alleys and lanes.  50 yards from our door was a gelato store and another 50 yards was the Ponte alla Carraia (first built in the 1200s).  Finding our way home became very easy as you walked to the River Arno, 2 bridges west of Pont Vecchio (the covered bridge) was our bridge and home for the next week.

 Time to start wandering.  Florence famous for its merchant trade hasn't changed much, shops everywhere, very expensive shops everywhere.  Shoes, boots, one of a kind designer stores.  I went into one store, of course it was a baby store, the 1st outfit I asked about was 100 euros, oops maybe not, I love our Peanut, but I don't think he will be visiting the Queen anytime soon.  :)

 There were famous squares everywhere, turn a corner and there was another beautiful square, full of history, statues, wonderful architecture and small cafes serving exquisite wine while you watched the tourists with their phones and cameras capturing pictures everywhere of everything.  Above is the famous Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of Florence and once the official seat of Cosimo de Medici.  It is situated in the Piazza della Signoria, the original David sat at the entrance to the Palazzo until it was moved in 1873.  This replica was made in 1910.

 Above is the Loggia dei Lanzi, built in 1376 and home to some amazing statues dating back to the 1500s.  It is such a surreal feeling sitting amongst so much history.  Below is the Uffizi Gallery the most visited art gallery in Italy.  Many of its treasures were - yes you guessed it - gifted to Florence by the Medici Family.

As we wander back to our apartment the sun is setting over Ponte Vecchio.  One of the most famous bridges in Florence it was first built in 996.  Famous now for its many jewelry shops that fill both sides of the bridge.    

A lovely apartment to relax in, a glass of Italian wine and we are ready to head out to dinner.  One of the things we didn't realize when we picked our location was the abundance of amazing restaurants literally down the street from us.  Luckily there were so many as the first 4 we went to were sold out.  The 5th one was a lovely family style Italian restaurant full of people but we managed to get a seat in the courtyard.  2 lovely ladies sat beside us and we started up a conversation with them, love the little touches of fate that you run into as your travel. They were a mother and daughter from Sweden and their grandfather's name was Karlsson.  In the 1930s there were so many Karlsson's in Sweden that her grandfather changed his name to something like Myrenberg, it turns out she has 2 nephews she is expecting to see play in the NHL.  Food was wonderful, night was magical, only 1 short day in Florence and I have fallen in love.