We left Venice very early to make sure we do not miss our train again.
Florence was an intense delight. We saw David, the only stop we planned, and ended up adding on Ponte Vechhio as well as, of course, a Wine Window!
“Nor has there ever been seen a pose so fluent, or a gracefulness equal to this, or feet, hands and head so well related to each other with quality, skill and design”. With these words Giorgio Vasari attempts to define the reasons behind the marvel that the vision of David provokes in the observer. He continues by stating that the statue so far surpasses both in beauty and technique ancient and modern statuary that one needn’t bother seeing other works in sculpture.
At the end of 1501, Michelangelo obtained the permission of the Opera del Duomo to work a block of marble which had been abandoned in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Florence for the creation of the figure of the young hero, subsequently placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria.
It has always been a subject of debate among scholars whether David is represented before or after his victory over Goliath. His sling is also barely visible as though to emphasize how David owed his victory not to brutal force, but to his intellect and to his innocence. As soon as it was placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the statue became a symbol of liberty and of civic pride for the Florentine Republic. Surrounded by hostile enemies, the city identified itself with the young hero who, with the help of God, had defeated a much more powerful foe.
In 1873, Michelangelo’s statue was brought here to the Tribune of the Galleria, built expressly for it and, only in 1908, was it substituted in Piazza Signoria by the marble copy still there today. The bronze copy found in Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking Florence was done in 1866.
PS Another title reference!