Day 8 - Seeing David
Sculptures from the Accademia Gallery in Florence
June 29, 2023: When I was in junior and senior high school I was took a lot of art classes. My plan was to become a commercial artist. From a very early age, I loved art. So being surrounded by some much art in Italy has been amazing. My eyes can’t take it all in sometimes. Today (June 29), we started the day at the Accademia Gallery Museum. It is most famous for the sculptures of the great Renaissance artist Michelango. His Prisoners (or Slaves), his St. Matthew and, above all, the incredible 17 foot statue of David draw most of the hundreds of thousands of visitors that visit the museum each year. There are aslo sculpture and paintings by many other artists in the Gallery. Many of the works of art that were commissioned by and were part of the collection of the powerful Medici family were donated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by the last of the Medici so that these magnificent works could be enjoyed by everyone. I continue to be amazed when I look at these pieces of artwork created so long ago at how they were able to accomplish it and how they have stood the test of time. So many looking as beautiful today as they did when they were new. It is a blessing that we are still able to enjoy them.
After visiting the Gallery, we went back to the Piazza Duomo to get a panini from a restaurant called “Panini Toscani” that was highly recommended by a Facebook group I follow and learned so much from during my planning for this trip. More on the Facebook group later in this post, but the panini…it was the star of the day! I have never had a sandwich so delicious in my life. The combination of the fresh focaccia bread, the creamy pecorino cheese, the sbriciolona meat, the fresh tomatoes and spicy sauce was a flavor explosion in my mouth. Everything seems to taste better here.
In the afternoon we had our daily Riposo, the Italian word for the tradition of siesta, meaning rest. When you’re in Italy, this is the word you’ll hear when people talk about taking an afternoon break. It has been a daily part of our routine. I am so glad we chose do book an Airbnb apartment versus a hotel because it is so comfortable and being able to do laundry as needed has been so helpful. We were able to pack much lighter because we knew we would have the opportunity to do laundry every few days.
Towards evening, we headed back across the Arno River and back to Piazza della Repubblica. We had made a reservation at the Rinascente Firenze Rooftop bar again, but this time for dinner. We just love the view from there and menu looked very good. It sits on top of a department store, so you wouldn’t expect it to be as good as it is, but the food was delicious. Jimm had the Squid Ink Pasta and I had the Spaghetti alla Chittara (spaghetti with birrata cheese and basil). We ate and again enjoyed the panoramic view of the city.
I want to do a quick shout out to the Facebook Group where I got a lot of the ideas for this trip. If you ever decide to do a trip like this, you will find that following groups on Facebook and Instagram is very helpful. I also listened to a Podcast called “Untold Italy”. The Facebook group is call “Italy Travel Planning”. If I had any questions, I could search the group and find a post where someone had already asked the question and see the many responses. Or, I could start my own post and people would reply with their suggestions. The Instagram page was Florence.Travel and it also had some great ideas. I actually used Instagram more for London and Scotland planning. I also follow a couple who have a YouTube channel called “The Global Expats”. They make videos while trying food, transportation and tours around the cities they visit. The videos really give you a feel for what it will be like and they are entertaining as well. I highly recommend their channel. I am more than happy to help anyone who is looking to do some travel planning and share my process.
JImm’s rating of the day: *****