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lillibetOn Sunday we found our way to the train station in Montevarchi and took a train in to Florence. The fastest trains take about half an hour, but most of them have enough stops along the way to make the trip about an hour long. We found the tourist information office across from the train station in Florence and picked up a map and a schedule of current opening hours of most of the attractions in the city. The schedules are quite complex (i.e. 8:15 - 1:30 and 4:00 - 6:00, closed on Wednesday and open until 7:00 on Thursday) and change frequently, so it's important to have a current list.
We picked up a batch of postcards as we walked toward the Duomo, which is the common name for the cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore. We visited the Battistero (Baptistery), an octagonal building in the center of the square covered in green and white marble with bronze doors by Pisano and Ghiberti. We went inside to admire the stunning mosaics on the ceiling (depicting the choirs of angels, various Biblical stories and Christ on the throne of judgement) and the marble floors patterned like oriental carpets. Outside again, we admired the nineteenth century white, green and pink marble facade of the Duomo itself. The cathedral was completed and consecrated in 1436, but the facade took another four hundred years to complete, due to political wrangling over its style.
Leaving the interior of the cathedral for another day, we grabbed pannini (toasted sanwiches of cheese and meats--salami for Jason and prosciutto for me) and walked down to the Piazza della Signoria. We admired the statues in the piazza, including a copy of Michelangelo's "David" in its original location, Ammanati's Neptune fountain, and Bandinelli's Hercules. Along one side is the lovely Loggia del Lanzi with Cellini's Perseus and the Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. We steped into the Michelozzo courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, seat of Florence government for seven centuries and still the town hall. The Palazzo's upper rooms were closed for the afternoon, so we walked on across the Ponte Vecchio, admiring the windows of the jewelry shops on the bridge and stopping in the middle to view the Arno from midstream. At the Palazzo Pitti we toured the Galleria Palatina, which houses a collection of 16th- to 18th-century paintings, and the Appartamenti Monumentali, the formal rooms of the Medicis 200-year occupation of the palazzo.
We headed over to the church of Santa Maria del Carmine to see the Cappella Brancacci, which boasts a gorgeous fresco cycle started by Masolino, continued by his protege, Masaccio, and finished years later by Filippino Lippi, working in the style of Masaccio.
Back at the Palazzo Pitti, we entered the Boboli Gardens. Rome decided in 1992 that Florence had to start charging admission for the gardens. This enraged the Florentines, since Anna Maria Luisa, sister of the last Medici grand duke, had bequeathed the entire Medici estate to the people of Florence. The compromise reached allows Florentines to enter free of charge, while the rest of us have to pay. It's worth it, however, for some of the loveliest public gardens I've ever visited. We strolled down the Cypress Avenue and paused for a rest in the lovely arbor walks. We had hopes of a gelato at the Kaffeehaus, but it had closed by the time we made it around the park. We were impressed with our timing, as we were just approaching the Grotta Grande--described as the most bizarre of the Boboli's Mannerist monuments--very near the exit, when the park-closing announcement came.
We sat on the steep piazza in front of the palazzo for a few minutes, then set off to evaluate our restaurant choices while strolling through the Oltarno ("the other side of the Arno") district and enjoying the sunset views of the river. We eventually picked the Osteria del Chinghiale Bianco ("eatery of the white boar") and had an excellent meal. Jason started with their plate of mixed bruschetta, bread with an array of roasted peppers, tomatoes, spinach and white beans. I had the carpaccio with arugula and parmesan. Jason's porcini risotto was less creamy than he's used to, but extremely tasty, while my papardelle with a ragu of boarmeat was delicious. Jason's main course was a pollo al diavolo, rubbed with lemon and pepper, while I had an excellent veal scallopine with porcinis. We were far too stuffed for dessert and even bypassed gelato on our stroll back to the station. The full moon was hanging golden and enormous over the Ponte Vecchio as we crossed the Arno and it was a beautiful night.
We had some confusion over trains, but figured out the right answer just as it was about to leave and hopped on for a quick ride back to Montevarchi. There are two large free parking lots behind the station, so our car was waiting to take us home. We got turned around in that process and ended up driving too far towards Arezzo, but we realized our mistake and made it back to familiar territory easily enough. Our first night we had been rather cold, but having found the comforters in the closet, we were very cozy.
Next, Jason and Elizabeth head out into the wilds of Tuscany...
We picked up a batch of postcards as we walked toward the Duomo, which is the common name for the cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore. We visited the Battistero (Baptistery), an octagonal building in the center of the square covered in green and white marble with bronze doors by Pisano and Ghiberti. We went inside to admire the stunning mosaics on the ceiling (depicting the choirs of angels, various Biblical stories and Christ on the throne of judgement) and the marble floors patterned like oriental carpets. Outside again, we admired the nineteenth century white, green and pink marble facade of the Duomo itself. The cathedral was completed and consecrated in 1436, but the facade took another four hundred years to complete, due to political wrangling over its style.
Leaving the interior of the cathedral for another day, we grabbed pannini (toasted sanwiches of cheese and meats--salami for Jason and prosciutto for me) and walked down to the Piazza della Signoria. We admired the statues in the piazza, including a copy of Michelangelo's "David" in its original location, Ammanati's Neptune fountain, and Bandinelli's Hercules. Along one side is the lovely Loggia del Lanzi with Cellini's Perseus and the Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. We steped into the Michelozzo courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, seat of Florence government for seven centuries and still the town hall. The Palazzo's upper rooms were closed for the afternoon, so we walked on across the Ponte Vecchio, admiring the windows of the jewelry shops on the bridge and stopping in the middle to view the Arno from midstream. At the Palazzo Pitti we toured the Galleria Palatina, which houses a collection of 16th- to 18th-century paintings, and the Appartamenti Monumentali, the formal rooms of the Medicis 200-year occupation of the palazzo.
We headed over to the church of Santa Maria del Carmine to see the Cappella Brancacci, which boasts a gorgeous fresco cycle started by Masolino, continued by his protege, Masaccio, and finished years later by Filippino Lippi, working in the style of Masaccio.
Back at the Palazzo Pitti, we entered the Boboli Gardens. Rome decided in 1992 that Florence had to start charging admission for the gardens. This enraged the Florentines, since Anna Maria Luisa, sister of the last Medici grand duke, had bequeathed the entire Medici estate to the people of Florence. The compromise reached allows Florentines to enter free of charge, while the rest of us have to pay. It's worth it, however, for some of the loveliest public gardens I've ever visited. We strolled down the Cypress Avenue and paused for a rest in the lovely arbor walks. We had hopes of a gelato at the Kaffeehaus, but it had closed by the time we made it around the park. We were impressed with our timing, as we were just approaching the Grotta Grande--described as the most bizarre of the Boboli's Mannerist monuments--very near the exit, when the park-closing announcement came.
We sat on the steep piazza in front of the palazzo for a few minutes, then set off to evaluate our restaurant choices while strolling through the Oltarno ("the other side of the Arno") district and enjoying the sunset views of the river. We eventually picked the Osteria del Chinghiale Bianco ("eatery of the white boar") and had an excellent meal. Jason started with their plate of mixed bruschetta, bread with an array of roasted peppers, tomatoes, spinach and white beans. I had the carpaccio with arugula and parmesan. Jason's porcini risotto was less creamy than he's used to, but extremely tasty, while my papardelle with a ragu of boarmeat was delicious. Jason's main course was a pollo al diavolo, rubbed with lemon and pepper, while I had an excellent veal scallopine with porcinis. We were far too stuffed for dessert and even bypassed gelato on our stroll back to the station. The full moon was hanging golden and enormous over the Ponte Vecchio as we crossed the Arno and it was a beautiful night.
We had some confusion over trains, but figured out the right answer just as it was about to leave and hopped on for a quick ride back to Montevarchi. There are two large free parking lots behind the station, so our car was waiting to take us home. We got turned around in that process and ended up driving too far towards Arezzo, but we realized our mistake and made it back to familiar territory easily enough. Our first night we had been rather cold, but having found the comforters in the closet, we were very cozy.
Next, Jason and Elizabeth head out into the wilds of Tuscany...
