We have an early start this morning to beat the line to see David.  At 8.00 am there was quiet a line.  At 10.00 when we exited the museum the line was much much longer.  15,000 people a day see David. Prince Charles and Carmello were there the day before, sorry we missed them actually.  It would have been a brag note along with the cuppa with the Pope.  David spent the first 400 years of his life in the open air.  A few years ago they moved him inside and a person attacked the statue and smashed his foot.  It has been repaired and the security has been improved.

Michelangelo won the right to carve David in a competition run by a President who had defeated the Medici Family in an election. He only lasted one term.  The idea of David was of the little man defeating the unbeatable competition. This concept “rang a bell” the President and so Michelangelo got the commission to carve David.  He surrounded himself in a wooden enclosure inside the workshop and carved David over three years.  The stature is 5m high and the reason it was so acclaimed was because the body of David was in good proportion. Given that he didn’t work from a plaster model rather he worked from memory, makes the final product all the more exceptional.

Pictures of David.

 

The forth and last Piete

Notice the Piete has a very large arm.  Michelangelo start the sculpture and had his apprentices finish it off.  The arm and the size of it is a reflection of the skills of the carver.

This where David stood for 400 years before being moved inside out of the cold.

The Merdici family believed art should be for everyone.  The second picture is a modern addition to the landscape.

This was followed by a walk around the city centre and shopping in a jewellery and a leather shop. Louise and I had a great lunch in a small restaurant followed by Florence’s best gelato.

Once again the church was centre stage white green and white marble and all sides had been cleaned except one.  Da Vinci designed and built the crane that got the golden ball to the top of the dome.

 

 

Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence

The Golden Gates of Paradise

 

Modern art in Florence and my artistic flair

In the evening we went to the castle where Machiavelli lived or was exiled to in 1511 to 1513. The host was very interesting and made us all at home straight away.  The aperitif was blue sparkling wine. We went on a special private tour of the home and showed us the cellar and took us through the under road tunnel which Machiavelli would use to go to the pub in the evenings rather than crossing the road. The meal consisted of salami, two types of pecorino cheese, mortabella, prosciutto, crusty bread with olive tapenade, green pesto and tomatoes. First course was ricotta filled ravioli with truffle and cheese sauce and rigatoni with wild boar sauce. Second cause was beef off the bone with roast potatoes and the final course was panacotta and anniversary cake.  These meals were all matched with wines from the Tuscany and some from their own winery.  We were entertained by a brilliant singer and a guitarist.  The floor show was provided by Mario and Maria (Our guide) dancing the salsa a couple of times resulting in all the males having to commit to dancing lessons. This was a fabulous evening with the group having a fantastic night and even the festivities continued on the bus with great music, joyous singing and seeing the lights of Florence.

Louise looking splendid in the country side

Our host, come waiter playing Machiavelli, the tunnel under the road to the pub and the view of the Tuscan landscape from the restaurant.