Years of Poems and Spirits

It is probably the best day of our Florence stay. Song reserved the tickets to two museums Rick Steves recommended in his tour book. Bargello is a national museum that has an impressive collections of sculptures. Almost all from the Renaissance period, many statues not only have classic postures but also rich emotions. Unlike the Pitti Gallery, the collections here are diverse in time periods, styling and subjects.

We tried to visit the Santa Maria Novella church right across the train station. I heard of it from Boccaccio’s Decameron. But it didn’t open till 1:30 pm. Strange.

Next was Uffizi Gallery. That even bettered Bargello. It was very well organized and presented. Although it covered a long period of time and a lot many artists, we didn’t feel totally overwhelmed at the end (we didn’t remember much either). It would be a great place to take a Renaissance 101. The audio guide from the museum was extremely helpful. So we were told how the art of paintings evolve during the Renaissance: their styles, themes, and motifs, etc. How one period or one region of artists differed from the other.

Most of the paintings were religious matters. The majority of which are about the life of Jesus. From the Annunciation to Transfiguration, it went on and on and on. I guess the Church and the artists’ patrons didn’t care about anything else, so the guys in Renaissance had nothing else to think about but outdoing the other dudes of how to paint Mary and Jesus. The result, I have to say, is stunningly rich spectrum of paintings that have everything else different but the subject.

By the way, among all the Annunciations, I like da Vinci’s best. The Angel appeared mischievious and Mary a sense of surprise and, I thought, entitlement.

We both loved the Uffizi gallery. When we come to Florence again next time, we will visit Uffizi again, definitely.