Italy - The Red Coats are here! 2025-06-06

 Well, really just Dave and Kim! This was the first 'in person' meeting and certainly won't be the last.

Uffizi

A visit to the Gallerie degli Uffizi is a must-do if you are visiting Firenze. We discovered that a family pass (which includes the Boboli Gardens and Pitti Palace as well) would cost less than two visits to the Ufizzi, so we promptly took advantage of that. Normally crowded with wall-to-wall people, we found visiting when they first open the doors gave us relative quiet and space for at least a couple of hours.

After years of work on the ground floor remodeling the entrance experience to better manage crowds and traffic flow, several new galleries were opened up to present more 16th and 17th century art.

One of the smaller galleries was devoted to erotic art and sculpture. Most interesting.

One must peruse the other galleries!

Stacey was on the hunt for this one - 

This is the reward for arriving early! Empty corridors and galleries.

There's an outdoor patio on the 2nd floor where you can soak up some sun and breathe some fresh air

Stacey is found of Caravaggio

They are cleaning and restoring a back area and it's interesting to see 

The next corridor led to some intersting art

In December of last year, the Vasari Corridor was re-opened after eight years of renovations. The corridor linked the Pitti Palace, home of the Medici's to the Uffizi which, at the time, served as the administrative offices for the City. The corridor enabled the Medici to travel from their palace to the Uffizi without engaging with the "unwashed masses" below. There's currently no art on the walls. The views from the windows are exquisite. 

Because the Medici didn't want to mix with 'the commons' they had an exclusive box seat to the Church of Santa Felicita that they could access through the corridor.

After the tour, it lets you out at Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens where you can either procure tickets and see more unique items or follow the exit signs and grab some lunch.  We choose the latter.

Chiesa San Lorenzo's courtyard and view of the bell tower

So today was the last day of school for these hooligans enjoying each other and their unburdened - for the most part - lives. Brought smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts.

The immersive Matisse was replaced with immersive Da Vinci, but it was going to open after we left for Trieste.

The Duomo at night

Street Art