We had a much needed sleep in on day 18 in Florence and when. We did wake the sun was rising from behind our hotel and bathing the church on the opposite bank of the Arno in a rich, golden light. We took our time getting out and when we did we found a marvellous cafe that had freshly squeezed juice, coffee and an omelette for 7E. Johnny had a croissant and coffee for less than 3E. We needed fortifying as we planned to tackle the Uffizi Gallery.
The walk to the Uffizi was wonderful. Being Saturday families were out and there was a slightly relaxed air. Huge galleries lined the route as well as the ubiquitous high end fashion houses. A carousel was twirling in one square and an enterprising young man was busking with drums concocted from things he had found on the street.
The line at the Uffizi was long and the signs did warn of a 90 min wait, but we were determined to get in. After 10 mins or so I got restless and went for a walk to the end of the gallery to see the river. and take a photo of the armed soldiers guarding the gallery and us. I was promptly approached by a soldier who insisted I delete the image. When I asked why he simply said, "Because you must" . Fair enough. Would you believe it, while I was away for five or so minutes, the line suddenly shot forward and Johnny was frantically trying to ring and message me to get back. Unfortunately, he was in a black spot. He had to give up his place in the line and when I got back a few minutes later, we had to join the end of the line again. Still, it wasn’t too bad and in another 15 mins we were in.
Johnny had has his fill of 15th century art at the Pitti Palace, but he gritted his teeth and gave it a go. At first we dropped into a film exhibition of the films of Eisenstein. There were lots of scenes from Russian life and so, so, so much overacting. Johnny had nostalgic but not altogether pleasant memories of going to an Eisenstein festival with his dad Frank, and sitting in a draughty hall on uncomfortable wooden seats through several of the interminable films. “After Death in Venice this was the most boring film I have ever seen “he announced flatly. It was interesting but I was glad that the exhibition only sampled the film maker's work. We also took a turn around a special exhibition on Martin Luther, one of my heroes from the Reformation.
Once in the gallery proper we saw work from the panoply of european Renaissance masters. 50 years ago these names came into my consciousness and finally I was standing in front of the artists’ most famous works. I was walking the same apartments and hallways as the Medici family. Giotto, Botticelli, Uccello, Da Vinci, Caravaggio,...Their most studied and photographed work was all there. Each artist had at least a gallery dedicated to their work. The Da Vinci gallery showed us the progression from drawings through to finished works as well as how the conservation process was allowing the images to emerge from years of grime and yellowing varnish. In one heavily restored work they have even found Da Vinci's fingerprints left on the canvas. We passed through huge long galleries of statues (one looked like a collapsed Lily after a heavy day of galley trooping). Seriously, this was really wonderful and it was strange that with everything I’ve forgotten over the years, tiny scraps of knowledge about the art and artists seemed to have survived. There really was an embarrassment of riches in the Uffizi.
We had a quick lunch in the gallery. We opted for take away and just stepped out on to the roof terrace facing Florence Cathedral and had our lunch in an area that warned “no picnics”. No one seemed to care and other people were doing the same.
From here it was a meander through the streets and a coffee at a cafe before heading to Florence Cathedral. Again there was a long queue but seeing these treasures was why we had come to Florence and so we took our place in the line. Outside the church there was a positively enormous portable crane on 18 wheels with nine axles. It was there for the restoration work on the Duomo. For John this was poetry in motion. For him this was more glorious than the famed dome by Brunelleschi. “ It's an AR 700 and possibly a Terex Demag. It has 100 tonnes of ballast. It can lift 700 tonnes” he enthused to my utter indifference.
After about 15 minutes as we were half way to the ticket booth I noticed the bell tower we were heading towards was separated from the church. I started to wonder if we were in the right line. Johnny kept our place in the queue and I went up to ask the official on the door. It was just as well as the entry to the church was free and on the other side of the building. We would have bought tickets for the museum and access to the top of the dome, which with my fear of heights, would have been useless. We quickly gained entry to the church and yes it was rather lovely, but for me the glory was in the amazing external pattering of white and green marble.
We had well and truly done our 10,000 steps for the day and felt justified in heading back to the hotel but there was a small diversion through the florence market to a supermarket for more supplies of beer, juice and a delicious almond bar covered in toffee. Each day more and more shops are dressing their displays with Christmas decorations and some of the things we have seen have been utterly beautiful. We picked up a couple of fine bone china decorations for home.
As I write this entry the sun is fading and the view across the river looks like a living, breathing version of Renee Magritte’s The Empire of Lights (which we saw in Peggy G’s gallery in Venice). Utterly beautiful!!
Aurelia’s restaurant recommendation was excellent last night so we will follow her advice again tonight. With it being Saturday night here Johnny has made a booking online.
