The soul of David spreads throughout Florence as a ubiquitous and sheltering presence. All the cities have their symbol: the Statue of Liberty, the musicians of Bremen, the Berlin bear, the Eiffel Tower, the cock of Barcelos, the Christ of Corcovado, the Big Ben … The flower of the lily shares with the David the leadership of popularity in the city of the Renaissance.…
It has taken me five years to discover the Grande Museo del Duomo in Florence. I always thought it was a minor museum, but I was utterly wrong. The way the artworks are displayed in the vast space highlighting its magnificence and the state of conservation of the pieces are truly remarkable. In 1294 the Commune of Florence ordered the construction of a new cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore to replace Santa Reparata. The ‘Fabbriceria della Cattedrale di Firenze’ (Florence Cathedral Works) was founded by the Florentine Republic in 1296 to oversee construction of the cathedral. …
My first stay in Florence was in piazza del Mercato Nuovo at the end of September 2008. I recall how lost I felt then, trying to find the hotel with a map in my hands. I still do not know the name of the streets and alleys, but today I could certainly move around the city with my eyes closed. I remember one particular night when, disappointed by a date, I drank a whole bottle of limoncello (yes, I’m that kind of person) that I acquired in Pisa. The following morning, I was stroke by terrible news: my friend and artist Cocó Ciëlo had been murdered in Madrid. That was the first time I walked to piazzale di Michelangelo. I had a beer or two there and cried while contemplating this majestic town. Where you led me, Florence, that fateful night? All I could feel was irrational disgust, as the city had become a carrier of bad news to me. But we later reconciled. And, as in the most intense and passionate stories in literature, we have lived since many ruptures and reunions.…
Florence is an eternal dream, the most beautiful city in the world. Since I remember, I have been fascinated by antiquity, history, and the Medici dynasty. So I decided to visit Florence, the city where Paco Neumann lives. He is one of my best friends. I met Paco in the mid-nineties when he lived and studied journalism and photography in Madrid. I have always been attracted to art, so I explored several museums and many Renaissance churches during my vacation in Florence. Needless to say that the entire city is a vast open-air museum.…
Bye for now, beautiful Florence. When in Florence, exceptional and majestic artworks created by humans wait for you in every corner. Its streets, always crowded with the bustle that comes with it, make Florence the perfect place for lonely travelers’ initiation where they will never feel alone. Where the coffee, although expensive, is exquisite. Where Michelangelo’s David and the Duomo share space with Dior and Chanel. The city welcomed and captivated me from the very beginning with its magic and, although the coin thrown at Il Porcellino insisted on predicting the opposite, I will always want to return to Florence. Thank you, Paco Neumann, for showing me your Florence, especially from the most outstanding balcony I have ever stepped on. Ci vediamo presto!
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Till January 21, 2018, Palazzo Strozzi is celebrating the art of the 16th century in Florence, an era of outstanding cultural and intellectual talent that was to spawn a heated debate between the «modern manner» and the Counter-Reformation, between the art patronage of the Medici and the Church. Curated by Carlo Falciano and Antonio Natali, the exhibition showcases over seventy works of painting and sculpture, seventeen of which have been restored for the occasion, and hosts pieces by Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Bronzino, Vasari, Jacopo Zucchi and Giambologna, to name but a few of those involved in the commissions for the Studio of Francesco I de’ Medici in Palazzo Vecchio and the Tribune of the Uffizi.
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