Florence
Espresso
Another fine recommendation from La Marzocco, the Titan itself.
Gran Caffè San Marco, Via Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour 132
Today is Sunday, which means tourists simmer down. For one, churches hold Mass in the morning, so unless you are pious, you have to wait until the afternoon to see the Renaissance Masters in situ. Our plan was to go to the Accademia Galleria, home of Michaelangelo’s David.
We blew past the lines with our extra-special Firenze Cards and took in the Gothic and Renaissance paintings and frescoes collected from the various churches and ducal families in Florence. We learned that the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries added to their collections when Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, confiscated art from convents and monasteries in the mid-18th century. As a result, you see formidable works from Renaissance masters that were meant to be shown and appreciated in the context of the many churches and basilicas in Florence. Interestingly, many of the works that depicted female martyrs and the Holy Virgin came from the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, the oldest running hospital in Florence and originally for women.
Unlike the Uffizi, the Accademia is much smaller and far better curated. Maybe it was a Sunday, but the crowd was much more tolerable so we left the museum feeling rather calm. Just down the street was another cafe, recommended by La Marzocco: Gran Caffè San Marco, which is apparently one of the oldest cafes in the city and a proud user of the Linea PB. We had our espresso at the counter, like real pros.
Then, more museums! Bargello Museum to get our fill of Donatello (this museum got a 1/4 on the “Ninja Turtle Test”). Then, we just went down the street to see where Dante was born at Dante’s House. This museum was pretty meh. And, it involved a lot of reading (no surprise there, but honestly, people).
We went to All’Antico Vinaio Osteria to get in on this sandwich craze (the lines were down the street), but who are we kidding: we’re not waiting in line in 88 degree weather. #pinkyup We saw that they had a sit-down spot and put our names on the list. Ditta Artigianale was just down the street, so we went in for a little appetizer to tide us over during the 45-60 minute wait. And thank goodness the wait was worth it! We got a piccolo platter of #meatsandcheeses and a few glasses of red wine. We talked about art and patronage and innovation, considering we had just seen a smattering of art, impossible without the funding and creative permission afforded by very rich patrons like the Medici. Somehow, the conversation was very topical and we went back into our little Tech Bubble - but just for a minute.
We came back to the hotel to write. If you’ve been watching the site closely, you’ll have noticed that we haven’t been highly diligent about writing since we’ve arrived in Italy. We blame the late nights and the alcohol…
For dinner, we didn’t have much energy to go beyond 325 feet from our hotel. We popped into a well-attended pizza restaurant and kept it pretty low-key. The France v. Iceland game was afoot when we got back to the hotel. It was 4-0 France, just 40 minutes into the game. 😿
Chianti
Can’t remember the year or vineyard. 🤗
All’Antico Vinaio Osteria, Via dei Neri 74/R
