Tuesday, October 4, 2022
It was our last full day in Italy so we opted to make the most of it seeking out more sights in Florence.
The Ponte Vecchio in the
warm morning Sun
We headed straight to the Uffizi Gallery which houses one of the world's greatest collections of art in general and Renaissance art in particular.
Getting tickets was easy as most of our fellow travelers were still asleep at 8:30 AM when the four of us purchased our tickets.
One of the Uffizi's long corridors
Bust of a young athlete
Of course these doors
just had to be ornate
A sarcophagus with a rider down
A section of the corridor's ceiling
Man vs. Satyr
Man looks to be winning if you ask me.
Some of Florence's
storied luminaries
I'm all about colorful robes
The Madonna in a rich blue outfit
The Madonna and her chubby baby Jesus was a big part of the collection in the Uffizi.
The Annunciation
This is when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary, "You are pregnant sweetie."
Again with the Madonna and Child
Brilliant colors always catch my eye
The Nativity
Crazy horse action
It was at about this time that I started picking individual side characters to study as opposed to the overall painting.
Like this Bishop
What message was he trying to convey?
"Don't look back, something
might be gaining on you!"
At the half way point of our
visit, the lines to get were growing
Saturday morning his Junior
year in college, I suspect
Florence's Palazzo Vecchio
back in the day
Bad hair days were unfortunately
a common problem
"Why would you ever
think that I did it?"
"Yes, I'm Joan of Arc. That's my
story and I'm sticking to it!"
"I can't believe that he
wore red to this wedding."
"May I go to the bathroom?"
How much did just this
frame cost to make?
Sandro Botticelli's
Birth of Venus
This painting is perhaps the most famous piece in the Uffizi's collection.
Botticelli's
Man with a Medal
Somebody give the Bishop
a nudge to wake him up
You do know that the baby gets
crucified at the end of the story
Dance 'til you drop
Swivel hipped Mary was a star
flag football player in her ay
Why the flame?
Maybe the Holy Ghost was in town.
Do NOT mess with her,
PERIOD!
Cherub
"If I play my cards right,
I'll be the Pope soon."
Daydreaming
"Do you believe what
this guy is saying?"
Probably a good athlete
before the quadruple amputation
Dead and bad teeth to boot
"It's too hot for this winter robe."
"I'm having a devilishly good time."
"I am the Devil!"
Beautiful painting
by Michelangelo
This is my personal favorite
in the Uffizi today
Why is there a scorpion
on her forehead?
She must be from Varese.
Elvis is in the house!
Great sculpture room
FIRST DOWN!
Another incredible ceiling
Pan and Daphne
Shh, see's still asleep
Laocoön and his Sons
Another FABULOUS exhibit in the Uffizi
Our visit to the Uffizi was over and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Time to wander . . .
The Palazzio Vecchio
still looked good today
The Neptune Fountain
was not flowing yet
Random modern art
in a piazza
Look everybody,
A CHURCH!
I thought of our son Michael
when we passed by this bicycle
repair shop in the heart of Florence
Piazza Santa Croce
The sight of the annual Calcio Storico Fiorentino games and the purported location for a fictional Madden Football 7-on-7 video game too.
Dante Aligheri is
BIG in these parts
While I wanted to stop here
for a bottle of wine . . .
. . . instead we opted for gelato
at Vivoli which many report
is the best gelateria in the city
No one in our group was about to dispute that notion.
No hangings allowed on this street
EVER!
I could not have said it any better
Look,
ANOTHER CHURCH!
Suddenly, the Duomo snuck up on us
The Medici Crest is
everywhere you look in Florence
Why is Dante always depicted
as being such a sourpuss?
The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
At this point we had split with Brian and Koreen as they wanted to go to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's statue of David. We had seen it in a previous trip to Florence an opted not to go see it again.
Instead we decided to visit the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
Opened in 1220 A.D., it is now a robust 801 years old.
It was originally run by a group of Dominican friars who made a wide variety of herbal medicines to cure first the rich and powerful Fiorentines before eventually opening their doors to the poor of the city.
The Officina's entry hall
Nice layout
They still deal heavily in
all sorts of herbal products
Interesting bottling strategy
Chinese Elixir
It might work.
Their ancient herbal cures
came in ornate jugs like these
They also had a historical wing
to their building complete with
the mandatory religious murals
Restraing the Virgin Mary
as Jesus carries His cross
Fine ceiling art is required by law
for all businesses when they reach
their 800th anniversary
Our time in Italy was coming to a close, so we stepped literally eight steps across our narrow street to dine one last time at the Trattoria Nella.
The love couple was at it again
with another public display of affection
Biscotti dipped in Vin Santo
was a great way to end our time
in northern Italy
Another good day of exercise
We've had a fantastic two weeks on the road so far, visiting Paris, Lyon, Milan, Varese, Verona, Florence, Volterra and Pisa.
Wednesday morning we fly to Madrid, Spain to continue our Adventure.
Stay tuned . . .
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