What a day! I love Italia!
Grace and I arrived here in Firenze at 7am, after an 8 hour train ride from Zürich. When I got out of the train, I was enveloped by a wave of heat - even at 7am - that made me realize we're no longer in northern Europe. We'd definetly arrived in mediterranean territory.
After checking in at our hostel at around 10, we showered up, put on summer clothes, and took the bus downtown. First stop, Museo di San Marco. This museum is not rated as one of the top museums in Firenze, but in my books it just may end up being the best place in Firenze.
San Marco began as a Dominican convent in 1436, but not just any convent, for in it lived the likes of Fra Angelico, Cosmo di Medici, and Girolamo Savonarola. The Medici family at one time ruled most of Florence, and in fact funded many of the Renaissance artists; Girolamo Savonarola, on the other hand, was a monk who spoke out against the excesses of the Renaissance and eventually was burned at the stake for his stance.
However, the highlight of this museum was the radiant frescoes that Fra Angelico painted on the walls of each convent cell. I believe at one time, 40 monks lived at this convent, and Fra Angelico painted a fresco for each cell, with amazing themes, like the annunciation, the betrayal, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the transfiguration, or the 2nd coming of Jesus. The paintings were amazingly powerful, I can only imagine what it must have been like for monks to meditate on them on a daily basis. Some of them brought me to the brink of tears, such was their beauty.
Grace and I arrived here in Firenze at 7am, after an 8 hour train ride from Zürich. When I got out of the train, I was enveloped by a wave of heat - even at 7am - that made me realize we're no longer in northern Europe. We'd definetly arrived in mediterranean territory.
After checking in at our hostel at around 10, we showered up, put on summer clothes, and took the bus downtown. First stop, Museo di San Marco. This museum is not rated as one of the top museums in Firenze, but in my books it just may end up being the best place in Firenze.
San Marco began as a Dominican convent in 1436, but not just any convent, for in it lived the likes of Fra Angelico, Cosmo di Medici, and Girolamo Savonarola. The Medici family at one time ruled most of Florence, and in fact funded many of the Renaissance artists; Girolamo Savonarola, on the other hand, was a monk who spoke out against the excesses of the Renaissance and eventually was burned at the stake for his stance.
However, the highlight of this museum was the radiant frescoes that Fra Angelico painted on the walls of each convent cell. I believe at one time, 40 monks lived at this convent, and Fra Angelico painted a fresco for each cell, with amazing themes, like the annunciation, the betrayal, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the transfiguration, or the 2nd coming of Jesus. The paintings were amazingly powerful, I can only imagine what it must have been like for monks to meditate on them on a daily basis. Some of them brought me to the brink of tears, such was their beauty.
Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed of the cells or the frescoes, so the best I have to show of my visit to the museum is a picture of the main hall, as well as a picture of the common area of the convent.
After taking in the frescoes, we walked across the Piazza di San Marco to the Galleria del Accademia, which according to most sources, is a much better place to visit (and more expensive too .. the entrance fee to Museo di San Marco was 4 Euros, whereas the Galleria was 12!!!).
After taking in the frescoes, we walked across the Piazza di San Marco to the Galleria del Accademia, which according to most sources, is a much better place to visit (and more expensive too .. the entrance fee to Museo di San Marco was 4 Euros, whereas the Galleria was 12!!!).
The main attraction at the Galleria was Michelangelo's David (see picture below), and while sculpture is not my favourite type of art, I admit, David is a masterpiece. David is made up of one solid block of marble, carved by the artist at the age of 29. Based on my recollection, he's at least 5 metres tall. There are a few other of Michelangelo's statues on display, all of them very interesting and skilfully made.
There were many other works of great art, including a marvelous exhibition by Lorenzo Monaco (1370-1425). Grace and I spent much time taking each of his works, discussing colours, shapes, and most importantly, the message each of the works were trying to convey. I found these two samples of his works on the Galleria website.
But truthfully speaking, the frescoes at the Museo satisfied and saturated my spiritual and aesthetic appetite, at least for the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment