Firenze

Florence at Night, from Piazzale Michelangelo

Friday morning it happened—an event I looked forward to and anticipated since this summer. We went to Florence (or Firenze, as Italians say). I could scarcely contain my excitement at the thought of visiting a hefty chunk of the world’s famous art, and I could barely hide my nervous anticipation at the thought of traveling in a big city on my own. Happily, the art was better than even I in my blissful enthusiasm imagined, and the traveling was easier than my anxious mind thought possible.

Top: Statues in Piazza della Signora
Bottom: Meredith and I with the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio in the Background

As part of our Learn to Travel class we were required to read about Florence and make preparations for the trip, although the extent of our planning was left up to us. At first I thought I would leave Florence having seen only half of what I wanted to, simply because there is so much to see. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of activities we were able to squeeze into two and a half days, mainly due to our copious preparations. In total, I visited:

- The Uffizi Gallery, which houses the largest collection of Renaissance paintings in the world,
- The Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s David and Prisoners sculptures,
- The Bargello, which has many sculptures, including Donatello’s sassy David,
- The Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore, tallest building in Florence and an icon of Renaissance architecture,
- The Medici Chapels, the Medici tombs carved by Michelangelo,
- The Archeology museum, which has a large Egyptian exhibit and several mummies,
- The Modern Art exhibit in the Pitti Palace, former home of the Medici family, as well as
- Piazzale Michelangelo, a hill on the outside of the city with beautiful views.

Top: On top of the Duomo, with a View of Florence in the Background

Bottom: The Amazing Detailing on the Front of the Duomo

All of these were wonderful experiences, but my favorite by far was the Uffizi Gallery. Standing a foot away from Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Primavera, Madonnas, and Pallas and the Centaur, I found the experience otherworldly and it left me spell-bound. It was a feeling impossible to achieve by looking at the paintings in a book. In The Birth of Venus I was captivated by its magnificent size and by Botticelli’s delicate use of shiny gold detailing in Venus’ hair, in the Wind’s wings, in the flowers suspended in the air. My Uffizi guidebook noted that though Venus is very beautiful, Botticelli painted her innocently, not sensually. He also thought that God could be honored through the manifestations of beauty in His creation.

Botticelli did paint beautifully. In art history, we have been discussing different cultural influences in artists’ works. One thing Botticelli was influenced by was dance, as is evidenced by the way he grouped his graceful figures. His figures’ faces also draw the viewer in. I could stare into the sweet, serene eyes of his Venus, Pallas, or Madonnas all day.


Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia was breathtaking, as well. His sheer size is stunning and it is difficult to imagine the effort used to create this vision of strength and beauty from a piece of rock. It’s funny that David ended up being a masterpiece, because originally the marble block Michelangelo carved him from was rejected by other sculptors because it was flawed and too poor to use. But Michelangelo believed God placed the beautiful figures into the marble already, and the sculptor’s job was to reveal it. This way of thinking is clear in his other statues in the Accademia, the Prisoners, a series of people who seem to stretch and pull themselves from the unfinished marble blocks that hold them captive.

In addition to the many aspects of art we studied while in Florence, another purpose of our trip was to learn the basics of using public transportation. It was the first time I had ever ridden a “real” bus and train, and I was quite nervous about it. Thankfully, Dr. Webb gave us thorough instructions and we managed to get around very well, both within the city and from Florence back to Sansepolcro. The bus drivers were very helpful and always told us when to get off if we weren’t sure of our stop, and the people we asked for directions always gave them graciously and were not agitated by our sometimes pathetic attempts at speaking Italian. Now, although I might not know everything there is to know about catching a train or finding the correct bus stop, I feel much more confident in my ability to figure it out or at least find the right people to ask.

On the Train Home

Despite the many glories of Florence, I was very glad to return to the palazzo in Sansepolcro Sunday night. Florence is, obviously, a big city, with many tourists, lots of noise, and tons of hustling and bustling. While there, at times I caught myself feeling almost annoyed with the swarms of tourists there and with how the city catered to them, writing more things in English than in Italian it seemed. I think I met more Americans during a weekend in Florence than I have during a weekend in America. In three short weeks I have grown very attached to Sansepolcro and am exceedingly grateful to call it my home.