Sidelined by my toe, I didn't do many extracurricular activities the week before last. The weather was kind of touch-and-go as well. But on Thursday, after using the internet, I walked around to find a nice spot to do my homework "a fuori" (outside). I ended up walking through Piazza della Signoria and then sitting on the wall that runs along the Arno. It had rained earlier in the day and there were still some amazing clouds in the sky:
I love the clouds in Italy. They are totally different than the ones we see at home. If you squint off into the hills you can see that it looks almost exactly like and old painting--it is easy to find the artist's inspiration in these clouds:
Then there are the dark, threatening ones:
How magical is this, with the light rays penetrating the clouds? Okay, I am a cloud-fanatic:
This is where I was sitting, just beyond the Ponte Vecchio with the Uffizi there in the foreground on the right and the Arno on the left:
I sat and listened to my iPod and did my "compiti di casa" (homework). The Uffizi:
When I had finished (and I was starving so it was time to go home and make some pasta), I walked through the piazza in between the U-shaped Uffizi building. There are sculptures in the columns of the Uffizi of famous Italians. I realized I haven't taken pictures of them yet so here you go! Here is Galileo Galilei:
And Amerigo Vespucci who "discovered" our land and lent it his name:
Niccolo Macchiavelli:
Dante Alighieri:
Michelangelo Buonarrotti (I think he is kind of cute with that curly beard!):
Leonardo da Vinci:
Donatello:
Giotto (a famous painter whose work preceded the Renaissance so he is less well-known if you haven't studied the broader spectrum of Italian art):
And then out in the Piazza della Signoria, at the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio you have this over the main door:
And to the right of the door, this sculpture:
And then to the left, the fake David. The original David stood here until the early 1800s I believe. I will have to check on that date. But at one point his left arm was broken off and used to kill a peasant during a riot. At least that is what one of my guidebooks said. A friend told me they heard it was struck by lightning and fell on someone who died. That sounds a little tooo convenient. I kinda like the more violent story--it's just so ridiculous! Anyway, David is living a more peaceful existence in the Galleria dell'Accademia now anyway. And his stand-in is entertaining the masses (including the occasional bird that lands on his head):
Here is one of the two lions guarding the sculptures in the loggia (the terrace area in the Piazza where there are a bunch of random sculptures):
And here is the massive Neptune fountain in front of the Palazzo Vecchio:
And that is your tour of the area surrounding the Uffizi. It is starting to get so crowded in this area, it's hard to move. It is best to visit during mealtimes as most tourists are sitting in overpriced restaurants at that time and you can actually see the sites. As usual, I try my best to cut other people out of my shots so you think I am the only one visiting Firenze right now. Alas, it is not the case.
I love that this is my view right outside my house!
At the museum they were doing a special program including people dressed up in the costume of the period of the Lorenas who were some people that were influential rulers when the French kind of reigned in Italy for a little bit. I think they were related to the Lombards. But don't take my word for it. I passed the AP test for European history when I was 15 years old and then promptly forgot it all. But you all know by now that the Florentines will use any excuse to dress up. This girl was playing the violin in the entrance of the musuem:
They also had a guy who was pretending to be Galileo and he gave a mini-impromptu lecture in one of the little rooms of the gallery. People were crowding around him because they were really interested in hearing him talk and I was trying to stay out of the way because I am really not into people who dress up like people from the past and then use phrases like, "I did this, I believed that..." as if they really are the person because that kind of creeps me out. Plus, I knew I wasn't going to understand all that he was saying (in Italian) and I didn't want him to look at me for validation and see my blank stare back in his face. So I kind of got involved in looking at one exhibit in the corner and of course, that is the one he decides to come over and take about. And I ended up at the front of the group for this whole little lecture. Seriously, people were pushing to get closer to hear him talk and I was like, "Um, can I get out of here?" But I was kind of stuck and so I just had to listen patiently. It was interesting when he pointed out the middle finger of Galileo's right hand that has been preserved in a little glass shrine (just the bone). Kind of wild. The guy explained that this was the most important figure because back in the day that is the finger that he would have pointed with when he was lecturing or making some demonstration on his discoveries. Anyway, the museum was pretty fascinating because they had a lot of old instruments that were used during Galileo's time (and some of his own originals), including telescopes and various experimental contraptions such as one for generating static electricity. Then there was a whole room with medical sculptures of the torso of a woman depicting various scenarios of giving birth. Quite wild. They also had some really scary old medical instruments in there that used to be used on women in childbirth. Thank goodness I don't ever have to give birth in that era.
Then I kept walking up the hill to Fort Belvedere where there are some nice views of the city. This is the Church of Santa Croce in the middle:
