Florence, Italy - Accademia & Uffizi Tour

  Accademia and Uffizi Tour

This masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture, created from 1501-1504 by Michaelangelo. If you are Interested in the history....here is the link:

David (Michelangelo) - Wikipedia

Was I listening...NO...just looking.  David resided in the Accademia Gallery where we toured not only him but many sculptures from various Sculptors' and Architects.  Here is one of many.  Sabine is a large and complex marble statue by the Flemish sculptor and architect Giambologna and was completed around 1583.

We took a little break before heading on to our next tour.  We both had the Italian Aperol Spritz which is very popular in Italy.  It contains Aperol Syrup, Champagne and Soda water.  Very refreshing on a hot day or whenever.  

We went on to the visiting the Uffizi Gallery.  The Uffizi Gallery art museum has the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance painting, particularly of the Florentine school.  It also has antiques, sculptures and more that 100k drawings and prints.  

Double Portrait of Federigo III and his wife Battista Sforza

The battle of San Romano

Primavera painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli in the 1470's

Another painting by Sandro Botticelli in the 1480 of the Birth of Venus 

Florence, Italy

 Tuscany Day Trip from Florence: Siena, San Gimignano w/ Winery Lunch, Pisa 

Today we started our Tuscany bus in to the city Siena. Siena is an eminent medieval city. The central square is fan shaped called Piazza del Campo which is surrounded with 1000-year-old wall and where they host the Palio de Siena (horserace) 2 times a year. July 2nd & Aug 16th

Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colors, represent ten of the seventeen contrade 

Each contrade has a Jockey and a horse. Who don’t know each other. There are way too many variables to example the assigning of a jockey to a horse. But just an interesting note, the horse can win if the jockey falls off. 

The race is in honor of Madonna dell’Assunta who protected Siena from the battle of the Florentines on Sept 4, 1216. 

Here is the YouTube link of the race on 2023.  Copy and Paste

https://youtu.be/KMEe98V_rgU?si=T3hRci9z5wVnElVa

Siena Cathedral is a medieval church

Built in the 1200 era. 

We then headed up to San Gimignano for lunch at the Pietraserena Winery.  We were offered unlimited wine and a wonderful lunch of Tuscany flare with breathtaking views.

After an extraordinary lunch, we went into the town of San Gimignano for a tour.  We decided to climb the tallest bell tower Torre Grossa is the tallest tower in San Gimignano, with 54 m (177 ft 2 in), 218 steps. It is one of the best known of Tuscany's medieval towers. 

Top of the Torre Grossa Tower

View from the top of the Bell tower

Now on to Pisa for our final stop. Where we climbed 294 steps to the top of the Pisa.  The town of Pisa has Baptistery, Cathedral and Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Since we had very little time after our climb, we were unable to visit the Baptistery or Cathedral.  

View from the top of Pisa

View from the Center looking down

 

Venice to Florence

Today sadly we checked out of the St Regis but not before seeing the Pope arrive.  Learning of his arrival was a surprise to us.  The hotel managed the logistics in moving us who were checking out on this day. The section around Saint Mark's Square on the Grand Canal was closed. The police allowed the hotels in the area of San Marco where we were, to only use Water Taxi.  There were no Water busses allowed.  

With the sun into us and him being very protected we had a hard time getting pictures.  He flew in by helicopter to the Women's Prison and then took a motor board to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute where he spoke with the University Students.  He was then wheelchaired over a temporary bridge (made for him) to Saint Mark's Square where he held mass in front of Basilica di San Marco.  We left shortly after he entered into the square.  

You can barely see him in his white robe

Being escorted over the temporary bridge.  Very hard to see. 

From the TV

Here are some photos of Venice during our Water Taxi ride to the train station...we are off to Florence.

Venice, Italy - Murano/Burano Islands

 Today was a trip of two Islands: Murano & Burano

During our boat 45 min ride to Murano an interest to me was the passing of the giant hands sculptured by Lorenzo Quinn.  These 6 giant hands are designed to build a bridge over Venice. With each pair representing one of six universally essential values - Friendship, Wisdom, help, Faith, Hope and Love. 

  

Murano is the island of master glass blowers.  Original factories were in the city center of Venice, but the government wanted all the factories moved to its own island because they made a lot of money from it and they didn't want anyone to know these glassblowing secrets.  Because the technique is so difficult, these men would start this trade as young at 14 years old.  The youngest on the island is 60 years old.  If you look closely at the picture of the Glassblower, you will see a Horse.  He did this horse as a demonstration and was completed in 3 1/2 minutes.  I have the video but it's too large to upload in the blog.  We were unable to take any photos of any of the Glassblower Exhibits.  

Burano is the island of Lace making and colorful houses. The ladies would make lace while the men fished. There are very few of these master lace makers left.  It takes 7 different lace makers to make 1 design.  The technique is very tedious and a lot of patience.  Each house is brightly colored, and the reasons is when fisherman came back to the island, they would recognize their home by the color. 

Venice, Italy - Ciccheti & Wine Tour/Gondola Ride/St. Mark's Basilica After-Hours

This morning, we started our day from the Saint Regis via water taxi to our starting point where we met our tour guide. The tour was “Experience Venice like a local on a Cicchetti (small tapa-style dishes) wine bar tour.” We had a very small group of 6.  We took a Gondola to cross the grand canal and walked through the Market of fresh fruit, spices, pastas, etc…  We made our way through the backstreet bars of Venice for delicious food and wine. We toured 5 different ‘enotecas’ (wine bars) to discover where local Venetians go to drink and mingle. At each stop, we sampled regional wines and Prosecco alongside plates of the popular Venetian appetizers called ‘cicchetti.’ 

Our guide surprised us at the end with Tiramisu and a glass of Champagne. The Cicchetti’s paired with the wines was very delightful. The tour was AMAZING!!!

 

 

 

 

Had a couple of hours to spare before our next tour. “Private Gondola Tour off the Beaten Track.”

 

We met a couple on our previous tour from Naples, Fl (Lori & Tom), who decided to join us on our stroll.  Visited various areas and made our way on over to tour. Meandering through several squares and crossed many bridges (there are over 400 bridges in Venice). We took a rest and had a Spritz and headed over for our Gondola Tour.

We experienced the beauty of Venice through the city’s less-traveled canals. Our gondolier navigated past historic palaces, churches and landmarks that most tours miss. We enjoyed the quiet relaxing tour so much we forgot to take pictures.

Having just enough time to walk back to our hotel, refresh and off again to our next excursion. Literally 10 minutes. This excursion was an over the top history experience. The tour guide was WWAAYY to detailed with history to being absorbed in this mind. To boot the tour started at 5:50pm.

2 hr Tour of Doge Palace, 1 hr break, 2 hr Tour of St. Mark’s Basilica

 Tour: St. Mark’s Basilica After-Hours Tour w/ Doge’s Palace

 Doge Palace: OK…I took this from the web.

The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice. It was built in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 1923 and is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.

Saint Mark's Basilica

The St Marks Basilica was more interesting, but our guide was extremely detailed which as you can image becomes very exhausting to listen to. Some people just left. 

 Originally the Doge's private chapel, St. Mark's Basilica became Venice's cathedral in 1807, when it took on the role of the Patriarch of Venice. Known as the Chiesa d’Oro (Golden Church), this ornate cathedral seamlessly blends Gothic, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance styles. Crowned with soaring domes and breathtaking golden mosaics, the basilica stands as a testament to Venice's rich history. 

Pala d’Oro (Frontal of Gold, Silver, Enamel & Precious Stones)

Remains of St Mark

First Crypt placed in the Basilica

Last Archdiocese to be placed in the Crypt of St Mark’s Basilicia