Day 43: Florence, David, crypts and relics

The Accademia is right across the road from our apartment.  We got up, went out our door, went in theirs and around the corner and... Wow. Michelangelo’s David.  Wow, wow and wow.  You can just stare at him for ages.  The detail.  The stature, imposing, glowing marble. This is real art.  To think that somebody could extract that from a slab of second hand marble.
We spent a good 1.5 to 2 hours here at the Accademia admiring the fantastic paintings, some dating back to the 1400’s. The room of plaster casts which were the precursors to construction of the marble statues also was amazing.  The Bartolini statues are ethereally beautiful. But David is a religious experience.  Watching people watching David is great too. There was also a musical instrument exhibition, which had cellos from the 1600s! And what on earth is a Guitar pianola!?! But no photos were allowed…
Afterwards we walked past the Duomo where I had planned to climb up to the cupola, but the queues were insane, presumably because today is a Saturday.  Looks like I’ll miss out.  Can’t say I’m that disappointed though, but it would have been good to have done it.
The Piazza Duomo was teeming with people, heaps more than any other day.  Even the queue to get into the Duomo was huge.  This thing holds 20,000 people so I’m not sure why the queue was extending right across the piazza. We walked on to the Basillica de Museo di Santa Croce.

This place was fantastic, and the basilica was full of paintings inside and fully decorated.  It was truly great to see the alter pieces and frescos in place in an actual church, especially after the surprising austerity of Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Flore.

I’m also learning that Catholicism is a bit of a morbid religion, amongst its many other attributes.  Sarcophagus' with bones of saints on display!  This church also holds the tombs and monuments for Galileo, Dante (empty though as he is physically in Ravenna), the tomb of Michelangelo and a monument to Donatello.  How humbling and emotional to know that those great thinkers and creators and artists were so close to where I stood.

The inspiration for the Statue of Liberty

Michelangelo's Tomb

We hit it lucky for lunch at nearby Il Teatro Pizzaria.  Much cheaper and some really nice food.  Ewe’s cheese salad, and sausage and mascarpone cheese pizza.  Also, I’m trying not to overdo it food wise, so no dessert at lunch time today.  Also no Aperol or Campari, though I did have a beer. :-) We walked past the Duomo again, so here's another picture, as it just looks so great, especially with the superb clear blue skies we were getting in Florence now.

Passing through the squares beside the church, past the hordes of people, the stalls selling cheap crap and the fantastic artists that had water colour and pastel paintings of Florence for sale, or would paint your portrait in exquisite detail for 15 Euro, an unusual sound was heard...

Clopping horse hooves on cobblestones with a syncopated ringing like sleigh bells would clear the crowds and these beautiful horses pulling carriages would appear.  What a place!

A short walk brought us to the Medici family’s church, Basillica de San Lorenzo (no photos allowed).  Unfinished on the outside, despite the plans of Michelangelo and the bequest of the Medici, this was a beautiful church inside, with pulpits made by Donatello, Jesus hanging on a cross with a real skull of somebody beneath it, more skeletons on display in their little silver and red velvet lined coffins.
We got a real treat as we stumbled upon Concerti col Coro Da Camera di Nacka, Svezia.  This choir sounded amazing; their angelic notes lived on, resonating around the basilica long after they stopped singing.  Emotive, beautiful, a totally different world inside to make you forget the noise and bustle, heat and crowds outside.
Now the museum down below had the crypt of the Medici’s and also Donatello’s crypt as he was a good friend of the Medici and so was honoured to be kept close to them in death, as he was in life. Then in a side room we enter back into the macabre with displays of religious ceremonial items, one with a human femur, others with bone fragments from various saints, and another a severed finger.  Creepy stuff indeed.
I skipped dinner tonight and went straight to dessert with gelato from Grom.  This was some really good gelato where I let the owner chose the flavours for me.  Then we again walked down to the Ponte Vecchio for a beautiful sunset and some great music.

Some more photos of beautiful Florence.