48 hours in Firenze (2 days in Florence)

June 12-13, 2014

It would certainly take a year to see most of the art in Florence, and we only had 48 hours. Thankfully, we got a great start with our Airbnb host who is half Australian-half Italian and really loves both the history and the present city of Firenze. Walter gave us great hints of where to go and what to see, where to eat, and other special little tidbits of information. We arrived at noon on Friday and left at noon on Sunday – and we jam-packed as much as we could into that time.

His Airbnb apartment was in a great area, and we could easily walk to the key visitor areas. It was historic, and also very fun, but the commode was up some steps and very tiny.

 

The tiny commode

 The oldest bridge in Florence (and the only one spared during WWII) is the Ponte Vecchio. I remember crossing it when I was 19 – and being amazed that there were stores on a bridge. I remember mostly shoes, purses and other leather goods, but my memory may fail me here. Now it is just one jewelry store after another. Oh – and a lot of tourists you need to elbow your way through. We usually took another bridge to avoid the shopping frenzy.

Ponte Vecchio

 

The 4^th largest cathedral in the world is the Duoma started in 1296 and completed in 1436. The façade is more recent – 19^th century. We aren’t huge on cathedrals- like one of the guides we read stated “... until you are ready to poke your eyes out with dry spaghetti” – but we have managed to see the four largest just by chance. We climbed the tower just as it was starting to rain – so we didn’t get great views and we were a little afraid to go around at the top because of the wind and the lightning!

The Duomo of Florence

We needed a drink after that experience so found a lovely wine bar serving appetizers and sat outside under an awning to stay dry. By the time we emerged, it was getting near closing time at the Academy of Arts Gallery where Michelangelo’s David stands a magnificent 13 feet high. We had passed the outside of the Academy earlier and the line stretched around the block, but now we could walk right in. It was worth every centime to gaze at the David in the diminishing crowds. There were also some unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo and other Renaissance sculptors so you could see the process of sculpting. Unbelievable.

The David

We wandered back to our apartment to shower before dinner. We ended up at the restaurant next door to our apartment where they made fresh pasta. I had a tagliatelle with gorgeous tomatoes, pesto, and walnuts. It was honestly one of the best dinners I’ve ever had… I’m inspired to make fresh pasta, but these inspirations don’t always turn into something edible!

Our apartment is right next to Santo Spirito square and church, where a young Michelangelo carved the cross. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there at the time. We did go to the impressive Museo Galileo that contains one of the world's largest collections of scientific instruments. The Renaissance featured both art and science... what a grand time that must have been!

 

 Antonio Santucci's Armillary Sphere

We completely lucked into a parade for an annual medieval football game called Calcio storico. It is most similar to rugby and players wear crazy colorful clothes as the nobles did in medieval times. The most important match was played in 1530 when the Papal troops besieged the city and the Florentines played football instead of responding to the attack. We are also here during the World Cup and Italians are CRAZY for soccer. I was woken up three times last night – every time a goal was scored. 

 

 

Parade prior to Calcio storico game

 

Thankfully the Italians beat the Brit’s 2-1 so the mood today was ebullient. And I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep if there were many more goals! This morning, I watched the last game-winning goal as I was waiting to order some patisseries (translate?). No one would take their eyes away from the replay – but I enjoyed watching it too! It is fun to celebrate with exuberant Italians!