The first few museums I’m writing about are some of my favorites in Florence and Fiesole.  While entire books have been written about these Renaissance icons, I hope to show them in a slightly different light with both my photos and my personal observations.

2022 update:  After seeing several new sights in the fall of 2021, I wrote a new post, More museums, monuments and interesting places. It also includes some new information and pictures of the Uffizi Galleries.

Italy

Museums of Florence and Fiesole

I’m starting with Florence and since the city is basically a giant museum, what I say here may overlap somewhat with information in my Florence and Fiesole,  Florence and Fiesole, parte due, and Firenze, old and new posts.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

https://duomo.firenze.it/en/discover/opera-duomo-museum

I visited the Museo many years ago on my first trip to Italy and had wanted to return for  several years.  But it wasn’t until  September 2016 that I was able to see the newly restored Museo.  It is an amazing and stunning juxtaposition of modern restoration with medieval and renaissance art and architecture.  When I saw online that the museum would be open in time for our trip, I signed up for their e-mail newsletter which I still receive.

Before that 2016 visit I received an email from the Museo with a beautiful video of the restoration.  I originally included it here but it is no longer available.  So I’ve included another video of the interior, which, along with the second video, gives a better perspective of the museum.

I particularly enjoyed the manner in which the Museo is organized around themes such as music, the models for the restoration proposals, (probably my favorite area) the exterior statues, the bronze doors, the design of the dome, vestments and religious arts….  The museum also incorporates modern technology such as music including Gregorian chants, videos of the stained glass in the Duomo, and the history of the Medicis. For example in the room dedicated to music, if you select a page of the illuminated manuscript, you can hear what it sounds like when sung by a choir.  Plus the use of balconies and walkways to overlook the exhibits as well as to provide views at different levels is breathtaking. When you reach the top level, you can walk out on the roof top and the Duomo cupola is right in front of you.  It is absolutely not to be missed.

As an aside we purchased tickets ahead of time on the museum’s website (which I think is stunning in itself) https://operaduomo.firenze.it/ , paying 10€ for the entire Duomo complex.  (2024 note:  ticket prices have varied in the intervening years, especially in the post COVID period, but currently there are three different passes which include access to different monuments for 3 days, and vary in price from 20 to 30 euros.)  Given the long line when we finished, we were glad we had relatively early reservations for the museum on a Sunday. Unfortunately the rest of the complex didn’t open until 1:30pm and the other times we stopped at the Duomo, the lines were snaking around the cathedral.  Luckily we came back to Florence with our Tuscany walking group and my sister was finally able to see the interior, something she has wanted to do since she first came to Florence.

I’ve  returned to Il Museo multiple times since then and you can see more photos in the links above and also at my Firenze off season, parte uno post.

It’s difficult to get good shots of the interior or exterior so I’ve also included a video from the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore website.  I think it’s phenomenal.

2019:  2019 was my fourth year in a row visiting il Museo and it never grows old.  I tried to take some different pictures this year but I always seem drawn to the view from the upper levels overlooking the other exhibits.

I receive il Museo’s newsletter and recently it announced that restoration had been completed on the third of the original doors of the Baptistry (Porta Sud, designed by Pisano) and the door had been moved nella Sala del Paradiso del museo; into the Hall of Paradise of the museum. I would love to see it.

Palazzo Vecchio

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Palazzo_vecchio.html

 Since the first time I was in Florence, following a bike trip in Chianti, the Palazzo Vecchio has always been one of my favorite destinations.    As I wander through room after room, I’m amazed at the beauty of the art and architecture as well as the sense of how Florentine leaders lived in the 14^th and 15th centuries.  I usually finish my visit in the map room. Somehow it makes me feel like I’m in Renaissance Italy.

In 2014 we ended our trip in Florence and I decided to use some of our last few hours before leaving for Milan to see the Palazzo again.  Even though I didn’t have much time, it was enough to remind me how much I’ve always enjoyed it.  Weirdly enough I had started reading Dan Brown’s Inferno just before we came to Florence and since then, I can’t enter the main hall without thinking of the scene where one of the characters falls through a huge painting.

I’ve returned multiple times since then and you can see more photos in my Firenze, old and new post.

Uffizi Galleries

https://www.uffizi.it/gli-uffizi

 My first visit to the Uffizi came when I spent a few days in Florence after my first bike trip.  And that was back in the day when you could just walk up and buy a ticket without a wait.  I can still remember standing mesmerized in front of the Botticelli Venus.  Hopefully this post can add some personal insights that may be interesting or informative, along with what I think are some beautiful pictures.

I came back to Florence in May of the following year and was sitting in an apartment on the Piazza del Duomo when there was a huge blast, which we found out later was the bombing of the Uffizzi Galleries.  According to a NY Times article written immediately afterwards (http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/28/world/bomb-outside-uffizi-in-florence-kills-6-and-damages-many-works.html )  the blast killed 6 people including a family of four and destroyed or damaged many priceless works of art.

An article written on the 20^th anniversary, http://tuscantraveler.com/2013/florence/1993-uffizi-bomb-georgofili-mafia/, states that the bombing was done by the Cosa Nostra which I had heard was the case at that time.  It still baffles me that anyone would commit such an act.

I have looked online for information on how long it took to restore the museum and in the process learned that the most significant damage was done to the Torre dei Pulci, which imploded and killed  the family of four.  The ‘Return, Lest We Forget, website (https://www.uffizi.it/en/events/return) states that it took two years both to restore the building and the exhibits, the latter mainly through donations.  On the 30th anniversary of the bombing the museum brought back the same exhibition both in remembrance and as a tribute to those who helped restore the museum.

Despite my best laid plans it was many years before I returned to the Uffizi.  As mentioned above we decided to end our 2015 trip with 5 days in Florence and to see the Uffizi among other museums and galleries.

At that point in time, you had to buy advance tickets by phone.  It was challenging but I managed to do it.  While I was a bit shocked to find that there was an 8€ surcharge when we picked them up, it was still far easier than waiting in line.

Even fairly early it was hugely crowded and I got fairly annoyed people standing in front of the art while taking pictures, trying to shame my sister into taking just a few but that didn’t happen. (Post trip note:  One of my major gripes is people taking pictures in museums and cathedrals.  They not only block everyone’s view but, in my opinion, are showing disrespect to the art and building itself.  That said I guess it’s good my sister took a lot of pictures because I didn’t write much in my journal.)

The art was amazing though, especially seeing the Botticelli Venus again.  We spent 3 ½ hours wandering the exhibits then finished our visit at the rooftop café having an über expensive cappuccino and croissant.’ (Post trip note:  Even though the cappuccino and croissant were expensive, it was definitely worth the price, if for no other reason than the great photo ops we got of the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio and surrounding skyline.)

2022 Update:  In November and early December 2021, I spent more than a month in Firenze.  The first three weeks I attended Istituto Michelangelo and the last two weeks I wandered the city going to all the museums I love which was quite easy due to the lack of tourists.  You could basically walk into any museum you wanted without a reservation.  I spent and entire morning at the Uffizi and you can read more in my More museums, monuments and interesting places,   Firenze off season, parte uno and Firenze off season, parte due posts.

Brancacci Chapel

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Brancacci_chapel.html

When I was in Florence in October 2014 the owner of a B&B where I stayed two nights recommended the Brancacci Chapel. (While I didn’t care for the B&B, the owner also recommended the Bargello and the Bardini Gardens;  both great places to go. I’ve returned to the Bardini Gardens multiple times and written about them in my  Firenze, old and new, Florence and Fiesole, parte due, and Florence and Fiesole posts.)

On my 6th trip to Florence in September 2015, my sister and I  took the opportunity to visit and decided it is definitely an overlooked gem–for which I was very glad. Not only are the frescoes beautiful but it is one of the few truly peaceful places in Florence where people sit and enjoy the art and history.   While I love Italy in general and Florence in particular, anyone who has visited during September or October knows how insane most of the major sights can be.  So I truly appreciated not only the art but the respect that other visitors showed.

In 2017 while attending Istituto Michelangelo  another student gave me her 72 hour Firenze ticket with one more day left on it and I went back to Brancacci and have a few more  pictures in my  Florence and Fiesole, parte due  post.

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

https://www.palazzomediciriccardi.it/en/palace/

When I brought my sister to Florence, for her first visit and my fourth (although my first in 8 years) we stumbled upon the Palazzo by accident.   As we wandered along via Cavour from Piazza del Duomo, we noticed the signs for the Palazzo and despite its somewhat grim façade, decided to go in and were glad we did.  Here’s what I wrote then: There is some stunning art in the Palazzo especially the room with matching frescoes on the ceiling and floor, making the ceiling look like a reflection. You can see pictures of the frescoes at http://www.palazzomediciriccardi.it/en/palace/.

The  pictures I’ve seen on line don’t do the frescoes justice and for some reason we didn’t take photos but we loved the garden and took lots of pictures there.

Even though I was somewhat bummed because I lost (or someone stole) a 50 € bill while I was buying the entry ticket, we wandered the rooms and gardens for close to two hours and hopefully I’ll return on my next trip.

2019: While attending Istituto  Michelangelo in the fall of 2019 I had the opportunity to take a school sponsored tour of the Palazzo.  We had a choice of taking the tour in Italian or English.  I opted for English and was glad I did.  We had a phenomenal guide, a youngish guy who’d been studying art and art history for quite a few years.

It was my first visit since 2010 and there seemed to be a lot of differences, or else I’m having memory issues.

The Palazzo is quite severe on the outside and when you walk in the main entrance, you enter a courtyard that is 2-3 stories high with statues of Orpheus and Cosimo the Elder commissioned to Michelozzo.

We stood in the loggia for 15-20 minutes while our guide explained the history of the Palazzo, originally owned by the Medicis, which served as their family residence until they were forced out and  sold the Palazzo to the Riccardi family.  The Riccardi’s spent so much money adding to the Palazzo over the years that they eventually were forced to sell it and it became administrative offices of the city, then restored and made into the museum.

From the courtyard we took the stairs to the next level and entered the Magi Chapel.  I don’t remember seeing the chapel when I visited in 2010 but it is stunning.   I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as much without our guide.  He told us to stand in the center and then moving from left to right follow the procession of the Magi which covers all the walls of the chapel starting from a mountain top and ending before the Madonna. The fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli not only portrays the Magi but includes the Medici family and other well known personalities of the 15^th century in the procession.

We glanced in a cordoned off room across from the chapel which I believe was part of the family quarters.  From there we walked into a large room that was almost empty but for a beautiful painting of the Madonna with Child, one of the late works of Filippo Lippi. It was painted on a curved piece of wood that draws the eye immediately to the Christ child.

We walked down the hall and stood outside some administrative offices and an area where the city held meetings at one time.  Our guide talked passionately about how he thought this area should be made into an art school.  

Our last stop was the Gallery Luca Giordano with elaborate baroque frescoes on the ceiling painted by Luca Giordano with allegories tying the Medicis to Greek gods.  Along the walls are mirrors and according to our guide there is a library behind the mirrors.

I asked our guide about the room my sister and I saw in 2010 in which the floor mirrored the ceiling and he basically brushed me off saying it was in the Medici library.  I don’t think that’s the case and I’m baffled as to where it is.

After our tour ended I went back to the courtyard and then took some pictures of the Medici Garden on the opposite side of the Palazzo from the main entrance.  Below are some pictures of the Gallery and courtyard as well as the garden.

The Accademia

http://www.galleriaaccademiafirenze.beniculturali.it/

I’m not sure if I went to the Accademia on my first or second trip to Florence, but I do know that I carried the impression of its spectacular sculptures with me for many years and convinced my sister that we should go there in 2014, after returning from a trip to Ladispoli and before heading to Milan and home.  It was a Sunday afternoon and we walked from the train station to the Accademia and essentially walked right in.

Given the unusual lack of wall to wall people, we were able to take our time admiring the David and the Pieta, as well as a special exhibit of Medieval art.

Other Museums

In 2018 my sister and I visited Il Museo Galileo in Firenze and thought it was stunning.  It costs 10€ and you can spend hours there.  You can see photos and read about it in my Firenze old and new post.

During that same visit to Firenze I took my sister to Ospedale Degli Innocenti which I had seen for the first time in 2017.  I also have a section about it in my Firenze, old and new post.

Fiesole Archaeological Site

Roman/Etruscan ruins

I thought that I walked through the ruins my first time in Fiesole but I only have a photo showing the ruins from the park above the town.

As I recall, at that time you could walk through the ruins without paying a fee (and the same was true of many places in Firenze) but somewhere in the intervening years between those first trips and when I brought my sister to Fiesole in 2010, it became necessary to pay an entrance fee.  And I know it’s extremely expensive to maintain the many museums and archaeological sites throughout Italy so I don’t mind the fees. But having spent quite a bit for entrance fees at other museums, we passed on the archaeological site that year.

It wasn’t until we came back in 2015 that we decided to see the ruins.  As I wrote in my journal: Sue had offered to pay for the museum but didn’t understand that she had to buy a combined ticket for the ruins and the museum.  Still the ruins were fantastic, especially the fact that you are allowed to walk through them and even sit in the amphitheater.  

It was such a beautiful day that I included almost all of our pictures in the gallery below.

We came back again in 2016 but I think the heat had made my niece cranky and we only stayed about 40 minutes.  Still we did get some more great pictures.

In the Tuscan countryside

Florence American Cemetery and Memorial

In September 2016 my sister and I joined a walking tour of Tuscany.  We met in Montecatini Terme and after 4 nights there the group headed to Siena.  From the itinerary I knew we would be stopping for a hike in a vineyard near Greve but was surprised when we stopped not far from Impruneta.  After we  parked, our guide explained that we were visiting the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial.  Despite having been in that area multiple times, I had never heard of, much less seen, the cemetery.  The manager provided us with the fascinating history of the cemetery where there are more than 4000 headstones of U.S. soldiers, mainly from the 5^th Army, killed in the liberation of Italy.  In addition there are Tablets of 1409 missing persons, predominately airmen who flew bomber strikes to Germany and lost their lives when their planes crashed in the Adriatic.

The grounds along the Greve River are beautiful as is the loggia which holds not only the tablets of the missing but tablets showing the Army’s march from Sicily to Genoa.  Walking through row after row of headstones of young men who gave their lives is a deeply moving experience.

The Devil’s Bridge

As I was planning our 2015 trip to Lucca and NW Tuscany, I happened to look through a magazine that had an article on ‘Hidden Treasures of Tuscany’, one of which was the Devil’s Bridge.  It’s actual name is Ponte della Maddalena and from what I’ve read online and in travel books, it got the name Devil’s Bridge because no one believed that a bridge made totally of interlocking stone could be built in the 11th and 12th centuries without the help of the devil. It’s not too difficult to find (although it took me two tries in 2015); the most challenging part being getting on the SS12 out of Lucca.  But once you get there, you will be amazed.  My sister took some gorgeous pictures which I’ve placed in a gallery below.

We liked it  so much we went back in 2016.    (As an aside, it’s a short drive from there to Bagni di Lucca which is a lovely little town that I’ve written about in my Lucca and the Garfagnana post.)

2019: My sister and I had to see the Devil’s Bridge again in October 2019 while staying just outside Lucca.  We drove to Bagni di Lucca first for a walk through the quiet town and a cappuccino and brioche.

We stopped at the bridge on our way back to Lucca.  It was a beautiful day and I asked my sister to take a picture of me.  It turned out awful and she was getting ready to try again when a nice guy from Australia offered to take one of both of us.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my sister look that happy.

Ceramiche Rampini

On my first bike trip  our leaders took us to a beautiful ceramic shop—Ceramiche Rampini— where a number of people in our groups spent wads of money which is easy to do.  They hand make beautiful pottery of every type in unusual colors. It’s located on the road between Radda and Gaiole and there’s a decent map on their web site: http://www.rampiniceramics.com/contact/workshop.php)

When my sister and I came back to the Chianti area in 2010, I took her through Castellina and Radda and to my amazement we found Ceramiche Rampini.  I wrote in my journal at the time: ‘We were the only ones there and the guy working wasn’t very friendly so we just looked for a few minutes, picked up a card and strolled the grounds.’

When we brought my daughter to this area in 2014, we stopped again and my daughter bought a salt and pepper set for a friend and I bought small bowls with a lizard design for my grandsons.  My daughter took lots of pictures of their pottery in hopes she might be able to order some dishes in the not too distant future but none of us has hit the lottery yet.

My sister and I went back to Ceramiche Rampini during our 2018 visit to Chianti.  It’s still a lovely stop as you can see in my Sempre Chianti post.

Even though their pottery is quite expensive, it’s definitely worth a stop; not only is the pottery beautiful, the grounds and the setting are lovely.

France

Pont du Gard

On my first trip to Provence (and first bike trip ever) we rode along the Rhone River from St.-Remy de-Provence to the Pont du Gard.  I’ve not located my journal but I remember it as a wonderful afternoon, sitting with the group having a fun lunch while gazing at the aqueduct. I’ve always loved history, especially ancient history, and to see something built  nearly 2000 years ago left me awestruck.

So I knew I had to bring my sister here in 2015 but I was nervous about the drive.

I first looked on the website  for the cultural area http://www.pontdugard.fr/en  where it stated that parking was 18 € (yikes) and gave the following directions to get there: “The main entry parking is on the left bank (rive gauche) side of the river, on the D19/D981 road between Avignon and Uzès (just northwest of Remoulin). The main visitor center is on this side, where you walk through to access the bridge”.

Our plan was to go to  to L’Isle sur la Sorgue that morning, then make our way to Abbaye Saint Michel de Frigolet (which I’ve written about in my Cathedrals and Abbeys post) and then to the Pont du Gard.  So I had to do a lot more online research to get directions from near Tarascon to the aqueduct. Apparently that was successful because I wrote in my journal: “Surprisingly we found our way through Tarascon and Beauclaire and got on the right road to the Pont du Gard.  Despite the crowds I was still awestruck and it was a definite high point to sit at Les Terrasses having a glass of wine like so many years ago.”

As an aside the 18 € parking fee is well worth the money; you can spend hours not only seeing  the aqueduct itself but the surrounding cultural area and the visitor center which has been significantly expanded since I was first there.

Here is a collage from the 2015 trip and hopefully I’ll have the photos from the first trip digitized in the not too distant future so readers can compare.

Carrieres des Lumieres

When I returned from my first trip to Provence, I babbled constantly about everything but especially the Carrieres des Lumieres.  Most people looked at me like I had two heads when I tried to describe walking through an abandoned bauxite mine watching a slide show of French Cathedrals.  But it was jaw droppingly beautiful even though the technology was quite simple.

So when my sister and I started planning a trip to Provence in 2015, I checked online to see if there were still light shows at Les Baux.  I was excited to see that not only had the light shows continued, but that the current shows were of the Impressionist painters, probably my favorite genre of art.

As I’ve written in my Provence, Provence, wherefore art thou Provence?  post, we drove from Villeneuve les Avignon to Les Baux on our last day in the area and not only didn’t get lost for a change, we decided it was our best experience in Provence.  I had considered getting reservations but didn’t want to be tied down to a particular time.  While it was busy and we had to park fairly far away on the road, there were no other complications.

The light show is more than worth the 10.5€ fee.  When we first arrived, we walked into what looked like an underwater grotto.  It seemed so real it felt as though we were alongside a diver as we walked through the various rooms.  There was a break before the main show at which point I found it had changed from the Impressionists to the Renaissance artists–Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael.  Initially I was disappointed. While I enjoy Renaissance art, I had been looking forward to seeing Monet in this setting.

 My initial disappointment quickly changed to complete awe especially during the scenes of the Sistine Chapel.  As I wrote in my journal, it was like being inside art while listening to classical music.  And like the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, it was one of the few places where the tourists stood in complete silence watching the show.

I wish now we had purchased one of their DVD’s since it’s almost impossible to describe in words or to take good photos.  As you can see in the gallery below, the interior of the ‘mine’ is quite dark and the photos only give a glimpse of the beauty.

2022 Update:  During 2022 a number of ‘immersion’ experiences, mainly of Impressionist artists, were available throughout the U.S. and France, including this one of Chagall in Paris, https://parisjetaime.com/eng/tickets/museums-and-monuments/atelier-des-lumieres-m9000668. 

I went to an immersion exhibition of Van Gogh which was similar in style to that at Carrieres des Lumieres, but the lighting made it much easier to take photos.   I’ve included a gallery of that exhibit which provides a better example of the immersion experience.

St. Raphael Archaeological Museum

On our first full day in St. Raphael, my sister and I wandered through the residential area near our B&B down to the marina and then to the historical center stumbling on a small, but lovely archaeological museum.  The museum had everything from the amphorae used by the Romans to transport oil and wine throughout the Mediterranean (something I learned in a PBS program) to an old diving suit.  We took the somewhat vertigo inducing stairs to the roof top where my sister got some spectacular pictures of St. Raphael.

Fragonard Museum, Grasse

On our second full day in St. Raphael I drove us along the corniche/coastal highway to Cannes and then to Grasse.  As usual I had a tough time getting us near the center and finding parking but we thoroughly enjoyed walking through the town and visiting the Fragonard Museum.  Here are a few pictures of the museum.

2020 Postscript:  Not traveling this year has been really difficult for me so I’m looking into the possibility of traveling to Naples and Sicily in  2021 when I hope to see sights such as Pompeii,  Paestum and the Palace at Caserta.  Keep checking back.

2022 Update: I did go to Naples, Sorrento and Positano in late 2021 but did not make it to Sicily.  I wrote about Naples and Sorrento including Pompeii in my  Three Days in Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii post.

I thought Pompeei was stunning.  Here’s my Pompeii gallery.