Buongiorno!
Today we enjoyed our first of two day trips to Firenze (also known as Florence)! We managed to all stay together and survive the train ride, which many of us used as an opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest. The train ride was about an hour long, giving us lots of time to chat and play card games.
When we arrived in Firenze, we met up with our tour guide, Laura, who took us through the most important cultural centers of the city. A lot of the history we saw was built into the architecture. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was built out of white and green marble found locally. It is a mixture of gothic styles with a neo-gothic façade. We did not go into the church today, but on Friday a small group plans to climb up into the Duomo (dome) of the church. In a nearby plaza, we saw many statues, depicting either biblical or Roman mythological characters. We learned from Laura that the works of art were often used politically by the early ruling families in Firenze to portray power or certain victories metaphorically.
To wrap up the tour, we explored Santa Croce. This church houses the tombs and memorials of many important people such as Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Dante. As we went deeper into the church, we discovered a beautiful crucifix, which is now a symbol of the tragic flood that occurred in 1966. Although it was restored, only 30% of the painted surface remains intact today. Our final stop was the Capella de’ Pazzi, a chapel with a distinct art style that lacks the frescos and elaborate decorations we’ve come to expect in the churches we visit. Instead, the Pazzi chapel is relatively simple in its art features, decorated primarily with a few brightly colored terra cotta details.
After saying “ciao” to Laura, we headed to lunch as a group at Trattoria del Pennello. We enjoyed another traditional Italian three course meal with pesto pasta, one of several entrees, and panna cotta for dessert. Lunch was so relaxing and a great chance to cool down after all the walking in the morning.
After lunch, we set out in a few different groups to hunt down a new cultural experience for the afternoon. While many of our options closed early on Tuesday, we still enjoyed our time in the Museo delle Capelle Medicee, Dante’s House Museum, and Piazzale Michelangelo. The Capelle Medicee had an extensive collection of relics, like the Reliquiaria di San Casimiro with intricate detailing. Upstairs, the chapel was breathtaking! It is an octagonally shaped room with every wall covered in stone mosaic which opened up into high ceilings covered with frescos. The mausoleum is home to monuments of the Grand Dukes who are buried elsewhere. Dante’s house was located next door to the restaurant where we ate lunch and now houses a museum with various artifacts and stories from the poet’s life. The museum wasn’t something we’d planned to see, but was a nice surprise.
After our various cultural experiences, some shopping, and of course some gelato, the whole group met at the train station in Firenze for the ride back to Castiglion Fiorentino where we had a relatively relaxed evening. After dinner, group gelato was optional with much of the group opting for an earlier check-in to catch up on sleep. We’re looking forward to returning to the classroom and the art studio tomorrow, and to the rest of our time in Italy!
Arrivederci!
Amanda and Sarah T.
