Five or so years ago, I read The Agony and the Ecstasy, a fictional biography of the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. I would highly recommend this book, as it is very interesting. It has also granted me an increased appreciation of Michelangelo’s works. I know some of the troubles he went through creating them, and I know some of their stories. Even better, it is not at all difficult to appreciate them.
In Florence, you can see so many of his works, it is simply amazing. Today, we decided (or I decided) that we would take in some of the different sites and museums that housed Michelangelo’s works.
Our first stop was the Capelle Medici. This is the principal burial place of the Medici rulers. The site also contains Michelangelo’s first architectural work and three of his sculptures: the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy), Aurora e crepusculo (Dawn and Dusk), Notte e giorno (Night and Day), and Madonna col bambino (Madonna and Child). My favorites were the Night and Day sculptures.
The Chapel of the Princes (inside the Capelle) was also beautiful. Francesco I, Ferdinando I and II, Cosimo I, II, and Cosimo II are buried here. The floor is adorned with semi-precious stones, and the dome ceiling rises above granite walls.
At the ground floor of the chapel were a number of reliquaries for various saints. Of course, these reliquaries contain the bones or body parts of the saints. It is a very odd thing to look at this gorgeous gold receptacle, only to discover a thigh bone nestled inside it.
We headed back to the room for lunch. I ate some of this awesome grape covered cheese and some bread that we purchased the other day in the Mercato Saint Ambrogio. I also discovered that my olive bread was really chocolate chip bread. It was yummy. I love Italy and I love the different breads and cheese that you can purchase for pretty decent prices. People who simply eat at restaurants for all of their meals are missing out on some of the best meals. Learning how to shop and exploring the food markets is one of my favorite things to do in foreign locations.
After eating, we headed to the Casa Buonarroti. This site was not in the guidebook, but our tourist map pointed it out. The building was “constructed by Michelangelo’s great-grandson…the purpose of Casa Buonarroti is to collect and enhance Michelangelo’s art and among other items it contains the ‘Battle of the Centaurs’ and the ‘Madonna of the Stairs’.”
I definitely remembered reading about the “Battle of the Centaurs,” so I was excited to see it. I had wanted to visit another museum today, that housed some of his other sculptures, but it was closed, so we visited the house instead. The home contained other works and also had some of his architectural sketches. These papers are rare, because Michelangelo apparently burned many of his papers because he didn’t want people to know that he wasn’t perfect. Hmm…that sounds a bit odd, but I think I know where he is coming from. Still, perhaps I could learn some things not to do from this great artist.
Anyhow, the Battle of the Centaurs was a very early work by Michelangelo, but it was still awesome to look at. The work was reminiscent of Greek or Roman sculptures burial sculptures. In other words, it was a flat work. Still, the figures in the work seemed to jump out of it and it looked more 3D than any other relief that I have seen.
After leaving the house, we headed to a café with free internet and again ordered a cappuccino and a latte. With this purchase, we then spent the next hour or so taking care of bookings and other business. Next it was off to a real internet café to spend money to print out some important boarding papers for RyanAir.
Tonight, we are going to get a real dinner at our favorite Italian Restaurant. Tomorrow, we catch an early bus to Siena.
I just want to say that I am finally getting the hang of Florence. It’s true, I still have no idea how their bus system works, but the crazy maze like streets and the plethora of shops are growing on me. I like this place. I think that Rome is still my favorite Italian location, but Italy in its totality is really incredible.
I am writing this update on the 4th, but I felt that it was necessary to say something about our first real Italian dinner. We ate at Il Barraccio as planned. Our first course was Ribollita Fiorentina, a white bean stew with spinach, bread crumbs, carrots, and celery. We also had penne al pomodoro and basil. The second course was entrecote di maiole al chiante con olive toscane (a super tender pork steak cooked in wine and olives) and salsicce toscanne alle brace (Tuscan sausage). With this we both had Tuscan white beans cooked in chiante olive oil. The meal was incredibly delicious and I was glad that we splurged a bit for it.
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