Italy 3: Florence 2

Florence: looking down on Piazza del Duomo from our room. The early morning local foot traffic is gradually replaced by tourists, who will soon fill this entire square. I spend two minutes speed-reading a children's book on the life of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the greatest patron of Renaissance, as we head out to Medici Chapels this morning.

Medici Chapels: a short walk from our B&B takes us to the burial sites of this powerful family who were major enablers of Renaissance in Florence. The first part is this cavernous space called Chapel of Princes, where giant tombs of the later Medicis, descendants of earlier visionaries, strike me as a testimony to their collective megalomania. And that's without even statues which had been planned to be placed on top but were never finished.

Medici Chapels: ah, but the real gem is in the next room, Sacrestia Nuova (New Sacristy), actually older than Chapel of Princes and much more renowned because of the Michelangelo sculptures Night and Day (partially seen on left) and Dusk and Dawn (right). The tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano are on the far wall.

Medici Chapels: I appreciate the quartet of the Michelangelo sculptures even more than on my last visit. The difference between these and mere mortal pieces is like "Night and Day."  

Panini Toscani: at this modest place in the shadow of the Duomo you pick your own ingredients, sort of like at Chipotle, except they offer pre-offer tasting of the meat and cheese.
For panini which cost six Euros each, this is an overly generous gesture but they don't seem to mind the inefficiency that results.

Santa Croce: Italian school children enjoying their panini on the steps of this church with a Dante statue in front (left). But this is not the place Dante met and fell in love with Beatrice (that would be Church of Santa Margherita de' Cerchi). It is also in this neighborhood where we stayed in 1987.

Santa Croce: this church is remarkable for burials or monuments for a large number of celebrities. Here is Michelangelo's tomb.

Santa Croce: Donatello's Annunciation with quite a 3D effect. On the far right is where Machiavelli rests. (No political inferences intended here!) 

Santa Croce: I have to pay homage to the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Other notable people with tombs or monuments here include Lorenzo Ghiberti of the Baptistry door fame, and modern scientists like Guglielmo Marconi and Enrico Fermi.

Santa Croce: this small room in a side chapel is the site of Galileo's first burial site. The brochure says he was "temporarily" buried here first (but it was for nearly 100 years before he was given a respectable space in the main church!).

Santa Croce: there are other treasures, such as these frescoes by Giotto depicting the life of St. Francis.

Santa Croce: speaking of St Francis, could this be real?

Santa Croce: a chapel designed by Brunelleschi for the Pazzi family, who were involved in the conspiracy to kill Lorenzo de' Medici and as a consequence banished from Florence

While we are in the Santa Croce area, a visit to the leather school or a gelateria? The answer: nocciola/pistachio! Vivoli was featured in the Florence episode of the TV series, "I'll have what Phil's having." So that is what we are having.

Bargello Museum: a couple of blocks away is this collection of  sculptures. More Michelangelo - Bacchus and Madonna and Child (left).

Bargello Museum: this David statue seems modern, although it is by Donatello, an early Renaissance master, not one of the Ninja Turtles. The daughter nicknames it Michael Jackson.

Duomo: finally we enter the Cathedral. Compared to the brilliant facade, the interior is underwhelming, except of course the famed dome by Brunelleschi who is buried in the crypt. But I am not the last judge. The ceiling painting is Last Judgment by Vassari and Zuccari, looking nice after restoration finished in 1995.

Duomo Museum: contains a number of triple A items. Here is the original model of the dome by Brunelleschi (the one on the right, not the left which people seem more interested in.)

Duomo Museum: another Pieta by Michelangelo, which I find even more moving than the earlier one in St. Peter's. Definitely deserves the space it is displayed in.

Duomo Museum: Magdalena by Donatello, showing a combination of strain and piety

Duomo Museum: here is the real thing - Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise which used to be on the East Door of Baptistry. A photo taken obliquely of one of the eight panels demonstrate remarkable depth and intricacy of the carving.

Climbing to the root top of the Duomo: I can't believe people are willing to wait upwards of two hours for this pleasure. Thank God for the Firenze card - we don't have to wait at all, except once we start the ascent, there are sections allowing only one person to go through. My assessment is that the view from Giotto's Tower is better. Anyway, we do spot the two churches we visited - Santa Croce in the distance and San Miniato way back on the hill on right. 

Thinking we arrived at the correct location for dinner, but not seeing the sign, I ask, "Restaurant?" The person at the door responds, "Yes, ah well, no, an Enoteca." OK, the wine library, fine. They do seem obsessed with their wine collection; at the table, I am handed an extremely thick and heavy wine list in color, which reminds me of a medieval illuminated manuscript. 

Enoteca Pinchiorri: their version of panzanella as an amuse bouche is fine, but then I am soon weighed down by the encyclopedic wine list. Oh, but of course, not before I am asked to peruse the water menu. 

Enoteca Pinchiorri: we are seated in a cozy courtyard surrounded by buildings taller than wide. A bunch of male servers mill around in perfect Italian suits. They are professional and hard-working, but their stiffness contributes to the pretentious ambiance, besides the outrageous price of even a single glass of wine.

Enoteca Pinchiorri: food was just OK (a John Dory dish shown) for this level, and combined with their wine snobbery, it makes the dinner here a mediocre experience and a poor value proposition.

Medici-Riccardi Palace: one more sight on our last morning in Florence. This is where Lorenzo the Magnificent lived and nurtured many Renaissance greats including Michelangelo. It contains a few notable art works, such as this Procession of the Magi by Gozzoli.

Medici-Riccardi Palace: a large hall with the Baroque-style ceiling painting by Luca Giordano

Ponte Vecchio: the family's engaged in last minute leather shopping on the Otrarno end of the bridge filled with shops. I am just soaking up the fact that I am here, next to Arno River, like I did while playing O mio babbino caro earlier at the B&B (but fortunately no father-daughter conflict)...