Firenze (Florence) is an amazing city for history, architecture and art! Jacquie and I spent 4 and 1/2 days between Firenze and Siena. I had not been there since 1999. I remembered a lot but really refreshed my memory and saw some new sites. I was just in Siena last year but it is a fascinating city and the Tuscany region is loved by everyone, including me.
I created a video of our visit for your enjoyment. The link is at the bottom of the blog.
We stayed in an AirBnb within walking distance to all of the main sites. And of course, the weather........it was the hottest city in Italy the days we were there!! High 90's and even low 100's every stinkin' day. 🥵🥵🥵🥵. But it did not deter us and the city did not disappoint.
We arrived on Wednesday afternoon. After getting settled in our apartment we went for a walk around town. The city was busy as usual with tourists but not as bad as it would be in a few weeks into July and the entire month of August.
On Thursday morning we met our tour guide bright and early at 9:00 a.m. for a private tour of the city, the David statue and the Duomo (Cathedral). Our tour guide was fabulous - an art, art history and Firenze expert. She lives in Firenze and has a passion for it - so evident in her delivery of information. She was a delight. Anyone going to Firenze and need a guide - message me for her contact information - she is amazing!
Learning about the history of Firenze and the "House of Medici" - a banking family that later come to power, was fascinating. I gained a desire to learn more about this family after seeing the influence and power they had back in the 1500's and 1600's. They are responsible for the discovery of the Piano and the beginning of Opera. Fascinating stuff!!
Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, The Duomo and Baptistery of St. John, Galleria dell'Accademia (to see "David"), were all part of the tour. We did not go into the Duoma as there is no ticket system and you must stand in line. In addition, according to our tour guide the inside of this cathedral is very plain. We were better served going inside the Basilica di Santa Croce later in the day on our own. This church is amazing and houses many tombs of famous Italians - including Michelangelo, Rossini (the composer), Machiavelli, Galileo and even Enrico Fermi (for those in the Chicago area this is the Fermi of "Fermi labs" in Batavia). How special is that?
We did go inside the "Galleria" to see Michelangelo's "David" - even after seeing it a few times before it still is a site to see. Michelangelo carved that statue when he was only 26 years old!!! Truly one of the greats!! It is simply magnificent.
In the afternoon we visited the Medici Chapel, which is the Medici family mausoleum. It has numerous sculptures of Michelangelo's and is also famous for its' mosaics. We then decided to cross the River Arno via the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) and tour Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace). The palace was originally built by a banker but then sold to the Medici's in the 1500's and it became their primary residence. The size of this place and the art work within it was overwhelming. A side note on the Ponte Vecchio - it was the only bridge crossing the Arno River that survived the bombing during WWII. The Germans did not destroy it - some say due to Hitlers' admiration for the bridge.
On Friday morning I had purchased tickets for the Uffizi Gallery. We would tour on our own with an audio guide. Easier to go at your own pace and spend your time as you wish. Tours in galleries can be challenging as they spend time showing you what they think you should see. I prefer to go at my own pace. It also allows you to stay away from the crowds. We had an early morning entry. You could probably spend days in this gallery - similar to the Louvre in Paris. We spent 2 1/2 hours wondering the halls and rooms filled with fabulous art by many famous Italian artists. Originally built as offices for the magistrates but after the Medici's has almost all died, the last living Medici heiress gifted all their art to the city of Florence - it would be housed in what is now known as the Uffizi gallery. She was one smart and generous lady!!
Later that day, after an afternoon rest from the heat, we walked to the top of "Piazza di Michelangelo" for pictures. The walk is challenging - even more so in the heat - but we made it and got some spectacular views of the city. Too bad the heat and humidity cast a haze across the entire city.
On Saturday we hopped a train to Siena (about a 90 minute ride) to meet my cousin's daughter, Federica and her fiancé, Guido. We would do a few winery tours with them. For those of you familiar with winery tours in the U.S. - they are completely different in Italy. Typically you need a reservation as the wineries are much smaller and not as commercial as the winery tours in the states. No big tasting rooms, etc. The area around Siena is "Chianti Classico" wine country. We would tour two wineries where Chianti Classico is the main product. But both wineries produced other wines as well. You can tell a Chianti Classico from the Rooster on the bottle wrapper around the neck. There is a great legend about this rooster. Here is a link to a Tuscan winery blog that gives you the story.
https://www.viticcio.com/legend-chianti-classicos-black-rooster/
"Famiglia Losi" was our first stop. Guido had been here before and he knew we would like it. We got a great tour of their cellars, production process and vineyards. It is a family winery, as are many in this part of Italy. The tour was conducted in English so no translating was required. Guido speaks great English and Federica is getting better all the time. Our guide knew 4 or 5 languages - impressive not only for her wine knowledge but her language skills as well. After the tour we had our wine tasting. We sat around a table and not only tasted wines but had some yummy snacks to compliment the vino! Great thing about living in Italy - shipping wines is cheap - I took advantage of that!!
Our second winery would be a bit different. "Fattoria di Corsignano" offers a lunch while tasting the wines - so we wined and dined! Then after eating we would have a tour of the grounds and their cellar. We had a wonderful lunch under the pergola - and again the heat was a bit much but it didn't hurt our appetites.
An interesting note - many of the wineries here are starting to use concrete casks for aging (watch for them in the video). This is an old technique that is coming back into fashion.
So two winery's then off for some gelato before we would head back to the train to Florence. In Italy it is not how many winery's you can view in one day but the experiences you have while there. More relaxed and enjoyable - La Dolce Vita!
On Sunday morning we took the train back to Siena for a tour of the city. As last year at this time the city was in full mode for the Palio (famous horse race) which would be run on Tuesday. Flags were flying and the city was buzzing. We had an enjoyable day, great lunch, a bit more touring then headed back to Florence to have an enjoyable evening before we would depart for Rome the following morning.
Jacquie's flight home to Minneapolis would leave Tuesday morning so being in Rome the night before ensured she would be at the airport in plenty of time. No stress!! So Monday we were on an early train to Rome. We would do a bit of touring, have a great dinner then head to the hotel as we both had early morning trains.
While in Rome we took the opportunity to visit the Emmanuel Vittorio monument (Altar of the Fatherland) up close and personal (some call it the Wedding Cake monument). There is an elevator you can take to the top of the structure and have fabulous views of the city. I decided to go for it. Here are a few pictures of the view from up top!!
View of St. Peters (at the Vatican) from afar
View of the dome of the Pantheon
from afar (it is huge)
The Coloseaum
The Roman Forum
After a relaxing dinner we headed back to our hotel to prep for our early morning trains. I would return to Acquavella and Jacquie would head home with her head still spinning (I think) from all the sights and sounds of Italy.
An enjoyable mini vacation for me to reacquaint myself with Firenze. If you love art it is a must see!!
Link to video:
https://youtu.be/n1-9VPsrrw0
