Art, Science, Balance

CHI's theme for 2008 was "Art, Science, Balance". To balance the art we'd already seen (and had yet to see), I wanted to find some of the more scientific exhibits after visiting the Galleria dell Accademia. "The Academy" is where Michelangelo's David stands in all his glory. (The one in the Piazza della Signoria outside the Ufizzi is a copy.) And indeed this statue is quite impressive. The Academy also houses Michelangelo's four sculptures of captives, unfinished works of art, as well as numerous works in plaster in the Sala dell Ottocento (this hall included several sculptures commissioned by Poles who'd moved to Florence, as far as I remember what was written on the placards). Yet another hall featured the Medici's musical instruments including various violins, basses, flutes and things resembling early clarinets.

After the Academy we went to the Museo di Storia Naturale, the Natural History Museum, which was pretty much right next door to the Academy, just up the road on Via G. La Pira, extending Via Ricasoli to the north. The Natural History Museum included the Orto Botanico where Corey looked at Florence's flora while I rested on a bench. We then saw glimpses of Florence's fauna in the Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia housed within the Universita di Firenze. Above you see skeletons of prehistoric beasts as well as Ursus Spelaeus, a bear native to Tuscany.

To balance art and natural history I also wanted to see something of science, having read that the Musei Scientifici housed various physics experiments. Unfortunately we never did find these; I think they were either inaccessible at the time or maybe open only during the summer. However, I think that my city map and/or the guide I read confused the issue somewhat by stating that all these things would be found at the Musei Scientifici. In reality, this entry on my map really pointed to the natural history showpieces I described above. It seemed that maybe we'd miss out on the science. Fortunately, when we asked about this, the fellow at the natural history museum exclaimed "Ah, Galileo!" and told us to go down to the Museo di Storia Scienza which happened to be next door to the Ufizzi. Indeed, this is where we found Galileo Galilei and his telescopes, among other items mainly related to astronomy, or perhaps today more likely to be associated with astrophysics.

I think Corey was a bit disappointed in Galileo's telescopes, thinking that they'd be these massive things that are more common today. Their size and use is suggested in the above sketching depicting the use of the helioscope (a device incorporating a telescope used to study the sun). Overall I think we agreed that these exhibits, like CHI's theme, rounded out our sightseeing experience rather nicely. To top it all off, on the way down Via Ricasoli to the science museum I happened to find a leather jacket I liked at Gabi Leather Works. They're custom tailoring it for me to take in the sleeves and to put in an additional pocket. I hope to take delivery within a week or two. It should make a stylish reminder of our trip where we managed to balance art and science along with gastronomy and shopping. We ended Friday night by returning to the restaurant we visited first: Giannino in San Florenzo, on Borgo San Lorezno, just up from the Duomo towards our hotel. This ended up being our favorite restaurant with good food and good service. We were treated to after-dinner drinks of Limoncello for Corey and Vino Santo for me (a very tasty sweet dessert wine). An excellent way to end the day and week in Italy. Arrivederci Florence!