Renaissance City

With the spirit of Michelangelo guiding you down its cobbled streets, Florence is an art lover’s ultimate pilgrimage spot. Sandip Hor takes a cultural tour

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Published: Sat 9 Aug 2014, 12:35 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 10:52 PM

MAGNIFICO: (above) View of the Duomo during sunset; (right side —from left to right) Palazzo Vecchio, Dante’s statue outside Santa Croce Church; the Piazza de la Signoria

Remembering what Neil Armstrong quoted after landing on the moon, I say to myself after arriving in Florence, Italy, that my one small step here is a lifetime leap for my cultural mind. And why not, as in my opinion there exists no other place on this planet that can boast so richly of an exceptional artistic heritage that bears awe-inspiring testimony to its centuries-old civilisation?

Celebrated as Europe’s intellectual capital, Florence is the venue where the Renaissance was born and extraordinary works of art, architecture, literature and science were championed by legends alike Dante, Galileo, Giotto, Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci and others. People from round the globe storm here for a rewarding discovery of the masters’ works by visiting the city’s myriad churches, palaces, piazzas, monuments and treasure troves at various museums — most significant being the Uffizi Gallery, the world’s largest vault of Italian art.

This is the place where I throw my hands up in despair, knowing that, due to limited time available, I will not be able go through the museum’s entire range of collections exhibited in 45 halls in two large floors of an imposing edifice, which was earlier a palace.

Rather, as most visitors do, I focus on the highlights. Like a kid in a toy shop, I rush with enthusiasm from one room to the other, gawking adoringly at masterpieces like Madonna and Child with Angels by Giotto, Annunciation by Martini, Birth of Venus and Primavera by Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci, Holy Family by Michelangelo, Leo X and Cardinals by Raphael, Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio and Flora and Venus of Urbino by Titian. These are just a few to name from a list which can be as long as you wish. After a few hours of an extraordinary “art-feast”, I come out with mixed feelings, joyous at being able to cherish an unimaginable quantum of artistic brilliance in a short period of time, simultaneously disappointed for doing that hurriedly and thinking about what I have missed out.

I am an ardent fan of Michelangelo, and Florence is surely the venue for a close encounter with the genius — who was a resident here for many years. Walking the city’s cobblestoned streets is almost sharing footprints with the maestro and a visit to the renowned Accademia Gallery to his see his marble creation David is a dream coming to reality.

People push and shove here to get closer for the best possible encounter with his works, as they would do inside the Louvre in Paris to view Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, the only difference being the inches-long lady keeps herself isolated in a glass box, while 14-ft tall David stands naked proudly in a room and looks down upon the hundreds surrounding him.

Commissioned by the Florentine Office of Works, it took four years for the then 26-year-old sculptor to carve out from a block of marble this statue which, since its institution in 1504, has never ceased to draw admiration from onlookers. Aptly touted as Home of Michelangelo, this gallery also presents several other magical Michelangelo creations among which a version of the Pieta depicting figures holding the sagging body of Jesus is noteworthy.

Other city galleries also have several Michelangelo works; the Bargello Museum exhibiting his famous Bacchus, the god of revelry and the Palazzo Vecchio displaying the Genius of Victory, modelling a young man triumphing over an older person, are the two worth paying a visit to understand and appreciate the sculptor’s imaginative mind.

A Florentine landmark, Palazzo Vecchio is more than a gallery. With its distinctive castle turret and rustic stonework, this former royal residence and administrative seat of the sovereign when Florence was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, now serves as the city’s Town Hall with some of its artistically lavish regal apartments open to the public for viewing. Visitors are stunned inside the Grand Hall, where the ceiling and walls are ornamented with paintings showing great Florentine 
moments, while floor space along the walls is occupied by several sculptures including the one of Michelangelo.

It’s said that in 1500, this venue was the stage of a painting contest between a young Michelangelo and an ageing Leonardo da Vinci, but unfortunately, no records exist to testify to its outcome.

Palace Vecchio presides over Piazza Della Signoria, a large paved courtyard which, since medieval times, has been the civic epicentre of Florentine life. Flanked today with vibrant cafes, restaurants and boutique hotels, this square is like an open air museum hosting one of the world’s finest collections of outdoor sculptures.

Representing a treasure trove of ancient and Renaissance art, the sculptural ensemble includes many famous names like Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus, 
Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women and Cellini’s Perseus, but crowds congregate around an exact copy of Michelangelo’s David, dotted at the same place where the original stood for over 300 years until shifted to the Accademia in 1873.

Walking distance from Piazza Della Signoria is Piazza De Doumo where I find the city’s heart beating because of the presence of the magnificent Duomo Cathedral, officially known as Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. The huge gathering 
outside and a long queue to enter inside are testimony to this imposing Gothic structure as the city’s number one attraction. Its architectural highlight is the octagonal dome designed by famed artist Brunelleschi. An image of this dome is the well-known symbol of Florence to the outside world. The tiered red, green and white marble facade is so inviting that I notice ardent photographers taking shots for hours to frame the best composition. The cathedral inside is decorated with paintings and frescos and the adjacent museum displays another version of Michelangelo’s Pieta, along with Donatello’s Mary Magdalene and the original of Ghi-berti’s Gates of Paradise, said to be named by Michelangelo after seeing the gilded bronze doors of the octagonal Baptistery building in front of the cathedral.

A few days in Florence immerse me deep into a vast and diverse pool of arty exposure. Since Michelangelo is the centrepiece, I finish my trip by paying a tribute to the master at his burial tomb located inside the Santa Croce church, a pilgrimage site for all Michelangelo fans.