And then there was Florence...

After spending a week touring Venice, Angie and Hugh decided it might be nice to spend a little time on some solid dry land… so they hopped on the train and headed to Florence. (And trains in Europe are, shall we say, wonderful... The Rail Europe website is easy to use and the seats are both assigned and comfortable!) Two hours later they stepped off the high speed train and were 15 minutes from their hotel, which sat in the city center, across the street from the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers which is more commonly known as Il Duomo.

For anyone in the art or antiques industry, Florence is one of the most important, if not the most important city in the world from a historic perspective… Founded in 80 BC by the Roman general Sulla as a settlement for his retiring Legionaries, by the middle ages it had become so important a trade and banking center that was later characterized as the “Athens of the Medieval Ages”. It is that positioning in banking and trade that led to the city’s importance in the world of culture… Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, and the powerful Medici family funded much of its early growth.

As you can imagine, after 750 years of cultivating beauty, Florence has become a mecca for those who love art, architecture and furnishings. Hugh and Angie took in all of them… Starting out they visited the Accademia Gallery, home of possibly the most famous statue in the world… Michelangelo’s David. In addition to the towering David, the Accademia also has a number of other Michelangelo sculptures including the unfinished Prisoners and the similarly unfinished St. Matthew, and a spectacular plaster from Giambologna, the Rape of the Sabine Women. It also has a number of Renaissance paintings from the likes of Botticelli, Uccello and del Sarto.

Next they headed to the Uffizi, a museum that’s been taking in visitors since the 16th century. Originally built for Cosimo I da’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to simultaneously house official government offices as well as art, today all of its 64,000 square ft. are dedicated to art. As you can imagine, the Uffizi houses its own pantheon of masterpieces, from Botticelli’s unmatched “Birth of Venus” to Verrocchio’s “The Baptism of Christ” to Rembrandt’s “Self-portrait as a young man”.

Because of its massive collection, the Uffizi has from time to time had to move pieces to other museums. One of the museums that has been the beneficiary of such transfers is the Bargello, which, at one time meant “police chief”, then later “jail”. Although the Bargello has been a museum for a little over 150 years, during its previous 600 years it has many functions. First it was the office for the chair of Florence’s city council, then it housed the council itself and later it was transitioned into a jail! The Bargello’s collection includes a spectrum of priceless sculptures, including Donatello’s David, Michelangelo’s Bacchus, and Bernini’s Bust of Costanza Bonarelli.

Walking back to the hotel each night Hugh and Angie would get to walk by one of the most beautiful specters in all of Florence, the bronze Gates of Paradise doors of the Baptistery, by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The Baptistery, which faces the Duomo, is one of the oldest buildings in the city, having been constructed during the 11th and 12th centuries. The doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels depicting the life of John the Baptist as well as the virtues of virtues of hope, faith, charity, humility, fortitude, temperance, justice and prudence took a full six years to manufacture.

Finally there is the Orsanmichele or "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", which is a church that was originally a grain market built in the 14th century. Today this magnificent church has an exterior that is simply extraordinary. The façade features 14 architecturally designed niches, each featuring statuary which tells a different story. Each was commissioned by a different trade in the city, where each trade tried to outdo the next. The result is a biblical tapestry of saints, the Madonna and Christ, each a testament to the beauty and elegance that so characterized Florence in the 14th century. The interior offers even more for our inner antiques dealer, a beautiful gothic church adorned with of spectacular statuary, paintings and furniture.

Eventually it was time to head back to Venice to take a plane back home. The train ride itself was a joy, relaxing in the comfort of the train as it passed through the golden fields of Tuscany’s rolling hills, with the horizon dotted with countless little towns and villages in the distance. Soon enough our world travelers are back in Atlanta and ready to jump back into the middle of the antiques business... now where did we put that scepter?

Corridor in the Uffizi

Detail of a marble ossuary featuring the "Labors of Hercules"

The "Doni Tondo" or Holy Family, Michelangelo's only known panel painting

The unparalleled "Birth of Venus" by Botticelli

Palazzo Vecchio - top gallery & tower

Detail of a table in the Uffizi

"Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris" by Rubens

Self portrait by Rubens

Self portrait by Rembrandt

"Baptism of Christ" by Verrocchio with the angel on the left by his student, Da Vinci - the beauty of which is "said" to have caused Verrocchio to vow to never again pick up a brush because the student had already surpassed the master.

Ponte Vecchio

Il Duomo

Plaster copy of Giambologna's "The Rape of the Sabines"

Michelangelo's "David" in the Galleria dell'Accademia

Gallery of Plaster Copies - Galleria dell'Accademia

Interior of Basilica di San Lorenzo

Exterior of Basilica di San Lorenzo

The Duomo from Angie & Hugh's Hotel

Baptistery of St. John

A chandelier in the Pitti Palace

Pitti Palace

Pitti Palace

Detail of doors at Pitti Palace

Pitti Courtyard with statue of Hercules

Florence has lots of trouble for those with little self control...

Original Baptistery doors by Ghberti, at the Duomo Museum

Detail of Original Baptistery doors

Original facade statuary from the exterior of the Duomo. These originals were brought inside to protect them from the elements and have been replaced with replicas.