Firenze -- Accademia and Uffizi

Many of the names we use for cities in Italy (Rome, Naples, Venice, etc.) are anglicized versions of the actual Italian names.  Florence is the English name we give to Firenze.  It's very important to know the Italian name of the city so you can make sure you're finding the correct train station, following the right highway sign, or plugging the correct place into the GPS.

Florence has many wonderful sites to visit, priceless art, and an easy walkability.  Many people we've talked with about Italy have commented they preferred Florence to Rome.  Two of the many must-dos when in Florence are to visit the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's David and to see the best collection of Italian art at the Uffizi Gallery.  Both of these galleries are extremely popular, and if you don't get your tickets and reserved time in advance, you will spend hours waiting in line.  Before we left the States, we decided to visit both the same day -- Accademia in the morning and Uffizi in the afternoon.  Florence is difficult to drive in because there is a restricted driving zone for cars in the city center, so we drove about half an hour from the villa to the town of Empoli where we parked and took the train into Florence.

David by Michelangelo

Getting our tickets in advance paid huge dividends.  Both galleries only let in a few people at a time to control the crowds within the building.  Not having a reserved time slot means waiting a long time to get in.  Our strategy paid off big time as the line at the Accademia was already down the street and around the building.  We exchanged our voucher for the actual ticket and were inside within 10 minutes.  There are a lot of great statuary and paintings here, but let's face it, we came to see David.  At about 14 feet tall, David stands alone under a small rotunda, posing in the classical style for everyone to admire.  This is Michelangelo's masterpiece and it does not disappoint.  For me, the other best part of the Accademia was the musical instrument museum that's off to the side in another part of the building when you first enter the gallery.  We saw violins and cellos by the master Stradivarius and other early instruments from the 1600s and 1700s.

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli

Our afternoon visit to the Uffizi was much the same as the Accademia.  We exchanged our vouchers and were inside within 10 minutes.  The line for those waiting to buy tickets was long and moving very s--l--o--w--l--y.  The Uffizi started out as the personal collection of the Medici family who controlled Florence for centuries and were great patrons of famous artists including Michelangelo.  The building itself was originally constructed to consolidate administrative offices of Florence, but the art gradually took over and the gallery officially opened to the public in 1765.   It houses both statuary and paintings by the Italian masters, including masterworks by Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Titian.  We took the elevator up to the 2nd floor and walked the length of the gallery and down again to the first floor, seeing most all of the rooms.  

Admittedly, we're not art experts, and after a while we hit our wall and want to do something else than walk through another museum.  However, you can't come to Florence and not experience this.  It was well worth our time and an enjoyable way to start and end our day.