Today, Friday, we went to the Academia Museum (famous mostly for housing the famous Michelangelo statue “David”, wandered around Florence (I hit the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio and the Central Market), visited the interesting Medici Chapel (where “Lorenzo II the Magnificent” is buried).
The David Statue (as in David and Goliath) is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture in marble created from 1501 to 1504 by Michelangelo. It is huge, 16 feet 11 inches tall and carved out of a block of Carrera marble. It’s been moved around some but has been in the Academia since the 19th century. There’s also a sculpture gallery, other works of Michelangelo (much unfinished, such as his “prisoner” scuptures and a music instrument exhibit along with a lot of paintings of religious scenes.
I walked to the Mercato di Sant Ambrogio after we visited the museum, while Susan, Tim and Tracey went to the da Vinci museum (I went to one in Venice..and last year in the Loire Valley). The Mercato was interesting. On the outside there were many fruit and vegetable vendors and a few pasta, olive and spice vendors; inside there were many more cheese, fish, meat, bread and pasta vendors and some spots to eat a meal. I picked up a beautiful Romesco broccoli, some sun-dried tomatoes (very tasty), bread, tortoloni and a bit of pecorino. I walked back through the Central Market which had fewer fruit and vegetable vendors and more prepared food vendors.
The Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee) are located within the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which serves as the primary burial place for the Medici family. They include tombs numerous Grand Dukes of Tuscany, including Lorenzo the Magnificent, Giuliano de’ Medici, and many others, housed in the Chapel of the Princes and the New Sacristy. The Medici’s were a very powerful and rich family but there are no direct decedents of the family. The Chapel of the Princes is large, rich and beautiful; the New Sacristy contains work of Michelangelo.
After visiting the chapel, we walked around 35 minutes to a viewing point at Piazzale Michelangelo (where a copy of “David” is in the center of the Piazzale). From up there we could see most of central Florence, all the way to the train station. The sun came out in time to take some nice photos.
We spent a while looking over the city then walked back to our apartment (after the obligatory stop at a grocery store) and finally warmed up.
In my wanderings, I saw a new Pistacchiu store (converted from a candy store), and lots and lots of pistachio flavored candy in a large candy shop…Pistachios are having a moment.
