Boboli Gardens

Even though it was raining softly most of the time on that Tuesday 21 November 2006, we were determined to take a walk through the extensive Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti.

Land on the hill called Boboli at the rear of the Palazzo Pitti was acquired in order to create a large formal park, the Boboli Gardens. The original design of the gardens centred on an amphitheatre, directly behind the main block of the palazzo, in which the classically-inspired plays of Florentine playwrights such as Giovan Battista Cini were performed for the amusement of the cultivated Medici court.

The Amphitheater was built by Giulio Parigi between 1630 and 1634. It was inaugurated in 1637 on the occasion of the coronation of Vittoria della Rovere, wife of Ferdinand II, as Grand Duchess of Tuscany. There are 24 statuary niches topping the seating area.

The Egyptian Obelisk in the amphitheatre has a fascinating history. It was originally erected in Heliopolis by Ramses II, who reigned from 1279 to 1212 BC. At some point it was transported to Rome and erected at the Temple of Isis. Sometime prior to the 17th century it was unearthed and moved to the Medici Villa in Rome. The Medici moved it to the Amphitheatre in 1790. In front of the obelisk is a granite tub designed by Pasquale Poccianti and placed there in 1840.

The Forcone Basin is considered by some to be the masterpiece of Zanobi del Rosso. The basin itself was built in 1777-78, while the terraces surrounding it are from the 17th century. This was originally a nursery for the gardens. The pond collects water from an aqueduct and the water is used to irrigate the gardens. In the middle of the pond is a bronze statue of Neptune by Stoldo Lorenzi, dating from 1571. This view is from the top of the Forcone Basin, throught the Amphitheatre to the back of the Palazzo Pitti.

Right at the top of the hill in line with the Amphitheatre and the Forcone Basin stands the statue "Abundance". It was started by Giambologna in 1608 and completed by Pietro Tacca and Sebastiano Salvini in 1636. It is sculpted of white marble, while the sheaf of wheat is made of bronze.

The statue has an interesting background. It was originally intended to be a representation of Johanna of Austria, wife of the Medici Grand-duke Francesco I, and it was supposed to be placed on a column in Piazza San Marco. It was transferred to the Gardens in 1636 to commemorate the prosperity of Tuscany.

Johanna was very short, so the story goes, and the courtiers referred to her as, "Her Shortness".

We were delighted to come across several Ginkgo biloba trees still showing beautiful yellow autumn leaves, although they were dropping fast. The Ginkgo is one of our personal favourites among trees, since it can be called a living fossil. It has no close living relatives.

On the way towards the Viottolone one passes through the "Prato dell'Uccellare" (Birding Field). This area signifies the beginning of the second phase of the development of the Gardens under Cosimo II (1609-1621). Before this time the Gardens ended here at a city wall erected during the war against Siena. From here we enjoyed a fine view overlooking Florence.

The father-and-son team of Giulio and Alfonso Parigi also established the Viottolone cypress alley and the Isolotto fountain. The Viottolone (Italian: large path) was intended as a carriage lane. Once you have walked from the Gardens entrance to the far end of the Viottolone you'll understand the need for wheels! The cypresses flanking the lane were planted in 1612.

Along the Viottolone one encounters various classically-themed statues, generally dated from the late 1500s and early 1600s.

Running parallel to the lane is the "Cerchiata", a long path with a kind of continuous awning formed by pruned holm oaks and dating from the Parigi renovations of 1612 to 1614.

The "Vasca dell'Isola" (Island Basin) contains the magnificent Isolotto at its centre, a small island full of citrus plants and roses. Rising above it all is the Fountain of the Ocean, executed in 1576 by Giambologna (also the creator of the Statue of Abundance). It was originally placed in the Amphitheater and relocated here in 1636.

The Ocean statue itself is an early 20th century copy of the original, which now resides at the Bargello museum. The smaller statue in the water is Andromeda by Giovan Battista Pieratti, made of white marble and bronze.

The Isolotto is at the far end of the gardens, so we had to find our way back to the Pitti Palace. On the way we passed some more delightful statues, like this terracotta dog, and the father and son making wine. The excitement of the winemaking clearly showed on the face of the young boy.

Closer to the palace we found this beautiful marble Pegasus. By then the afternoon was just about gone and we still had to walk all the way back to the hotel. You can believe we were two very tired, but satisfied, bunnies that night. What a wonderful conclusion to our stay in Florence!

Palazzo Pitti

On Tuesday 21 November 2006, after crossing over the river Arno along the Ponte Vecchio, we walked the short distance to the Palazzo Pitti (or Pitti Palace). The core of the present palace dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1539 as the official residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

In the 19th century, the palazzo, by then a great treasure house, was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly-united Italy. In the early 20th century, the palace and its contents was given to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III. Subsequently its doors were opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries.

The rusticated stonework gives the palace a severe and powerful atmosphere, reinforced by the three times repeated series of seven arch-headed apertures, reminiscent of a Roman aqueduct. This original design has withstood the test of time, and its influence has been maintained and continued during later additions to the palace.

When Cosimo de Medici moved into the palace, he had Vasari enlarge the structure to fit his tastes. The palace was more than doubled in size and Vasari also built the above-ground walkway from Cosimo's old palace, the Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi, above the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti.

There are 140 rooms in the palace that are open to the public, some of them large halls so, to fit a realistic viewing experience into the time available, we decided to sample only four of the galleries.

Palatine Gallery
The Palatine Gallery contains a collection of over 500 principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medici’s and their successors' private art collection. The gallery, which overflows into the royal apartments, contains works by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Rubens, and Pietro da Cortona. Also very impressive were the marble-topped tables dotted here and there in nearly every room. Marbles of different colours were inlaid, sometimes in the most intricate and delicate designs.

The rooms are richly decorated and have painted ceilings. We particularly enjoyed the room of Hercules where this strong man was depicted in various battles with centaurs, lions and so forth.

Royal Apartments
The Royal Apartments is a suite of 14 rooms, formerly used by the Medici family, and lived in by their successors. These rooms were last redecorated in the 19th century. They contain a collection of Medici portraits, many of them by the artist Giusto Sustermans.

In contrast to the great salons containing the Palatine collection, some of these rooms are much smaller and more intimate, and, while still grand and gilded, more suited to day to day living requirements. Period furnishings include four-poster beds and other necessary furnishings not found elsewhere in the palace. Each room is decorated in a different colour, with all the furnishings and drapes matching the main colour theme.

The Kings of Italy last used the Palazzo Pitti in the 1920s. By that time it had already been converted to a museum, but a suite of rooms (now the Gallery of Modern Art) was reserved for them when visiting Florence officially.

Silver Museum
The Silver Museum, sometimes called "The Medici Treasury", contains a collection of priceless silver, cameos, and works in semi-precious gemstones. These rooms, formerly part of the private royal apartments, are decorated with 17th-century frescoes, the most splendid being by Giovanni di San Giovanni. The Silver Museum also contains a fine collection of German gold and silver artefacts purchased by Grand Duke Ferdinand after his return from exile in 1815, following the French occupation.

Costume Gallery
This gallery contains a collection of theatrical costumes dating from the 16th century until the present. In addition to the theatrical costumes the gallery displays garments worn between the 18th century and the present day, giving a good impression of Italian fashions of that period.

This delightful fountain decorated with a plenitude of cherubs sits on a balcony at the back of the Pitti Palace.

This picture is a view of a portion of the Pitti Palace from the back of the building. We still don't know what the purpose is of this huge marble tub, but we guess it may have been intended as a planter. To give you an idea of the scale of this tub, look closely and you'll see Willem standing in the middle distance towards the building.

Ponte Vecchio

On Tuesday morning of 21 November 2006 we once again took to the streets and walked from the hotel all the way to the New Market and beyond, to where one gains access to the walkway that leads onto the Ponte Vecchio. Our photographs are arranged here in the order in which we encountered the views as we walked along towards and onto the bridge.

Note the beautiful red autumn colours on the leaves of the vines growing on the bank of the river. Although it was already winter, the weather has been so mild that the deciduous plants were late in dropping their leaves.

The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for "Old Bridge") is a famous medieval bridge over the Arno River, noted for having shops (mainly jewellers) built along it. It is Europe's oldest segmental arch bridge.

This view is of the Arno looking back in the direction from where we came, with the Ponte alle Grazie in the distance.

Believed to have been first built in Roman times, the Ponte Vecchio was originally made of wood. After being destroyed by a flood in 1333 it was rebuilt in 1345, this time in stone.

This view of the river Arno is taken from the Ponte Vecchio, with two other bridges visible in the distance. The first is the Ponte Santa Trinita and the second is the Ponte alla Carraia.

Most of the design of the Ponte Vecchio is attributed to Taddeo Gaddi. The bridge consists of three segmental arches, the main arch has a span of 30 meters and the two side arches each span 27 meters. The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters.

The Ponte Vecchio has always hosted shops (legend says this was originally due to a tax exemption) and the merchants displayed their goods on tables after obtaining authorisation from the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, magistrate and police authority).

It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here. When a merchant could not pay his debts, the table (banco) on which he sold his wares was physically broken (rotto) by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.

In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence's town hall) with the Palazzo Pitti, Cosimo I de Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the famous "Vasari corridor" above it in 1565. To enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 he prohibited butchers from selling their goods there, and their place was immediately taken by gold merchants. The association of butchers had monopolised the shops on the bridge since 1442.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat in 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler.

This statue of Cellini stands guard at the one end of the Ponte Vecchio. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) was an Italian goldsmith, painter, sculptor, soldier and musician of the Renaissance. Remember, we saw his statue of Perseus with the Head of Medusa in the Loggia dei Lanzi earlier on.

In a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, many padlocks were locked to various places on the bridge, especially to the railing around the statue of Cellini. The custom was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to the idea of love and lovers: by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded.

This is an example of the negative impact of the mass tourism (thousands of padlocks needed to be removed frequently, spoiling or damaging the structure of the centuries-old bridge). However, it seems to have decreased after the city administration put a sign on the bridge warning of a 50 Euro penalty for those caught locking something to the fence.

Uffizi Gallery

At the end of our tour of Florence we stopped at the Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) for a guided walk through this awesome collection of artworks.
Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates - hence the name "uffizi" (offices). Construction ended in 1581.

Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.

This statue of Galileo can be found in one of the pillar alcoves on the outside of the gallery.

The problem with a visit to one of these magnificent European art galleries is that you see so much that in the end you cannot retain much at all. And of cource one is not allowed to take pictures inside these galleries. What follows are but a few of the artworks we saw and that we could recall afterwards.

Fra' Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), also called Lippo Lippi, is a well-known Florentine painter of the Italian 15th century school. His work is remarkable for the fact that he, though a monk, liked women very much, so that

(a) he had a son who himself became a famous painter, Filippino Lippi, and

(b) in his paintings the women were markedly prettier than had been customary.

One can see it in some of his Madonnas, like in this one, the "Madonna and Child with two Angels".

We particularly liked Botticelli's famous paintings of Aphrodite. He made a similar point of making the faces of female subjects look beautiful, in this case by giving a clear and well-shaped outline. Here is "The Birth of Venus" which Botticelli painted in about 1485.

The story goes that, born from a union between Heaven and Earth, there came forth a goddess with such beauty and charm that the seasons rushed to greet her. Her name was Aphrodite, which in Greek means "born of the sea foam". She was also known as "Aphrodite Pandemos" which means goddess "among all the people". Her Roman name was Venus.

Caravaggio"s paintings showing chiaroscuro (meaning strong contrasts in illumination between light and dark areas in the artwork) alerted us to the use of chiaroscuro to paint false beams and domes on ceilings that were so realistic that it was very hard to detect that it was two-dimensional.

We found Canaletto's (1697-1768) ordered and "architectural" paintings of Venice most appealing. This one is the Palazzo Ducale in Venice. Canaletto's views always fetched high prices, and as early as the 18th century Catherine the Great and other European monarchs vied for his grandest paintings.

We were surprised to learn how few paintings by Leonardo da Vinci existed, and how few of them were in Florence - just the "Annunciation" (shown here) and the unfinished "Adoration of the Magi". Da Vinci had quarrelled with Lorenzo de Medici and gone to France (where he died in 1519), so that the Mona Lisa is legitimately in the Louvre.

There is only one painting by Michelangelo in the Uffizi, this one of the Holy Family painted in about 1506 for the merchant Angolo Doni and his wife Maddalena Strozzi. The frame is original and was also designed by Michelangelo.

Loggia dei Lanzi

The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street, three bays wide and one bay deep. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines, that Michelangelo even proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza.

It was built between 1376 and 1382 to house the assemblies of the people and hold public ceremonies. Today it is effectively a marvellous open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art.

In this first picture the statue in front depicts the Rape of the Sabine Women by the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne, better known as Giambologna. This impressive work was made from one imperfect block of white marble, the largest block ever transported to Florence.

On the steps of the Loggia are two Marzoccos, marble statues of lions, heraldic symbols of Florence. This one on the left was sculpted by Flaminio Vacca in 1598. It was originally placed in the Villa Medici in Rome, but found its final place in the Loggia in 1789.

Beyond the lion we can see the front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Underneath the bay on the far left is the bronze statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, the most famous work in the Loggia, and probably his best bronze sculpture. Beyond the sculture we see the corner of the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi).

The scuplture shows the mythical Greek hero holding his sword in his right hand and holding up triumphantly the Medusa's decapitated head in his left. The well-proportioned muscular body of Perseus stands poised on the right leg. Perseus is subdued, holding back his emotions. Blood is gushing from the head and the neck of the dead Medusa. The richly decorated marble pedestal, equally by Cellini, shows four graceful bronze statuettes of Jupiter, Mercurius, Minerva and Danae.

And here we have Hercules killing that mythical beast, a centaur, and another view of the Rape of the Sabine Women.

The name Loggia dei Lanzi dates back to the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo I, when it was used to house his formidable landsknechts (in Italian: "Lanzichenecchi", corrupted to Lanzi), or German mercenary pikemen. After the construction of the Uffizi at the rear of the Loggia, the Loggia's roof was modified and became a terrace from which the Medici princes could watch ceremonies in the piazza.

Tour of Florence

On Sunday afternoon, 19 November 2006, we joined a guided tour to see more of Florence. The city is built on rather flat ground, so it is not easy to get a good view over Florence. The tour started with a brief visit to the town Fiesole, 8 km to the north-east of Florence, to take in this famous view over the city and the Arno Valley. Fiesole is a beautiful town and we were pleased to see the many large cypresses looming in the mist.

The tour continued to the old city centre for a visit to the Basilica of Santa Groce, followed by a walk to the Piazza della Signoria, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and a guided walking tour through the Galleria degli Uffizi. It was a very worthwhile tour, with loads of architecture and artworks to see and much history to learn about.

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church of Florence. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. It was built Arnolfo di Cambio in the pure Gothic style. Work started in 1294 and continued until 1443 when the church was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV.

The vast structure is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its monumental tombs.

On the left is a view of the Capella Maggiore and on the right is the Capella Peruzzi. The chapels inside the Basilica di Santa Groce were for the exclusive use of the important families of Florence at that time.

The monumental tombs for Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Rossini are but of few of those to be found in the church. As an example of the ornate work on these tombs, here is the tomb of Galileo Galilei.

On the next blog entry we'll have a look at the Loggia dei Lanzi and the Galleria degli Uffizi.

Piazza della Signoria

On Sunday morning, 19 November 2006, we walked from our hotel near the central station all the way to the Piazza della Signoria. We spent some time there looking at the Palazzo Vecchio, the Neptune Fountain, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and the outside of the Uffizi Gallery. All of these marvels are to be found side by side on this piazza.

The Neptune Fountain is quite elaborate, and the longer you look at it, the more you discover. These amazing "sea horses" actually have lower bodies like those of fish. The marble statue of Neptune was sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575). He took Grand Duke Cosimo I as model for Neptune's face. When the work on the ungainly sea god was finished, Michelangelo scoffed at Ammanati that he had ruined a beautiful piece of marble. The bronze statues which decorate the fountain (satyrs, tritons and nereids) are the work of the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne.

Here is the Palazzo Vecchio with Neptune's Fountain at the left corner of the building. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence. This massive gothic, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its famous David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy.

Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, it served as the home of Cosimo I de' Medici from 1540 to 1550, who had the palace enlarged to fit the delicate tastes of the grand-ducal court.

The name was officially changed after Cosimo moved to the Pitti Palace, renaming his former palace the Palazzo Vecchio, the "Old Palace", although the adjacent town square, the Piazza della Signoria, still bears the old name. Cosimo I also moved the seat of government to the Uffizi.

The palace gained new importance as seat of United Italy's provisional government from 1865-71, at a moment that Florence had become the capital of the kingdom of Italy.

Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum, it remains the symbol of local government and still houses, since 1872, the office of the mayor of Florence and is the seat of the City Council.

The Markets in Florence

Our favourite spot for lunch was at the Trattoria ZaZa, a few steps away from our hotel and next to the central city market on the Piazza del Mercato Centrale. Outside the door and projecting into the piazza was a large open-air seating area under cover of a canvas awning. We particularly liked the atmosphere out there, but it was a little tricky when the rain came down quite hard on one occasion while we visited the establishment. The food was delicious, the wine superb and the waitresses very friendly.

Even the little birds hopping between the tables looking for crumbs were a delight. Not quite so delightful were the pigeons that tried the same stunt. One even had a cripple foot (perhaps some cat nearly got him), but still managed to get along well.

We thought their logo was amusing - the little bee going zap zap on the buttocks of the chef.

We also paid a visit to the Central Market. This is the view from the back, as one sees it from the Trattoria ZaZa. It is huge and the range of goodies on offer is astounding. The breads, pastas, sausages, meats, cakes, sweets, wines and much more all looked quite delectable. Most of the wares are in the food line, but other goods like clothing and leather items are also on sale there.

The new market on the Piazza de Mercato Nuovo was another lovely street market for browsing and finding gifts to take home. The leather wallets, handbags, jackets and coats were to die for. The vendors are happy to negotiate the price and one comes away feeling that you have got a bargain, but who knows? Maybe this tourist got fleeced after all.

This statue of the Little Pig, Porcellino, at the Mercato Nuovo is a bronze copy of the sculpture "Wild Boar" now on display in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but it originally came from the house of Paolo Ponti in Rome. They say you should rub Porcellino's nose for luck, so that must be why it is so shiny.