Submitted by Rachel Zucker on the 2016 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Philosophy…
As yesterday was our last full day in Florence, we were a very busy bunch. It was also a free day, so we compiled a list of all of the sites we had not seen that we wanted to visit. We started the day at Santa Croce, a beautiful basilica where so many famous people are buried. As we toured the church, we were standing by the graves of Galileo, Machiavelli and Michelangelo. The churches we’ve seen in Florence have been much different from those in Rome. While they both have elaborately beautiful facades, the Florentine churches have much plainer walls insides, with most of them white washed except for the occasional marble plaque or painting. This was one of the first things I noticed when we stepped into Santa Croce. After our tour of the church , we went to visit a leather school that was actually attached to the back of the church. Monks trained these workers in the art of leather in the basement and the result was beautiful products that filled the first floor. We were able to see some employees actually working on bags and belts as there were workshop stalls lining the hallway of the first floor. It was fascinating to see the first steps of a final product that was displayed next to them. Needless to say, quite a few purchases were made here.
Since it was our last day, we also visited a few museums that hadn’t been on our group itinerary. The DaVinci museum was incredible, I had no idea how much he truly contributed to society. Aside from his amazing paintings, he had a plethora of genius inventions and they were all on display at this museum. We could see his sketches, prototypes and final products, and the best part was that it was an interactive museum and we could tinker with his inventions.
We also visited the Gucci museum. I never knew how major an impact Gucci had on Italian society and fashion worldwide until yesterday. It was really interesting to read about his story and how he left his mark on our culture and continues to do so.
Of course this day would not be complete without dessert. We stopped at Magnum and ate custom made ice cream bars drizzled with milk and dark chocolate, rose petals, cookie crumbs and candy. It was heavenly. Florence has been my favorite city so far, but I’m excited to see what Milan has in store!