A day spent with the Medici

I've learned my lesson; get up early, have a minimum of two, preferably three coffees, and then begin touring. Stop, refresh with a light lunch at the apartment (salame, cheese, tomatoes, and bread washed down with ice cold Spumante) and a rest. Then off to a late afternoon or early evening walk. A late dinner after 8 when the temp has cooled to a reasonable degree. Ah! Multo bene! Today I began quite early. The goal, at least initially; The David. It was easily as amazing as I had expected, not least because the stone somehow simultaneously captured an expression of apprehension and determination on young David's face, depending on the direction from which he is viewed. Truly a remarkable piece. You can imagine his emotions, clutching his rock, facing the giant. The stone truly lives. Also housed in the museum was a Picasso, a portrait of one his son's, I think. It was very sweet and conveyed great affection. If I'm not mistaken, though he had several mistresses, Picasso was also a very devoted father. It shows clearly in this early portrait. Over one block and down just two is the Medici-Ricardi residence, so called because it was sold at one point by the Medici to the Ricardi's. What a find! This is definitely a must see, off the beaten path so it's not swamped by tourists as many of the sights are, and has some of the most beautiful frescos, art, and architecture I've seen yet. The walled garden with the enormous gates, which was once the front entrance, was magnificent, and there was virtually no one there. You could see the restoration work being done in small side rooms; people pouring over old manuscripts, tools and papers littering the work space. It was easy to imagine the de Medici's, in all their finery, strolling through the magnificent high ceilinged galleries, entertaining their guests and dignitaries in the great halls! After the Medici residence, I walked the block or two over to visit the Medici church which now houses numerous fabulously ornate reliquary and is also home to several beautiful Michaelangelo statues, as well as the remains of Laurenzo and Guillermo; the brothers who were so famous for making Florence their home. The Pazzi conspiracy was an attempt to kill them both, but was only partially successful. Young Guillermo, lost his life that day, but Laurenzo escaped, and continued to rule Florence, maintaining his political power throughout the Italian renaissance until his death in 1492. With Laurenzo's death, the center of the Italian renaissance shifted to Rome, where it remained till around the end of the 17th century. After an afternoon rest, I opted for a stroll down the Ponte Veccio and surrounding area to shop. Not feeling up to a big dinner, I headed back to the apartment and watched the big game ( Italy versus Germany) while having my standard cheese, salame, tomatoes, olives and bread. Of course, listening to the live broadcast in Italian wasn't easy to understand, but it gave me a chance to work on my limited vocabulary. And no one could mistake the 2-1 score! Vive Italia!