It is a good plan to have a plan when on holiday. I have a plan for when the weather in S Europe cools down.
My trip will start in Trafalgar Square at the National Gallery to look at pictures by Jacopo Carucci, known as Pontormo, the Tuscan village where he was born in 1494. He was orphaned as a child and was sent to Florence as an apprentice to learn to paint. It was the next best thing to Eton (founded 1440). He lived with Leonardo da Vinci, then Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo and briefly Andrea del Sarto. The NG has six Pontormos and, it’s a disgrace, they only have two on display.
A direct flight to Florence takes 2 1/4 hours from Heathrow (BA) or Gatwick (Vueling). To digress, Vueling was founded as a low cost carrier in Barcelona in 2004 but now is part of IAG, owner of BA and Iberia. Florence is the place to see Pontormo’s work. Of course I will have to battle with the crowds at the Uffizi and the Accademia but maybe the churches that have his work will be less busy and more conducive to appreciation: The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, the Medici Chapel, San Michele Visdomini , Santa Felicita. If that’s not enough there are the Pitti and Corsini palazzos.
I doubt I will do a thorough job, not least because I will make time to go for lunch in Fiesole at a swanky restaurant with a view of the city from a terrace.
Two things of interest about Pontormo: none of his work has been stolen, so far; his patrons were the Medicis and he repaid their backing by doing two portraits.
From October 9, 2026, to February 7, 2027, the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome will host the first major solo exhibition ever dedicated to Jacopo da Pontormo in what is described as the inaugural large-scale monographic exhibition for the Florentine master.