Our highlights today are the title. We have learned how Florence is laid out, so with map in hand we can fine everything we want to look at. One is only 20 minutes walking distance away from everything. David was arguably Michelangelo’s best loved work, or at least his most recognizable. He was only 26 years old when he started the sculpture; it took him four years. His method of sculpture was unique. Other artists, made a replica in plaster, then used that as a model, or they would mark the marble first and throughout the process to direct their sculpting. Not Michelangelo. He took a virgin piece of marble and “released what God had buried”. He created as he went. Frequently he would attack a project for days on end with no sleep, then he would ignore it for weeks, before starting up in a frenzy.
David is 17 feet high and was intended for the roof of the Florence Cathedral, due to its weight and appeal, it was placed in front of Palazzo della Signoria where the sculptures we photographed yesterday are. However, they moved it into the Accademia Gallery, where it is today in 1873 for protection from the elements. Again, no cameras allowed in the Gallery, also, again, hardly any visitors on February 1st, so we could take our time and really appreciate Michelangelo’s masterpiece.
The other highlight was the climb to the top of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. 463 steps to the top. Not only was the view of Florence incredible, but to see the artwork in the dome close-up was probably a once in a lifetime experience.
Our view was from just above the red tiles on the dome.
Between the two layers of the dome.
This view hasn’t changed in 500 years!
Finally, this last picture is a real close-up! The face is around 10 feet wide, the dome has hundreds, if not thousands of these figures. It is hard to imagine what time and energy it took to do these frescoes. And, we will learn more when we go to the Sistine Chapel in Rome tomorrow!
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