Florence - art, revenge and "what are you doing here?!"
Waving bye-bye to Assisi, I headed for Florence. The train trip was uneventful, but waiting for the train was highly amusing. Some mothers and daughters should never travel together. Never. I'm just sayin'.
This also marked the beginning of a new trend in train travel for me: backwards. From this point on, every train trip I take will have me seated going backwards, watching where I've been rather than looking to where I'm going. It's not so bad, actually, once the nausea passes...
First thing I learned here was to never trust the tourist office. Seriously. After getting off the train, I found my way to the tourist office to get help finding my hotel. She sold me a map and with her pen drew the route for me to take...obliterating the street names in the process. Well, I figured I could just count streets...
Uh-huh. Not likely.
I got so lost. The next day I figured out that there had been a more direct route that would have cut out four turns down narrow unnamed lanes (well, I couldn't find the names) that would have been much easier.
On the bright side, along the way I did come across the palazzo in front of the basilica with Bruneschelli's Dome. Everyone talks about the dome, but no one ever mentions the name of the church. It's just the Duomo.
More about that in a bit.
Anyway, I stop off at a cafe in the square for a tea and pastry pick-me-up. I'm sitting there, backpack stuffed under the table, look up and couldn't believe it. David Rocco.
For those who don't know, David Rocco has a show on FoodTV here in Canada that is filmed in Florence. It's called David Rocco's Dolce Vita. It's a fun show and I love all the little glimpses of places in and around Florence.
Anyway, I had to go up and say hello. The poor dear seemed a bit taken aback to be approached and told how much his show was being enjoyed. He looks so much younger than he does on the show. Oh. My. God. I'm sure it's not the case, but I think I'm old enough to be his mother. That's how young he looks. He was such a sweetie, but was in the middle of doing some filming, so I made my hello a very quick one.
I'm still grinning about that. LOL Not quite fangirl behavior, but still, I was tickled to actually meet him. And did I mention he looks so much younger in person?
Right. ::clears throat:: On to the more traditional sights of Florence.
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore - home to Bruneschelli's Dome - draws quite a crowd. There is a bell tower to climb, but I really wasn't interested in standing in line for that. Or the long line just to get into the church. So I wandered around outside, admiring the workmanship.
And Bruneschelli's Dome:
In front of this church is the Baptistry (place where baptisms are done). It is an intriguing design. One of the big draws is the ornate bronze doors. This particular door is blocked off so it is more a showpiece than an operating portal.
One of my favorite places for people watching was the Loggia della Signoria.
This is an outdoor sculpture gallery located near the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Vecchio. Inside there is seating, but no food, drinks, open umbrellas or bulky packages are allowed. The loggia is patrolled by Vigilanza Ambientale. They are quick to evict people who stand on the ledges or try to climb the statues or bring in food...This is in fact a museum and they insist the proper respect be shown.
Here are some of the treasures free for all to enjoy: "Rape of the Sabine Women" and "Perseus Killing the Medusa"
the really cool thing about this statue is that it is fluid. That is, it is meant to be seen from all sides. The lines flow around it, denoting action rather than merely a pose.
The base of this one is very elaborate. I couldn't resist photographing the details.
The art is what brought me here. I wanted to visit the Uffizi Gallery (home to Botticelli's "Birth of Venus") and the Academia (home to Michelangelo's "David"). And I did. I ended up hooking into walking tours on the theory that it would help cut the wait time to get in. It sort of worked.
The Academia was a total kick. I don't think I realized until this moment that his hands are huge, or that he has such a tight, round little tush.
I'm serious...look at that hand!
But this wasn't the highlight of my visit there. The highlight happened before I got in the doors.
Like I said, I was part of a tour, so our little group was in the lineup, we all had our headsets to hear the guide and were waiting to get in. Suddenly, this man approaches me. It takes me a moment to place him, but he smiles and says in that sweet southern drawl "I knew who you were the moment I saw you."
Oh. My. God. Father Jim. He was the priest at my church about 10 years ago. Originally from Alabama, he eventually returned home. I'd seen him once or twice when he'd come up this way to visit his priest friends, but...wow.
The hug in that moment was such a welcome gift. It was a balm and a boost all in one. He was there with some friends/parishioners from Alabama. Jim had been studying in Rome for a few months and was just playing tour guide. I knew he was in Rome, but we never did connect so I had no idea what he was up to...sadly I lost track of them in the crowds, but just to have the connection for a moment was...wow.
I found out a few days later from a mutual friend in an email that Jim and his guests were only in Florence for the day.
So. Anyway, that afternoon was a visit to the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi was at one time the offices of the Medici Family - big-time power at one time. The collection was fabulous. Most folks on the little tour I was on wanted to see Botticelli's "Birth of Venus":
And it is beautiful, but I've seen the image so many times in so many places that, like the David, the impact was rather...muted. However, I did absolutely fall in love with another Venus.
"The Venus of Urbino" was barely mentioned on the tour, but it was one I really liked - enough to go looking for a postcard. I think it's the sensuality of it; she knows what she wants...and knows what the watcher wants, too. LOL It contrasts with the domestic scene as a whole - the maids fetching her clothes, the little puppy asleep on the bed...and she's so very comfortable with it all.
No photography was permitted inside, but it was possible to take pictures out the windows.
This view shows Bruneschelli's Dome in the background, and the Palazzo Vecchio (with the tower). This (Palazzo Vecchio) is the former home of the Medici Family, and is still a place of power. It is the city hall, as well as being a museum. When I visited (after passing through metal detectors and having my bags searched) I was told there would be an English language tour leaving in 15 minutes if I was interested. Interested? Sign me up! While waiting, I met a couple from California. We got to chatting - well chatted with him, she only talked to him, not to me - didn't even look directly at me - anyway, we did the whole 'where are you from' thing. When I said I was from Manitoba, he looked surprised. "Really? You sound like you're from Southern California."
Is there a Southern California accent? And if so, how did I acquire it, never having been there and all...?
Anyway, the tour was a hoot, because it took us up and down secret passages in the walls and into rooms not open to the general public. Man, did I time my visit right! LOL
A view of the famous Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge). The raised walkway was used by the Medicis when they moved from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. This allowed them to come and go from the office without having to mingle with the unwashed masses.
Another view of bridge. The Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge not destroyed by the retreating Germans during the Second World War. The order came down to blow up the bridges, but the commander couldn't bring himself to destroy this one. Instead, he blew up the buildings at either end, making the bridge impassable.
Cool note about the bridge - the only shops on it are goldsmiths. Back when it was first built, there was everything on it - including butchers and tanners. The smell and pollution got so bad that an edict was issued that only jewelers/goldsmiths may have shops on the bridge. And so it remains.
Pay attention crossing the bridge and you are likely to see something odd:
These are locks. All kinds of locks. The fad is for young men to attach a lock to the bridge, and toss the key in the river as a symbol of undying love. No one is quite sure how this got started, but the city is trying to stop it. The weight of the locks can do a lot of damage, depending where these clusters are formed. Not to mention the graffiti that accompanies them. Every few weeks the locks are cut off and graffiti cleaned up. It's a battle and I'm not so sure who is winning.
One of the very cool things I did was a ghost walk. It was fun, but most of the stories were less about ghosts and more about the history, with tales of murder and revenge. At one point, we passed by a building, the Bargello Museum, and she pointed to some windows. The Bargello was a prison at one point, and those windows were where executions took place. After torture, people would be hung out the windows, sometimes by the neck (if they were lucky) or by the feet.
I was a little weirded out at this point. Our guide said artists would gather in the street and watch the bodies twist and turn in their death throes. They would sketch these things, since the study of human bodies was not permitted. This is how they perfected their depictions of human movement and musculature.
Okie-dokie.
Speaking of death. One of the interesting places dealing with this was the Basilica of Santa Croce, which is final resting place of Michelangelo, Galileo (well, most of him), Machiavelli...a veritable who's who.
Amazing things lurk here. But, alas, so does scaffolding. Many of the frescoes were hidden while restoration work was done.
The Tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti. At the top is a painting of the 'Pieta', below it is a bust of Michelangelo. The three women weeping are, from left to right, Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
The tomb of Dante Alighieri. Except that there's no one home. He's actually buried in Ravenna. There was a dispute with Florence and he went into exile.
I was rather amused by this one. Americans may find the image vaguely familiar. This is the tomb of Giovin Battista Niccolini, and I know nothing about him. The sculpture on his tomb was commissioned 10 years after his death and is called Liberty of Poetry (implies the freedom of art and of creative genius in general). This statue, by Pio Fedi, is believed to be a precursor to the Statue of Liberty, who is actually named Liberty Enlightening the World.
~~~~ ~ ~~~~
Random: Most of these tombs - the big ones - are not generally known by who is there, but rather by who designed it. I found this curious. For some reason, I tend to think of the tombs in terms of who is buried...seems to me that's the important detail.
~~~~ ~ ~~~~
And one more:
This is the tomb of Galileo, where most of him is buried.
Most of him?
Yup. The middle finger of his right hand is at the Museum of Science History. It is in a glass jar with a marble base. The finger was removed when his body was transferred from a small chapel to the mausoleum pictured here. The finger spent time in the possession of private collectors before becoming the property of the museum.
A really weird moment came as I wandered around the church interior and suddenly realized that the tiles I'm walking on are the markers for people entombed below. I'd been walking on graves.
Santa Croce is also home to lovely private areas. In the first cloister is a private chapel of the Pazzi Family. It is unfinished. The name was recognized from the ghost walk I took. The Pazzi Conspiracy was an attempt to kill Lorenzo Medici (Lorenzo the Great). His brother was killed, but he escaped and the vengeance he took on the Pazzi family and everyone who helped them was horrific. Torture and execution. In fact, some of these folks were hanged outside the windows of the Bargello. And may well have been sketched by artists looking to study anatomy.
Florence is such a beautiful city. I loved walking along the Arno, eating gelato (Italian ice cream) and chatting with other visitors.
When the time came to leave, I was not ready. I'd just gotten settled in and wanted to stay longer - there was so much more to see.
So that's it, my stay in Florence.
Oh, what the hell. One more picture.
Sitting in the loggia, the Palazzo Vecchio in the background. The statue behind me is Hercules...and from this angle looks vaguely naughty, although I believe he's actually going to kill that person not...whatever it looks like if your mind is inclined in that direction...
~~~ ~ ~~~
I can't believe how long it takes me to do these posts. It takes most of the evening to type and upload/insert pictures and decide which items from my journal to include. But I have to say I love being able to share this.
So thank you for reading. As always, comments and questions are welcome.
Rome, part 1
Rome, part 2
Pompeii
Rome, part3 + Vatican
Assisi
Next stop: Venice!
This also marked the beginning of a new trend in train travel for me: backwards. From this point on, every train trip I take will have me seated going backwards, watching where I've been rather than looking to where I'm going. It's not so bad, actually, once the nausea passes...
First thing I learned here was to never trust the tourist office. Seriously. After getting off the train, I found my way to the tourist office to get help finding my hotel. She sold me a map and with her pen drew the route for me to take...obliterating the street names in the process. Well, I figured I could just count streets...
Uh-huh. Not likely.
I got so lost. The next day I figured out that there had been a more direct route that would have cut out four turns down narrow unnamed lanes (well, I couldn't find the names) that would have been much easier.
On the bright side, along the way I did come across the palazzo in front of the basilica with Bruneschelli's Dome. Everyone talks about the dome, but no one ever mentions the name of the church. It's just the Duomo.
More about that in a bit.
Anyway, I stop off at a cafe in the square for a tea and pastry pick-me-up. I'm sitting there, backpack stuffed under the table, look up and couldn't believe it. David Rocco.
For those who don't know, David Rocco has a show on FoodTV here in Canada that is filmed in Florence. It's called David Rocco's Dolce Vita. It's a fun show and I love all the little glimpses of places in and around Florence.
Anyway, I had to go up and say hello. The poor dear seemed a bit taken aback to be approached and told how much his show was being enjoyed. He looks so much younger than he does on the show. Oh. My. God. I'm sure it's not the case, but I think I'm old enough to be his mother. That's how young he looks. He was such a sweetie, but was in the middle of doing some filming, so I made my hello a very quick one.
I'm still grinning about that. LOL Not quite fangirl behavior, but still, I was tickled to actually meet him. And did I mention he looks so much younger in person?
Right. ::clears throat:: On to the more traditional sights of Florence.
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore - home to Bruneschelli's Dome - draws quite a crowd. There is a bell tower to climb, but I really wasn't interested in standing in line for that. Or the long line just to get into the church. So I wandered around outside, admiring the workmanship.
And Bruneschelli's Dome:
In front of this church is the Baptistry (place where baptisms are done). It is an intriguing design. One of the big draws is the ornate bronze doors. This particular door is blocked off so it is more a showpiece than an operating portal.
One of my favorite places for people watching was the Loggia della Signoria.
This is an outdoor sculpture gallery located near the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Vecchio. Inside there is seating, but no food, drinks, open umbrellas or bulky packages are allowed. The loggia is patrolled by Vigilanza Ambientale. They are quick to evict people who stand on the ledges or try to climb the statues or bring in food...This is in fact a museum and they insist the proper respect be shown.
Here are some of the treasures free for all to enjoy: "Rape of the Sabine Women" and "Perseus Killing the Medusa"
the really cool thing about this statue is that it is fluid. That is, it is meant to be seen from all sides. The lines flow around it, denoting action rather than merely a pose.
The base of this one is very elaborate. I couldn't resist photographing the details.
The art is what brought me here. I wanted to visit the Uffizi Gallery (home to Botticelli's "Birth of Venus") and the Academia (home to Michelangelo's "David"). And I did. I ended up hooking into walking tours on the theory that it would help cut the wait time to get in. It sort of worked.
The Academia was a total kick. I don't think I realized until this moment that his hands are huge, or that he has such a tight, round little tush.
I'm serious...look at that hand!
But this wasn't the highlight of my visit there. The highlight happened before I got in the doors.
Like I said, I was part of a tour, so our little group was in the lineup, we all had our headsets to hear the guide and were waiting to get in. Suddenly, this man approaches me. It takes me a moment to place him, but he smiles and says in that sweet southern drawl "I knew who you were the moment I saw you."
Oh. My. God. Father Jim. He was the priest at my church about 10 years ago. Originally from Alabama, he eventually returned home. I'd seen him once or twice when he'd come up this way to visit his priest friends, but...wow.
The hug in that moment was such a welcome gift. It was a balm and a boost all in one. He was there with some friends/parishioners from Alabama. Jim had been studying in Rome for a few months and was just playing tour guide. I knew he was in Rome, but we never did connect so I had no idea what he was up to...sadly I lost track of them in the crowds, but just to have the connection for a moment was...wow.
I found out a few days later from a mutual friend in an email that Jim and his guests were only in Florence for the day.
So. Anyway, that afternoon was a visit to the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi was at one time the offices of the Medici Family - big-time power at one time. The collection was fabulous. Most folks on the little tour I was on wanted to see Botticelli's "Birth of Venus":
And it is beautiful, but I've seen the image so many times in so many places that, like the David, the impact was rather...muted. However, I did absolutely fall in love with another Venus.
"The Venus of Urbino" was barely mentioned on the tour, but it was one I really liked - enough to go looking for a postcard. I think it's the sensuality of it; she knows what she wants...and knows what the watcher wants, too. LOL It contrasts with the domestic scene as a whole - the maids fetching her clothes, the little puppy asleep on the bed...and she's so very comfortable with it all.
No photography was permitted inside, but it was possible to take pictures out the windows.
This view shows Bruneschelli's Dome in the background, and the Palazzo Vecchio (with the tower). This (Palazzo Vecchio) is the former home of the Medici Family, and is still a place of power. It is the city hall, as well as being a museum. When I visited (after passing through metal detectors and having my bags searched) I was told there would be an English language tour leaving in 15 minutes if I was interested. Interested? Sign me up! While waiting, I met a couple from California. We got to chatting - well chatted with him, she only talked to him, not to me - didn't even look directly at me - anyway, we did the whole 'where are you from' thing. When I said I was from Manitoba, he looked surprised. "Really? You sound like you're from Southern California."
Is there a Southern California accent? And if so, how did I acquire it, never having been there and all...?
Anyway, the tour was a hoot, because it took us up and down secret passages in the walls and into rooms not open to the general public. Man, did I time my visit right! LOL
A view of the famous Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge). The raised walkway was used by the Medicis when they moved from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. This allowed them to come and go from the office without having to mingle with the unwashed masses.
Another view of bridge. The Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge not destroyed by the retreating Germans during the Second World War. The order came down to blow up the bridges, but the commander couldn't bring himself to destroy this one. Instead, he blew up the buildings at either end, making the bridge impassable.
Cool note about the bridge - the only shops on it are goldsmiths. Back when it was first built, there was everything on it - including butchers and tanners. The smell and pollution got so bad that an edict was issued that only jewelers/goldsmiths may have shops on the bridge. And so it remains.
Pay attention crossing the bridge and you are likely to see something odd:
These are locks. All kinds of locks. The fad is for young men to attach a lock to the bridge, and toss the key in the river as a symbol of undying love. No one is quite sure how this got started, but the city is trying to stop it. The weight of the locks can do a lot of damage, depending where these clusters are formed. Not to mention the graffiti that accompanies them. Every few weeks the locks are cut off and graffiti cleaned up. It's a battle and I'm not so sure who is winning.
One of the very cool things I did was a ghost walk. It was fun, but most of the stories were less about ghosts and more about the history, with tales of murder and revenge. At one point, we passed by a building, the Bargello Museum, and she pointed to some windows. The Bargello was a prison at one point, and those windows were where executions took place. After torture, people would be hung out the windows, sometimes by the neck (if they were lucky) or by the feet.
I was a little weirded out at this point. Our guide said artists would gather in the street and watch the bodies twist and turn in their death throes. They would sketch these things, since the study of human bodies was not permitted. This is how they perfected their depictions of human movement and musculature.
Okie-dokie.
Speaking of death. One of the interesting places dealing with this was the Basilica of Santa Croce, which is final resting place of Michelangelo, Galileo (well, most of him), Machiavelli...a veritable who's who.
Amazing things lurk here. But, alas, so does scaffolding. Many of the frescoes were hidden while restoration work was done.
The Tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti. At the top is a painting of the 'Pieta', below it is a bust of Michelangelo. The three women weeping are, from left to right, Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
The tomb of Dante Alighieri. Except that there's no one home. He's actually buried in Ravenna. There was a dispute with Florence and he went into exile.
I was rather amused by this one. Americans may find the image vaguely familiar. This is the tomb of Giovin Battista Niccolini, and I know nothing about him. The sculpture on his tomb was commissioned 10 years after his death and is called Liberty of Poetry (implies the freedom of art and of creative genius in general). This statue, by Pio Fedi, is believed to be a precursor to the Statue of Liberty, who is actually named Liberty Enlightening the World.
~~~~ ~ ~~~~
Random: Most of these tombs - the big ones - are not generally known by who is there, but rather by who designed it. I found this curious. For some reason, I tend to think of the tombs in terms of who is buried...seems to me that's the important detail.
~~~~ ~ ~~~~
And one more:
This is the tomb of Galileo, where most of him is buried.
Most of him?
Yup. The middle finger of his right hand is at the Museum of Science History. It is in a glass jar with a marble base. The finger was removed when his body was transferred from a small chapel to the mausoleum pictured here. The finger spent time in the possession of private collectors before becoming the property of the museum.
A really weird moment came as I wandered around the church interior and suddenly realized that the tiles I'm walking on are the markers for people entombed below. I'd been walking on graves.
Santa Croce is also home to lovely private areas. In the first cloister is a private chapel of the Pazzi Family. It is unfinished. The name was recognized from the ghost walk I took. The Pazzi Conspiracy was an attempt to kill Lorenzo Medici (Lorenzo the Great). His brother was killed, but he escaped and the vengeance he took on the Pazzi family and everyone who helped them was horrific. Torture and execution. In fact, some of these folks were hanged outside the windows of the Bargello. And may well have been sketched by artists looking to study anatomy.
Florence is such a beautiful city. I loved walking along the Arno, eating gelato (Italian ice cream) and chatting with other visitors.
When the time came to leave, I was not ready. I'd just gotten settled in and wanted to stay longer - there was so much more to see.
So that's it, my stay in Florence.
Oh, what the hell. One more picture.
Sitting in the loggia, the Palazzo Vecchio in the background. The statue behind me is Hercules...and from this angle looks vaguely naughty, although I believe he's actually going to kill that person not...whatever it looks like if your mind is inclined in that direction...
~~~ ~ ~~~
I can't believe how long it takes me to do these posts. It takes most of the evening to type and upload/insert pictures and decide which items from my journal to include. But I have to say I love being able to share this.
So thank you for reading. As always, comments and questions are welcome.
Rome, part 1
Rome, part 2
Pompeii
Rome, part3 + Vatican
Assisi
Next stop: Venice!