Florence

From the moment I stepped off the train in Florence, I sensed a shift in energy.  Everything felt smaller and more intimate – which actually makes a lot of sense, considering that Florence’s relatively conservative metropolitan population of 360,000 is DWARFED by Rome’s more than 2.6 million.  And yet I don’t think it is necessarily the smaller size of Florence that gives it a more intimate aesthetic.  All the historic sites in Florence are concentrated in one small area, and not just concentrated, but bound together by a rich Renaissance heritage and connection to the Medici dynasty. 

This blog is intended to summarize the highlights of my trip to Florence from a historical standpoint.  I will be attempting to tie the architectural sites and artwork that I visited to the architects and artists who created them, and, by extension, to the patrons of those architects and artists – which were almost always members of the Medici family.  Aaand we’ll probably delve into my personal opinions on art theory along the way.  So it goes.  No time to waste!  Andiamo!

It’s impossible to start discussing Florentine art and architecture at all without first recognizing the family that made it all possible.  The Medicis were a Renaissance political power family that rose to prominence in the mid-fifteenth century under Cosimo de’ Medici.  The family became the hereditary grand dukes of Tuscany, and they also produced three Popes during their long reign – which lasted from approximately 1434 (Cosimo the Elder rises to power) to 1743 (death of Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici).  Florence was built, adorned, and celebrated under the patronage of the Medicis. 

The very first site we visited after arriving in Florence, the iconic Florence Cathedral (also known the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, or, more simply, Il Duomo Firenze), was completed under Cosimo the Elder.  Construction on the current structure actually began in the late 13^th century under Arnolfo di Cambio (on the site of an earlier structure dedicated to St. Reparata).  However, it was under the patronage of Cosimo the Elder in the early 15^th century that the building was imbued with its immortalizing grandeur. 

Picture of the Florence Cathedral I took from the East side

The dome of the Cathedral was completed in 1436 under the direction of master architect and goldsmith, Filippo Brunelleschi.  Brunelleschi won the job over Lorenzo Ghiberti, after having lost a previous competition for the design of the bronze baptistery door panels to Ghiberti.

Ghiberti's bronze baptistery doors (In the Il Duomo museum)

 Brunelleschi was a taskmaster.  We were told on a tour of the Il Duomo museum that Brunelleschi once pretended to be sick just to see if work on the dome could proceed without his direction (it could not!)   The gargantuan cupola structure is actually comprised of two domes, an inner and an outer dome that support each other.  I don’t think the idea of the two interlocking domes really clicked in my mind until I was climbing in the narrow, slanted, dark space between the two. 

Yes, I climbed to the top of Brunelleschi’s big, bad dome – and I’ll be the first to admit that the climb was terrifying.  However, the claustrophobic spiral staircases, slanted walls, and dizzying heights were all worth it for the view at the top!  I felt tremendous relief when I finally saw the sunlight at the crest of the final staircase. I didn’t stay up there too long though, as a thunderstorm was rolling in! 

View from the Top of the Florence Cathedral.  Palazzo Vecchio tower on the far left side

Selfie from the top of the Florence Cathedral.  The bell tower is just above my head in the picture

The giant tower on the left side of the first above photo is actually Palazzo Vecchio, the historic town hall and political center of Florence.   Piazza della Signori, the square in front of this building – which I walked through probably half a dozen times during my stay in Florence – is home to many famous sculptures.  Here’s one of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, by Benvenuto Cellini. 

A replica of Michelangelo’s David also keeps watch over the Piazza, but the replica simply doesn’t capture the grandeur of the original – which now stands in Galleria Accademia, a museum we visited on our second day in Florence.

Seeing David in person was a truly breathtaking encounter – rivaled only, in my opinion, by catching a glimpse of the Sistine Chapel ceiling for the first time.  Thanks, Michelangelo.  The statue simply radiates power, from the massive scale of the hands, to the individual veins bulging out on the forearms.  However, the external feature I admired most about the statue was its facial expression.  David’s gaze is cool and collective; Michelangelo captures the contemplative countenance that only the victorious combatant is blessed with.  The statue does, after all, depict David in the aftermath of his fight with Goliath. 

Michelangelo's David

I stared up in awe at David’s face for some 10 to 15 minutes.  How could Michelangelo ever have acquired enough detail to lend life – to lend emotion – to a solid piece of marble?  Amazing.  Oh, and then there’s always the fact that Michelangelo completed this masterpiece at just 29 years of age.  Ho hum.    

The countenance of David

            If I had to choose one other piece of artwork that really stood out to me on this particular trip, it would be Botticelli’s La Primavera (springtime).  This piece, which was painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici in the late 1470s, is housed in Florence’s famous Uffizi Gallery Museum.  Venus and Cupid are depicted in the central plane of the painting.  On the right, Zephyrus seems to be chasing Flora into becoming the beautiful woman of Spring.  On the left are the three graces, and Mercury.  I like this painting because it represents Spring as a confluence of ideas – a renewal of both the tangible and the intangible.  The tangible is in the vibrant colors, while the intangible is in the youth of Venus, and the actions of the other characters that make the scene as a whole come to life.

Botticelli's La Primavera

The rest of Uffizi was incredible, by the way.  The gallery was built under the patronage of Cosimo I de’ Medici (not to be confused with Cosimo the elder!) in the mid-16^th century.  Today, it houses countless masterworks (in addition to La Primavera), including Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch, Titian’s Venus of Urbino, and Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo.   The courtyard of the museum is also pretty neat – as it houses modern statues of the many famous artists, authors, and intellectuals associated with Florence.

Michelangelo's statue in the Uffizi courtyard

Alright.  Enough with the art already!  I’d like to switch gears here and talk briefly about an encounter I had at the leather market of St. Lawrence on my last afternoon in Florence.  St. Lawrence is an open-air, mile-long stretch of tent stall vendors selling purses, belts, wallets, jackets, and gloves.  It’s a chaotic environment, where bargaining is the key to survival.

The bustling stalls of the San Lorenzo Market

 After pricing wallets all along the stretch of the market, I finally managed to snag one for just 25 Euro!  The original price was 50 Euro, but over the course of about five minutes, I was able to talk the vendor down to 35, 30, 28, and finally 25 Euro – which really makes me wonder how much it was actually worth.  Anyways, I had fun negotiating, and I got an authentic Florentine leather wallet out of the deal!

The market was the last major excursion I made in Florence before catching a train back to Rome at 5:30 yesterday.  Three full days and two nights sure flew by in a hurry!  By my calculations, we went to five different museums, not to mention countless other historical sites.  Talk about a busy weekend!  Now that I’m back in Rome, I feel I can appreciate Florence as a unique piece of the richly embroidered puzzle that is Italy. 

The Uffizi Gallery website calls Florence “the cradle of the Renaissance”, and that it most certainly is.   Florence is the city of the Medicis.  It’s the home city of Brunelleschi…and Ghiberti, and Dante, and  Boccaccio, and Machiavelli, and Galileo, and So. Many.  Other. Great. Minds.    And for three incredible days, it was the home of yours truly.  Ho vissuto a Firenze, y Firenze vive.  

Grazie per aver letto,

Brock