We did a free walking tour starting at 10am. The topic was the Medici Family in Florence. Our guide was fantastic and made the history come alive for us. We started out learning that the family was part of the common folk, not the nobility. They were loved by the people and supported by the church. Initially, the Medici family were wool merchants but then rose to power as they transitioned to banking. We visited the Palazzo de Medici, which was a modest palace built for the family (they refused something grandiose because they did not want to cause jealousy among the powerful families) There were benches surrounding the Palazzo where the Medici's would keep their guests waiting which would show off the popularity of the Medici (long lines) in addition to the importance of their time. We then visited the Cathedral de Santa Maria de Fiore, which is where one of the Medici brothers was murdered. One of the noble families had had enough of the Medici and plotted to kill the brothers, Lorenzo and Giuliano to strip the family of their influence once and for all. Initially, the Pazzi family had hired men to attack the brothers during a royal banquet, however, Giuliano was not feeling well so did not attend. The Pazzi then decided they would murder the Medici during the Sunday church service. However, the initial men hired to carry out the killings refused, because they did not want to commit such a crime in the house of god. Never fear, the Pazzi carried out the plan on their own and managed to kill Giuliano and wound Lorenzo. After having stabbed them both in the church the stabber ran through Florence yelling, "freedom, freedom" (meaning freedom from the common blood of the Medici's finding favor with the people and therefore having power that only the nobles believed they had access to) However, because the Medici were loved by the people an angry mob assembled outside the church yelling "balls, balls", in support of their family (a crest with balls was given to the Medici as a thank you gift from the French government. It was hung on all buildings in Florence where the Medici's handled business so it became a 'symbol' of the Medici) With the support of Florence, the men who plotted against the Medici family were hung in the main square for all to see. The noble family's crest was destroyed, their property was seized and they were exiled. The wholesomeness of the Medici started to deteriorate as they came into power officially when Cosimo was named Duke. He was a horrible tyrant who did not want to interact with the common folk so in just 5 months had a walkway built over the city for his personal use. As the line began to crumble, and the power to dwindle, the last remaining heir made one final gift to the city before her death. She signed a declaration stating that all of the Medici family art, property, etc must stay in Florence for people of the future generations to appreciate. This final act has helped to preserve the culture of Florence and to promote tourism.
After the tour we went to the San Spirito Church. This church is important because it is here that Michelangelo studied cadavers in order to help him create anatomically accurate sculptures and statues. He was grateful to the church for allowing him to study there (secretly) so he built a crucifix based off of a deceased young man that still hangs in the church today.
We grabbed lunch in the San Spirito neighborhood because our tour guide, Julia, told us it's the local side, not the touristy side, of the city.
After lunch some of us bussed and some of us walked to the Piazza Michelangelo for some incredibly beautiful views of the city. It was in the heat of the day and man were we feeling it! Not only are there great city views, but there is also a fake David statue for all to see.
Next we climbed the steps to a small monastery with a large and beautiful graveyard.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the drink spot there was barely enough room for 8 people to fit inside, much less at one single table, so we moved to a spot down the road. We enjoyed red and white wine and heard all about Colleen and Nick's time in Rome. We then went to Osteria del Ollio for dinner. Although the nighttime weather was gorgeous the outdoor dining area was surrounded by glass walls but no roof which kept the breeze out. The air was dead and hot. We ordered prosecco and wine to start however, when the waitress arrived she only brought 6 glasses. Candace and I were not served because in her words we were "babies" (you only have to be 16 to drink in Italy!) Everyone got a good laugh out of that one. We also came to find out that one of the waiters was from Albania so we exchanged pleasantries with him before leaving. No meal is complete without gelato so after our dinner we walked to the center to enjoy this delicious cold treat. Since our airbnb was not far we sent the boys to get wine and we met them back at our place for games and drinks before bed. It was so great to catch up with our friends for the night.
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