Day 1: Arrival and Ponte Vecchio
We arrived in Florence in the evening, checked into our airbnb and were grateful to find that were were staying near both a grocery store and express laundry mat - double score! We learned that our airbnb is a 15th century home in a neighborhood of painters. Our place is small, but just enough for us! We are happy to be 15 minutes from the the center of all of Florence's landmarks but also over the bridge of the Arno Rivers, so it's not too busy or loud. We liked seeing the sites of Rome, but the crowds were overwhelming. We are looking forward to a more quaint experience in Florence. After dinner, Asha and I took a quick walk to the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone bridge built in 1345 and the only bridge in Florence that was spared during World War II. It houses lots of shops, mostly jewelers, and is one of Florence's most famous sites.
Day 2: Galileo Museum, Illusions Museum and stroll around Duomo
We slept in and it was wonderful! We are less scheduled in Florence than we were in Rome which is great. Today we decided to head over to the Galileo Museum and spent a couple of hours learning about his life and discoveries. He was born in Pisa but resided in Florence in the 1600s and is revered in Florence.
The exhibits and audio tour were somewhat advanced but the exhibits were still a lot of fun to look at and discuss. We learned about cartography, saw Galileo's telescopes (!), learned about his law of falling objects which contributed the understanding of gravity, and his inventions of pendulums and first conceptualizations of time and clocks. We learned about his scientific courage to refute the scientific laws of his day (i.e. how the earth was the center of the universe...umm. spoiler alert) and how he was jailed for it. It was amazing to see how his concepts lead to great discoveries in medicine, meteorology, anatomy, and hydraulics and how we understand our world around us.
We grabbed some lunch and then stumbled upon another museum - the Museum of Illusions. We were skeptical about going in, but are so grateful that we did! We had the funnest time of our trip here learning about the science behind illusions. This is a new museum in Florence and although seems out of place in this historic city of art, it actually isn't completely out of left field. The Medici Family, the founding family of Florence, were great admirers of illusions, so the museum honors this interest and is trying to find a footing among Florence's visitors. We were astounded to learn about the science behind some of the illusions - anamorphic painting, polarized artwork, lithopanes with light, hyperbolic art, and holograms. We had the best time here, can you tell?!
We strolled along the city center on the way home and were in awe of the Florence Cathedral with its massive dome, the famed Duomo, designed by Brunelleschi, which served as the model for the dome at St. Peter's by Michelangelo that we saw in Rome. We strolled through stationary stores admiring the beautiful Florentine paper and stamps. We came home for dinner and fell right to sleep.
Day 3: David at Accademia Gallery, Leonardo da Vinci Museum
We wanted to learn about great Florence residents while spending time here. Yesterday we learned about Galileo and today is about Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo's handprint is everywhere in Rome and Florence but we decided we wanted to see his most prized work done in his late 20s to learn about his life - David - which is at the Accademia Gallery. We booked the 1 hour "David tour" from airbnb experiences and had the most enthusiastic tour guide, Elvis, teach us about Michelangelo's life and how its different stages are reflected in his art. Michelangelo did paint the Sistine Chapel (as his first painting no less), but did not value his paintings compared to his sculpture and architecture... "anyone can paint" he was known to say to other artists!
Leading up the David is Michelangelo's unfinished works known as Hall of Prisoners. These are unfinished blocks of marble, that show such emotion and the stages of how he worked to bring out the art that he felt was trapped inside the marble.
Next, it was time for the pièce de résistance, David. We were amazed by the anatomical accuracy of David, down to the veins in his hands and forearm, the balance of how he stays upright (he's 6 tons, 17ft tall!), and his gaze that looks both determined looking straight, but fearful when looking at a side angle.
Michelangelo created this masterpiece, working alone, over the course of 3 years! Wow! Our guide said Michelangelo was a rock star, a divine human walking the earth, after creating David in Florence. It served as a symbol of Florence's strength in the world - like David, the city is small, but can conquer great foes and do great things!
We grabbed some lunch at Flower burger, a vegetarian's paradise, and headed over to the Leonardo Da Vinci Interactive museum. He was Michelangelo's rival but at the time not as famous. There is often a debate over who is the most accomplished among Florence lovers- are you Team Michelangelo or are you Team Da Vinci? We are split in this family :) This museum is jaw-dropping amazing. The team of researchers took Da Vinci's drawings in all areas of his studies - physics, math, anatomy, etc. - and recreated models based on them. Amazing. We got to play with models of his early drawings of tanks, airplanes, bridges, water pumps, and clocks. The exhibit was exceptional and illustrative of his ingenious curiosity and determination to understand life's basic principles. Oh yes, and he also was a painter....Mona Lisa, anyone?!
We strolled around town, picked up some groceries and headed back to our place for an early dinner. We watched a few videos after dinner on how Florentine paper is created which was really interesting and gave us a new appreciation for all the tradition we get to experience in front our very eyes while shopping.
Day 4: Rest day in Florence
We took it easy and caught up on journaling some schoolwork and planning. We are working on finding a new morning routine as we transition into more travel and less hiking where we have more flexibility. Today we thought we'd stroll the city and just enjoy being outdoors. We stumbled into the Florentine paper stores and were lucky to come upon Ricardo Lucci, a 6th generation paper maker. He was so welcoming and allowed us to watch him create marbled paper, and marbled leather which is his specialty.
He said he boiled seaweed in order to make the agar medium used to suspend the colors that will transfer to the paper or leather. He started by ink blotting different colors. He let it sit and then took the bottom of a paint brush and made zig zag lines up and down the paper slowly. Then he dragged a fine tooth comb from one side to the other to create the swirls, explaining you pull it down straight or in curves. The result was amazing!
We spent the rest of the day in bookstores, reading, sending post cards and relaxing. We headed over to the Basilica de Santa Croce, and just took in the sights. We people-and- pigeon watched and read.
In the evening, we climbed up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to take in the panoramic view of the city. Built in 1869 as part of city's urban renewal it's a tree-lined climb up the hill that ends in a bronze replica of the David. We thought it was a fitting place to take in final views of Florence before we leave tomorrow. Tomorrow's itinerary includes the leaning Tower of Pisa and then 2 nights in Lucca.
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