We reached Florence in the afternoon and we were not allowed to check in first so we put our luggage in the train station and proceeded to Uffizi Gallery.
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most famous museums in the world given the rich amount of unique artworks and masterpieces conserved within its walls, the majority from the Renaissance period.
Located in the heart of Florence, the Uffizi Gallery hosts works of art by great Italian artists such as Botticelli, Giotto, Cimabue, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello, just to name a few of the most famous. Its large collection has works from all centuries but a large part dates back to the periods between the 12th and 17th centuries.
The Uffizi Gallery is a must-see destination for anyone visiting Florence and Tuscany and welcomes over a million visitors each year. The Uffizi, together with the Vatican Museums in Rome, are the top two most visited museums in Italy by visitors from all across the world and the long lines at the museum’s entrance are almost as famous as its masterpieces!
The thing is that, Ben and I really took our time to enjoy every single piece of art!
We began our tour by walking up the four long flights of the monumental staircase to the top floor.
The U-ffizi is U-shaped, running around the courtyard. We saw the Madonna and Child (circa 1310)
Mary and baby Jesus sit on a throne in a golden never-never land symbolizing heaven, The Annunciation
As you go, notice many of the same medieval features: religious subjects, gold backgrounds, two-dimensionality, and meticulous detail.
Once in Room 5, stop at the ornate, golden-framed painting at the far end, showing a parade of people coming to greet the baby Jesus, Adoration of the Magi (1423) ,The Birth of Venus (c. 1485), Adam and Eve, Raphael — Pope Leo X and Cardinals (c. 1518)
We didnt able to finish appreciating ever single painting though, and we were late for the next guided tour in Palazzo Vecchio! And we were so sorry about that. However, I really appreciated the way the ancient people decorated their house with the secret passage and stuffs! WOW!
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy.
Hehe, the next highlight of the day! David Michelangelo!The muscle man! =in the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze, It is the home of Michelangelo's sculpture David.
Michelangelo's David is the symbol of the Renaissance, and one of Europe's great thrills is actually seeing it in the flesh.
The story of David....
In 1501, Michelangelo Buonarroti, a 26-year-old Florentine, was commissioned to carve a large-scale work for the Duomo — Florence’s cathedral. He was given a block of marble that other sculptors had rejected as too tall, shallow, and flawed to be of any value. But Michelangelo picked up his hammer and chisel, knocked a knot off what became David’s heart, and started to work.
The figure of David comes from a Bible story. The Israelites, God’s chosen people, are surrounded by barbarian warriors led by a brutish giant named Goliath. The giant challenges the Israelites to send out someone to fight him. Everyone is afraid except for one young shepherd boy — David. Armed only with a sling, which he’s thrown over his shoulder, David cradles a stone in the pouch of the sling and faces Goliath.
In this carving, Michelangelo captures David as he’s sizing up his enemy. He stands relaxed but alert, leaning on one leg in a classical pose known as contrapposto. In his powerful right hand, he fondles the stone in the pouch of the sling, ready to fling it at the giant. His gaze is steady — searching with intense concentration, but also with extreme confidence. Michelangelo has caught the precise moment when David is saying to himself, “I can take this guy.”
While Cindy and I wandered around the Accademia, the others went to checked in the luggage. Then, we celebrated Rachel's birthday!Pizza feast!
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