01/10/2002: Florence,
Italy's City of the Arts
Florence is the city of the
Renaissance, of the Italian arts and of the Medici family. It was not until I
visited it that I understood the importance of Florence in the history of art,
and how many famous people have lived there. It was during my journey by train,
after briefly passing by the city of Pisa, that I found out a great deal about
the city I was going to visit. I learnt, then, that Florence used to be ruled by
the Medici family in the 15th century. At that time, the nobility of
Florence, because of the city's industrial growth, invested heavily in the arts.
Nowadays, the city is recognised as the where the Renaissance started.
Michelangelo, Dante and Machiavelli are among its illustrious citizens. I
arrived in Florence without a clue of what to expect and a little curious about
this very artistic city. Walking about the historical centre was enough to grab
the spirit of Florence. Although it is very touristy, the city maintains its old
houses and squares. Medium-sized, with 448,000 inhabitants, but resembling a
small city, Florence is the capital of the administrative region of Tuscany. After having started my walk,
in a few minutes I arrived at Piazza del Duomo, one of the city's landmarks. The
beautiful Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiori is in that square. The building is
impressive, much different from the churches I had so far seen. The façade is
completely in green and pink marble – any similarity with Mangueira
samba school is mere coincidence –, making up geometrical shapes. It took
150 years to be built and was designed by Filipo Brunelleschi. Inside the
cathedral, several artists left their touch, among them Donatello, who produced
some of the stained-glass windows. Very curious is the fact that one is not
allowed into the building wearing shorts and women with low-cut clothes have to
cover their "indecent parts" with a kind of apron. The Baptistery of San
Giovanni, where Dante Allighieri, author of "The Divine Comedy" was
baptised, is across from the cathedral. It is the oldest building in the city,
and it dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries. The
beautiful bronze gates stand out – among them, the Gates of Paradise, sculpted
by Lorenzo Ghiberti, which picture passages of the Bible. A few minutes walk from that
place, one more piazza (square): the famous Piazza della Signora, full of art
and history. The Old Palace, where the Medici used to live back in the 6th
century, is located there. Nowadays, the palace hosts the government of Florence
and it is also an open museum. The Renaissance sculptures exhibited at the
streets further embellish the square. This is Florence: there are so many works
of art, that its museums have not enough space for them – they end up
decorating the streets. Towards the Arno River, I
enjoyed passing by a street with a lot of statues of famous people who had lived
in Florence and, one way or another, left their mark. Artists, scientists,
thinkers… Among them, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli and
Galileo. You can feel the weight the city used to have. Nowadays, the street
artists cheer up the tourists, posing as emperors in Roman costumes. Piazza Signora and the
several museums in Florence express the artistic effervescence of centuries ago,
and it's at the Old Bridge that you indeed start to feel this Italian city. One
of its landmarks, this lovely bridge has a different style. It is full of
colourful shops and has a beautiful view of the banks of the Arno River, which
crosses the city. On the other side, just off the city centre, there is a silent
city, with few shops, low buildings in yellowish tones and narrow roads. It was
by chance that I found Pitti Palace, an enormous building that also used to be
property of the Medici family. Nowadays, it hosts a number of museums. To say goodbye to the
attractions of Florence, I walked through the Basilica of San Lorenzo, where the
graves of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Rossini are
located. All of them are decorated with adorns and sculptures. I spent a
beautiful day in Florence, amid the history of art and in a very special city. I
loved walking about some back streets, seeing a fair and people of the city and
trying the “gelato” (ice cream). When dawn breaks, the motorcycles start to
hum and the restaurants begin to fill up with tourists. I'll never forget the
sculptures at Piazza della Signora and the Old Bridge, for they are very
beautiful memories! Pictures of Florence: - Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiori: 1
- Baptistery of San Giovanni: 1
... and respective Gates of Paradise, by Lorenzo
Ghiberti: 1
- Giotto's Campanile: 1
- Street artists: 1 - Street with statues of famous people: 1 - Vecchio Bridge: 1
- Basilica of Santa Croce: 1,
2 - Statue of Dante: 1 Pictures
of Pisa, city close to Florence: - Cathedral: 1 Translated by Traduzca |
