Are reservations necessary for a Saturday afternoon visit ? Thank you.

Not at all. It's a small museum and most people don't know about it or don't go. Tours don't go. I've been to it many times and even in the summer at the height of the season when the lines to enter the Duomo were around the corner and there were very few people in the Museo dell'Opera. It's a wonderful museum. My favorite, though, is the Bargello. Don't miss that.

In Florence?

Sorry, Ellenem, yes, in Florence.

Thank you, Ann. Your response was most helpful.

You're welcome. Florence is one of my favorite cities.

Do you need reservations for the Bargello?

No, you don't.

The only two museums in Florence you need reservations in are the Accademia and Uffizi. All the other ones are fine.

For anyone who hasn't visited the Museo del'Opera del Duomo, it is a wonderful museum. There are incredible works including a Michaelangelo Pieta and a Donatello Maria Maddelena. And the original panels from the Ghiberti doors are also there. I also love the Bargello and prefer both of these to the Uffizi. (Although the Uffizi is a must see).

Your recommendations were most helpful. We had a wonderful visit to the Museo del'Opera del Duomo. The entrance fee of 6 Euros was one of the best bargains in Florence. Very comfortable museum, well organized and uncrowded. The only unpleasant part of the experience was seeing a father grab part of the Michaelangelo Pieta while posing for a photo taken by his very young son.

Complete an total ignorance. People like that give visitors a bad name.

Huh? Ann1 - what are you referring to?

Oh cmcfong, that is so terrible. Sort of ruins it, doesn't it? The gesture is bad enough and he's passing it on to his son.

Happy you enjoyed the museum, though.

Just wondering if you had any reaction to the Donatello Maria Maddelena? The Museo may have been one of the last museums we visited, so after see so many images of various Biblical characters in paintings, frescos and sculpture, viewing Donatello's Maria Maddelena was a total shock.

For those who are unfamiliar with this piece,
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ddalena_02.JPG

Different, isn't it?

Adrienne, I believe Ann was reacting to my story about the man who grabbed the statue. It was very shocking to me.

AlessandraZoe, when I was in my late teens I went to Florence with a friend. While I enjoyed myself, I was made aware I was completely ignorant of Italian Renaissance art...so my senior year of college I took a course. The instructor loved Donatello and he showed many photos of the Maria Maddelena. Even with that preparation, she still had the power to shock. She is so raw and compelling. Her eyes are incredibly expressive. Not another visitor was there (my DH got sidetracked on the exhibits on the construction) so I had her all to myself. I think that is the wonder of this particular museum, you really do have a chance to fully appreciate the work.

Interesting story, CMCFong. Thanks for bringing back a powerful memory for me along with it!

AlessandraZoe, have you had the opprotunity to see St John The Baptist in The Frari in Venice?
Scoll down on the following page to see a picture.
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/art/early-renaissance-2.asp

Yes, I was reacting to the story about the man. I should have " " it.

cmcfong: I knew you would love the museum. Between David in the Accademia, the many works in the Museo dell'Opera and the Bargello.....those some of the reasons I love Florence so much and can't understand when people say they don't like it. You have to absorb it and all of it's incredible works to love it.

Margaretlb--How kind of you to mention this work. Actually, my youngest and I did get to see it, but just this past August. We agreed it was wonderful to have had the foundation of having seen Maria Maddelena.

And Ann1--You are SO right. CMFONG touched on this, but I truly felt my art education, and that of my children, began in Florence. Although I was artistically inclined in my youth, and although I was lucky in that my kids always enjoyed museums, I really wasn't educated in any depth in art history.

However, I made the kids do a lot of pre-research along with me before we went to Florence years and years ago (I had them read kiddy biographies of artists and watch Sister Wendy tapes, etc), and it was just so wonderful to know and to appreciate what we were seeing. My youngest just loved coming back to the hotel at day's end and making checklists in some of my art books of the paintings she had seen that day.

You may imagine my delight when my youngest called me mid-winter this past year and said, "I know I'm majoring in Finance, but would you mind if I 'wasted' a few credits taking Art History?"

God Bless Her.

Alessandra, it is funny. I had to wait till my senior year as I was majoring in Political Science and History to take the Italian Renaissance art class, but it made a huge impression on me. It is the only textbook I still have from undergrad.

Ann, you were so right. I am very grateful for the good advice!

AlesandraZoe: We always brought our daughter up in museums, with art and theater. She is also very creative and artistic but now has her MBA but the art is still there. In her last year of her MBA two professors took the MBA class all over Europe. One professor was a business professor and the other an art professor. While they were wined and dined and taught about business in Europe, they also studied art. At the end papers had to be turned in for both. What an incredible trip and education for those students.

cmcfong: Every college student should do what you did. So many take filler nonsense courses just to get credits.