1.3.09

Someday I'll Be Here With Someone: Part Two

I apologize for the lack of verbal content of the last post, as i have now realized it is a terrible idea to try and update this when hungover: lesson learned! On the next school visit to Florence, we visited the Uffizi Gallery with Marco once again on the whispers. We travelled through the main halls and the side rooms, housing works by Da Vinci, Boticelli, and Michelangelo. I was especially taken with the gilded alter pieces on display, becoming particularly smitten with the depiction of the annunciation of mary. Once again, as in the vatican museum, i was in psuedo-catholic heaven. In other rooms, there were hundreds of other works, but my two favorites were the Allegory of Spring, by Boticelli, and the Birth of Jesus by Da Vinci. Spring was enchanting, and held my gaze for quite some time, studying every little detail of the work. The latter work was interesting due to the face that it is the only painting which depicts Jesus' birth as something destructive, bringing about the apocalypse. It was a gloomy representation of what is usually depicted as a joyous event, and i took a liking to it. Unfortunately I couldnt take pictures in any of these rooms, so you will just have to visit to see these pieces (or google them)I parted from the group after Marco left and wandered through the remaining galleries listening to "ballerina" by leona ness on repeat, filled with bittersweet sentiments. The rest of the rooms were filled with even more paintings, but none as incredible as the ones previously mentioned. All of this took place on the top level of the Uffizi, so naturally i assumed that there would be floors below which would be showcasing even more works, but to my surprise, this was not the case. Once finished with the top floor you are whisked down a flight of stairs to the bottom floor through a maze of rooms filled with nothing but images of construction (nothing of interest, honestly i dont even understand why they even tried with these) until you reached the large gift shop. I bought a few postcards and made my way out to Piazza della Signoria to meet Josh + Maggie as we were going to climb up to Piazza Michelangelo . 



The light was beautiful that day and the sun was shining, creating the perfect temperature for a trek across the Arno and up to San Miniato al Monte. We crossed via the Ponte Vecchio, the jewelry gently sparkling in the afternoon light. We then walked along the Arno, making our way towards Piazza Michelangelo, hiking up steps until we reached the top. Nothing more than a glorified parking lot, the piazza did have stunning views of Florence and the surrounding hills. We stayed here for a bit, catching our breath momentarily before we started towards San Miniato. The hill agreeably inclined towards the church and we arrived at the bottom looking up and seeing dozens of steps which we would have to traverse before finally arriving.  We eventually arrived, the sun starting to set, out of breath, but happy to have finally reached our end. I wandered around for a bit, taking the gorgeous view in, and stumbled upon the graves.. UGH







What started out as a few graves turned into a gigantic crypt, AND then to my elation, led to a massive graveyard, with three levels. AMAZING. there were mausoleums and giant crypts surrounding the entire rear of the church. It was gorgeous and as ive said fifteen times, the light was perfect. I finally made my way inside the church, which was gorgeous. There were two small windows where light was filtering in illuminating a few spots in the church. I headed towards the crypt, roaming through the darkness, eventually climbing towards the gilded dome. The church had a quiet power to it. We left, traveling back to the train station, passing by the doumo in the pinkish evening light.














Ciao for Now.



3 comments:

genevieve said...

i love love LOVE all the posts and pictures you're putting up Love!

just not the grave part, cuz you know how i feel about dead bodies!

Winifred said...

Okay, so here's my question. All of your skies are so blue! What is the weather like there, is it still cold or is it as warm is it looks in those pictures?
I'm jealous of you and your sunny skies.

Ryan said...

um winnie, the weather varies.. those days it was 40-50ish.. not sure exactly.. we are up to about 60s now.