Squeeze every worthwhile minute out of your day…

Magical Florence

We rose early, not because we wanted to but I had reserved “skip the line” tickets to the Accademie for 9 Am … I remember this hot box of circa 1500 sculpted marble with his joyous curls and his anatomically perfect junk would draw crowds and I wanted in before the super spreader event was in session.

The 4 of us were the only people on the road at 8:15. An occasional cyclist or dog walker and us. We had Firenze to ourselves. There were no people in front of the Doumo….we had its majesty all to ourselves.

The smell of espresso wafted passed us and we saw men nuzzled up to the bars shooting a quick jolt of liquid caffeine before starting their day. Street sweepers whirred and cracked as they bumped over the cobble stone piazzas.

we were among the first 20 people in the Museum.

What a treasure. It was still quiet. That first hour the few of us roaming the halls treated this sacred place with the silence of a Library and the reverence of a church.

​Maybe each of us were stunned by the colors, the articulate paintings, the story telling or the ancient nature of the talent.

​

​.

I for one, saw 1328 and thought…we Americans are the cocky young step children.

True artists would marvel at the primitive tools, the paints and the oils that were used to create these masterpieces which are still vibrant centuries later.

I just kept looking at the dates and thinking… did they paint by candlelight? How did these survive the wars, the fires, the plaques? What do you mean they are painted on wood and there could be 3 other paintings under this one?

I wanted to know about all the lions. I understood about the saints… I saw St. John carrying the sick and dying, I knew St Francis and all his wild creatures, I recognized St Mathew and his sword, I saw St Gabriel with his Spear. All the angels and Saints are represented …

​if you were to do a movie where these paintings came alive after dark…wow!

​Mayhem, Martyrdom and Orgys would rock these halls.

So this is what I was thinking when I roamed among greatness. I know you thought I wasn’t this shallow… but there you have it. I’ve not slept in two days and I was absolutely wishing the art work would come alive and join me in a street party…

​

We left when the shoulder to shoulder swarm of humanity was growing deeper and louder. We needed coffee and to free up space for the lines of people circling the museum waiting for the privilege to see 12 foot Marble David with his lifelike features detailed and displayed by a 26 year old sculptor from 1500.

​David has his sling laying across his shoulder as if he’s saying…

”you want some of this ass whopping? Have you seen Goliath? Right? That was me….”