The boys loved school! When we picked them up Monday afternoon they were brimming with smiles at having made some new friends and tried their hand at an ancient art technique. At the art school in Florence, Marco took the kids through the process of making frescos which is a multi-step, tedious procedure using plaster & gesso that does not allow the artist to go back over his work to correct mistakes. They were "commissioned" to do a fresco of the Duomo but add their own twist....Nash chose to make his a secret agent hide out and Ross had Puffles (from his favorite video game Club Penguin) visiting the cathedral. We are so glad they started the week with such a great experience.
Tuesday the boys took their sketchbooks outside of the Pitti Palace for an animal symbol treasure hunt while Matt & I viewed a beautiful collection of frescos by the early Renaissance master Fra Angelico at the Museo di San Marco. This museum is a 15th century monastery with the "cells" of the monks preserved as they were hundreds of years ago. Also exciting to see was the cell and study of Girolamo Savonarola, the Dominican priest who overthrew the Medici (for a short time) and was responsible for the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497. (Savonarola was later executed supposedly at the exact spot of the bonfire in the Piazza Signoria one year later.) This museum turned out to be at the top of Matt's list of favorites.
Matt & I also visited the Bargello Museum also known as Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People) which is a police station turned prison & in 1865 turned sculpture museum. It is the oldest public building in Florence with contraction beginning in 1255. It houses the David by Donatello which was the first male nude to be sculpted in 1000 years and many works by Michelangelo. I am amazed at these artists who could chip away stone and create something so beautiful, mesmerizing and life-like...For me, viewing these masterpieces only led my thoughts to our wondrous Creator and Savior and the beauty that He is... I could have lingered for hours here but Matt kept us on schedule-
You see, we have a Firenze card which is good for admission to something like 50 museums, monuments, cathedrals, etc for 72 hours and Matt is determined to see as many as possible before our hours expire!
On this day we also visited the Museum of Natural History and the Palazzo Medici- Riccardi before we picked the boys up from school.
Our family outing was to see Michelangelo's David at the Gallerie dell Accademia. To give an indication of how magnificent this work is, we spent as much time in this one room studying the 5 unfinished "Prisoners" and David as Matt and I had spend at the 3 museums before...
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| Bargello Museum-Palace of the People |
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| Bargello Courtyard |
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| Glimpse of bronzes at the Bargello created using "lost wax casting" of the ancients |
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| Museo of San Marco |
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| Fra Angelico's fresco |
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| Hall of monk's cells at San Marco |
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| More art by Fra Angelico |
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| Ceilings at the Medici- Riccardi Palace |
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| Seems like we are always looking up... |
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| Going in to see THE David (sorry, photos inside forbidden) |
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| The "Bridge of Gold" at night- our view on the way home... |
Such rich history! After I read some of your blogs, it encouraged me to research some of the palaces with those beautiful ceilings, so I can catch up with all that you are seeing and learning about. I noticed in the Monks Hall of Cells at San Marco, there is a chair against the wall that is almost identical to the one we have in our TV room upstairs. Did the boys notice it? It is the chair near the back of our TV room. I have often wondered if the chair were Italian or middle eastern. Boys, when you return, do you think you could build a pizza for Poppy and me with goat cheese, mushrooms, and green peppers? That is one of our favorites. Yesterday we went to Fresh Market to eat pizza and gelato to further share in your experiences. We can't top in Memphis the night view of the Bridge of Gold. It looks magical. Memphis misses all of you! Oh yes, the boys look like they are much taller. Have they grown????? What are y'all eating there? Goodbye for now. Love you, GoGo
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