Category: Our Continuing Journey

Our day started with making sure all our luggage was out and ready to be picked up for transport to Rome!  

Gathered together to walk to the train station – Elaine always has some information to part and Janeen just found out I have transport

Once that was completed, and breakfast finished, we gathered together for the walk to the train station.  Nothing like high-speed train travel – zipping along at 180 kph.  Once in Rome, we went directly to Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.

San Pietro in Vincoli is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome.  The name alludes to the Biblical story of the Liberation of Peter.  This church is best known for housing Michelangelo’s statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II and hold the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem.

Ross spent some time describing Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses. This was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb in 1505 and depicts the biblical figure Moses with horns on his head based on a description in chapter 34 of Exodus in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible

After viewing the church, and hearing Ross talk about the Moses Statue, we headed to our hotel and to get ready for our trip for our private tour of the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the most well-known Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employs 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.

Walking through the museum you cannot but be overwhelmed with the art. At every turn there is something special – greek statues, the sarcophagus for Helena who died around 330, with her son at her side, a bacchus and Caravaggio The Entombment of Christ.

Walking through all the museum without a crowd was really a treat for sure.  Along the way we say a bunch of art, statues, tapestries and other treasures of the Church.  

Two highlights come to mind – first was The Gallery of Maps.  This gallery contains a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti.  The gallery was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII as part of other artistic works commissioned by the Pope to decorate the Vatican. It took Danti three years (1580–1583) to complete the 40 panels of the 120 m long gallery.

Lovely maps Sardinia, Italy, Corisca and Sardinia lovely and one of Janeen’s favorite areas.

The panels map the entirety of the Italian peninsula in large-scale frescoes, each depicting a region as well as a perspective view of its most prominent city. It is said that these maps are approximately 80% accurate. 

The second highlight, for me, was the Papal apartments.  The walls are covered with frescos many of them done by Raphael.  The first fresco that stands out is The School of Athens.  

 The fresco depicts a congregation of ancient philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists, with Plato and Aristotle featured in the center. Also included are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are believed to be portrayed through Plato and Heraclitus.  Raphael included a self-portrait beside Ptolemy. Raphael is the only notable character who is looking directly at the viewer in the artwork.

Other frescos done by Raphael –  Battle of Ostia, The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, Fire in the Borgo andThe Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple

Ok, sure there is one more notable spot and that is The Sistine Chapel.  

The Creation of Adam and detail

Our access to the Sistine Chapel was as a part of a private group allow us to be in the room with just our group of 24 or so people.  One of Ross Kings books is Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and he was allowed to give us a commentary while in the space.  It was really special and they allowed us to take a group photo!

After our wonderful tour, we went into the Vatican courtyard and had a lovely buffet dinner.

Another day and another adventure to discover the treasures of Florence.  This time we are heading to the Uffizi.  The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best-known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.

The building of the Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici as a means to consolidate his administrative control of the various committees, agencies, and guilds established in Florence’s Republican past so as to accommodate them all one place, hence the name uffizi, “offices”. 

After the ruling House of Medici died out, their art collections were given to the city of Florence under the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress. The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1769 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865.

Uffizi is ranked as the 5th most visited art museum in the world, with around five million visitors annually.  This marks the second time we have visited this wonderful museum, however, this time with wonderful guides and interpreters of the art – Elaine Ruffolo and Ross King.

It is actually difficult to only reflect on the highlights of the collection as there are so many that stand out.

After visiting the Uffizi we had free time to further explore but we opted to go back to our room and get ready for our trip to Rome the following day.  

There are always small fruit stands along the way

However, that evening we had a ‘farewell to Florence Dinner’ at a lovely restaurant.      

Another beautiful day in Florence and we are heading out for more art, culture and historic sites.  After gathering together as our group, we went towards the Arno River and across the Ponte Vecchio.  This medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno, was spared from destruction during World War II, it is noteworthy for the shops built along it which were originally fish markets but these were moved during the 1500’s and goldsmiths and jewelers have made the bridge their home.  Unknown to most visitors, there is a Corridor going over the top – specifically The Vasari Corridor.  This elevated enclosed passageway connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti.

Janeen and Ross King on the Ponte Vecchio

One of our stops, along the way, was at Basilica of Santo Spirito.  Inside is a wooden crucifix cross which is reputed to have been carved by Michelangelo.  He is said to have carved the nude Jesus when he was 18 and living in the Basilica. 

This 53-inch wooden Crucifix was discovered by chance in 1962, in a convent corridor and was so badly overpainted that it was barely recognizable as one of Michelangelo’s artworks.

Our next stop was to the Palazzo Pitti and the Palatine Gallery.  The Palazzo Pitti, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace.  It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker.

The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and was the residence of the Medici dynasty, then of Hapsburg-Lorraine court and lastly of the House of Savoy, hosting the King of Italy from 1865 to 1919.  Within the Palace are displayed a huge number of artworks.  The Palatine Gallery and Royal and Imperial Apartments occupy the entire first floor of the Palace.  The lavish Gallery was founded at the end of the 19^thcentury by the Habsburg-Lorraine family who hung about 500 masterpieces in the ceremonial rooms chosen from the main Medici collection.  The collection is really overwhelming with paintings by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rubens.

Since our adventure has a focus on Michelangelo and Caravaggio we made a bee line to view the works by Caravaggio.  Of course, along the way we saw lots of other wonderful paintings.

A quick stop at the Gallery of the Academy of Florence to view Michelangelo David, the hall of “prisoners” and several other pieces. 

Along the walkway are a number of unfinished works – Michelangelo felt he could see the figures in the stone and was just releasing them.

Our next stop was one I have been anticipating for a very long time – the Laurentian Library.  

The Laurentian Library is a historic library containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books.  Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze under the patronage of the Medici pope Clement VII, the library was built to emphasize that the Medici were no longer just merchants but members of intelligencia and ecclesiastical society. It contains the manuscripts and books belonging to the private library of the Medici family. The library building is renowned for its architecture designed by Michelangelo.

The design created was restrained and beautiful at the same time.   The Library was commissioned in 1523 and construction began in 1525; however, when Michelangelo left Florence in 1534, only the walls of the reading room were complete. It was then continued by Tribolo, Vasari, and Ammannati based on plans and verbal instructions from Michelangelo.  Michelangelo never returned and thus never saw his designs become reality.  

Once we all gathered the Library Curator brought out several books – most of which were part of the original collection.  When the library first was opened, all the books were chained to the desks – with a card catalog listing the works on the end of a bench.  The chains were necessary so the books didn’t ‘walk out the door’ as they were quite valuable.

One of the books we saw was an original copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy which he began writing around 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author’s death. Dante’s son wrote comments in the margins of the book. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of Western literature.  

Janeen’s favorite book was a merchant’s book where he had added drawings and comments to his inventory and profit and loss columns. He notes the acceptance of refugees from Siena during conflict years, and the drawings show the buildings and streets of the time.

It was a full day for sure with lots more to come!

The second day of the program with Elaine and Ross we were filled with art…well, in all honesty, it would be impossible to be in Florence and not be surrounded by fabulous art.  Today we headed out to visit the Bargello.  The Museo Nazionale del Bargello is located in one of the oldest public buildings in Florence.  Contained within its walls is one of the most important collections of Italian Renaissance sculpture.  Along the way we saw masterpieces by Donatello, Verrocchio, Cellini and of course our main subject guy, Michelangelo.

The place was founded in 1255 and built to serve as the first public building in medieval Florence.  It was soon to became the seat of the Podesta, the chief city magistrate whose many coats of arms are still set in the walls of the courtyard.   In the mid 1500s the building became the seat of the “Bargello” – the head of the city police and was used as a prison for many years.

Completely restored in the mid 1800’s it was opened as the first National Museum of the then newborn Kingdom of Italy and was dedicated to the arts of the Middle-ages and Renaissance.

  Many of the bronze and marble sculptures that belonged to the Medici dynasty found their way to this Museum.

Ross King talking about the Pitti Tondo an unfinished marble relief of the Virgin and Child by Michelangelo in round or tondo form. 

After being overwhelmed by all the sculpture and bronze we made our way over to the Medici Tombs at the Basilica of San Lorenzo.  The Medici Chapels are really two chapels built between the 16th and 17th centuries as an extension to the Basilica of San Lorenzo. They are the Sagrestia Nuova (‘New Sacristy’), designed by Michelangelo, and the larger Cappella dei Principi (‘Chapel of the Princes’), a collaboration between the Medici family and architects.

The New Sacristy – so named to so named to distinguish it from the old one built by Brunelleschi in the church was designed and built by Michelangelo from 1519 to house the tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, which were decorated with his wonderful sculptures.  Michelangelo created for the Medici Chapels some of his most beautiful sculptures: the four Parts of the Day (Dusk, Day, Dawn and Night) that are part of the funeral monuments of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, and the stunning Medici Madonna.  Although it was vaulted over by 1524, the ambitious projects of its sculpture and the intervention of events, such as the temporary exile of the Medici (1527), the death of Giulio, eventually Pope Clement VII, and the permanent departure of Michelangelo for Rome in 1534, meant that Michelangelo never finished it.

The Chapel of the Princes with its crypt is the proper burial place of members of the Medici family.  The Chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici wanted to create a monument for a family tomb. Work began on the tomb under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici who appointed architect and sculptor Matteo Nigetti in 1604, based on a design by Don Giovanni de’ Medici, brother of the Grand Duke himself. Nigetti completed the mausoleum in 1640.  It has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is 92 ft wide and is surmounted by the dome of San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 194 ft, the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome.

The Chapel of the Princes

The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The six porphyry(rare purple) sarcophagi of the Grand Dukes are contained in niches along the walls and complemented by bronze statues. The interior has rich inlays referred to as Florentine mosaic, a method of piecing together semi-precious stones.  The paintings in the dome are of the Creation, Death of Abel, Sacrifice of Noah, Nativity, Death and Resurrection, Last Judgment, are by Pietro Benvenuti.  The Chapel of the Princes is really overwhelming with color and beautiful pieces.

The works of Michelangelo just continue to amaze and there are a lot more to discover.

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The first part of this adventure is focused on Michelangelo – after all, he was from Florence and some of his early works are here.  On the first day, we gathered together to get to know the other participants, formally meet Elaine Ruffolo and Ross King before heading out for our first walking tour.

After a short walking tour which took us past the Palazzo Vecchio with the statue of David (the original is in the Uffici) and Hercules and Cacus standing guard at the entrance.  Of course, there are a lot of other statues in the Square along with a lovely fountain.  

Eventually, we found our way to Casa Buonarroti.  This house-museum was purchased by Michelangelo and is where his descendants lived.  Michelangelo was born in Caprese in the province of Arezzo, when his father Ludovico di Leonardo, although Florentine, had moved there to hold a public office. It is not the only residence owned by Michelangelo in the city, there were more than one, but this one was bought by him in 1508. 

Michelangelo never married or had any children and his heirs were from his brother and his children.  His grand-nephew was the major person to transform the property from a humble home to a tribute to his great Uncle – Michelangelo. 

This museum and monument, is a place of memory and celebration of the genius of Michelangelo.  There are two early carved masterpieces of Michelangelo’s from his youth – the Madonna of the Stairs and the Battle of the Centaurs.  The house has a number of writings, sketches and other works by Michelangelo.

One of the pieces in the museum is the model Michelangelo had made of his design for the front of Basilica of San Lorenzo.  His plan was to be done in marble with many statues.  Unfortunately, while the plan was generally accepted, he could never get approval or funding to proceed.  This was one of his greatest disappointments.  

This was just the first day of our adventure and it was a fitting beginning to appreciate Michelangelo the great artist, sculpture and architect.