Florence - Michelangelo's David

Our tour group was split into two with a new guide joining and taking away half the group in order to enter the Academia Gallery. We stayed with the original guide.

Since we had booked the tour through the cruise line, our tickets for entry were already purchased as part of the tour with a designated time. 

 The line for those who did not yet have tickets was immense and pretty much unmoving - if you want to go in, plan ahead and be sure to have tickets ready before you get there or book a tour that arranges it ahead of time.

Some security and bag check to get in - even since a nutbar attacked the statue with a hammer, they've been rather careful about what you bring into the building.

After the main entrance you enter into smaller rooms filled with amazing art:

 

You then turn a corner and there it is, right in front of you in a room all to itself:

 Michelangelo's David inspires awe when you see it like that in person.  Simply breathtaking for a moment.  

Hard to explain why, but the masterpiece seemed to have that effect on everyone who entered the room and first saw it.

 

A true masterpiece in marble, 17 feet tall, completed in 1504 and perhaps the finest work of Renaissance sculpture. Placed on a pedestal it towers above the visitors.

After seeing David, you can see many unfinished sculptures created by Michelangelo on display:

 

There's also a plethora of amazing Renaissance art to view, most, if not all, with religious themes.  But, it is David that is the main attraction of the Academie and well worthy of being seen in person as one of the greatest works of art. 

Certainly this was a highlight of the trip and truly awe-inspiring.

We then got some free time to explore Florence and then boarded the tour bus and headed to Pisa.

Florence - Statues And The Ponte Vecchio

As we walked along, we passed along an alley at the Galleria Degli Uffizi which lined with statues of the great men and artists of Italy and Florence:

Of course, Cosimo was there:

 As was Macchiavelli:

Amerigo Vespucci:

Leonardo da Vinci

Donatello:

Galileo:

And many more.  All of the Ninja Turtles were well represented.

We then got to see and admire the Ponte Vecchio:

First built in Roman times, it was rebuilt on multiple occasions with the present bridge dating to a rebuild in 1345. Then off to the Academy.

Florence - The Piazza Della Signoria

So the ship docked at Livorno and we headed to a bus for an excursion to Florence and Pisa.  Our guide was from Livorno, and was quite funny and informative. 

First we headed to Florence.  

 The countryside on the way is rather gorgeous.

Florence in August is pretty darn hot, and we were walking around what became crowded streets as the day went on.  We walked to the main square, the Piazza della Signoria, which is rather impressive. First stop was a cafe to get a real Italian espresso to caffeinate and get the energy up for a long day of walking in the sun.

A statue of Dante Alighieri towers over the square and is rather prominent, and it later became the group's rally point after free time was over:

Yes, he is indeed glowering at the people in the square:

It turns out Dante had a rather rocky relationship with Florence and he continues to glower upon the city that did him dirty.  

After all,  being exiled from the city, with your assets being seized, and having a death sentence placed upon you should you ever return, can make you a little less than nostalgic about your hometown. 

Lots and lots of other statues are around the square.  This includes the great bronze statue of  Cosimo de' Medici.

Interestingly, while they are many other statutes in the square of mythical figures, many of them resemble Cosimo de' Medici. The resemblance is, as you might expect, deliberate.

Here's Cosimo as Neptune: 

Here's Cosimo as Perseus with the head of the slain Medusa:

You can play "Where's Cosimo?" all around the square.

There's also a copy of Michelangelo's David in the spot where it originally stood, before the original was moved indoors to the Academy of Florence to better protect it.

Then we left the square to head towards the Academy, but there were many other sights to see along the way.