Day 107 ~ Yet Another Happy Change in Itinerary!

 April 26, 2022

60-something degrees. We're having a string of lovely weather even though rain has often been forecast!

"To see the sun sink down, drowned on his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city to a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature." - Mark Twain

Beautiful Tuscany

We were supposed to call at Messina, Sicily on April 24th, but for some reason it was cancelled and the other Italian ports adjusted accordingly. In its place, Livorno was added. And from Livorno, we were able to travel to Florence! Or Firenze, as the Italians name it. 

A study of Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women in plaster cast instead of the marble the artist would eventually carve it in. It was the first thing we saw in the Academia Gallery. We actually have a photo on canvas of this work at home! 

Florence has been a bucket list destination for me for some time, so I was thrilled by the change in our itinerary! This city is home to so many renaissance geniuses--artists Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, and Giambologna, the composer Rossini, scientists Galileo, Fermi and Marconi...the list goes on! And our first stop was the Academia Gallery, where young artists are still being trained by copying old masters to hone their craft. 

Here's the full statue, which has also been called Abduction of the Sabine Women, not rape. It's a mythological event from the 8th century BC when a group of men from Rome, led by Romulus himself, attacked villages in the countryside and made off with their women. Miserable story. Miserable title for the piece. Incredible artwork.

The sculpture a master work of balance and composition. The expressions on the faces are compelling and unsettling. Fear, desire, hopelessness, and brute force all captured in a horrific moment. The original in marble is displayed outside in the Loggia dei Lanzi, on the Piazza della Signoria, while this more fragile study is kept in the climate controlled museum.  

Giambologna came to Florence to study with Michelangelo in 1553. Once the Medici family, who ruled Florence, discovered his incredible artistry he was never again allowed to leave the city.  Yes, that's what the Medici family did to people they liked! Imagine how they treated their enemies!

Michelangelo's David, the crown jewel of this collection! The statue is 17 ft. tall and was carved from a single block of marble that was tried and rejected by two other artists before Michelangelo "saw" David trapped in its depths.   

I had always heard that the David was not the biblical hero, that his oversized hands and feet were Michelangelo's paean to humanism and man's ability to lift himself up to new heights on his own strength. The statue is rather obviously not circumcised, so that argues against it being the David who became the king of Israel. 

But our guide explained that Michelangelo broke a number of precedents with this statue. David is usually depicted as much younger, often pre-pubescent, with an oversized sword in his hands and the giant Goliath's severed head under one of his feet. 

This David is a young man whose musculature shows the artist's mastery of anatomy, proportion and realism. Up close, you can see the raised veins on his right forearm. And you can also see that he is holding smooth stones in that hand. His left hand is grasping a sling that is draped over his shoulder and down his back. He's clearly carrying the weapons the biblical David used. Then I looked at his face. He's looking off in the distance, sizing up a son of Anak, Goliath of Gath. This is not David in triumph. This is David in the moments before he took on a giant in armor with nothing but a sling and a stone. His brow is furrowed. He offered some brave words to King Saul. Now it's crunch time and he has to deliver.

The skylight and alcove was built specifically to house David.

Our guide explained that the statue was originally supposed to be placed on a high parapet, so Michelangelo enlarged the hands the feet so it would appear proportionally correct from that vantage point. However, once the patron who commission the work saw it, he knew it couldn't be hidden away. It was meant to be viewed from all angles. I'm convinced. Michelangelo's David is the biblical one. 

Completed in 1423, the exquisite cathedral is entirely faced with white, red or green marble. The colors do not come from the Italian flag. Instead they symbolize Faith, Hope and Charity. 

The gilt door to St. John's baptistry. It was damaged heavily in a flood in 1966 that killed over 100 people and damaged many buildings and destroyed countless books and art works. Parts of this door were found blocks away. 

We stopped by a local restaurant for a four course lunch--brochetta, pasta, pork and potatoes, and a parfait with espresso! 

We visited the 800 year old Santa Croce church where so many of Florence's favorite sons are interred.

Behind us, spanning the Arno River, is the medieval Ponte Vecchio Bridge, famously mentioned in the aria "O, mio babino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schichi. 

We had a wonderful day in this beautiful city! I'll think about the things we saw and experienced for a long, long time!