Italy by Rail - North to South (Part 4): Florence, the European Medieval Center!!

- Dec. 23-24, 2017, Saturday-Sunday.

- Hours before sunrise, we took the high speed train from Milan and moved south to the central Italian region of Tuscany. Its capital is the medieval-era powerhouse of Florence, also known as Firenze. This city was considered to be a very "enlightened" one as it was probably where the "Renaissance" was born. It was a powerhouse as it was one of the richest cities in medieval Europe, and is also a hub for art, culture, politics, and other things. The current Italian language was also based on the Florentine dialect of Italian, as it was an important capital. Today, Florence is the capital of Tuscany, and while it is a quiet city compared to Milan or even Rome, it still boasts what remains of its medieval glory. Here's a bonus: those who play the game Assassin's Creed will go crazy in Florence, as part of the game was set here, as well as Venice (click here for my visit to Venice.)

On the way to Florence.

- We arrived at Florence Santa Maria Novella (sometimes shortened to "Florence SMN") train station and went to our hotel, Mercure Firenze, which was around 5-minutes away by walking from the train station. It was quite freezing though not as cold as Milan; temperatures rarely went below 0 degrees Celcius, but the wind made it seem colder.

- We left our things and took no time to explore the city. We took a cab by the station to Galleria degli Uffizi or Uffizi Gallery. Normally, people would walk from the train station (where there are many hotels) all the way to Uffizi, and would take around 15 minutes (around 2 kilometers.) However, as my mom cannot walk long distances, we opted to take the cab. There are no metro lines in Florence, and even if there was, walking would still be the best way to go around as most tourist spots are compact and within a short walking distance from each other.

- The Uffizi Gallery is located by Piazza della Signoria, where other important tourist spots/historical places are located. Some of these include the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi. Before entering the Uffizi Gallery, we first stopped by Loggia dei Lanzi, an open-air statue gallery built in the late 1300s. The statues there are inspired by Roman mythology.

Piazza della signoria, with the towering Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi beside it.

With the statue of Corsico I de Medici, grand duke of Tuscany during the 1500s.

Freezing pre-nup photoshoot.

This is the FAKE David statue of Michelangelo.

Palazzo Vecchio and one of the lion statues at the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Perseus and David.

Loggia dei Lanzi. (Free entrance!!)

Statues of Roman gods and other mythological beings.

With Perseus holding the head of Medusa.

- I was left alone the rest of the day since my mom and my sister probably wanted to shop, and perhaps they might be having museum and church sickness. After all, they have been to Florence more than a decade ago, except for me, so they weren't losing out on a lot as they were able to visit these places before anyway. After going our separate ways for the day, I proceeded to visit the Uffizi Gallery, right behind the Loggia dei Lanzi.

- The name Uffizi means "offices," and this is because the building that holds the gallery today used to be government offices during the Medici Dynasty in the 16th century. After the fall of the Medici royal house, their art collection - mainly Renaissance art - were given to the City of Florence. Some important artworks include the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, and the Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca, among other important artworks.

On the way to the Uffizi Gallery.

LOL AT THIS PAINTING. Religious satire. "Grotesque Banquet" by an unknown 18th-century Tuscan painter.

Look at those ceiling paintings!!

Endless halls of art.

What I imagine myself doing to students who pass subpar work (but I've never actually done this, don't worry.)

Ceiling details.

There were endless portraits of royalty too; these are portraits of Suleyman the Magnificent, Hurrem Sultan, and Mihirmah Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Dukes of Urbino by Pietro della Francesca.

Madonna and Child with Angel, by Filippo Lippi. 

Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli.

Renaissance Power Ranger - IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!! (Lol, this is actually "Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Medallion" also by Sandro Botticelli.)

One of my favorite rooms!!

Y'all too early for that kiddos.

Ponte Vecchio from the second floor of the Uffizi Gallery.

Too much feels in this room.

Spotted in the ceiling!! Hello Dante Alighieri!! (One of Italy's best poets!!) 

Annunciation, by Leonardo da Vinci.

Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci.

Adoration of the Magi, by Leonardo da Vinci.

Medusa, by Caravaggio.

Replica of "Il Porcellino" ("Piglet"); the real statue/fountain is located near the plaza outside. 

- After visiting the giant Uffizi Gallery, I went next door to Palazzo Vecchio, or "Old Palace." This was first built in 1299, with additions and renovations in later centuries, and served as the town hall of Florence. I decided to buy the all-access pass, which includes the tower and the archaeological site at the basement apart from the actual palace. To be honest, I felt that the palace was rather empty, save for some rooms that retained their royal splendor. My favorite room was the room of maps, as I am a fan of geography.

Photo with the palace from the Uffizi Gallery.

I can only just imagine how this palace looked like with all the furnishings!! Just look at the ceiling!!

Function hall.

From the balcony at the second level.

Inside one of the chapel-like rooms.

See the hidden word?? (It's Leonora, or Eleonor of Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I.) 

Chapel.

If only my office looked like this!!

This is another favorite room. I look blue because of the lighting and the color of the room.

This is the tour guide of a group of grade school children with their parents during a field trip. I want to wear something like that while walking around Florence!!

The room of maps!! (I dig the big globe too.)

Up the tower. (I must've lost a few pounds from all that climbing!!)

At the archaeological site at the basement. This part is from an ancient Roman theater.

Artifacts.

- Just behind the palace and the Uffizi Gallery is the Ponte Vecchio over Arno River. Bridges have been made on this spot since the 900s AD, but these got destroyed by the usual suspects - flooding. The current bridge was built in the 1300s, and as as before, different stores from souvenirs to snacks lined up both sides of the bridge.

Ponte Vecchio.

It doesn't look like a bridge from this angle. See all the stores that line the bridge??

A statue in honor of Benvenutto Cellini, famed 16th-century Italian goldsmith. (And see all those love locks??)

- Just a few blocks from the main plaza is the Basilica di Santa Croce, or Church of the Holy Cross. While it looks small and quiet from the outside, this church was also named the "Temple of the Italian Glories" as many famous Italian people were buried there: Galileo, Michelangelo, an empty tomb in honor of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, just to name a few. Also, the church is apparently a lot larger than it looks, because of all the cloisters and museums inside the church. This is definitely one of the must-go churches in Florence!!

So apparently this is a thing?? Haha.

I would want to have a bike like that, that is, if I liked riding bikes which I don't.

The streets of Florence.

Basilica di Santa Croce. It looks like it was made from bars of white chocolate.

Time for an artsy shot.

Galileo!!

The empty tomb of Dante Alighieri: Dante was from Florence but was exiled due to various accusations, and eventually died in the city of Ravenna. Eventually, Florence tried to get the remains of Dante back, from Ravenna, but those guarding Dante's remains refused. 

Church interior.

The church's cross in front of several well-lit stained-glass windows.

Cloisters.

- I had lunch and gelato at a nearby cafe, and it shocked me to know that the Italian staff knew how to speak good-enough Chinese (including good-enough tones!!) Seeing that I was Chinese, they thought I was from the mainland and didn't understand English. To surprise them, I responded in my good-enough survival Italian. (Two can play this game!!) Haha. It was an amusing encounter, though we would later use Italian or English since it seemed more comfortable for them to use either than Chinese.
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My gelato after a rather confusing linguistic topsy-turvy conversation. 

He'd really pass off as street art. One of the more convincing ones I've seen in my life.

- I eventually met with my family later on, and spent some time going around the shops. The streets were livelier in the late afternoon, with some people doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. We'd walk, then occasionally look at some things, until we realized that we had walked all the way home!

Randomly found the real "Il Pocellino" in one of the smaller squares near the main plaza. People would drop coins and wish for good luck. I just wanted a photo because I need all the euros I can keep. HAHA. 

Busy streets.

Saw these two giant masks. (It's forced perspective, the masks are actually beside the doors of the store, not on my hands.)

- After a full night's rest we were ready to explore the main center of Florence - the Duomo area. Before that, we had an early morning visit to Galleria dell'Accademia. This 18th-century gallery was made to keep, preserve, and exhibit some of the best works of Florence. Also, you'd be happy to know that is the second most-visited museum in Italy after the Uffizi Gallery!! The main star of this small gallery is the REAL Michelangelo's David. It was once in the plaza (as can be seen above,) but was transferred to the gallery to better protect the statue from forces of the outside world that can potentially damage the statue.

The Rape of the Sabine Women (the same one in Loggia dei Lanzi!!)

It has a small music museum within its grounds.

I would love to touch and try to play everything in the music museum!!

A peculiar stringed instrument: the hurdy gurdy.

FINALLY!! IT IS YOU!! DAVID!!

Photo or it didn't happen.

Must be tiring to stand after many centuries.

Endless amount of statues.

Italian philosopher and perhaps the "father" of political science, Machiavelli.

- A short walk from the galleria is the giant Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze,) also known as Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. You can't miss it, it seems to tower over everything near it, and can be seen from anywhere in the downtown area of Florence. This church, finished in the mid 1400s after almost 150 years of construction, is currently the 12th largest church in the world. Personally, it looks like a life-sized cathedral gelatin - because the church does look like a giant gelatin or candy.

It is a challenge to take nice photos of the church, since it is very big and the baptistery in front causes a shadow at the church's lower half, while the top half is well-lit. I only got this rather nice photo because it was cloudy that day and so the light (or lack of,) made the lighting quite uniform. 

- We first bought our tickets at the ticket center near the church. Do note that the tickets are only for the baptistery, the museum, Giotto's Campanile (bell tower), and the cathedral's dome; the church itself does not need a ticket and is free of charge. Unfortunately, the entrance to the cathedral's dome needs an early reservation, which we did not bother doing since we were not really interested to go up the dome. After all, it would've been a long climb since the were no elevators like the one in Milan (click here to see Milan's Duomo.) Also, while I appreciate great views of cities, I wouldn't really go out of my way to see it if there is no other compelling reason to go up and see the city's view. (Fortunately, there is a ticket that includes everything else except the cathedral's dome, so that's the only one we bought.)

- Since it was Christmas Eve, the main church would open its doors to the public right after lunch, so we decided to visit all the other places around the church, starting with the baptistery. The octagonal baptistery is older than the church, being finished in the 12th century; the church was built a century after. The baptistery is also famous for its bronze doors that are now kept, preserved, and exhibited in the Museo Dell'Opera del Duomo - which we visited right after the baptistery. Another thing I loved about the baptistery is the golden ceiling that was almost hypnotic.

The golden ceiling and my big round head.

Main altar of the baptistery.

Windows.

- After visiting the baptistery, we went around the huge church to see the Museo Dell'opera del Duomo, or the church museum. Opened in the late 1800s, the sole purpose of this museum is to exhibit the works of the church (which includes the baptistery's bronze gates, as mentioned above.) This of course includes the preservation and conservation of these artworks. The roof the museum has a nice view of the Duomo's dome.

See the size of that? We had to go around this whole thing to reach the museum.

Almost like my name.

One of the famed bronze doors of the baptistery.

There's a lot of art to show.

Saw this little angel sitting on top of one of the sarcophagi in the museum.

Giant choir book.

I am particularly interested in that gold hat.

Early designs for the church. 

Religious capes.

View of the dome.

What the hell happened to you.

- We decided to have lunch first, since there was nothing else to do before the church would open its doors. However, it did not take long for a long line to form outside the church. Fortunately, we were able to find a spot right after lunch, and it after the church opened its doors, it did not take long for us to get inside. 

I like how the Christmas tree added a nice touch to the photo.

It looks like candy, seriously.

Details, details. It's the world's largest brick and mortar church by the way.

Inside the church.

Hidden paintings.

Candles.

- Surprisingly, it did not take long for us to finish visiting the church, despite its size. I found out later on that it was because the main church was a lot smaller, and that what contributed to its massiveness was that extra walls were built around the church, making a hollow space between the actual walls and the walls from the facade. Impressive!

- After visiting the church, I decided to go up Giotto's Campanile, or the bell tower, as it was included in my ticket and because we had nothing else to do that afternoon. It was both regrettable and worth it at the same time. Regrettable, because I had to go hundreds of steps up, but worth it because of the view once I was at the peak of the tower (what else.)

Giotto's Campanile, the church's bell tower.

View from the mid-level.

I super love the colors.

Bell.

My friends who love Assassin's Creed will appreciate this so much. (I don't play the game, I just have some knowledge of it.)

Oh hello Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, and Loggia dei Lanzi.

Santa Croce at the back.

- My family and I split ways after I visited the tower since they wanted to do some shopping and I just wanted to rest from all the climbing I did. However, since "rest" wasn't really in my vocabulary, I decided to visit the Santa Maria Novella Church right across the main railway station (which also means it's close to our hotel.) Built in the late 1200s, this church was built, and still stands as the main Dominican church of Florence. It bears some similarities with Duomo di Firenze and Basilica di Santa Croce, since they were all built in a mix of Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles.

Love that sprinkle of sunlight.

- I was happy to have squeezed this church in my schedule since it was a church full for surprises!! It doesn't look like it occupies a large area from outside, but apparently it is a maze inside once you go beyond the main prayer hall. The church hides various chapels, exhibition galleries, and cloisters that seem to transport you somewhere away from the downtown, and some time in renaissance Italy. However, things started to bother me when the early sunset was slowly devouring the sunlight, and there were only less than 10 of us inside the church, finding out way out. Not all the designated exits were open due to some on-going renovation works, and the staff-in-charge told us to go out the same way we got in. Well, it seemed like the logical thing to do. I got out of no time, and went my merry little way back to our hotel.

Church interior.

At the altar (see the paintings on the walls?!?!)

These arches remind me of the Mezquita in Cordoba (click here to see my Cordoba trip.)

I had to look twice because I thought it was a Chinese guardian lion.

Ceiling of the chapel at the cloisters.

Wall paintings at the cloisters.

The side facade of the church.

- It was Christmas Eve, as I mentioned, and while I would prefer a traditional Christmas dinner at home, I was also happy being in Italy - one of the countries I had longed to visit. I had dinner at the small Japanese restaurant across our hotel (because I was already craving for non-European food,) and brought back some small cakes from the grocery to share with the family. Instead of having a traditional Filipino "Noche Buena," or the midnight meal, we had an early rest that night instead of waiting for Christmas, because we had to get enough energy for our Christmas day trip - to Pisa!!

- Please don't forget to ready about my other Eurotrip adventures during the holidays here:

France: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here Part 4 here!!

Italy: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here, Part 8 here, and Part 9 here!!