Day 5 – Uffizi, Inside Il Duomo, David, Ponte Vecchio

Day 5 began the usual way: our reservations at the Uffizi were for 11:15am and we woke up at 11:30am. So we hustled down the river towards the museum, grabbing a panini for some nourishment before tackling one of the worlds greatest art galleries. We entered 45 minutes late, luckily without a problem, and got started going through the 42+ rooms. The first most notable room was Botticelli’s; on display were the “Venus” and the “Primavera” (there were no photos allowed, so these are poor quality).

Bottcelli's Primavera

 

Botticelli's Venus

One of the next rooms had three of Leonardo’s, and when I attempted to take a picture of the Adoration of the Magi, I got yelled at, so there are no more pictures from the Uffizi. However, the Da Vincis were great to see, there were also some Raphaels, Caravaggios, a Michelangelo mandorla, Titian’s “Venus,” and some Rubens, among hundreds other artists.

From there, we went back to the Duomo so that we could go in and up to the top. The inside was nice (it’s hard going into any churches after St. Peter’s), Don and Duch decided to go up to the top of the dome for €8, while I stayed courtside. Don got some great video from the top which I’ll post when we’re back – this internet connection is awful.

Inside Il Duomo

After seeing the inside of the Duomo, we rolled down the road towards Michelangelo’s school, the Galleria dell’Accademia which contains the original plaster mold of the “Rape of the Sabines,” the mold for a sculpture copy of Titian’s painting “Venus of Urbino,” a few plaster molds of Michelangelo’s “Slaves” (intended for his own funeral monument) and the larger-than-life “David.” Photos here were also illegal, but I got a few off without anyone noticing.

Michelangelo's David

We began our march back in search of food, and went across the Ponte Vecchio while it was packed, the gold shops shining brightly.

Ponte Vecchio at night

After a quick bite and a look at some of the coolest gelato we had seen (below), we headed to the train station, bought our tickets, and were back to Rome…

Sweet gelato

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