December 28th It was cloudy and cold all day, with rain in the early evening.
I went first to the post office to mail out my postcards, and then I headed to the Museo di Storia Della Scienza, the Museum of the History of Science. I LOVED this place. I spent more time in this museum than in any of the others (probably combined). This is where Galileo’s telescope is housed, and the lens (it’s cracked, unfortunately) through which he first saw Jupiter and its moons. There were so many telescopes there...one 36 feet long! Galileo’s was only about 18-20 inches long (from what I could tell), and was made of leather and wood, and not very big at all. I was surprised. Anyway, there were rooms for mathematics and clocks and simple machines and fountains and chemistry and physics. The only rooms I wasn’t impressed with were the biological ones. I never really liked the life sciences very much. There was an OB/GYN room which nearly made me lose my breakfast. It had dozens of 3D models of women’s abdomens, with the surface cut away to show fetuses in various stages of development or birth. They had arms coming out of the birth canal, or feet, or forceps. They also had detailed pen and ink drawings of 18th century women, fully dressed, in sheer agony, as a doctor attempts to turn the baby. It was one of those places where you don’t want to look, but can’t help it. I’m pretty sure I never want biological children.
From there, I went to the Uffizi. I was going to go there first, but the line was really long, so I decided to come back later. Big mistake. The line was even longer. It was cold and damp and I had started to come down with some allergy attack or something, but
The Birth of Venus has been one of my favorite paintings since high school, so I had no intention of leaving.
I waited in line for two hours. Every fifteen minutes or so, we’d move up about 20 or 30 steps. By the time I got in, I was so annoyed (I had my day planned out, and it didn’t include a 2 hour wait) that I only stayed long enough to see the works of Bottecelli and Da Vinci (there was a special exhibit). Between all the churches and the Pitti, I’d seen enough paintings of Christ, Mary, and the saints, that I didn’t care that I was spending only 20 minutes in one of the best art galleries in the world. I saw what I wanted to see, and then I left.
By this time, it’s 2:00, and I’d only eaten a banana for breakfast, so I was pretty hungry. I headed home, stopping by Dante’s church on the way. My B&B was next to Dante’s house/museum and his church, so it wasn’t out of the way. I saw Beatrice’s tomb, which was pretty cool. Dante’s house/museum was closed until January 5th, however, so I never got to go there, which REALLY bothered me, as that was one of the main reasons I decided to visit Florence in the first place.
Anyway, I had lunch and then headed to the Duomo. I got in line to what I thought was the sanctuary, but what turned out to be the line to walk up the stairs to the top of the dome. Once I figured this out, however, I had already paid, and was in the single file line going up the narrow, dark staircase.
436 steps to the top. I don’t like heights, and I’m a little claustrophobic.
There was no way to turn around. The stairwell was dark, narrow, and made of stone. It was large enough for maybe one person, better for half a person, though. There were dozens of people in front of, and behind, me. I don’t know how many steps I climbed before we came to a door. This led onto a narrow walkway (3 feet wide?) that I soon realized ran around the interior of the dome, at the base of the ceiling. We were over a hundred feet above the floor of the church, and the only thing between me and a gruesome death was a thin barrier of plexiglass.
I couldn’t look out over the edge. It made me dizzy and nauseous. I took video of it, though, and some pictures. It was easier to look through my camera. I just wanted to get out of there, but everyone seemed content to stand and look at the artwork on the dome. Yes, it was impressive, but I do NOT like heights, and the walkway was too narrow to get by the people.
We walked all the way around the dome and left via another door that, much to my dismay, took us up more stairs. We finally emerged outside, at the very top of the dome. I got pictures and video of the city, but I stayed away from the edge. I couldn’t even look down via my camera. I didn’t stay very long before I started back down.
Part of the path down merged with the path up, and let me tell you, it was nigh unto impossible to get two people abreast in that staircase. I was SO glad to be back on solid ground.
After this, I did a little shopping, stopping in at a religious store run by nuns. The nun there was so sweet. She spoke very broken English, and I spoke very broken Italian, but we communicated just fine. I told her my mother was Italian that my great-grandparents came from Italy. I also picked up some chocolate and some souvenirs for family, and then went home.
I went out a little later to make a couple phone calls, but it was late and rainy and I was so tired, that I just stayed in that night, finished my book, drank lots of tea, and went to bed early.
I was not permitted to take pictures in either the science museum or the Uffizi; only inside the Duomo. In fact, taking pictures was prohibited in most of the places I went. I did take a lot of video, however.
I only walked 4 miles this day.
Another Dr. Lecter moment. This is the balcony from which Reynaldo Pazzi was hanged in the movie,
Hannibal.
Sculpture of
Brunelleschi, the architect of
(among other things) the dome of the Duomo. The sculpture is situated across the plaza so that he is looking up at the dome.
Above the side door by which I entered the Duomo.
Painting on the interior of the dome. The inner circle shows the apostles.
From the top of the dome. This view is of the church of San Lorenzo. You can see the covered stalls of the open market in the streets, as well as Mercato Centrale, the open-air food market (the green-colored building).
The church at Santa Maria Novella. The major train station is on the right of the screen.
The campanile of the Duomo. You can also see the arch of the Piazza della Republica.
The Palazzo Vecchio, and the Uffizi (on the left of the corridor). The river Arno is behind them.
My focus in this picture was the castle on the hill in the background. In the foreground is the steeple of the Badia Fiorentina.
The interior of the Duomo, from the high walkway near the ceiling. I couldn't use flash, as there was a piece of plexiglass in front of me (reflecting the spotlight), so the picture is blurry. But you can see the astronomical clock above the doors at the other end of the sanctuary.
Exterior doors of the Duomo.
Above one of the sets of doors. The figures of baby Jesus, Mary, and the apostle to the left were sculpted so as to be looking down on you (and in blessing), rather than outward.
Close-up of the astronomical clock. Flash was not permitted in the Duomo.
Zoom-in (no flash) of the ceiling of the Duomo
