Learning about Florence

I can't believe we have been here for almost a week now! I feel like I have learned so much already about the Italian culture.

I know the blog is a few days late so let me recap the previous two days,


Tuesday morning after another short night of sleep we woke up to a beautiful but cloudy day. At ten we met our guide Lena at the school for a walking tour of Florence. Lena would probably cringe if I called her a tour guide. She teaches Art History at the school and gave the background and explanation of why things were the way they were. She took specific places and went into great depth of their history rather than simply identifying everything that we saw with brief explanations.

The tour started at the Piazza Della Signoria where the Palazzo Vecchio is. I know these names may not make sense to someone who hasn't been here but I recommend researching them. Originally the famous statue of David stood outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The Medici (which was one of the most prominent families in the history of Italy) placed it outside the doorway to remind everyone who came in how wealthy and important their family was. During the tour we learned more about the Medici family and the neighborhoods throughout Florence. Our tour ended at the Accademia Gallery where the statue of David is located now. Lina got us reservations so we skipped the long line and got right in. After the walking tour I think all of us were happy that we didn't have to stand in line.

As you walk in the Accademia Gallery Michelangelo's unfinished slave statues line the walls. The figures look like they are breaking free from the stone. Caty thinks that this was the way he actually intended to finish them. Then we saw David. Some pieces of iconic art can be disappointing in person however this statue exceeded my expectations. You can see and experience the life that Michelangelo brought into this piece of marble. It was magical and will definitely be one of my favorite memories of this trip!

On Wednesday we met Rachel at the Bargello which is a sculpture Museum and saw Donatello's David as well other versions and sculptures. I enjoyed seeing them all on consecutive days because we were really able to compare their differences and similarities.

After the museum we came back to our apartment for class and we took Rachel to our favorite restaurant so far down the street. We found the restaurant on the first night we were here. It was late and we were starving so we agreed that we would eat at the first restaurant that we found and coincidentally it has been our favorite one so far!  

After dinner we wandered down to the Duomo and walked through the Cathedral and then some of us went through the Duomo Museum! There is so much to say about both places I feel like I cannot give them the justice they deserve. That is how I feel about most of the things we are learning and seeing. On our tour Lena told us that, everything in Florence is the way it is for a reason. I have seen this to be true, it is a city with incredible history and depth. This month we are only scratching surface.


Ciao,

Kate