Last week's Gallery Talks Trip to Florence was wonderful! We thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the unforgettable beauty of this tiny city where the flowering of a new European art took place in the 14th & 15th centuries. Florence is an architectural and artistic unity, a complete expression of the spirit of the Renaissance, with its wealth of architecture, monuments, paintings and sculptures created in the space of 200 years. It is truly astonishing that so many figures of genius came from Florence during the Renaissance period, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo and Michelangelo.
During our three day visit, we visited Masaccio’s ground-breaking frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, admired Fra Angelico’s brilliant, jewel-like decorations of the peaceful San Marco Monastery, wondered at the innovative engineering of Brunelleschi’s Dome and absorbed the calming atmosphere of his stunningly beautiful churches at San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito. Of course no visit to Florence is complete without visiting the Uffizi Art Gallery and there we were overwhelmed by the consummate beauty of Botticelli’s philosophical and sophisticated paintings, the huge altarpieces created by Ciambue and Giotto with technical mastery designed to embellish churches and inspire devotion, Leonardo’s supreme paintings and the remarkably realistic portraits of the Medici family by Bronzino. We studied the superb collection of Renaissance sculpture, by artists such as Donatello and Michelangelo, at the Bargello Museum and very much appreciated the palace’s Gothic architecture and courtyard.
Our hotel was perfectly situated overlooking the River Arno (yes, some of us had a 'Room with a View') within walking distance to most of our destinations with very helpful staff and a good breakfast. We sampled wonderful Tuscan cuisine in beautiful roof-top cafes, traditional restaurants and in piazzas where we soaked up the Florentine atmosphere and watched the world go by!
Upcoming Gallery Talks Trips to Florence:
- Monday 15th October – Thursday 18th October 2018
- Saturday 18th March – Tuesday 19th March 2019
Please send me a message me via the Contact form on the Gallery Talks website if you would like further information.
