This week we started to look at our list of museums, galleries, and historic sites we’d like to visit while here in Florence. Many of them are being pushed back into October when the weather will be cooler. This week has been in the low 90's, but anxious to start “seeing”, rather than “eating”, Florence, we decided to visit the Museo Galileo on Monday and the Palazzo Vecchio on Wednesday.
The Museo Galileo, known until recently as the Museo di Storia della Scienza, is located along the Arno and houses scientific tools used by Pisa-born scientist, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). These include rooms devoted to astronomical, mathematical, and navigational instruments with rooms dedicated to Galileo’s telescopes, maps, globes, and astrolabes. They even have relics, including Galileo’s middle finger, which we can assume he was flipping to the Pope. Admission is €8.
The museum’s website is amazing. You can check it out at http://catalogue.museogalileo.it. It has illustrations and videos of many of the museum’s scientific instruments and describes how they were used. The craftsmanship combines science with artistic beauty.
Palazzo Vecchio, the “Old Palace”, is located in Piazza della Signoria. Completed in 1332 is has undergone many expansions and improvements in its time. Originally designed as the seat of the Florentine government, it was eventually taken by Duke Cosimo I in 1540. This wealthy Medici Duke redecorated with the assistance of Leonardo and Michelangelo, but it was Vasari who undertook the enormous frescos and architectural improvements to the palazzo. When the Medici family outgrew this palace, they relocated to Palazzo Pitti (another stop on our list of places to see in Florence) and the former palace was simply referred to as the Old Palace, or Palazzo Vecchio.
In addition to general admission (€6) you could also signed up, in advance, for tours. We chose three: Renaissance Fresco Painting, The Medieval Palace Disclosed, and Tour of the Secret Passages – all for another €2 total. These additional tours and workshops were limited to groups of 12 or fewer and had to be signed up for a day in advance, so planning is key. We enjoyed all 3 tours and learned a bit along the way.
During the fresco workshop we learned that the “paint” was actually ground stones suspended in water which was applied to the wet layer of water, sand, and lime. Once set, the colors made from stone would not fade like traditional paint does on a canvas. It stood the test of time in much the same way a mosaic does.
We also learned that blue was the most expensive color to create, due to the rarity of the lapis stones which produced the best blue color. These were gotten from Iraq, or from Italy’s perspective, the “other side of the sea”, translated as altro mare. This is the orgin of the color “ultramarine”.
We also learned that the style of fresco seen adorning many of the Palazzo Vecchio ceilings were known as grottesco, or “grotesque”. What is this origin? Well, caves were discovered in Rome during the 1500s whose ceilings were covered in this style of fresco. These were not caves, but the unfinished palace complex of Emperior Nero started in 64AD. Because the complex was accessed from above they called them cave frescos. The Latin term for a small cave is “grotto”, so these frescos were made in the grottesco style. Images of floating heads, bodies without arms, winged creatures, etc. are featured in these frescos, so the grottesco style eventually became synonymous with anything shockingly ugly, or grotesque.
In addition to general admission (€6) you could also signed up, in advance, for tours. We chose three: Renaissance Fresco Painting, The Medieval Palace Disclosed, and Tour of the Secret Passages – all for another €2 total. These additional tours and workshops were limited to groups of 12 or fewer and had to be signed up for a day in advance, so planning is key. We enjoyed all 3 tours and learned a bit along the way.
During the fresco workshop we learned that the “paint” was actually ground stones suspended in water which was applied to the wet layer of water, sand, and lime. Once set, the colors made from stone would not fade like traditional paint does on a canvas. It stood the test of time in much the same way a mosaic does.
We also learned that blue was the most expensive color to create, due to the rarity of the lapis stones which produced the best blue color. These were gotten from Iraq, or from Italy’s perspective, the “other side of the sea”, translated as altro mare. This is the orgin of the color “ultramarine”.
We also learned that the style of fresco seen adorning many of the Palazzo Vecchio ceilings were known as grottesco, or “grotesque”. What is this origin? Well, caves were discovered in Rome during the 1500s whose ceilings were covered in this style of fresco. These were not caves, but the unfinished palace complex of Emperior Nero started in 64AD. Because the complex was accessed from above they called them cave frescos. The Latin term for a small cave is “grotto”, so these frescos were made in the grottesco style. Images of floating heads, bodies without arms, winged creatures, etc. are featured in these frescos, so the grottesco style eventually became synonymous with anything shockingly ugly, or grotesque.
The centerpiece of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Salone dei Cinqucento, or Salon of the 500. This enormous room, 170’ x 75’, was used to seat the Grand Counsil and its 500 members. In addition to the frescoed walls, the ceiling has 39 painted panels and is decorated with 1.5 tons of gold leaf. Fir wood supports above the ceiling support the massive roof and weight of the ceiling itself. Our tours included peeks above the ceiling, at the top of the tower, and in between the walls in its secret passages.
You can get a feel for life during the time of the Medici through the images and movies on their website at http://www.palazzovecchio-familymuseum.it.