Fine Arts In Firenze

Art and food are the heart of Italy, at least in Florence. The cradle of the Renaissance, Florence is home to some of the greatest works of art by some of the greatest artists of all time.

Case in point: Michelangelo’s David. 

Housed at the Academia Gallery, it is one of the most popular attractions in all of Europe. Luckily I had purchased an advance ticket to avoid the crowds and extensive lines to enter the museum. 

There’s a lot of amazing sculptures and paintings from the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. There are also a few pieces of modern art as well as a really fascinating exhibit on baroque era musical instruments like harpsichords. 

One of the most amazing things I saw throughout my entire trip in Italy wasn’t a piece of art, but rather a shining example of human folly.

The gallery that houses Michelangelo’s David is lined with other sculptures from the era. As I was admiring one of Michelangelo’s other sculptures, a (presumably) American man clearly in his 50s or older reached over the iron bars intended to separate the sculpture from the guests and touched the sculpture. 

A 500 year old sculpture.

In a museum.

In Italy.

A 500 year old Michelangelo sculpture, in a museum, in Italy.

A dark haired, middle aged Italian woman who was a docent at the museum swiftly walked over to the man and appropriately berated him by yelling “DON’T TOUCH!!!” in a thick Tuscan accent.

Like, how imbecilic can you be? Had he never been to a museum? Did his mom never teach him not to touch things that don’t belong to him?

I just about died laughing. After the docent finished explaining common sense museum etiquette to the nincompoop, I had to walk over to her and say thank you for chastising him. It was honestly so hilarious and so stupid of him, I couldn’t believe it. 

Michelangelo’s David is an absolute masterpiece though. I don’t know much about art, especially sculpture, but it is amazing to see the piece up close. Made from one single block of marble, it is said that Michelangelo stated that he was simply freeing the figure that already existed in the marble, visible in his mind’s eye. The statue is so detailed, brilliant, exquisite and in astounding condition.

After my day at the museum I decided to try my luck at getting a bowl of the famous flambeed cheese wheel pasta from Osteria Pastella. I grabbed an aperol spritz to go from a little restaurant near my hotel and walked over to Osteria Pastella and got in the line for people without reservations. I waited about 45 minutes, but the restaurant was incredibly hospitable and in true Italian fashion handed out some prosecco to those waiting in line (I added two glasses of the bubbles to my spritz naturally). 

I ordered the famous tagliatelle, which is flambeed with brandy in a giant wheel of grana padano cheese, then topped with fresh shaved white truffles. It’s quite a show, but is also an incredibly luxurious and delicious bowl of pasta. Basically it is heaven in a bowl.

On my last day in Florence I decided to check out the Piazzale Michelangelo, a large piazza across the river with an amazing view of the city. I hadn’t bothered with public transportation in Florence because my hotel was a reasonable walking distance to most of the major attractions, but the Piazzale Michelangelo was a little further away and a bit of an uphill hike. I considered buying a $25 day pass for the tourist attraction bus, but decided to get my steps in and balance out all the pizza, pasta, cheese, and wine that I was continually eating. To fuel up for the walk I had lunch at a spot one of my friends suggested Trattoria Nella. I ordered the special of the day, a simple meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a truffle cream, which was wonderful.

It was a long 45 minute walk with a few stops to stretch and sit here and there, but I made it. As I reached the top of the hike up to the piazzale, I passed a young lady who was painting a vista of the river and the city of Florence, something I imagine is a classic view that has been painted from the piazzale for hundreds of years. 

I walked around the piazzale and took some photos, then decided to have a spritz at a restaurant just above the piazzale with a nice patio and great view. After my refreshment and brief respite, I trekked back down towards the city, stopping for a classic pizza margherita to break up the walk back.

That evening I knew there was one thing I still needed to eat before I left Florence: Chianina

aka Bistecca alla Fiorentina. The famous local beef is lean and meaty, coming from hard working cows that make for a delicious steak. There are a myriad of restaurants that show off their dry aged steaks in windows across the city, but I ended up at Museo della Bistecca. I ordered a ribeye steak, grilled veggies, mashed potatoes and a glass of red wine. The steak was very lean but extremely flavorful, and surprisingly tender considering the significant lack of marbling. The mashed potatoes were creamy and perfectly buttered. It was the proper meal to end my time in Florence with. 

After dinner I walked over to a quaint cocktail bar I had gone to the night before called The Arts Inn. The bartender from the night before, Flavio was once again manning the bar solo, making bespoke cocktails for guests (no spritzes allowed), and playing a wide variety of tunes. I had a few cocktails and talked about all things music with Flavio before heading back to my hotel to sleep and prepare for the next leg of the journey: Venice.