Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze and San Marco Museum

Today is a holiday (All Saints’ Day). Most workplaces are closed but almost all museums and restaurants (in centro) are open. We took the opportunity to visit the Accademia. Boy, did our Amici degli Uffizi cards pay off! We bypassed a huge line and walked right in and paid niente. (Okay we need to have a few more days like that to make back the cost of the card, but it was nice.) The Accademia was as nice as we remembered. Michelangelo’s David is still as powerful a sight as it was the first time. The museum has plenty of other things to see too. Last time we came in 1999, photos were still allowed; but unfortunately not anymore.

After the Accademia, we went to the San Marco Museum. (Free again because of the card.) It was a bit eerie for us. The rows of monk’s cells and the frescoes inside of them seemed odd. It was anything but contemplative for us, rather, it was more like a prison. I think the place got bad juju because of Savanarola who stayed at the convent until he was executed as depicted in this painting. He and his followers were the ones who carried out the Bonfire of Vanities.

The section of the museum on the illuminated manuscripts was more interesting to us.