Fortunately the weather was nice and we could finally take pictures that didn’t feature our black pea coats, which we have now grown to despise. We were welcomed to the city right after stepping off the bus by a swarm of Italians selling cheap knock-offs and “bling-bling,” as they referred to it, outside the medieval city walls surrounding the tower and the main part of the City of Pisa. Once inside we saw the old cathedral and its bell tower, or as we know it the leaning town of Pisa standing at only a height of 184 ft.
Pisa was probably the best people watching experience of our trip so far. Scattered across the lawn in front of the tower were countless amounts of people sticking their butts out pretending to be pushing the leaning tower but really only holding their hands in the air…. Truly a sight to see.
A few hours later we had arrived at our hotel in Florence, Hotel Pendini, in a perfect location on Via Strozzi directly off the Plaza della Repubblica and within walking distance to all the sights in the city (once again... lots of walking!). Plaza della Repubblica marks the intersection of two main roads forming a cross in the middle of the city. As soon as we checked into our room and dropped off our backpacks we went out to explore the ancient streets of Florence which we quickly found started and stopped without rhyme or reason making finding our way around difficult at first.
Because of a recommendation from a friend who studied here last year we ate one of our favorite meals of the trip that night at a quaint restaurant called Za-Za’s where we enjoyed a fresh caprese salad, ravioli in walnut sauce, rigatoni, and a glass of rosée surrounded by tables of loud and stereotypical Italian men sprinkled with a few American tourists (Thanks Dominique!).
Saturday started early with a guided tour where we learned a lot of the history of the city from a woman extremely passionate and clearly proud to be from this “home of the Renaissance and birthplace of our modern world.” We enjoyed the grandeur of Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo, made of three colors of marble each representing a different ideal: white for hope, green for faith, and rose for charity. The cathedral took approximately 200 years to construct with the dome as the final touch as the technology to create the dome they envisioned was not invented until local architect Brunelleschi did. This was the first Renaissance dome and the model for many domes around Europe. When planning St. Peter’s in Rome, Michelangelo said, “I can build its sister—bigger, but not more beautiful” than the dome of Florence.As we moved on we walked by Dante’s house (or near where they suspect he may have lived in Florence), enjoyed watching some local artisans create a chalk mural on the street, and perused through Mercato Nuovo aka the Straw Market where we touched the
nose of Porcellino, a statue of a wild boar, which people rub in order to ensure their return to Florence. Our tour continued across the Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s most famous bridge lined with shops selling gold and silver) and through the Piazza della Signoria with city hall where the David once stood until 1873 and where a copy has stood in its place since then.Our tour ended at Santa Croce Church which houses wonderful art and the tombs of great Florentines including Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
After grabbing a quick Margherita con frites (pizza with French fries on top) and some gelato we met back up with the group at Uffizi Gallery where we spent a couple hours looking at untitled art. Not wanting to see one more piece of Italian art we visited more markets and shops on our way back to our hotel.
Dinner that night was at a local family owned restaurant recommended to us by the receptionist at our hotel… another good meal of homemade pheasant ravioli. After a toast by fellow Chapman student Alex to the wonderful trip we had had so far we made our way to a local bar and then onto a discotecca called Twice. Our goal of buying as few drinks as possible while in Europe was accomplished as we invited ourselves into a VIP lounge where three American guys bought all the girls sparkling buckets of champagne and Grey Goose until 4:00 am… Thank you America!
Our Italian adventure ended on Sunday after we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David—our favorite experience in Florence. The fact that the Accademia was built solely to house the famous statue was no surprise as upon entering the museum and turning the corner around the Rape of the Sabines, the David stands on a pedestal at the end of a long corridor under a dome that allowed natural light to shine down on what is one of the greatest works of art known to man. We cannot explain to you the feelings and emotions that rushed through us when we first caught sight of the David. It is truly magnificent. We have no pictures of the David as photography was not allowed, but really that made that moment even more special to each of us as you can only experience the David by being in its presence.
We could not have chosen a better ending to our trip to Florence.
Ciao! - MoffTar
No comments:
Post a Comment