Weekend in Florence

March 4-6, 2019

Firenze! ~ ten different views of the Duomo & more food ~

a dome inside another dome:

After Venice, I took a train to Florence. The next few days were pretty much a hunt for the best view of the city and Brunelleschi's famous double shell dome of the Florence Cathedral. My list of the best views are listed below with pictures for reference.

Best views:

Piazzale Michelangelo - hill on the south bank of the Arno River, best place to see the whole city and watch the sunset/sunrise)
View on Art - Rooftop restaurant/bar
Boboli Gardens

View on Art

Piazzale Michelangelo

Boboli Gardens

More free Museums in Europe?

It was an ideal week to go to Italy, because it was somehow free museum week! La Settimana dei Musei (Museum Week) was announced by Italy's Minister of Culture, Alerto Bonisolu, and opened many museums for free visits from March 5-10, including state museums, monuments, and archaeological sites. I didn't know about this special week until after we visited the Boboli Gardens and the Galleria dell'Academia to see Michelangelo's David.

Another cool exhibit I discovered in Florence was sadly not free but worth the 9 euro ticket. Van Gogh Alive was a multi-sensory immersive show created in the deconsecrated church of Santo Stefano al Ponte. Over 40 projectors created a visual story of Van Gogh and his work over every inch of the interior walls in the church. There was also a virtual reality station outside of the main room that placed people inside of Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles. I've never seen anything like this show and I was glad I discovered it on the last day of the trip. The exhibit is in Florence until April 12th, so go check it out!

Additional sites: I also saw Alberti's Santa Maria Novella, which is not a museum but still a beautiful building that I think people should see. I didn't get to go inside, but its scientific proportions make it kind of like the Vitruvian man of architecture.

Santa Maria Novella

David @ Galleria dell'Academia

Van Gogh Alive, The Starry Night

Van Gogh Alive, Café Terrace at Night

Food Recs:

(Based on places I went from recommendations)

Best Pasta: Osteria Santo Spirito's Cheese Gnocchi with Truffles. Probably the best thing I have had this whole semester.

Best Cannolis: Don Nino. They hand fill these cannolis in front of you and you can pick different flavors/toppings on each half. Tip - never trust a cannoli thats pre-made!

Best Gelato: Gelato dei Neri

Best Pizza: Gustapizza + ask them to make it in a shape of heart. I can never really tell the difference between pizza places but this place is actually the best.