Florence, known to Italians by the more spirited name Firenze, was the beating heart of the Italian Renaissance, and is today the home of countless museums and masterpieces. But the museums do bring the crowds that come to see them, particularly the top most two, the Uffizi, and the Galleria dell Academia. The Galleria is the home of David, the Uffizi houses works by not only da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, but also Titian, Caravaggio, Botticelli, and Rembrandt, amongst others. The key to seeing these works without a long wait is to arrive at the museums in the morning, to arrive before the museums open, before tour groups or many other tourists are up and about.
So we found ourselves on our first morning in a nearly vacant Piazza della Signoria, where the Uffizi is located. The Piazza itself is notable for it's collection of statues, as the site of the historical Bonfire of the Vanities, and the site of Palazzo Vecchio. Outside the Palazzo stands a replica of Michelangelo's David. Around the corner of the Palace is the Fountain of Neptune, Constructed in the 1500's, the crowning marble statue is not the original, housed in a museum. The rest of the fountain, in bronze and marble is mostly original, though it has been several times restored. But most of the statues are housed under the Loggia della Signoria. Here several dynamic sculptures, stood in the cool blue shadows of early morning. Among the statures are a bronze Perseus by Cellini, a piece by Giambologna called Hercules beating the Centaur, as well as the Rape of Polyxena, and several Roman sculptures. However, by far my favorite piece is the twisted spire of bodies of the Rape of the Sabine Women also by Giambologna.
Realizing a bit of a line was forming at the soon to open museum, we cut our visit to the outdoor statues short. This gallery brims with at least a few paintings from each of many masters of the paintbrush. Many of the works can be viewed at the Virtual Uffizi. Easily the single most famous piece here, despite all the well known artists is that of the Birth of Venus, by Botticelli. The Nearly 50 rooms of work on display take 3 to 4 hours to browse over everything, or you can skim through the works by the more famous authors more quickly. Thankfully, because the museum lets people in in groups, the rooms are not as crowded as you might think, and the works are generally easy to see. Pictures are not allowed, but photographs of most of the works can be found at the above link.
Palazzo Vecchio
David Replica
Neptune Fountain
Bronze Satyr on Neptune Fountain sheilds his face from the sun
Perseus
Hercules beating the Centaur
Rape of Polyxena
Rape of the Sabine Women
The Uffizi Line
So we found ourselves on our first morning in a nearly vacant Piazza della Signoria, where the Uffizi is located. The Piazza itself is notable for it's collection of statues, as the site of the historical Bonfire of the Vanities, and the site of Palazzo Vecchio. Outside the Palazzo stands a replica of Michelangelo's David. Around the corner of the Palace is the Fountain of Neptune, Constructed in the 1500's, the crowning marble statue is not the original, housed in a museum. The rest of the fountain, in bronze and marble is mostly original, though it has been several times restored. But most of the statues are housed under the Loggia della Signoria. Here several dynamic sculptures, stood in the cool blue shadows of early morning. Among the statures are a bronze Perseus by Cellini, a piece by Giambologna called Hercules beating the Centaur, as well as the Rape of Polyxena, and several Roman sculptures. However, by far my favorite piece is the twisted spire of bodies of the Rape of the Sabine Women also by Giambologna.
Realizing a bit of a line was forming at the soon to open museum, we cut our visit to the outdoor statues short. This gallery brims with at least a few paintings from each of many masters of the paintbrush. Many of the works can be viewed at the Virtual Uffizi. Easily the single most famous piece here, despite all the well known artists is that of the Birth of Venus, by Botticelli. The Nearly 50 rooms of work on display take 3 to 4 hours to browse over everything, or you can skim through the works by the more famous authors more quickly. Thankfully, because the museum lets people in in groups, the rooms are not as crowded as you might think, and the works are generally easy to see. Pictures are not allowed, but photographs of most of the works can be found at the above link.
Palazzo Vecchio
David Replica
Neptune Fountain
Bronze Satyr on Neptune Fountain sheilds his face from the sun
Perseus
Hercules beating the Centaur
Rape of Polyxena
Rape of the Sabine Women
The Uffizi Line
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