Florence – On Our Own

Several years ago, during the pandemic, I signed up for a Smithsonian presentation about Renaissance art presented by Elaine Ruffolo.  She has been teaching art history in Florence, Italy since 1990 and is a popular instructor for students and adults alike. Her special interests included the history of patronage and the economy of Italian Renaissance city-states.  As a result of that presentation, we started watching her weekly presentations (via zoom) on many subjects related to the Renaissance history.  About a year ago, she let it be known that she would be doing a tour in conjunction with Ross King called “In the Footsteps of Michelangelo and Caravaggio”.  Ross had presented several programs during the last four years and I had read a number of his books (Brunelleschi’s Dome: The Story of the Great Cathedral in Florence, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, The Bookseller of Florence and several others – all of which fit right in with the program description.) and the schedule for this journey fit right in with our plans to be in Europe so we signed up. 

Here we are in front of the oldest tower in Florence. The window over Janeen’s right ear, is where the Michelin Restaurant is located.

In preparation of this journey, we read a couple of books about Michelangelo and Caravaggio and thus made sure we viewed a couple of Caravaggio’s paintings in the Co-Cathedral on Malta at the start of this Adventure.  After our Mediterranean Adventure ended on the Oceania Cruise, we flew to Florence and started our Italian Adventure.

The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno.

We arrived in Florence several days prior to the start of the Michelangelo and Caravaggio event so we had a couple of days to relax and re-explore the city.  We had been here 20 some years ago so we had some idea of where we were and what to expect.  However, our hotel, the Hotel Bunelleschi was a bunch of steps up from the place we stayed previously and very close to the main attractions.

While the previous post (Medici Villas) wasn’t related to the Journey we are now undertaking, it was a tease of wonders to begin.  It did, however, give us a beautiful time at two Villas and allowed us to explore some of the areas of the city.  Additionally, it allowed time for Janeen to get her hair done and to wander around the City.  Florence is a BEAUTIFUL place and has been around for a VERY long time.  

Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century BCE, and during its long history it has been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–70) of Italy.  Along the way it was the starting point of the Renaissance and fostered any number of artists, sculptures and architects.  

A key starting point is the Starting iconic Santa Maria del Fiore, affectionately known as Il Duomo. This massive cathedral had four different architects working on it across multiple time periods. It was completed by 1436 with the help of Filippo Brunelleschi, who engineered the dome, bringing the total time for completion to 140 years.  The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the fourth largest cathedral in the world, after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St. Paul’s in London and Milan’s Duomo. Not only is it one of the largest cathedrals in the world, but it’s also one of the largest cathedrals in all of Christianity. 

Comprised of three buildings, the complex includes the Piazza del Duomo, the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. All of these are amazing buildings with tons of history.

We toured the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo which is the Museum of the Works of the Cathedral.  Inside the museum there are the original Baptistery doors, a number of statues and a whole lot of history.  (We did this on our own but I came back with the “group” once tour officially started.)

In addition to walking around the City, we had a lovely lunch at a two star Michelin restaurant, Santa Elisabetta which is located in the Hotel.  We have had a number of Michelin star meals and this was not a disappointment.  It was like we had a private dinner as there was only one other couple in this very small restaurant (six tables).  

We had a five-course meal – Traces of Innovation, all from the sea.  About half way through the meal we were able to meet the Chef who manages several locations!  Truly an enjoyable meal.

Now we were ready for the rest of the group to gather and officially start the adventure.

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