7.7.09 Florence.

I woke up pretty excited knowing that I was going to see the David statue today. I have seen the David copy that is in a piazza near the museum, but never the real one and after learning about it in Art History I was totally stoked. We first went to the Uffizzi gallery and I was able to see a lot of paintings that I had learned about and wrote essays on in my art history class so it was amazing to be looking at them in person. There were many different alter pieces that are just dripping in gold and are from the 13th century. Giotti designed some of them and its interesting to compare his style with other artists of the time and how their knowledge of perspective drawings and vanishing points comes about through trial and error. We then entered a room full of huge paintings and my personal favorite, Botticelli’s Primavera. It is also my dad’s favorite painting and to sit and look at it for a good 10 minutes and studying the meaning of the painting was an incredible experience. There is something about being right there next to a masterpiece that gives me chills.

if you didn't believe me before, here is more proof that i met meryl streep

We moved on down to the Accademia and pretty much right as you walk in you are greeted with the magnificent David. Actually before you get to the David, there are displays of about 8 unfinished Michelangeo statues that are so cool to see. Since they are in a half-chiseled state, you can really start to see how he would go about chiseling away at marble. According to Michelangelo, the marble already has the statue inside of it but you just have to listen to it and find it. I kinda like that idea because it makes art come alive in a way and speak to your soul. Seeing the David in person gave me chills. It is SO big! The block of marble that Michelangelo used to create the David was a 40 ton block and he chiseled it down to a 7 ton block of marble that eventually became the David. We sat and looked in his face and to me, he looked ready to go kill Goliath and ready to do what he needed to do to save his people. Some people see victory and that he has already slayed Goliath but I disagree. I like his intensity in his face and how Michelangelo captured that moment in history. To his face, sling slung over his right shoulder, down to his flexed leg, every detail is accounted for. Our guide Tonya said they had scaffolding around the statue so that Michelangelo could reach the top of the 14 ft body. That was an experience that I will always remember and I just loved being able to finally see this infamous sculpture in person.

our very thrifty yet very delicious feast for lunch..just chillin next to the duomo

the gigantic tubs of nutella...we later found out they are 33 euro. totally worth it.

It was time for lunch so we had some free time. We decided to hit up the market and got some fresh fruit, a bagette and much needed nutella. Nutella has become a staple for me and I found some tubs that are big enough for food storage, which are needed in my opinion. We sat across from the Duomo eating lunch. I had another surreal moment realizing where I was and lucky I am to be here. We met up with the group and were able to go in the baptistery and Duomo. The baptistery has an octagonal roof covered in gold narrative mosaics that are the size of your pinky finger fingernail. Imagine that will ya? Try creating an entire ceiling and building for that matter with that small of a material. I have so much respect for the artists of the past. Moving from the baptistery, we went in the interior of the Duomo. The whole floor is inlaid stone in many inspiring patterns using the traditional red and green colors that pop next to the white marble. I love the contrast of the dark green and burnt red as a color palette and love looking at the Duomo for that reason. The contrasting colors are very pleasing on the eye in my opinion. Seeing the interior of this cathedral compared to St. Peter’s was interesting because the Duomo was built a few hundred years before St. Peter’s and the style of cathedrals back then was to build very long and narrow and very tall. The Duomo has a small chapel in the front that is almost squished up to the front with very shallow naves on the side. St. Peter’s has the cross formation that becomes standard later on in architecture. It almost feels claustrophobic in the Duomo because it is so narrow and tall but it really was stunning nonetheless.

duomo and bell tower

the ceiling of the interior of the baptistry

Leaving the Duomo, Darrin took us on a little sketching tour of Florence. We stopped at sketched a 20 minute perspective drawing of the Ponte Veccio which turned out to be an incredible experience. We all lined up on the bridge, pulled out our sketchbooks and had many people walk by and check out what we were sketching. Being very self-conscious of my sketches, I wasn’t too happy about this but I got over that once I remembered how awesome it is that I was sketching the beautiful view. The Ponte Veccio is an iconic bridge over the Arno River in Florence that is a medieval bridge. Now it has turned into a market for gold and other shops of jewlers and become a hot spot of Florence. After sketching that we sketched for five minutes the Florence skyline with the bell tower in the view. Again, so cool that I am sketching in Florence. We had a much needed water and gelato break and then broke into groups for a sketching workshop. We sketched a few different buildings surrounding this lovely park we found it was really helpful to learn how to develop my sketching technique. Being able to study the architecture as I sketch makes each building and element of that building come to life and I am able to see it with different, more open and interested eyes. That is what makes this study abroad so special is that not only are we seeing important buildings and architecture of each place, but we are seeing them with an eye for design and that makes it all worth it.

all of us at the top of florence

me and magnificent florence

We ended our sketching trip and Darrin told us to come hike up to a church that overlooks Florence since the sun was going to set soon. We all agreed not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. We began hiking the stairs and looked up to see a never-ending trail of stairs. I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it but luckily I did, and boy was it worth it after seeing the magnificent view! From there, Florence looked so much larger then I would have imagined it to be and even more beautiful. You can see for miles and miles and the amazing green hills roll on forever it seems. The Duomo rises up and towers over the skyline and is its red dome dominants the view as each smaller building dabbles the rest of the view with spots of red, cream and all shades of yellow. Florence is truly a bello city. It was time for dinner at this point so we grabbed some great authentic Italian pizza and calzone and hit up our favorite gelato place Grom’s. I’m amazed that gelato never gets old but just better and better every time I eat it!

sweet calzone...it doesn't look that good there but i promise it was delicious

grom's is always a treat...caramel and vanilla is a winner combo