Interrail throughout Italy

Milan - Padua - Verona - Venice - Florence - Saint Gimignano - Sienna - Pisa - Naples - Pompei - Amalfi Coast - Capri - Assisi - Rome - Tivoli - Monaco

Florence is one of the most famous cities around the world, with a unique historical richness. It is located in the province of Tuscany, a well-known region of excellent wines and landscapes.
Florence is a museum-city. If you like arts it is indispensable. If you don't, it is indispensable. In addition to the museums and galleries you have to sum the gardens, the palaces, the bridges, the precious old town and a great atmosphere through its pedestrian streets. At each step a surprise appears, a monument is discovered, an unforgettable corner arises.
It is also a perfect starting point for excursions to the close Pisa and Sienna. As for Florence I estimate a minimum stay of 3 days to enjoy it with calm.
Although I will try to summarize the spots, it is impossible to count every artistic work in town.
We arrived at noon in a train from Venice. We took an IC for the route Bologna-Venice and therefore we had to pay the extra fee, because our train had a 4 h. delay. It is sad, but when you travel there is always one principle: money is equal to time. The more money you spend, the less time you lose.

Just as in the first stops of our trip we had booked previously the accommodation (Milan and Padua) in Florence we counted on finding anything, as we didn't found accommodation in Internet. After phoning several places (and many other tourists that had just arrived were phoning as well) that were full we followed a little man, one of this men that abounds in the train stations who offer their accommodation to any tourist with the air confused. We had already say "no, thanks" to this man for three times. Finally we were defeated. He showed us a tiny room in his flat that didn't cost what he was asking for (although it wasn't extremely expensive either), but we were fed up with the search and taking into account that we were going to stay here only to sleep, we agreed. It was near the centre and now we could enjoy the town instead of searching for a new accommodation to save a few Euro. The most amusing of all is that we had to wash our clothing in Florence, and the clothes line wasn't enough for so many things, so our mini room was for a couple of days crammed with drying clothes. In conclusion, if you plan to visit Florence , you better should try to book in advance, as the town is crowded with tourists.

First of all an historical note to better understand the visit. During the 14th century a family starts to stand out due to richness accumulated with the wood trade and the bank activities: the Medici. One of the members called Cosimo the Ancient (1389-1464), besides of intelligent and smart, he loved art. He lived as a current citizen but he was very important in political and cultural matters. His grandson continued the tradition. He was Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), who leaded Florence to become one of the most important cities across Europe . After his death there was a political period in a mess until the return of the Medici's family to the power by means of Cosimo I in 1537, who was designed Duke of Tuscany. Since then until 1743 the Medicis governed the town through a period called Great Duchy.
The Medicis were patrons of arts. They supported and protected the development of numerous artists that became the best world-wide. They concentrated in the city all the works they could and they impelled the new creations. Under their protection they were Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Vasari, Donatello, Giberti.......

From any direction you approach the cathedral the spectacle is extraordinary. From the narrow medieval streets you end in an open huge space that hardly is able to contain the three buildings: the Baptistery of Saint John , the cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower and the bell tower . The combination of three marbles in different colours (white from Carrara , green from Prato and pink from Maremma) on the three monuments gives a beautiful and elegant aspect.

The Baptistery of Saint John was in its origins an important Roman temple; reconfigured until the actual shape during 10th and 12th centuries, but it kept the Roman architecture, with an octagonal floor. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence . Before being a baptistery, from 1059 to 1128 it was the cathedral of Florence . In the baptismal font the Florentines were baptised for centuries, for example Dante. Go inside, and look at the interesting but uncountable details. At the outside you can admire the famous bronze doors, showing many episodes of the bible.
The first one in the southern facade, completed by Andres Pisano from 1330 to 1336.
The second one, in the northern facade, was created by Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was the winner of the famous tender among distinguished adversaries, such as Brunelleschi. He worked from 1403 to 1424 with some collaboration of Donatello and Uccello.

The third one, a marvel, is in front of the cathedral. It was completed again by Ghiberti and he worked only for 27 years!! from 1425 to 1452. It represents 10 scenes from the Old Testament and it is called the Paradise Gate, as Michelangelo used to affirm that this door deserved to be the Paradise entrance. It stands out over the other two doors. Try to stay close and to study the detail of the figures.

The cathedral is huge, the third around the world in size after Saint Peter of Vatican and Saint Paul in London . It is completely covered in marbles. Arnolfo di Cambio started it in 1296 and it presents a peculiarity as the floor has a flower shape. It was consecrated in 1436, but many generations of artists continued building and decorating it until 1870, when the Neogothic facade was finalized. The interior will show some marvels, such as the Brunelleschi tomb or a copy of the Michelangelo's Pieta (they keep the original in the cathedral museum).

The pieta represents the descent of the Christ's body from the cross by the holy women and Nicodemus.
Here I would like to make a parenthesis to clarify the pieta question. There are 4 pietas that Michelangelo sculpted: Roman, Florence Academia's, Florence cathedral's and finally the last in the Sforza's palace in Milan. The pieta that you admire in this cathedral was sculpted at the age of 75 years and the artist thought about using it to adorn his tomb. In fact the man with the hood is a self-portrait. However, like a good genius he had an anger attack when he got disappointed with the quality of the marble, so he hit the work with his hammer and he didn't complete it.

From the inside I emphasize the dome, made by Brunelleschi from 1420 to 1434. Its story is original. In 1420 they didn't know how to erect a big dome, as they were many technical problems. Brunelleschi presented an innovation project that was rejected at once but it was reaccepted soon. Brunelleschi studied the classic architecture, especially the Pantheon in Rome. His proposal was based in the construction of the dome in concentric circles without employing the habitual scaffoldings. So this guy and the workers hung in the abysm for 15 years.

There is the possibility of visiting the dome , that it is worth not only because of the incredible views but also to appreciate and understand this exceptional construction. In fact there is a stair flight between the interior dome and the exterior protective dome. If you go up, you can enjoy the frescoes in the dome (from Vasari and Zuccari, among others), and you will shiver when thinking about the painters hanging from a vertiginous height. The architects of the cathedrals Saint Peter of Vatican and Saint Paul of London based their designs on the Florence 's cathedral.

Giotto initiated the bell tower in 1334, but he died in 1137, so his disciples had to finish it in until 1359. On of these disciples was Andrea Pisano. It is an example of Florentine Gothic architecture, and again you can reach the top, but as you have to pay for the entrance I suggest the dome rather than the tower. You get wonderful views of the tower from the dome in addition.
You can visit the cathedral museum, which includes many works from the cathedral, the baptistery or the tower. We didn't enter it because it is impossible to see all in this town.
In the stairs outside the cathedral they abound groups of Italian boys hunting ragazzas (girls), one of their favourites activities.

The Signoria square is the political and historical centre of the city. It is linked to the cathedral square through an elegant pedestrian street. The square is surrounded by palaces and interesting statues, configuring a unique architectonic whole. You get astonished and open-mouthed when you see it for the first time.

You won't resist the temptation to sit down in any stairs and enjoy the scenery. The first thing that calls the attention is a copy of the David of Michelangelo. The original is exposed in the Academia to protect it from the pollution and the weather, although the original was located for many years in the same spot than now the copy.

The square is magnificent, and we coincided with a festival with parades of drum bands with époque customs and shaking flags.

The Old Palace or the Signoria Palace , built at the end of the 13th century, is majestic and dominates the square by means of its high tower with battlements. The master of the construction was Arnolfo de Cambio, the same man than in the cathedral. It is a cubic solid building, where the Arnolfo's tower raises. It was the seat of the city power until Cosimo I decided to live in the new residence, the Pitti's palace. This is the reason for the name. The last century the government resettled here and nowadays it is the city hall.

The visit starts in the nice courtyard. In the middle there is the famous fountain with the "putto", a copy of Verrocchio's original located in the palace chambers. We continued towards the impressive Hall of Cinquecento, called like this because it was the number of people who formed the People General Council after the Medici's expulsion. It was made in 1494.
We contemplate the hall from 16th century, when Cosimo I was the governor. He ordered the reconstruction to his architect Vasari. In the works they lost the previous drawings for the frescoes about battles that both Leonardo and Michelangelo were going to paint in a competition!! Among all the sculptures the most important is the Victory of Michelangelo.

The visit goes on through other rich and decorated rooms and chambers attributed to Vasari and his assistants. You will like the tiny office of Francisco I de Medici. Later you go up to the terrace and to the tower that offer formidable views. There are computers along the interior of the palace where you can search for any information. They are really useful and interesting. We were for almost an hour seeing how they transported the David to the Academia or how the masters were preparing the battle frescoes in the Hall of Cinquecento. Besides there was an interesting exposition of Galileo's telescopes.

Cosme I ordered the Uffizi's palace to his favourite architect Vasari. It is made in Renaissance style, with a horseshoe floor and it is located near the Old Palace. In its beginnings it served as an office building (that explains the name). It was created under the influence of Michelangelo. Nowadays it keeps one of the most important museums world-wide, the Uffizi's gallery, started by Cosimo I's son, Francisco I. The successive Medicis enriched the collection until it belonged to the Italian State.

The gallery is huge. You can spend hours and hours inside, depending on how much you love art. I suppose that an arts student can spend the whole day ecstatic. We like art but less than this case. We saw the key paintings until the mental tiredness arrived. It is very well organised and you travel across the arts history, focusing on painting principally. Don't miss:

The Battle of Saint Romano (Pablo Uccello), Virgin with the Kid (Felipe Lippi), the Venus' Birth or the Spring (Botticelli), the Announcement or the Adoration of the Three Wise Men (Leonardo Da Vinci), the Venus of Urbino (Tiziano), Virgin of the Bird (Raphael), Bacchus Adolescent or the Medusa (Caravaggio), Senile Self-portrait (Rembrandt), as well as works of Rubens, Van Dyck, Michelangelo, Goya, Tintoretto, Veronese, Verrocchio or Medicis portraits. It is very probable that you have to wait for a long queue to enter.

We walked towards the Pitti's palace. We had to cross the river Arno through the famous Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) , the most ancient bridge of the city, from 14th century.

This bridge has always housed shops, butcher's in the beginnings and jewellery shops and silver works during the Medici period. Nowadays it is a market for jewellers and simple handicrafts. There is a passage called Vasarian gallery (built by Vasari under the order of Cosimo I) that links the Uffizi's Palace with the Pitti's Palace passing through the Old Bridge . Now it is closed, but you can arrange an appointment with at the Uffizi's palace to visit the passage.

We went on from the other side of the bridge towards Pitti's palace through the main street, famous because of the leather shops (the leather is a typical product form Florence). In the number 18th there is the house where Machiavelli lived. Eventually we reached the square where the imposing mass of the palace emerges. This palace tries to imitate the Roman buildings. You enter it to a Classic style courtyard where the visit begins.

We saw a series of rooms, halls and chambers belonging to the Medicis first, the Lorena dynasty later, the royal family of Italy next, and the Saboy family afterwards. The Saboy used the palace as their residence during the period when Florence was the capital of Italy , from 1865 to 1871. In 1946, when the Republic was established, the palace passed to the State. In addition to the visit of the rooms, there are expositions and picture galleries as well, but the visit of each part is independent from the rest.

It is well known the Palatine gallery, with many interesting pictures. Similarly to Uffizi, we enjoyed the most interesting paintings to avoid finishing exhausted. A clever advise: don't think about visiting the same day both the Uffizi and the Palatine galleries, because you will end saturated and hating arts!! The best option is to intercalate some days between. One of the things that leave you tired is to stand up quiet for a long while without moving, and this is what happens in the art galleries.
Nearby the palace there is a hill turned into some gardens called Boboli .

The relaxing walk at dusk offers fantastic landscapes of the Tuscany and Florence. Inside these gardens you can visit the original Buontalenti cave and the amusing grotesque fountain of the fat dwarf.

To take a break after so much art and history I will describe the historical centre at dusk and in the evening, when the visit to the tourist spots has concluded. The old town is pedestrian, very cheerful and compact. In less than 10 min. you can walk from the cathedral to the Old Bridge. This was probably the city with a greatest and liveliest atmosphere at dusk, the one that we enjoyed the most. The streets were crowded, and there are many restaurants and street performances. Perhaps the reason was that it was a weekend. This is one of these places where you don't mind spending some money in a good dinner with a Tuscany wine (the famous Chianti) and an Italian menu in, for instance, the Signoria square. I am not talking about doing it every day, but one or two days. I must tell the ice-cream addicts that the ice-creams in this country are delicious. The locals selling ice cream can be divided into two groups: delicious and amazingly delicious. One of the locals belonging to the second group is located in Florence: from the cathedral you walk towards the Old Palace through the main street. You have to turn left in one of the perpendicular streets and you will run into the ice-cream parlour on the right pavement. How to recognise it? Go inside and try to count how many flavours they offer. Impressive. And I warn you, this local is small compared to another in Rome that I describe in this webpage.

So let's get back to arts. You may be boring or you are about to close this page. I like arts, but many people get tired much before I do. My advise is to alternate Florence with excursions to Pisa or Sienna, that concentrate much less information and allow relaxing the mind. This way you won't saturate in Florence if the art is not your favourite activity.
Two key spots that you shouldn't miss are the Academia and the Medici's chapels .
In the Medici's chapels we find three important rooms thought to house all the sepulchres of the Medicis from Cosimo I until 1743 and even some of the previous members:
In first place the crypt, that keeps some of the tombs.

He worked here until 1537, when he moved away to Rome and never returned. The experts affirm that here Michelangelo managed to join sculpture and architecture. In the walls there are the funerary monuments dedicated to the Medicis: the sculptures of the "pensive" or the "leader", the virgin with the kid over the "Magnificents' " tombs or the four figures (two men and two women) representing the Night, the Day, the Dawn and the Dusk, considered as one of the masterpieces of the artist. From here you can gain access to the crypt, covered in drawings of Michelangelo and his assistants, but you have to ask the watchmen.

In the gallery of the Academia there are many works of art but we went to see the essentials: Michelangelo's sculptures. First of all, flanking the David we found the "Prigioni" or prisoners .

It was a Michelangelo's project for the tomb of the Pope Julius II in Rome . After more than 30 years and many interruptions he abandoned the project, but they remained these exceptional sculptures that allow understanding how the best sculptor in history worked. He used to say that the work was inside the marble block and that his work was to liberate it. Here you check how right he was, because the sculptures seem to fight to get out from the stone.

Other incomplete work is the Pieta of Palestrina. Not everyone share the opinion that it belongs to Michelangelo. It is incomplete as well and it transmits an impacting dramatise.
And at last we arrive in front of the probably most famous sculpture across the ages: the David . Without the pedestal it is 5 m. high. It seems impossible to believe that, from a unique and gigantic block he could obtain such a perfectly well proportioned statue. The most astonishing is the fact that Michelangelo didn't need human models to work, he sculpted without any help. He completed the David from 1501 to 1504 at the age of 25 years! It became the symbol of freedom for the Florentine Republic .

The statute represents a figure of the bible: David with a hand holding the sling and with the other hand he keeps the stone that he will use to kill the giant Goliath, symbol of tyranny. Look at the pictures to check the superb details of the master, the muscles the veins and the perfect forms.

Nearby the David there is the bronze bust of Michelangelo that an assistant sculpted. Look at his nose because a punch when he was young marked it forever. After admiring these works you get used to it, it seems that you find them habitual, even current, but you have to think that this is not plasticine, but hard marble, and that you start from a huge stone with no shape. We had to wait for 30 min. for the queue, so don't despair.

To avoid boring much I will briefly review other interesting spots:

Church of Saint Lorenzo . The Medicis made it the family's church. Cosimo the Ancient ordered its construction in 1419 to Brunelleschi. It is the first Renaissance church. The tombs of the most ancient Medicis are kept in the precious Old Sacristy, made by Brunelleschi, and Donatello completed the sculptures. Also we could emphasise the cloister, the splendid Laurentian library, the two pulpits of Donatello and the facade and the interior of the church (both attributed to Michelangelo).

Under the major altar we find the sepulchres of Cosimo the Ancient and his friend Donatello. The facade is uncompleted. There is a busy and noisy street market in the square close to the church.
Palace of Medici-Ricard i. Renaissance residence of Medicis during 15th century until Cosimo I changed to the Old Palace.
Orsanmichelle church , in the facades the best Florentine sculptors exhibited their ability. You see it quickly when you pass in front of it.

Church of Saint Mary the Novella , from 13th century and facade from 14th to 15th centuries. Full with interesting works, such as many frescoes of Giotto or Pablo Uccello. I was impressed by the realistic and dramatic wooden crucifix of Brunelleschi called the Eggs Christ, because they tell that when his friend Donatello saw for the first time the masterpiece he dropped the eggs that he had just bought.

Church of the Saint Cross . Facade from 19th century (similar aspect to the cathedral) but the rest dates from 13th century. It gives the impression of a light temple, and it is a Tuscany Gothic style. Arnolfo di Cambio was the architect. Here there are many key spots such as Michelangelo's tomb (who died in Rome when he was 89), Machiavellis' tomb and Galileo's tomb. But also we find frescoes painted by Giotto or a wooden crucifix of Donatello. Nearby this church and the Palace of Bargello there is the palace where the Gioconda (Mona Lisa) was painted.

The palace of Bargello houses the Sculpture National Museum . If you love the Renaissance sculpture (such as Donatello) you would enjoy it. The building is from the 13th century and the cloister has a medieval air.
Dante's house is only a curiosity and rather it is worth to walk through the surroundings looking at the typical tower-houses of the medieval Florence .
In the straw market we found "Il Porcellino" , a bronze wild boar that is a copy of the Uffizi's original. It is a fountain and if you stroke the snout it brings luck. This is the reason for the brilliant snout.

So believe me that this is a brief review. I haven't told you about many other possibilities for the art lovers, or about the districts with ancient houses and palaces everywhere. Maybe the museums should require longer stays than the visits that the tourists usually do, but you have to give out your time in order to see other spots along your travel.