travelingidahogirl

Bargello (Florence 4)

The next morning, we went to the Bargello, a sculpture museum in what looks like a little castle, but was previously a prison. I generally prefer sculpture to painting anyway, so I loved this museum. We got there around 8:30 and I think we were the second ones there. It was not at all crowded. After you pay your admittance, you step outside into the courtyard (the only place picture-taking is allowed), and there are statues all around the loggia (that’s the covered porch-like part, as I learned from a pretty DK Eyewitness Travel guide—may have learned that at one point, but it felt like new info to me when I saw it). Then inside, they had some of the more big-named artists, like Michelangelo and Donatello. Donatello’s David is the biggie, and it was incredible (and you can walk right up to it and all around it—T decided to be all independent in THAT room after I had carried/pushed him around the rest of the place, and walked all around, pausing in front of each statue—chest out so all could see his soccer shirt, of course. I was envisioning international-relations disaster caused by tripping boy—I don’t think the Italians, or anyone, would consider him so cute anymore if he tipped over a Donatello. –He was fine, perfectly well-behaved, a bit vain, but that doesn’t really stand out here).

But I also really liked some of the works by Giambologna and Cellini, whom I, once again, probably heard mentioned in Intro to Art, but were unfamiliar to me at the ripe old age of, well, solidly middle-age. The museum also had pieces of “the decorative arts,” plates, platters, pitchers, ivory combs, jewelry, etc., which I’m sure were impressive—they were, I saw them—but I wouldn’t have gone there to see a room full of tableware. This was my favorite place we visited. Cool building, no crowds, spectacular sculpture, and not too much of it.

And doesn't this picture just rock? Wish I could take credit for it, but as with the majority of outing-pics, Hubby is the photographer.

We checked out of the hotel, took a taxi to the train station, and dumped our luggage in the car. We thought we’d try to get in one more place, hell, why not the Accademia, but as we were walking there, we felt a few snowflakes and knew we didn’t want to be driving back in the dark AND in the snow. Those hills of Tuscany? Yea, big hills.

It was a good call. The trip from Florence to Bologna was non-stop snow, real flakes. Roads weren’t awful because it was pretty much bumper-to bumper traffic. But it was the only time the Italians didn’t drive aggressively. I think I got up to 45 miles per hour in one of the long tunnels, but other than that, it was about 30 until we broke out at Bologna and the snow let up.

A good trip. I need to plan the next one.

posted by travelingidahogirl @ 6:05 PM