Trips

            The second of our two Italy trips began in Rome, but just for gathering the group. From Rome we went to Florence for three glorious days of ferreting out all the famous Renaissance art work that we could find - and we found a lot! By taking the Tuscany and Amalfi Coast trip first, we were able to free up those three days for adventures on our own because we had already done the things the rest of the group were doing. As Gale said, it was just like a big scavenger hunt for famous buildings, paintings, and sculpture.

Itinerary: Tuscany, the Alps, and Riviera

Trip Map

Wed., 7/15/15 – Rome to Orvieto to Florence
            We left Rome at 8:30 and headed to Florence with a stop, again, in Orvieto.  This bus drove up to the old barracks parking lot so we did not take the funicular.  We took a brief time to look at the city garden/park and looked down on the Umbrian countryside from an overlook.
            Eventually, we got on the smaller public bus that took us further up to the old city.  Marge and I went directly to the dark green and white striped Orvieto Cathedral or Duomo to look at the artworks inside, especially the Signorelli's in the San Brixio Chapel.  The front façade is now covered with scaffolding so we were glad we had seen and photographed it two weeks ago.

Walls of Orvieto	Umbrian countryside
Walls and gate and narrow access road	Orvieto Cathedral (Duomo) now covered with scaffolding
Orvieto Cathedral - side view	Orvieto Cathedral - trussed ceiling
The chapel on the right of the main altar, the San Brixio Chapel, has four large Signorelli frescoes: Sermon and Deeds of the Anti-Christ, and the Elect, the Damned Consigned to Hell, and the Resurrection of the Flesh.  Seeing these in situ makes them even more impressive.  There are several other frescoes, but Signorelli’s are very powerful.  The front of the church has a sculpture by Scalza.  It is a Pieta with Joseph as well as Mary and Mary Magdalene.	Signorelli - Damned Consigned to Hell
Signorelli - Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist	Signorelli - The Elect
Cathedral of Orvieto	Cathedral of Orvieto
Pieta by Scalza	Cathedral of Orvieto
Next, we walked down to see the Church of San Giovenale that is an excellent example of an early Romanesque basilica that uses simple triangulated wooden roof trusses. Umbrian countryside	Church of San Giovenale
Church of San Giovenale	Church of San Giovenale
We arrived in Florence and checked into the Londra Hotel on Via Jacopo do Diacceto near the train station.  We have a room in the annex that is large but cut up in an unusual design.              At 6:00 we went to a second lecture on the Art of the Renaissance.  The woman was from California and now living in Florence and she set the stage for our group to go see Michelangelo’s David tomorrow.!             We had an included dinner at the hotel restaurant.  The food was okay.  The main course was turkey and gravy and spinach. Thurs., 7/16/15 – Florence             We headed out on our own today to find the art pieces we had been studying in preparation for this trip.  Marge has a master plan and list to check off.  I decided today has been like a scavenger hunt locating precious art works.            After a lengthy stroll, we arrived at the Bargello museum and bought our two Firenze Cards that give us admission and priority entry to most museums and churches as well as free rides on public transit.  In Rome everything was free.  In Florence everything costs and most have long lines even if people have reservations for entry at a specific time.              We eventually got it all figured out and entered the Bargello.  We found the following art:                         Brunelleschi               Sacrifice of Isaac                         Della Robbia              Tondo with Madonna and Child                         Donatello                   David                                                          Saint George                                                          Saint George Slaying the Dragon                         Ghiberti                     Sacrifice of Isaac  (Sculpture)                         Michelangelo             Bacchus                         Verrocchio                 David                                                         Woman with Flowers
Musical instruments	Donatello Room
Donatello - Saint George - from Orsanmichele	Donatello ’s David
Donatello ’s David	Verrocchio’s David
della Robbia - Tondo with Madonna and Child between two Angels	Sacrifice of Isaac - Ghiberti (left) & Brunelleschi
Michelangelo’s Bacchus	Michelangelo’s Bacchus
Wall of the courtyard	Next we walked to Casa Buonarroti, the House of Michelangelo and saw his Madonna della Scala (Madonna of the Steps), his Battaglia dei Centauri, and Bronzino’s Noli Me Tangere.
Casa Buonarroti	Michelangelo’s Battaglia dei Centauri
Michelangelo’s Madonna of the Steps	In Santa Croce is the Pazzi Chapel with architecture by Brunelleschi, and the tombs of many famous people: Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo, Ghiberti, Rossini, and many others.
Santa Croce	Santa Croce
Santa Croce - Bell Tower	Santa Croce
Santa Croce - Tomb of Machiavelli	Santa Croce - Tomb of Dante
Santa Croce - Tomb of Galileo	Santa Croce - Tomb of Michelangelo by Vasari
Santa Croce - Tomb of Rossini	Pazzi Chapel by Brunelleschi
Gaddi’s Last Supper & Tree of Life

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