This weekend was a whirlwind of art! That is basically the only way I can describe the last two days. Don't get me wrong, it was the best field trip I have ever taken but I have an overdose of art right now (as my professor described it).
On Friday Morning I met up with my class at the train station in Perugia at 6 am! We had to catch a 6:40 train to Florence so we had to be up bright and early. There are only seven students in my survey of Italian art class and we traveled with one staff member from Umbra. It was nice to travel with such a small group of people. We arrived in Florence around 8:15 and went straight to our hotel to drop off our luggage. We then stopped for some Italian coffee at a local cafe before heading to our first museum of the day, the Uffizi.
The Uffizi (which means offices in Italian) has some of the worlds' most recognized art next to the Louvre in Paris, France. There were absolutely no photos allowed in the museum and there were guards everywhere, especially around the most famous paintings. There were also sensors and security cameras around every piece of artwork.
I knew we were going to see all of the paintings we had studied so far in class but when we saw our first one it was so exciting. To learn about these famous paintings then seeing them up close and personal is a feeling I cannot even begin to describe. And this is saying something since I do not like artwork. I never thought I would enjoy staring at some of these paintings as much as I did. We saw Botticelli's most famous paintings including "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus". Since there were no photos allowed here are some images courtesy of Google of the paintings we viewed. The first is the "Primavera" and the second is the famous "Birth of Venus".
In the Uffizi we also viewed some original paintings done by Leonardo da Vinci including a work that was incomplete. It was so amazing to see these paintings up close and personal because most of them are quite large. Some of the paintings even take up an entire wall in the museum.
After visiting the Uffizi we went over to the Bargello where some of the sculptures we studied in class are held. We saw some original sculptures by Donatello and Verrocchio which are also amazing to see up close. The interesting thing about seeing these sculptures up close is that you can walk around them. In all of the pictures we saw in class you never see the back of the sculpture. And to finally get a 360 degree view was pretty amazing.
We headed for lunch after visiting the Bargello and we were all pretty hungry. So the seven of us in the class headed to "The Diner". This is an American diner in Florence that started in 2004. They serve real American classics including cheeseburgers, pancakes, wraps, and fountain drinks. Each of us got a burger, fries, and soda and it was a great meal. Our American food cravings were fulfilled and I think we can all survive now until we get back to the US. And surprisingly, it was one of the best cheeseburgers I have had in awhile! Who knew Italians could make such great burgers?!
After our American lunch we headed to Santa Croce (meaning church of the holy cross in Italian). After seeing pictures of this basilica in class I was so excited for our visit. But when we got inside I was disappointed. The church is currently undergoing some renovations and the beautiful stained glass was obstructed by some scaffolding. The paintings we learned about in class could not be viewed either thanks to the construction. Although we couldn't see some things we did see the graves of Michelangelo and Galileo which I didn't know were in the church until our professor pointed them out to us. We were allowed to take pictures so here are some of the inside of Santa Croce. The second photo is Michelangelo's grave and the third photo is Galileo's grave.
After visiting Santa Croce we headed back to our hotel. We went out for dinner as a class then went to bed by 9:30 pm. We were all so wiped out after our first day of art overload. The next morning we woke up and had a complimentary breakfast at out hotel and headed out around 9:30 am.
Our first stop was the Brancacci Chapel just outside the city center. The Chapel is a private family chapel with works painted by two artists we learned about in class. We learned about three of the frescoes inside the chapel and we got to see all three plus some up close. And the best part was that we were allowed to take photos without a flash inside the chapel. Here are some photos of the paintings inside the chapel. The first photo is the "Baptism of Christ" by Masaccio. The second photo is the "Tribute Money" by Masaccio.
We headed to a few more churches after visiting the Brancacci Chapel including Santa Maria Novella. This is one of the main churches in Florence and the train station is actually named after it. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have been in Italy so far. We saw an original painting on the wall of the church and some original stained glass from the 1500's as well. Here is the of the outside of Santa Maria Novella.
After visiting the church we went to the center of Florence to visit the Cathedral of Florence. We didn't learn about any sculptures or paintings inside the cathedral itself but our professor still wanted us to go inside. Since it was a Saturday afternoon the piazza was packed with people. We took some photos, went inside the cathedral and then took a break for lunch because of all the crowds around the cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is beautiful, it's one of the most recognized churches in Italy and for good reason. Sorry about the woman's head in the photo, as I said it was very crowded that day.
We also saw another recognizable sight, the bell tower by Giotto.
After lunch we went to the most anticipated museum of the field trip, the Accademia. There is really only one sculpture of importance inside the Accademia and that is the "David" by Michelangelo. It is the most recognizable sculpture all around the world and I was so excited to see it in person.
When we got up to the "David" the first thing I noticed is the size. The sculpture is 17 feet tall plus there is a 4 foot original base it sits on. It is amazing that one man carved this from a single slab of marble in the early 1500's. What you also don't notice from photos of the "David" is how much detail Michelangelo used in the sculpture. He studied the human body so intensely that he even did the veins in David's arms, hands, legs, and feet exactly. I will never forget seeing this in person and it was my favorite moment of the trip. As with almost every place we visited there were no photos allowed of "David". But being the curious American students we are we wanted to try to take a picture just so we could say we did. There weren't too many people around and the guards weren't paying too much attention so we each snapped a photo without flash of Michelangelo's most famous sculpture! Granted, the photo isn't too good but I feel so accomplished now that I took that photo. And here it is....
After the illegal photo taking we headed for some gelato to celebrate our accomplishment. It was a great ending to a field trip I will never forget. I don't think it'll hit me that I have seen so many famous pieces of artwork until I get back to the states. Now every time I see these pieces of art in textbooks it will be so much cooler knowing that I have seen the originals.
Now that I am back in Perugia I have started the countdown to London! I am leaving this Thursday night and I hope this week goes by quickly! The people I am traveling with are planning some activities for this week to make the week go by a little faster including watching the 6th Harry Potter film to prepare us for the 7th! We all are beyond excited :)
I hope everyone has a fantastic week and I will update again before I take off for the land of Harry Potter and Big Ben!
Here is the link to my Facebook page with all of my pictures from Florence....
Italian word of the post:
firenze - florence
Morgan :)
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