I did, however, see it in one. Last Friday, I returned to
the city that so-famously exiled Dante, this time with the ambitious intention
of visiting three museums in one day. A few weeks prior, I had told my friend
Sam that I had been to Florence in January without going to the Accademia (for
those of you who don’t know, that’s where Michelangelo’s David is…so yeah, kind of a big deal). This apparent slight against
humanity was met with disbelief and confusion: how does one go to Florence and
NOT see the David? Well, the same can
be said about the Uffizi, which I later found out was one of the museums that
Sam had never visited. So we decided to fulfill each other’s expectations by
being tourists for the day. The third museum we planned to see was the archaeology
one, which should really be called the Etruscan Museum With Like Five Greek Vases
And An Egyptian Section (Or to be more precise, Museo Etrusco Che Contiene Tipo
Cinque Vasi Greci E Una Parte Egiziana).
Here’s the thing: I had missed out on quite a few Must-See
sites in January, so after a quick cappuccino, Sam told me we had to see the
Bargello Museum (Donatello’s David).
That’s pretty much how the entire day went: “Did you go to the…” “No…” “Come
on, we have to go there…” Our meager list of three museums grew to six
different sites, all of which we saw (and appreciated) in 13 hours. And so, in
chronological order…
Museo del Bargello
Highlight: Donatello’s David
(youthful, androgynous, bronze…quite unlike Michelangelo’s version, although
still in the traditional canon of David-standing-on-Goliath’s-head)
People come here to see the bronze David. Otherwise, I’m not sure what else there is to see…yes, I
study art, and yes, I’m a fervent museum-goer, but this was the first place on
a long list of sites. Is it worth it just for Donatello? Well, there are some
other sculptures by important artists (Cellini, Giambologna, Michelangelo), but
if you had to choose between the Accademia and the Bargello, I would go with
the Accademia. And when it comes to the Davids, I’m really more of a Donatello
kind of gal (Sam is in the Michelangelo camp). Anyway, I’m happy to have seen
the statue, but it’s definitely not as impressive as Michelangelo’s.
Museo dell’Opera del
Duomo
Highlight: Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, intended for the
Florence Baptistery
The way they organize the museum is fantastic, because you
get to the end and BAM -- the doors. And let me tell you, they’re real, and
they’re spectacular. The ones currently outside on the Baptistery are replicas,
so if you don’t want to pay for yet another museum, you can see the fake ones
for free. Kind of like Las Vegas, except slightly classier. Also housed in the
duomo museum is one of Michelangelo’s pieta,
although I prefer the one in Rome.
Cupola del Duomo
Highlight: This isn’t a museum, but you get to climb all the
way to the top of the Duomo, which is pretty cool. The panoramic view of
Florence (on a beautifully clear, sunny day) is well worth the ticket price,
plus it makes for a great background photo on my phone. Also, you get to see
the interior of the dome up close, which depicts the Last Judgment and Dante’s
version of Hell. Pretty neat. (By the way, Duomo
≠ dome. It’s the Italian
word for “cathedral.”)
Galleria degli Uffizi
Highlights: Well I don’t want to name drop but…Botticelli,
Giotto, Duccio, Lippi, Piero della Francesca, Rogier van der Weyden, Rubens, Rembrandt,
Dürer…yeah they’re all in there.
I mentioned in my last post that I felt a little thrill each
time I recognized a painting in the Uffizi. During this visit, I decided to
count how many I had studied in my Art History classes at UCLA. The grand total
was 13 (Sam, wouldn’t you know it, recognized 14 from high school, so technically
he won).
Accademia delle Belle Arti
Highlight: DAVID.
Seriously, there’s nothing else there to see, except Michelangelo’s
slave sculptures.
This was the only museum that had a line to get in. I’m not
sure if it was just the time of day, or what. Still, Davide (as I like to call
him) was pretty impressive. And extremely well-guarded. Absolutely NO pictures
are allowed, so don’t even think about taking out your phone to update your
status to “GUYS GUESS WHAT I’M STANDING IN FRONT OF MICHELANGELO’S DAVID LOL”.
The guards are very, very strict (interpret: non-Italian), and anything that
even remotely resembles taking a picture will earn you a harsh reprimand and
finger wag.
Museo archeologico
nazionale di Firenze
Highlights: The Chimera of Arezzo, the Francois Vase, and a
bunch of other things I learned about but have since forgotten
The Chimera is a bronze Etruscan sculpture with an inscription
to the Zeus-equivalent Tinia, and until recently it was in London (?) for an
exhibit, so we were excited to see the real thing, having studied it in class.
Would I recommend this museum? It’s not exactly well labeled, so unless you
have some background in ancient history/archaeology, it might be kind of
boring. To really get the most out of it, I suggest either taking a 12 week
course on the Etruscans culminating in a poorly designed oral exam a few days
before OR bringing a friend who is extremely passionate about archaeology and
knows way more about what you’re looking at than you do. I happened to do both
of these things, and my experience at the museum was great.
And that’s that. There are still many sites I missed in
Florence (some churches, other museums), but I think I covered the basics in
one day. It is definitely a unique city worth much more than the 13 hours I
dedicated, so if you are planning to go there, I recommend giving it its due.
After all, you can’t rush art.
