Air, Landier, and Sea

Today we had another early start to the day. Once again, we were scheduled to meet our tour guide at 8:45, so we thought it best to meet at 8:30.

We met Christina, who was our same wonderful guide from the Academy Museum yesterday. She not only was very interesting and knowledgeable, she took much better pictures than our first guide (bless her heart).

The Uffizi Museum was commissioned by Cosimo I who was the first Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. Not to be confused with Cosimo the Elder who is the main character in the first season of Medici and the one who commissioned the building of the Duomo.

Here’s what we learned at the Uffizi:

• Cosimo I and his son Francesco were so interested in alchemy that they wanted a room to reflect the four elements. The alchemist room represents land (the floor), air(the sculpted swirls on the wall), fire (red velvet walls) and sea (actual seashells on the domed ceiling).

• Sandro Botticelli has some of the most striking renaissance paintings (Spring and The Birth of Venus)

• This museum was originally the Medici’s personal museum that they used to entertain their guests
• Cosimo I commissioned an artist to paint the faces of all the celebrities of the time done to hang on the wall. He took this idea from a friend who had done the same thing in his palace. Bryce considers this the original People Magazine.

After the Uffizi we decided it was time for more caffe latte freddo and then spent the day enjoying walking around the city and looking in local shops.

Another fun moment for us was getting to watch a parade and flag demonstration last night as we were on our way to dinner.