Bill & the Nerd Museum

Norm, Bill & Marlene were eager beavers. They were out and on the street heading to Accademia Gallery to see David by 7:30. I slept in for a bit, then did some laundry and met Bill in the lobby at 9:00 (there is a theme of avoiding climbing those 67 steps to our home). Lou and Barry had a relaxing morning and slept in before heading off to Santa Croce at noon.

Bill and I went to the Basilica Santa Croce first. The Basilica is an example of Gothic style and it’s claim to fame is the largest Franciscan church in the world. We chose to do an audio guide of the church, the convent and cloisters that date back to the 13th century.

The main features of the church are the stained glass (almost all original), wooden ceiling, marble slab tombs in the floor, priceless artwork and upright tombs long the interior walls.

I really enjoyed the art in the various chapels depicting stories of Jesus, Mary, saints and Franciscans. I really liked the one area that was devoted to the life of Mary. The cloisters were equally interesting. There were some really interesting works of art including paintings that were damaged during the floods of 1966 - one with Saint John and Saint Francis and the the Arbor Vitae or Tree of Life. In the center Jesus is on the cross, surrounded by branches that connect to saints and Mary.

After we spend a couple of hours there, we checked out the Galileo Museum aka Nerd Museum. Initially we did not have a guide until Bill downloaded the app. So, I entertained myself by making up my own stories about the items on display. Bill did not appreciate my descriptions.

We saw cool things like globe that depict the astronomical bodies, mathematical tools for measurement, tools for experimenting to prove laws of physics, telescopes and so much more. 

Bill and I then walked over to il Gusico for an amazing lunch. I ended up eating the rabbit and pasta and Bill had the chicken stuffed with ham and cheese.  The rabbit was spectacular and I will probably order that dish over and over again, but it will never be the same. We had a rose that was very dry and very full-bodied, unlike the typical light flavours we are used to. It was a long walk, but man, was it worth it! 

We walked back toward our home and on the way cancelled one of our dinner reservations and toured the Spirito Santo church. We walked by yesterday but I did not have ample shoulder and knee coverage. This church dates back to 1250 and this one was built in 1435. The exterior was very plain and the interior was not lavish, but there was plenty to see with 38 side altars with paintings dating back to the 15th century. The altar was the main attraction and was beautifully decorated with different marble and wrought iron. Photos were not allowed in the church but it was too beautiful so we snuck a couple of snaps

We took a brief break at our place and crossed paths with Norm & Marlene who had enjoyed seeing the statue of David.

Bill and I decided to try to go through the Uffizi or the Duomo if the lines were not too long. The lines were too long!

We ended up at La Basilica San Lorenzo which was originally consecrated in 393 and was rebuilt in the current style and completed in 1060. There is a cloister attached that once was home to a community of canons (college for priests).

The existing Basilica design was completed in 1446 by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and it was the first Renaissance building ever. He fused ancient Roman architectural elements with a “new harmony of form and geometry”.  Although the exterior is very plain and unassuming, the interior was beautiful and simplistic with white walls and grey stone pillars.

One of the notable paintings was Filippo Lippi’s The Annunciation - Mary is receiving the message from Archangel Gabriel while two other angels look on. Another famous painting is Rosso Fiorentino’s Marriage of the Virgin from 1523 that had a new approach to the scene. Joseph and Mary are joyous and youthful and are surround by guests that have many brightly colour clothing. The use of strong colours in such close proximity is a key of the Mannerist style of art. 

Another impressive feature were the two bronze pulpits that were suspended by marble columns. The putt is we’re made by Donatello and were assembled in 1515. One is called the Passion pulpit because it has the scenes of the passion of Christ on the sides. The other one is called the Resurrection pulpit and depicts scenes of the tomb, the Resurrection, the Ascension and The Martyrdom of St Lawrence. 

The Basilica’s Old Sacristy was completed in 1429 by the same architect, Filippo Brunelleschi. We really enjoyed the small dome over the alter depicting the dark blue (lapis) sky (yes it can be recreated Karen Chong) with gold astrological signs (stars) that was above Florence on July 4, 1442.

After the church we were able to walk outside along the formal cloister garden to an area of the cloister that displays several relics of saints, a silver and glass coffin with mummified remains and priceless artifacts from the church.

Bill and I made our way slowly back to our home and stopped along the way to buy a -t-shirt, a Tuscan plate to hang on our fence next summer, and checked out the leather market, but did not make any purchases. We crossed through the gold shops and over Ponte Vecchio one last time.

Back at home we got caught up with Norm & Marlene on our rooftop terrace and watch a hot air balloon glide by. Little did we know that Lou and Barry were right below us at the same time on the steps of Ponte Vecchio!

Shortly before our departure, Lou braved the climb to the apartment to change her outfit for dinner. We headed downstairs and after a brief search for Barry, departed for our 7:30 reservation at Osteria Santo Spirito. We had a corner table on the patio and enjoyed the warm evening with some delicious steak with arugula, tomato and plenty of Asiago. Bill really enjoyed his piping hot gnocchi and Lou and Barry indulge in one of Heidi’s favourites, a cream sauce with walnut. I was a bit annoyed with the poor service we received, but everyone else handled it with good humour.

From there we dragged the adults over to La Strega Nocciola. Bill and I had slightly diverted over there earlier in the day to have a Aztec (white chocolate and cinnamon) and straccintella (vanilla and chocolate chip) and were blown away by the quality and flavours, so we decided one final trip was in order. Louise felt it was definitely worth the extra walking!