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San Lorenzo market |
Florence is a city in the center of Tuscany that is sometimes considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. However, we were there for only a day and we didn't even get to see Michelangelo's David, though we did get to see a copy of it in Piazza della Signoria, where it once stood. Though we didn't get to see much of the fine art that Florence had to offer, we could still marvel at its striking buildings.
The journey to Florence from Arezzo took less than an hour. When we arrived, we headed to the San Lorenzo market, a traditional flea market, where you can get anything from leather jackets to Commedia dell'Arte masks, which I got for around €8 for a small one. Anyway, it is very fun to wander around this market, and very easy to overspend. Almost everything around you screams, "Buy me! Buy me!". As we walked on, we reached San Lorenzo, the parish church of the Medici. It is a huge structure, with the dome almost as prominent as that of the Duomo. However, we decided not to go in because you had to pay an entrance fee to get in.
From here, we decided to head to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. When we reached there, there was such a long queue that we decided not to spend hours queuing up and walked on to San Marco. Alas, we had missed its opening hours by less than fifteen minutes. Well, we had no choice but to move on. Our next stop is the magnificent Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo. The facade is inlaid with pink, white and green marble, and is so intricate in its design. However, it is also extremely difficult to photograph as it is so huge that it cannot fit in a single frame. After the splendor of the facade, the interior seemed dark and dreary. The highlight of the interior has to be the fact that you could see the interior of the dome, which measures 43m across. As you look up, you'll see one of the largest frescoed surfaces in the world, covering 3600 square meters. The subject of the frescoes is the Last Judgement, which uses the huge space of the dome to suggest visitors are looking up into heaven. Near the entrance, there is a flight of stairs which leads down to a gift shop and the excavations of Santa Reparata. The current Duomo is built on top of this 4th-5th century church. After paying the entrance fee of €3, we went in to take a look at the excavations. It wasn't a big area and basically what we saw were just some ancient artifacts, the remains of walls and flooring from the houses of Roman "Florentia", and mosaic which paved the ancient basilica. Interesting for history buffs.
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The Duomo of Florence- the 4th
largest cathedral in the world. |
Next, we headed to Piazza della Signoria, lined with replicas of famous sculptures and historical buildings. In the past, in times of political crises, the public would be summoned here for popular votes, which usually decided the fates of conflicting families and frequently descended into frenzied riots. Now, all you see are tourists snapping away. Actually this place feels like an open-air museum with all the statues in the square. Some of the famous statues include that of Neptune by Ammannati, the equestrian statue of Cosimo I dÈ Medici by Giambologna, and of course, the copy of Michelangelo's David.
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Piazza della Signoria- On the left is
the copy of David, and on the right is the statue of
Hercules and Cacus. |
Nearby is the Uffizi Palace, supposedly one of the finest art galleries in the world, which we didn't enter. We thought of coming back after we tour the other parts of Florence but it didn't work out eventually. Well, you got to save some stuff so that we have reason to visit again. :) From here, we went on to the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest and most famous bridge crossing the river Arno. The current bridge has survived for more than 750 years and it was the only bridge in Florence that survived Nazi bombing during World War II. Today, the bridge is lined with shops selling gold and silver jewelry. Basically, unless you had a lot of money, you probably wouldn't find much to buy on this bridge. High above the shops, a secret passageway known as the Corrodoio Vasariano links the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace. Built by Vasari, it was intended to shield the powerful Medici family from the Florentine riffraff, as they journeyed from one palace to the other.
Well, the bridge has an interesting history, but it's not a place that needs a lot of time to explore, thus we crossed the bridge into the "other side of Florence"- the Oltrarno. This part of the neighborhood is slightly off the beaten track, and it supposedly offers a glimpse at the Florence of the past. However, we didn't spend a lot of time here. We headed straight to the Palazzo Pitti, a grand structure which houses seven museums. However, we did not enter the museums because we had to catch the train back to Arezzo. After a short rest in front of Palazzo Pitti, we started backtracking and soon we were back in the Piazza della Signoria. Of course by now we were all famished and we grabbed some pizza from a nearby trattoria, which Serene declares to be the best she's eaten so far. Thereafter, we decided to head to the Duomo to have one last look at the magnificent monument before we left. It looks even more lovely in the soft glow of the setting sun. Alas, we were running out of time by then and had to head for the train station to catch our train.
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Ponte Vecchio or The Old Bridge
is the oldest bridge in Florence crossing the river Arno. |
Cortona is one of Italy's oldest cities (said by Virgil to be the mother of Troy and the grandmother of Rome... e.g. "Dardano, son of Jove and Elettra, left Corito, city of Etruria, before he came to Troy" [Virgil's Aenid 3, 104]). But if you're not very familiar with ancient history, like me, you probably wouldn't be as caught up with Cortona's history. Nonetheless at more than 600 meters above sea level, Cortona is still an absolute delight.
From Arezzo's bus terminal, we took a bus which took us right to Cortona's Piazzale Garibaldi which has amazing views of the surroundings where you can see valleys and rolling hills of Tuscany and Umbria and even Lake Trasimeno in Umbria province in the distance. From here, we headed up Via Nazionale which is Cortona's only flat surface. Says a lot doesn't it. When you're in Cortona, you better have good walking shoes, or a car because you'll have to do a lot of walking up steep slopes. Anyway, Via Nazionale is dotted with antique and wood-crafting stores and you can also pick up your map from the tourist information office here. This street is also where you'll see lots of tourists. Apparently after the book Under the Tuscan Sun which was set in Cortona was published, this town has attracted much more tourists, deservingly, I think.
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Via Nazionale which leads up to the
main squares in town. |
As we walked along Via Nazionale, we eventually ended up in front of the Palazzo Comunale in Piazza della Republica. After grabbing a quick lunch (pizza again), we decided to head up towards the Medici Fortress which is right at the top of Cortona. Along the way, we passed by quaint looking houses with beautiful gardens. Soon we found ourselves in the Cortona Hospital. As we needed to use the toilet, we decided to approach some staff who were standing outside the hospital. To our dismay, this one female staff said that we could not use the toilets in the hospital. Okay, fair enough. And then she threatened to call the police if we do not leave. How rude! Too bad I don't speak enough Italian. But I must add that most of the Italians we came across are very friendly and helpful and nothing like this lady.
And so we walked towards Via Santa Margherita. Little did we know it at that time, but this street which leads to the church of Santa Margherita is decorated with mosaics by Gino Severini representing the "Stations of the Cross". If you look up from the bottom of Via S. Margherity, you'll see that this path is not for the unfit. It is extremely steep and seems as if it goes on forever. But if you do decide to walk up, it's definitely a rewarding experience. Each station of the cross is spaced at regular intervals and I guess the religious-minded will find it extremely significant to walk up this path. For the rest of us, you'll also enjoy spectacular views of the Tuscany countryside.
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One of the stations of the cross. |
Eventually we arrived at the Church of Santa Margherita. The church itself is very beautiful but at the altar, you'll find the preserved remains of St. Margherita encased in a glass. I don't know about you but it sure feels a bit strange looking at her body. Next to the altar, on the right, you'll also find the crucifix that supposedly spoke to her. From here, we continued the hike up towards the Medici fortress which overlooks the rest of the town. As we entered the Medici Fortress, we realized that we had to pay an admission fee and there were no youth discounts. Luckily, the person-in-charge decided to sell us the child tickets at only €1.5 upon learning that we are students. There was a photography exhibition going on at that time, and there were some amazing pictures but due to a lack of time, we sped through the exhibits and went right up to the top of the fortress. At the top, you can see for miles, and I imagine that it would be next to impossible for anyone to walk up to the fortress unsighted. There were also some sentry posts and I took some time to imagine how it would be like, hundreds of years ago, keeping watch at the post, watching out for any enemy movements. I imagine it would be lonely, miserable and cold. Strange how this place puts me in a contemplative mood.
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View of Cortona from Porta Montanina. |
Meanwhile, by this time, time was running out. We had to catch the last bus at 7pm back to Arezzo as we had to leave for Rome early next morning. However, we still had enough time to wander around and so we decided to head back to town by a different route. This route took us down a narrow, winding maze that took us pass many medieval buildings, cobbled streets and ancient walls. Along the way, Porta Montanina is a great place to stop and have a look at the red-tiled roofs of the buildings in Cortona.
Actually, it is a good idea to have a map in your hand as you wander along Cortona's streets. They are like a maze. Eventually we landed up near the Romanesque Duomo. However, we couldn't enter because there was a wedding, and outside the church we saw the men in their smart suits and the ladies at their dolled-up bests. Opposite the Duomo, there is a museum, the Museo Diocesano. Apparently there are some fabulous paintings inside. But we didn't enter. From here, we rushed back along Via Nazionale, stopping for some souvenirs and gelatos before catching the bus back to Arezzo.
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A view from Cortona
looking at
Lake Trasimeno (top left hand
corner). |
