May, 2018
Strolling around Florence
Only thing missing is the sun.
Ponte Vecchio.
This shop, Infinity, is the place to buy leather bags and belts in Florence. All made on site. I had a tour of the workshop. Astonishing what they can produce in this small 11th century building. Jane and her husband started this business 40 years ago. Thanks to Aaron for a fabulous tour.
Superb coffee in the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio.
And now for something completely different. Is there a hole in the building? A portal to an alternate universe?
Amazing light on Santa Croce as we headed out for dinner.
Renaissance Ring
Spectacular day! We went for a “short” hike in the hills around Florence from Pontassieve to Fiesole along the Renaissance Ring, a 172 km trail around Florence, along ancient roads and rocky trails through woods and fields, passing monasteries, castles and churches. We got a bit lost and doubled back, making it an all day affair. While trying to figure things out standing by one of those beautiful old villas that dot the countryside, a car pulled up to help. There is some discussion as to directions as the elderly couple in the car don’t quite agree on which way we should go (she was right, of course). They then invited us to see their Medici villa (built in the mid-1400s) which we were standing beside! So when the Medici’s want to go hunting, of course they build a villa… What a treat getting lost was! Stay tuned for photos of the villa once I figure out how to get them off the other camera.
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Pontassieve
First bit of business in Florence with my cousin involves taking advantage of the weekend when she’s not painting. Riding around the hills of Florence today with a stop for a bit of this and that…
A little Vespa trip through the hills
Stunning views from up here...not sure why we didn't just stay forever
Deep in the old part of the cellar.
Must cap the busy day with some gelato!
Ci vediamo presto, cara Firenze
It’s been a busy few days wrapping up an amazing time in Florence with my wonderful cousin. Lots of museums, the Pitti Palace, the Great Synagogue of Florence, the Duomo and its family of museums and monuments, even yoga (partly in Italian). Great food, great wine, such a great time!
The synagogue of Florence only took 12 years to build and opened in 1882.
Nobility gardens. Huge landscape in the middle of the city. Not a single weed!
Sunset over the Arno
Have you ever seen so many truffles on pasta? Heaven.
Amazing bike sharing system here. Mobike. You can reserve them like car sharing and leave them pretty much anywhere when you’re done. Scan the code with your phone and you’re off. Flip the lock when you’re done and it ends the rental. No vandalism: they are heavy, clunky bikes with no gears; and weird bike parts that don’t fit on any other bike. Super cheap, super convenient!
One of a million pictures of the quintessential Dome.
Names of the artists represented at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. This museum is full of original artwork from the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery. Largest collection of Florentine monumental artwork in the world.
Santa Croce in the distance, a beacon in white.
Peek-a-boo view of the stone mason's talents of a bygone era.
April, 2022
Frenetic Florence
We stayed in a lovely Airbnb, a few steps one way to the Piazza del Duomo and a few steps another way to the River Arno. We had a beautiful garden with overgrown plants and beautiful statues all to ourselves. Perfect for picnics and where Adam could flex with his background in his occasional meetings.
On arrival, the owner of our house suggested we head to San Miniato al Monte, a Basilica on one of the highest points in the city. Fabulous views and at 6:30 every evening, the monks from the adjoining monastery pop in to sing Gregorian Chants. Gregorian Chants! In an old Basilica overlooking the birthplace of the Renaissance! What could be a better welcome to Florence? Well, at 6pm they kicked everyone out who wasn’t there for the service. As consolation, Adam did not think my attempts at chanting would cut the mustard.
The grandiosity of the Florence Cathedral with its campanile, Brunelleschi’s dome and the baptistery will always take my breath away. Look up at these amazing structures and the tourists disappear and all you see and feel is the immense beauty and history that took place right there on that very same cobbled piazza. I know Netflix’s Medici the Magnificent used a lot of creative freedom but it really set the tone for the time and place.
We climbed Giotto’s Campanile, all 414 stairs of it. The Duomo from every vantage point is impressive!
Having not had enough self-propelled elevation, we climbed inside the Duomo. 473 more steps. The story of the Duomo is pretty interesting. When the Cathedral was built by Talenti, they were unable to put the dome on top because there was no common central point between all the sides. And it was huge. So it sat open and unfinished for many years. Brunelleschi came along and, from his extensive studies of the ancient architecture in Rome (notably the Pantheon) he claimed to have figured out how to do it. He was desperately paranoid about his ideas being stolen so he wouldn’t reveal how he would accomplish it but told the selection committee that they would just have to trust him (and there’s a story about him showing the committee how to make an egg stand on its end—smack it on a table to crush the bottom and the top stands on its own. I’m not sure how this relates to the fact that he essentially built a second inner dome (with a true centre) to support the outer dome, but I don’t profess to be an engineer or an architect. Oh, and by the way, neither was Brunelleschi. So trusting him was a pretty big leap of faith. The stairs run between the inner and outer domes.
Placing the bricks in a herringbone pattern is more structurally sound and helped keep the domes from falling down given the size, weight and the lack of a true centre.
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A bit of distance from the frescoes inside the dome…
And really, really close to the frescoes
So I’m wondering…all the domes have this whole heaven and hell damnation thing going, thanks to Dante. But why paint this way up high where none of the folk who should be inspired to toe the line can actually see what’s going on? Was their 114m distance vision really that good?
As a very young man, Donatello vied for the appreciation of Brunelleschi. One anecdote has it that he carved a crucifix out of wood and showed it to Brunelleschi, expecting him to be wowed. Brunelleschi told him that it looked as though he had placed a simple peasant on the cross, not the perfection of human that Jesus was. Donatello was crushed. Some time later, Brunelleschi invited Donatello over for lunch to discuss the work. They shopped together at the market and then Brunelleschi told Donatello to head over to his house with the groceries and he would meet him there. Donatello entered the house and came face to face with B’s recently carved wooden crucifix. Awestruck with the perfection of the piece, Donatello was once again put in his place and worked hard to kick his work up a few levels. Interesting how they opened the exhibit with who influenced Donatello while the body of the exhibit is how Donatello influenced others.
A few other treasures from the Palazzo Strozzi and the Bargello. I love this Madonna della Misericordia, protecting her people.
I don’t know who the artist was but I have to say, this is the first playful image I’ve ever seen of Madonna and Child.
Donatello brought a sense of humanity and emotion to art. This is so touching and you really feel the relationship that exists between all mothers and their children
Herod’s Feast was Donatello’s first Bronze relief, done for the Baptistery in Siena. What is really game-changing here is his use of perspective. Lucky Donatello: he got this commission because the local Siena artist who was engaged to do it didn’t complete in time so he was replaced.
All this art sure makes one hungry. The Mercato Centrale is an amazing feast for all the senses. This fellow at a deli shop put together an incredible selection for us. We ate the first round upstairs in the market. The leftovers made for another lunch the next day in our garden.
Lunch in the market.
A truffle display in the market. Wish I could just sneak around the other side of the counter and inhale!
Bistecca alla Fiorentina. This was a small one. The meat comes from an ancient Roman breed of cattle called Chianina. It is a T-bone that is meant to be 3-4 fingers high and weigh at least half a kilo. It is dry aged for 20 days and cooked at room temperature for no more than 3 minutes per side. It was amazingly tasty and tender and very raw.
For perspective, the Chianina. We didn’t see any of these roaming the streets of Florence so I picked a photo off the internet.
Dry aging for all to see.
If that wasn’t enough meat, here’s a popular sandwich: porchetta. This half a fella was a full fella when we arrived. The sandwich maker popped out and cut off the back end and proceeded to make Adam’s sandwich.
The sandwich in progress.
We found the restaurant with the amazing truffle pasta I’d been to four years ago with my cousin Joanna Miller. I told the waiter about my experience then and that it was too bad they no longer had the truffle pasta on the menu. He said it was the special that night. I think he either liked me or took pity on me as I didn’t see anybody else in the restaurant enjoying that night’s special.
We saw these trucks all over. The first time I saw one, I honestly thought it was coffee delivery…
Modern sculpture in the Boboli gardens.
Do you ever look behind sculptures? The artist left behind a bit of a surprise!
May, 2024
Florence is Still Fantastic
A quick spin through Florence for a bit of fun, food and foraging before the serious business begins in Bologna.
First gelato of many! Gelateria della Passera is reputedly the best. Our apartment was a mere block away so we dropped our bags on arrival and headed straight here!
A solitary stroll steeped in meditative beauty.
Peekaboo view…so magical!
Laurie made a new friend! “L’uomo con la Macchina Fotografica” (“The Man with the Movie Camera”) by Mario Ceroli is just behind Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence’s cathedral). This is part of Florence’s effort to bring modern art into its historic urban landscape where, thanks to the Medici’s patronage, we have this treasure trove of architectural marvels and game-changing art. Naked statues…plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
I never, ever, ever tire of this view.
I think it’s a bit late for confession…
Street art, perhaps a riff of Gianni Sarcone’s Moona Lisa. Hundreds of photos of people holding something over one eye are brought together in a mosaic copy of, dare I say, the world’s most famous woman.
We walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset…apparently many others had the same idea…
…and justifiably so! The views over the city are spectacular!
Thankfully the “fire” is up in the sky and not endangering this beautiful place.
Should I or shouldn’t I? Take a leap? Take a risk? French-Italian artist Clet Abraham says “Yes, do it!” His “Common Man”, stepping off the Ponte alle Grazie, tells us that life is about making decisions when you don’t know the potential consequences. Personally, I wouldn’t advise taking a leap here…the River Arno is not the cleanest.
When in Florence…Bistecca alla Fiorentina!
Even the waiter has a passion for this dish! He cuts it at the table with love.
Give a girl a bone…
They were shutting down for the night but we convinced the ticket seller to do one more turn for a bit of merry-go-round antics!
So late at night, after our ride on the merry-go-round, we came across this band playing outdoors at a restaurant. We thought the music was meant for dancing so walked through the restaurant to the band. We were the only ones dancing…to start. Many joined us once we took the leap (perhaps we were inspired by Clet Abraham’s Common Man?). Needless to say, the waiter was not happy with all this revelry and instructed the musicians to slow down the tempo. Well, that sure broke up the party…