Firenze II

On a bit of time crunch as i entered into the 2nd day of my florence trip simply because of the big one minute boo-boo at the Duomo. Cut short my Pisa visit to reach back Florence on an early afternoon to visit one of the famed domes of the world, The Duomo of Florence (aka Santa Maria del Fiore). The Duomo was indeed a piece of architetural excellence for even i had to bow to it the moment i stepped into its vicinity. This is especially so after i had thought that i would have been a bit exhausted from seeing so much cathedral and churches on the trip. It was a different feel from that of St Peter's Basillica or any other churches. It was not exactly the biggest of all structures but it stood out for its striking outline and beautiful symmetry. The entire building contrasted sharply against the clear blue sky and even when it was dark, it still stood there brilliantly.

Michaelangelo famously remarked when he left to work on the Sistine Chapel that he may have left to work for a bigger dome but not exactly a more beautiful one was true to his words literally, The Last Judgement on the ceiling does not in any way pale in comparison to the one that graced the walls of the Sistine Chapel. What the other has in blue, it was eqaully presented with white here. The wide canvas that was provided here allowed a more comprehensive and thus more insightful thought of the meaning behind this story in the Bible. It was the ideal capping off to the visit of the cathedral but there was still this slight pity that i couldn't view it from a clearer and nearer view point.

I believed much had already been said about the Uffizi and thus would not need be to talk more about it. What particularly upset me was the queueing to get into the museum. Yes, if there's anything bad that i had to say about Florence, it had to be the tourism and the extremely long queues. I had woken up early and went to the museum on a rainy day half an hour earlier but i still queued for an hour outside the museum. Honestly speaking, i can't remember queueing up that long for the Louvre or the Prado and even the Vatican. And it totally spoilt the experience of visiting the Uffizi for i had to rush through the last few galleys. But despite the rush, i must say that there was still a few exhibits which still impressed me, in particular all the busts and statues of those historical figures.

And that concluded my Florence trip. Sort of round up my view of Italy as what i had kept emphasising. Matched and satisfied my expectations but nothing exceptional to make it an outstanding trip...

City rating : 4 stars