Florence
October 16, 2019
On Wednesday we had tickets for the Accademia Gallery with an entry time of 4pm. We used the early part of the afternoon to tour the interior of the Duomo.
The main entrance doors
Memorial frescoes for mercenaries Niccolò da Tolentino and Sir John Hawkwood
The 44 stained glass windows are from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Grand Duke Cosimo I had the vast interior of the dome painted with a depiction of the Last Judgment in the sixteenth century.
Then we toured the archaeological exhibits in the crypt.
The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze was very near our hotel. It is the second most visited museum in Italy, mainly because it has the original Michelangelo's David. In spite of the crowds, one can get a good clear view of the statue and take pictures from all sides. (You might recall that a copy now stands at the Pallazo Vecchio since the original was moved here in 1873 to protect it from the elements.) This museum is much smaller and more specialized than the Uffizi.
Several artists started carving on this block of marble but were unable to complete the statue of David. Some believed that it was not suitable for the sculpture. The commission was eventually awarded to Michelangelo, who worked for two years to complete it.
There is a gallery of plaster models for sculptures.
The Tree of Life
Full scale model for The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna
One of the three Madonna paintings by Botticelli they have
Coronation of the Virgin
The Museo degli Strumenti Musicali opened in 2001. It includes instruments by Stradivarius, Amati, and Christofori. As you would guess, I spent much of my time there, especially since there are computers set up to let you hear the sounds of the instruments and read historical commentary.
A salterio made of marble, playable by hammer or plucking, but probably sounds awful
Double basses with five and three strings, respectively.
The oldest vertical piano in existence
Hurdy-Gurdies
A piano-guitar
