Santa Croce, Galileo (Science) Museum and Uffizi

With just a few hours left of our last day in Florence, we decided to leave the famous Uffizi until last. I knew that many hours could be wasted there, trying to get from one gallery to the next as it’s always crowded. Giotto’s frescoes and

Donatello’s crucifix

Donatello’s amazing crucifix in Santa Croce would be easy to find (I thought) and without the crowds.

On the way we stepped into the Museo Galileo, called the Science Museum on some maps, for a quick look at the ancient clocks.

Planetary clock

My sister, Susanne, had this museum on her list of ‘must sees’ so she found The Planetary Clock particularly interesting. I was lucky enough to get a photo of the information in English so I hope it is clear enough to read here. Most of the other photos in this museum were taken by Susanne. Of particular interest were Galileo’s telescopes and some of his geometrical instruments.

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Final Day in Florence: San Lorenzo, Museo del Duomo, Bargello

Donatello’s pulpit under restoration

Just one more day and so much still to see. We were up early, had breakfast and a few coffees, then walked to San Lorenzo, where Donatello’s pulpits were top of my list. What a disappointment; one of them was totally covered, under major restoration and the other so well protected with plastic (or some similar see-through material) that photos were impossible from ground level. To view the stunningly

Donatello pulpit

sculpted facades we had to pay an entry fee at the base of a steep staircase (fair enough as these art works are expensive to maintain) but then we were too close to photograph the full length of the pulpit. Donatello died before they were finished, but the commission for these bronze relief ‘pictures’ was entrusted to him and was carried out by his pupils. The depiction of the crucifixion which I’d seen on my previous visit and which is stunning, must have been included in the restoration, completely covered up by timber panels.

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Florence: The Duomo

Main Entrance to the Duomo

Most of the crowds had left by the time we reached the Duomo so Susanne and I could photograph the stunning facade without too many people in the way.

Campanile

We approached the main door, thinking that would be the point of entry. Directions in Italian didn’t help, so we moved to admire the Campanile, designed by Giotto in 1334 but not finished until 1359, after his death. Part of the facade is clad in marble, making it almost too beautiful. We must have walked the whole way around the cathedral, before finding access into the building.

Main entry side

Side wall

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Florence: Leonardo da Vinci

dsc01927-640x425 From Fra Angelico we walked to the Museo del Opera del Duomo. According to my calculations we still had at least three hours to closing time for the museum which houses the most valuable works of art from the Duomo. But, again we were faced with ‘Florentine time.’ That museum was closed for maintenance. We couldn’t find anyone official to ask, but a wandering priest assured us that it would be open again tomorrow. There was no point in dallying, so we headed for the Duomo.

Ducking down an alleyway, hoping it was a short cut, we nearly walked past a small sign with a picture of Leonardo da Vinci on it. The place looked like an insignificant residence, certainly not a museum, but we decided to take a look.

The first flying machine?

Da Vinci’s tank

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Florence: San Marco and Fra Angelico

San Marco was on our itinerary for the 4th May, but as it was close to Accademia, we headed that way next. Before leaving Australia, I had noted the closing time as 2pm; once in Florence we were told 4 or 5 pm. We were getting into the swing of Florentine time.

dsc01903-640x425 The convent of San Marco was founded in the 13th century, and thanks to Cosimo il Vecchio was enlarged and rebuilt in 1437. He reserved two of the cells for his own peace and spiritual sustenance.

For me though, the frescoes, painted by Fra Angelico, were the main reason for our visit. Having been raised as Catholics, we knew the story of The Annunciation very well; Archangel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of God’s son, Jesus Christ.

Fra Angelico’s Annunciation

We walked to the top of the stairs in Museo di San Marco and my favourite painting of the Annunciation wowed us. Fra Angelico has created his Mary with the face of innocence and an air of humility and acceptance of God’s will. Even for unbelievers this surely has to be an image that draws the viewer in. Single blocks of colour, Fra Angelico’s style for most of the paintings, are part of the appeal in that I’m not distracted by details. Painted in 1445 (or thereabouts) the picture is still pure, clean and simply beautiful.

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Florence: Galleria dell’Accademia

David and me

Our plans for Florence – see all the great galleries and churches in four days – didn’t go quite according to my meticulously organised itinerary.
First stop on the morning of the 3rd May was to find the Tourist Office ‘Just down the road,’ according to the lovely Cristina, but with such a small sign we walked past it several times. Procuring two Firenze travel cards, the aim of our visit, took even more time as cash was the only acceptable payment. ATM’s don’t always work in the suburban streets of Florence, as we soon discovered, but about twenty minutes later, cashed up, we got our passes for three days with a warning from the man behind the counter. ‘Some galleries are closed today because of rolling strikes; possibly all this week.’
Stunned, I asked for more information. He didn’t want to phone any galleries because it wouldn’t help. ‘They can walk off at any moment,’ he warned, ‘but the Accademia is open until 2pm.’

Galleria dell’Accademia.

Michaelangelo’s David was, of course, high on my list, so we set off on the first of many brisk walks around Florence. The front of the building was closed, with nothing to indicate where one should try to enter. Around the corner we found a long queue which didn’t seem to be moving, so I left Susanne in line and went to investigate. Down the road and around the next corner was another line and the entry for Firenze card holders. By this time 2pm was getting too close for further dallying. We politely but firmly made our way to the front of this line and were allowed into the building.
‘Where is the painting called Madonna of the Sea, by Botticelli?’ I asked our ticket inspectors. Three of them didn’t understand English, although I think they understood ‘Botticelli’ and wanted to direct me to another of his works.
After several attempts I was permitted to enter the closest gallery, only to discover an empty space where my favourite Botticelli should have been.
‘It’s in Paris, on lone,’ I was informed by a forth attendant when I returned to the ticket counter and my puzzled sister.

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Florence: Actor and Diva Suites

Arriving in Florence with no-one to meet us, I was nervous about getting from the station to our B&B, Florence Relais Grand Tour which sounded very grand for a B&B but was absolutely delightful. The taxi rank was exactly where Christina, our hostess had told me to go and the driver found the tiny street in less than ten minutes. Double doors, two steps up from the pavement, displayed the number 21. After a couple of rings on the bell we were greeted by the charming Christina and our cases whisked inside and along the stone paved passage to our suites – Diva and Actor.

Diva Suite

Actor Suite

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Rome to Florence by Train

En route to Florence

On May 2^nd this year, we said goodbye to our friends at the Hotel Farnese (lovely hotel if you’re staying in Rome, see them at http://www.hotelfarnese.com ) and set off in a private taxi for the Central Railway Station. Richard, our driver, parked a long way from the entry. After waiting inside for half an hour, I understood why he had chosen that cheaper spot and was grateful for his willingness to remain with us.

Susanne and I had no way of knowing where our train would come into the station, and at 10.40 am, with departure time still listed as 10.45 am, we started to panic, despite the assurances offered by our patient assistant.

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