Even though I've only been here two days there is a world of difference between now and when I arrived. I think I'm starting to get over jet-lag, which is great, and I've started a little to explore the city. On Friday I went out in the afternoon and walked to San Lorenzo, the church designed by Brunelleschi for the Medicis. It looks a little like a mini-duomo, but the facade isn't finished and is kind of ugly. I first went to the "Medici Chapel" which is off the back of the church. In it are the graves of the famous ruling family of Florence. I was most excited to see the Sacristy designed by Michelangelo. It was really one of his first stabs at architecture, and he also did all of the sculpture in the room, including portraits of two of the Medicis and figures of the four times of day (Dawn and Evening, and Day and Night). Since I studied this building in Art History last year, it was great to see it in person!
In the museum, there was also an exhibit out about the marriage of Marie de Medici to Henri Navarre of France. This marriage was quite important for the Medicis because it allied their powerful house with the rulers of France. In fact, as Henry was assassinated shortly after Marie was crowned queen, she became regent and de facto ruler of France. While this was kind of interesting, the really exciting part was that one of the pieces they had was Rubens' painting of Marie de Medici's arrival in France. This was another piece we studied in class, and again it was amazing to get to see the real thing.
After this it was pretty late in the afternoon, so I wandered around for a while before I went home for dinner. Living with an Italian family is awesome because it means I get to eat pasta every night, which is pretty much my dream come true!
Here's a picture of the side of San Lorenzo with the Medici Chapel off the back:
In the museum, there was also an exhibit out about the marriage of Marie de Medici to Henri Navarre of France. This marriage was quite important for the Medicis because it allied their powerful house with the rulers of France. In fact, as Henry was assassinated shortly after Marie was crowned queen, she became regent and de facto ruler of France. While this was kind of interesting, the really exciting part was that one of the pieces they had was Rubens' painting of Marie de Medici's arrival in France. This was another piece we studied in class, and again it was amazing to get to see the real thing.
After this it was pretty late in the afternoon, so I wandered around for a while before I went home for dinner. Living with an Italian family is awesome because it means I get to eat pasta every night, which is pretty much my dream come true!
Here's a picture of the side of San Lorenzo with the Medici Chapel off the back:
Hi Clare! I added your blog to my Google Reader. I'm glad you're having fun in Florence and that's so cool that you could see all that artwork! Plus I am totally jealous of the pasta. I bought pasta here but the kitchen doesn't have a pot...
ReplyDelete--Sara