Day 4: A Trip to Florence

Today we all woke up early to climb into the van driven by Giancarlo, boyfriend of Francesca. He lives very nearby and works at Autoleggio Caroti as a mechanic and chauffeur/driver. He was brought up in the Mugello, the part of Tuscany directly north of Florence. The Mugello is famous for its slate and knives. So Giancarlo knows the ins and outs of Florence - all those one-way streets, dodging for tourists, and pushy cars.



We were dropped off at the train station, which is basically across a couple of streets from the Santa Maria Nouvelle, a beautiful church famous for its important art: a carved, wooden crucifix by Giotto, Massacio's Trinity which is the first good depiction of perception, and incredible side chapel pieces with wrought iron work, to mention only a couple.



Then we walked over to the Duomo and the Baptistery and its Ghiberti bronze doors (copies). We did not go inside because our one-day overview trip of Florence stirred up a whirlwind of trotting artists with little time. However, people were given about one-half hour to circle the outside of the intricate pink, green and white marble edifices.



We then had a very good lunch at Cantinetto di Verazzano, where we opted for a sampling of delicious little sandwiches (I'd never had a pea-cream cheesey sandwich before; I really liked it!), beans with tuna, and a cheese sampler. The house white wine was perfect for the hot, hot, humid summer day: twas crisp and a bit fruity.



Then we headed for the Uffizi, where we had reservations for 2:00 pm. On our way over there, we stopped at the Piazza Signoria ..... to view the sculptures under the Loggia. It must have been quite a violent time; there are decapitations galore, sculpted by Donatello, Cellini and Giambologna and others.



Even though we had reservations, we waited in line at the Uffizi: to exchange the voucher for real tickets, to get into the building, to go through security, to check bags, to climb the many flights of stairs up to the beginning of exhibits. Separately, we all wended our ways through the packed museum. Some of the more famous paintings there are Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera, Lippi's Madonna and Child and Michelangelo's unfinished Holy Family. These more famous paintings and others were so mobbed that it was difficult to really get a good view. (There is also so much art in the Uffizzi that one easily gets overwhelmed. It is a museum to tackle one room at a time, again and again, over the span of a lifetime.)



After the Uffizi we went across the river via the Ponte Vecchio to the Boboli Gardens where some of us climbed to the top. The older geezers stayed below while the more youthful class members got photos of the entire city panorama. The heat and humidity were dreadful. Some of us then hightailed to the restaurant for our early 7:00 pm reservation while others went with Billy and Laura to an art supply store to pick up coveted Florentine paints and supplies and foam core for Fran. Giancarlo joined us for dinner, the herded us back to the train station for our sleepy trip back to Radicofani.

Photos will be loaded at a later date.