Florence: Mercado Centrale, Uffizi Gallery & Accedemia
We headed out to the Mercado Centrale (central market) this morning to check out the market recommended by a coworker. It did not disappoint as we wandered through area after area of fresh meat and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetable stands, home made pasta, spices and a vast variety of wines. It reminded us a little of Pike Place Market, but much cleaner. Later that afternoon, we stopped by to pick up a lunch of provolone cheese (much different than the US version), some salami Toscano (not as good as yesterday’s, but still good), farzanella (risotto with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and spices in an oil/vinegar marinade – wonderful!) fresh made faccocia bread and fresh grapes. We took this back to the comforts of our hotel room and enjoyed our feast in quiet. We have enough left for dinner tonight as well, quite the bargain.
The Uffizi Gallery was impressive and we saw paintings by many well known artists such as Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Boticelli, Ricci, Ruben, Rembrant and others. Everything was impressive, but we enjoyed seeing in person Boticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and “Spring”. (I know Mr. Polka is smiling down at me as I remembered works from my humanities class). Only one piece by Michaelangelo was in the gallery, but what a piece it was. We don’t remember the name of the painting, but the colors and vividness of the paints was remarkable. We even saw a painting that had been taken by Goring during WWII and recovered in the 1970’s. We also saw marble sculptures dating from 90 b.c. to 100’s to 400’s a.d. It is amazing to realize these pieces are so old, and still remain today. After a while one becomes “arted out”, but it was a once in a life time opportunity to see these collections of great works.
We headed off to the Galleria di Accademia to see the Statue of David by Michaelangelo and other works of art. The David is very, very impressive and quite large, with an incredible attention to detail. It was more impressive than either of us imagined. We also saw unfinished sculptures by Michaelangelo which appeared to be straining to free themselves from the marble in which they were contained. Also on display were the photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. We found it questionable as to whether these were actually art. We would not have paid to see these photographs and only looked at them because we’d paid already to get in. The galleria had a book for people to leave their thoughts about the Mapplethorpe exhibit, and one entry we saw put it succinctly by calling it a bunch of rubbish. We concurred and I had to add “Is it art?” (I am sure Polka is turning in his grave over that one.) At 14 euros each, we are not sure the tour was worth it, but at least we can say we saw Michaelangelo’s David.
We headed out to the Mercado Centrale (central market) this morning to check out the market recommended by a coworker. It did not disappoint as we wandered through area after area of fresh meat and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetable stands, home made pasta, spices and a vast variety of wines. It reminded us a little of Pike Place Market, but much cleaner. Later that afternoon, we stopped by to pick up a lunch of provolone cheese (much different than the US version), some salami Toscano (not as good as yesterday’s, but still good), farzanella (risotto with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and spices in an oil/vinegar marinade – wonderful!) fresh made faccocia bread and fresh grapes. We took this back to the comforts of our hotel room and enjoyed our feast in quiet. We have enough left for dinner tonight as well, quite the bargain.
The Uffizi Gallery was impressive and we saw paintings by many well known artists such as Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Boticelli, Ricci, Ruben, Rembrant and others. Everything was impressive, but we enjoyed seeing in person Boticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and “Spring”. (I know Mr. Polka is smiling down at me as I remembered works from my humanities class). Only one piece by Michaelangelo was in the gallery, but what a piece it was. We don’t remember the name of the painting, but the colors and vividness of the paints was remarkable. We even saw a painting that had been taken by Goring during WWII and recovered in the 1970’s. We also saw marble sculptures dating from 90 b.c. to 100’s to 400’s a.d. It is amazing to realize these pieces are so old, and still remain today. After a while one becomes “arted out”, but it was a once in a life time opportunity to see these collections of great works.
We headed off to the Galleria di Accademia to see the Statue of David by Michaelangelo and other works of art. The David is very, very impressive and quite large, with an incredible attention to detail. It was more impressive than either of us imagined. We also saw unfinished sculptures by Michaelangelo which appeared to be straining to free themselves from the marble in which they were contained. Also on display were the photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. We found it questionable as to whether these were actually art. We would not have paid to see these photographs and only looked at them because we’d paid already to get in. The galleria had a book for people to leave their thoughts about the Mapplethorpe exhibit, and one entry we saw put it succinctly by calling it a bunch of rubbish. We concurred and I had to add “Is it art?” (I am sure Polka is turning in his grave over that one.) At 14 euros each, we are not sure the tour was worth it, but at least we can say we saw Michaelangelo’s David.
Dan and Carol with the Ponte Vecchio in the back ground
After three and a half days in Florence, we are anxious to head off to Cinque Terre for our last two days on the Italian Riviera. We have walked many, many miles these past few days and seen many, many great things. It has been a unique experience, but we are ready for a quieter pace and more relaxation before our trip ends.
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