Explorations of Florence continue with wonderful gardens, palaces, churches and museums, all the staples of urban tourism.
My return visit to Florence, Italy was only two jam-packed short days (check out Day 1). Two days is never enough for Florence! So much was seen in Day 1 of my visit I couldn’t even fit it in one post. They day started with the Duomo (cathedral) and a good wandering through Florence. To finish off the day, a visit to the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti was in order.
The Palazzo Pitti wasn’t built for any sovereign but for a Florentine banker by the name of Luca Pitti in 1458, although he was never able to finish it before he died. The palace was then bought by Eleonora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici, who became the Grand Duke. Cosimo finished and then enlarged the palace, more than doubling the size. The palace was the home of the Medici until the last male heir died in 1737. The palace passed through a few hands, including Napoleon’s, until it landed into the House of Savoy’s in 1860. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy presented the palace to Italy in 1919, along with the Boboli Gardens, as a museum for all to see. Not only did the palace still contain many of its original contents, but also other state-owned collections.
I actually went to the gardens first but I’m going to stay on topic here. The Treasury is on the ground floor of the palace and usually holds traveling exhibits of shiny things, and some permanent collections. The next floor has the Palatine Gallery and the Imperial and Royal Apartments. The top floor has the Gallery of Modern Art, which actually was the modern art of the day when the museum was founded, so Neoclassicism to the 1930s. Most of the interior of the palace dates from the 17th to the 19th century.
Now onward to the Boboli Gardens. Since it was already the afternoon, the gardens were actually visited first. This was the second time I have visited in the rain. It was still worth it.
The Boboli Gardens lie directly behind the Palazzo Pitti and was conceived in the 16th century, a classic Italian garden. The gardens were for Eleonora di Toledo, the lady who purchased Palazzo Pitti, and only for the Medici family. They never entertained in their giant garden, even after they expanded it in the 17th century. However, after their family line died out, it did finally open to the public as a park in the mid-1700s.
The Boboli Gardens are famous for its dramatic landscapes, views, mini-forests and fountains. In essence, it’s a very simple garden. You won’t find flowers everywhere, but you will find surprises around every hedge.
That’s it for Day 1 of Florence, now for Day 2!
Now for more Medici. The day started at two chapels belonging to San Lorenzo. Today, these chapels are part of the Cappelle Medicee and are visited separate from San Lorenzo.
I didn’t visit San Lorenzo on this visit. So, we are going to head around back to see the Medici Chapels. There are two chapels. The oldest was built in the 16th century and was designed by Michelangelo, although it was not finished when he headed down to Rome. He did, however, finish the statues that were needed for two of the four tombs that were going to be placed in the Sagrestia Nuova (new sacristy).
The larger Cappella dei Principi was started in the 17th century and doesn’t actually hold any bodies at all. They are all in the crypt downstairs, even though there are sarcophagi in it. The chapel’s dome is so tall that many people use it to navigate in Florence, or at least I do. The chapel cost so much money that the last Medici in the 18th century was still paying it off.
The next stop is the Bargello, part of the same museum system as the Chapelle Medicee and the Palazzo Davanzati from my previous post. A former barracks and prison, this imposing building is now a wonderful art museum dedicated to Gothic and Renaissance sculpture, art and artifacts. Here, you can find sculptures by all the big names, like Michelangelo, Donatello Sansovino, Bernini, etc., as well as some paintings and other smaller works of art. The building is also pretty cool.
I’m not going to bore you with museum pictures, but I am going to show you a bit of the first public building in Florence. Dating to the mid 13th century, the Bargello housed the podesta, the highest magistrate of the Florence city council. In 1574, the Medici got rid of that position and put the police chief here. The building was used as a prison. The interior yard was even used to execute people until 1786, although the police didn’t move out until 1859.
Onward to another one of Florence’s gems, Santa Croce. Santa Croce lived much of its long life since 1294 without a lovely facade, just like San Lorenzo. However, they finally added this famous Gothic Revival one in the mid 19th century. Fits right in.
The next stop was the Museo Galileo, near the Uffizi. Housed in an 11th century building, the museum has a huge collection of early scientific artifacts which started from the Medici collections.
The last stop was finishing up the night at the Museo dell’Opera, the museum of the Duomo of Florence. One of the great things about Italy is that many of the museums are open past 5 PM so you can easily fit some extra nerding in. Here’s a couple of shiny things from my visit.
My two-day visit was very jam packed with history and lovely architecture. You can’t go wrong with Florence. I saw two new museums and returned to some old favorites (which is a must). I also used Florence as a jumping off point for a visit to Pisa, which is an easy train ride away. (Check out Pisa in this post.) All and all, Florence is a great place to visit museums and just explore, just expect to spend more than just two days for a first visit.
Check out my next update where I return to Venice!
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