Our tour ended on Saturday with an early appointment to see Michelangelo’s David. Even at 9:15 there was a substantial line to get it. Luciano had gotten timed entry tickets and we didn’t have to wait in line at all. Even though we had no wait, there was already a sizable crowd in the gallery with the statue.
David was done when Michelangelo was in his 20s. It was started in 1500 and finished in 1504. Two other sculptors attempted a David on the block of marble and stopped. Michelangelo said, “I see an angel in this marble.” The statue is 7m 14cm with pedestal (23 ft 5 in). The statue itself is 5m (16’ 4 in). It contains both religious and mythologic images, not uncommon occurrence in Renaissance art.
The statue seems to be David preparing to fight Goliath. He appears tense (you can see veins popping out in his arms and elsewhere). It even has a feel of David being in motion. David is portrayed as left-handed in the statue. The sling is in his left hand which would have been the throwing hand.
Italy has occasional earthquakes. We wondered how stable the statue would be if the building begin to shake. It would be tragic indeed if it hit the floor and broke.
The statue has had damage. There are cracks in one of the legs from uneven settling when the statue was outside. And, in 1991 a deranged artist attacked the statue with a hammer damaging one of the toes until he was restrained.
Below is a picture of Lynn and Carol in front of David.
During our last bit of touring we also saw the outside of the Florence Cathedral (pictures on the last days post when the sun was shining).
In 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen. It was hidden by the thief for 2 years until he brought it to Florence in an attempt to sell it. The police were tipped off and the painting was discovered attached to the underside of a bed in the hotel pictured to the right. I found that bit of historical trivia interesting.
We also visited a very interesting chapel which was paid for by one of the influential Florence families. The chapel was filled with wonderful art. One piece was a painting of the street as it existed in Renaissance times. Below is a picture of the street as it exists today and below it the Renaissance painting.
BTW, out hotel was at the end of this street just before the bridge over the river (where the road curves up slightly).
The street in 2019.
The street as painted. One of the curious things about the painting is the child falling (left side in the background) from the window with a man rushing to try and catch the child. The story goes that the child survived the fall miraculously.
At the end of the seven day tour we were all pretty tired, but very happy.
A plug for Classic Journeys and our guide Luciano. We could have gone to the same places the tour went and had a good time in Italy. But, we didn’t have to worry about hotels, transportation (thanks to our driver Riccardo), baggage handling, tickets, reservations, etc. And, Luciano took us to places we would have never found on our own. For example:
- The winery we visited was findable, I suppose. But it would have been sheer chance to have chosen that winery out of the hundreds of available wineries to visit. The wine maker’s passion for his craft was obvious and the wine was terrific!
- The sheep farm was definitely not something one could visit on their own. And, it was so interesting to hear about the sheep and how the cheese was made. I wish I could have brought back way more cheese.
- Our visit to Martin Foot to see his sculptures and to learn about the techniques, the tools and the art involved was a unique experience. Once again, not something we would have found on our own.
- Because of Luciano’s connections we got to chat with a real Count for 45 minutes; get our picture taken with Dario Cecchini; eat dinner in a private room in a very old restaurant (we were taken care of by the sommelier); take a private boat ride and learn some of the details of the coast including sword fishing; and more.
There are other examples of places we went and people we met that made the trip special.
Hats off to Classic Journeys and especially to Luciano for a wonderful vacation.