Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! After exploring the Uffizi Gallery and grabbing sandwiches for lunch, Jon and I headed to visit the Basilica of Santa Croce. Tickets are eight euros and we purchased them onsite. You can also purchase an audioguide, but we passed on this. Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world. From the outside the church doesn’t look too big, but as soon as you step inside, you get a real sense for how massive this space is. There are sixteen chapels and the nave spans 115 meters in the shape of a cross.
Santa Croce is also where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried.
Construction of the church began in in 1294 and it was consecrated in 1442. Since then, it’s been a constant work in progress. In 1966 the Arno River flooded and it caused severe damage to Santa Croce that took decades to repair. Currently the Bardi chapel, featuring Giotto’s Stories of Saint Frances frescoes, is closed an estimated three years for restoration.
Outside the church, Piazza Santa Croce is lined with shops and restaurants. It seemed pretty quiet for a Saturday afternoon.
Another church to see in Florence is the Church of Santa Maria Novella near the train station. We only managed to see the exterior on a post-gelato stroll. Construction on this church began in 1276 and it was consecrated in 1420. Inside there are famous pieces of art by Giotto and Brunelleschi. If I’m ever in Florence again I’ll make the time to stop inside.
The following morning, on our second full day in Italy, we had an early reservation at the Accademia. If you’re going to Florence, make sure you make reservations in advance for this museum! The line when we left was crazy long and the whole street was filled with people either with a group or waiting to get in. Our ticket entry was at 8:30 and it felt like we almost had David all to ourselves. We enjoyed the short audio tour in the Rick Steves app too.
It’s hard to think of a sculpture more famous than Michelangelo’s David. The statue is fourteen feet tall and weighs over six tons. Michelangelo was commissioned to carve this for the Duomo when he was twenty-six using only one block of marble. It was supposed to be on the roof, so he crafted the proportions so they would look correct from far below. The statue never made it to the Duomo, but stood outside Palazzo Vecchio instead for about 350 years. In 1873 they finally moved it inside for preservation.
David’s right hand is noticeably larger signifying the strength of God within him to defeat Goliath. There is also a crack in his left arm from damage caused during a riot in 1527. The toe was also damaged by a visitor in 1991.
This was what the area looked like by the time we left, noticeably busier even at 10am.
Michelangelo’s Prisoners line the hall up to David but most of them are unfinished. They were originally commissioned to be for Pope Julius II’s tomb. Michelangelo believed it was a sculptor’s job to reveal what God had designed in the marble.
Michelangelo himself.
The Rape of the Sabine Woman depicts when the Romans stole the women from the neighboring city to increase Rome’s population. This is a model and the actual is in the outdoor gallery outside Palazzo Vecchio.
There is also a small musical instrument section of the museum we quickly perused through. The collection featured some old instruments we’d never seen before.
The Accademia is quite small and we spent about an hour and a half inside. If you’re visiting Florence, make your museum reservation as early as possible so you can experience David without all the crowds. You won’t be disappointed by an early wakeup! Stay tuned for our experience climbing the famous dome.
Posts in this series:
Florence
