Italiano Vivente 13

        A day trip to Florence was an activity we had not planned on, but it was an additional option that was offered guests of Cretaiole. The cost was dependent on the number of participants. It turned out to be a very reasonable excursion because six of us chose to go. The weather was beautiful and sunny and just a little on the warm side. The museums were not air conditioned, so you might want to think about that if you go in the "heat" of the summer.   

Angelo, our driver, safely navigated the curvy roads that led to our destination and nimbly wove his way through the bumper to bumper traffic in Florence. 

Front of Uffizi Museum

We were dropped of across the waterway in front of the Uffizi Museum. We arrived about 10:00 a.m. and were to meet the driver again about 4:00 p.m. We had reservations for specific times to enter the Uffizi and the Accademia. As you can guess, it was a speedy sightseeing few hours. Goals were to visit the Ufizzi, Academia, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore , eat somewhere and return to the meeting place on time. Whew!

Ponte Alla Carraia

Originally built in 1218 of wood but destroyed by a flood in 1274, the Ponte Alla Carraia was rebuilt using stone; but collapsed in 1304. After the 1333 flood, it was the first bridge rebuilt in 1557 by Bartolomeo Ammannati. It was destroyed by the Germans in 1944 and rebuilt in 1948.







Had I known we were going to have this opportunity, I would have taken some pre-trip reading on Florence. All i knew was Michaelangelo's David was in Florence. Okay, I am not a history buff. 

The Uffizi was opened in 1765. It is one of the oldest museums in the Western World. The Accademia del Disegno was the first academy of drawing in Europe. It was founded by Vasair, Brozino and Ammannati in the 16th century. Later on it became an academy of arts and was named the Accademia di Belle Arti.

There were several "living statues" throughout the main thoroughfare in Florence. Living statues or "tableau vivant" was typically a group enacting a scene in medieval and Renaissance times. It was part of the pagentry when a "royal" would be visiting a city. The first visit of a new ruler was typically the occasion. Visitors were welcome to take photos of the living statues but if you wanted your photo taken WITH them, you had to pay a fee. 

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Interior of the Basilica

Photography is important to me and documenting where I go and what I see is, well, what I do! It was just a little annoying that photography was not allowed in the museums. I do understand there are many reasons it is not allowed. The main one being that most people do not know how to turn off their camera's flash. Flash photography produces a quick burst of light that has long and short wavelength radiation. That can injure artwork. Since i CAN turn my off, I feel that I should be able to take photos, but I do not warrant special favors. So, generally, I do abide by the rules. But, I could not restrain myself from sneaking a couple of quick snaps of "David". Yep, almost got caught by the museum guards, but I pulled it off. Here is the result...