Florence
October 15, 2019
Ponte Vecchio
Then we walked down toward the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge), passing a carousel along the way. This was the one bridge in Florence that was not bombed during WW II. The others had to be rebuilt. It is at the narrowest spot of the Arno River in town. A bridge was built here in Roman times, and subsequent bridges were swept away in floods. The present bridge dates from 1345. It was damaged in a flood in 1966. The bridge always had shops along it. In the fifteenth century, it was dominated by butchers, but they have been banned since the end of sixteenth century. Then goldsmiths took over, and there are still many expensive jewelry shops on the bridge.
Besides being a famous sculptor, Cellini was a master goldsmith. Goldsmiths on the bridge had this bust of him made.
Views of other bridges across the Arno are also scenic.
There is an open area in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio.
The Uffizi Gallery is the most visited art gallery in Italy. On Monday morning we had waited a long time in line at a ticket office in order to get timed entry tickets for it and l'Accadamia. We extended our stay in Florence so we could visit both. "Uffizi" means "offices," and Cosimo I had it built to house offices for town officials. The top floor was a gallery where the Medici family could show off their collection of ancient statues to family and friends.
The long internal courtyard, from which you now enter the museum, is worth visiting for its own sake. In modern times statues of artists, poets, etc., were placed in the niches.
After a climb of stairs that seemed to stretch about seven stories, you come to the sculpture gallery.
A bust of Tiberius
Hercules Slaying the Centaur Nessus
Down the long sculpture gallery are entrances to smaller galleries with art from various periods.
Botticelli's "Madonna of the Rose Garden"
Spring by Botticellii
Her name is Aphrodite
And she rides a crimson shell
The song by Cream references this famous painting by Botticelli, "The Birth of Venus."
"The Adoration of the Magi" by Ghirlandaio
Views of Florence from the top floor
We saw many more great and famous artworks through more galleries and on lower floors. Near to the exits are galleries that have three paintings by Caravaggio. (You knew we had to find some of his works.) One I saw but didn't photograph was a painting of Bacchus, which is said to be either a self-portrait, or else it pictured his boyfriend. After Torrey saw what I had posted, he sent me his shot of the Bacchus. The two pictured below that are "The Sacrifice of Isaac" and a head of Medussa.
We had an hour and a half in the museum, which is hardly enough time to view everything throughly, but we felt lucky to get the entrance time we did, and now it was closing time. I waited for Torrey outside until the guards kicked him out.