More Florence

[mojosmom]

Many churches today. I began at Santa Felicità, to see the Pontormo frescoes. There was an Italian tourist group going through at the same time, so I hung around and listened to their guid. Then I went to Santo Spirito, where, sadly, photography was not permitted. Lots of major art here, as well as some rather minor stuff. It's quite odd to see an excellent quattrocento demon in the same chapel as a very tacky statute of a nun holding a crucifix with fake flowers.

Then on to the Brancacci Chapel. When I got there, I thought I would be disappointed, as there were signs saying that reservations were absolutely necessary. However, the ticket seller let me in anyway. It's truly stunning, with frescoes mostly by Masolini and Masaccio, and finished by Filippino Lippi. Some of the faces are quite wonderful. There's also a serene little cloister with a variety of coats-of-arms.

Having had quite enough religion for one day, I proceeded to the Museo di Storia della Scienza, in a palazzo dating to the late 11th-century. to view more secular relics, like Galileo's finger. Really!


Next on the agenda was the Palazzo Vecchio, with another lovely, but much grander, cloister:


Pretty much every square inch is covered with marvelous art, walls and ceilings, but of course there were a lot of pretty marvelous artists to draw on!

It was here that I took what may be my favorite photograph in Florence. There was a window with a pane of old glass on the right and new glass on the left, so I took shots of the view from each. When I got home, I stitched them together:


As I was walking around, I had seen a poster advertising a concert at Orsanmichele, so I decided to go. I thought I'd have dinner nearby, but the restaurants right in the area were rather costly, so I wantered down the Via Dante Alighieri and found the Ristorante Ganina, a very small, obviously family-run place, where I had insalata mista, petto di pollo al crema di limone, tarta di mandorla and a quarto of the house red.

The concert was grand! The Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina played Vivaldi and Mozart, as well as music of a contemporary Italian composer, Pierami, with a delightful Spanish soprano, Laura Alonso. And what a setting:


And so to bed.


Up betimes, and to the Piazza del Duomo, where I took photos of Ghiberti's doors. They're actually a replica, but that's okay, they're still stunning. The detail is astounding:


Then I climbed stairs, lots and lots of stairs, up to the cupola of the Duomo, and out. Climbing up, you get a close-up view of the paintings in the Brunelleschi's dome. Really, the more of this sort of thing I see, the more I'm convinced that the Hell is much more interesting than Heaven. At least, it seems to inspire much more interesting images, both visual and verbal. There's a reason more people have read the Inferno than either the Purgatorio or the Paradiso, and the demons in religious art are much more intriguing that the angels.

The stairs up seem to go on forever, and I had to stop to rest every so often, but oh my god, the view when you finally get up there! So worth the climb and the acrophobia! Here's proof:


I'll tell you what's annoying, though. Despite signs all the way up asking people to please not write on the walls, what do they do? They write on the walls. Here's this amazing building, and all these idiots can think to do is write their names on the walls. Jerks.

Back down and inside, and you get the full flavor of Brunelleschi's accomplishment and, of course, lots more art and Medicis. What I found really interesting was that under the Duomo is another church, much older, called Santa Reparata, as well as old Roman construction. And apparently, it is being used today.

It was then time to go to the Accademia, because you're not allowed to go to Florence and not see Michaelangelo's David. It is definitely something to be seen, but I must admit that I prefer the Prisoners he did for Julius II's tomb. As an intellectual and technical exercise, David is unmatched, but there is somthing about those figures trapped in the marble that gives them greater emotional power. And, after all, isn't that what art is all about?

But the Accademia is not all about Michaelangelo. Before that, there was an exhibit of musical instruments from the collection of the Medici (who else?). Among other things, there was a marble salterio (a kind of zither), and a vertical pianoforte, an early attempt to reproduce the sound of a grand piano in a small space. On the way out through the museum shop, I bought a CD of Music from the Court of the Medicis.

Heading up the stairs was a collection of some excellent Russian icons, though I wish that there had been more information given about them. Then, we hit the late trecento, along with a quite interesting video about fashion in that time.

I then went to the Museo del Bargello, the oldest public building in Florence. It's got room after room of stuff, a room full of ivories, another full of jewelry and cameos, enamels, glass, all kinds of things. There was a gorgeous ivory box with bronze fittings that I covet, and a rock crystal amulet with eyes, nose and mouth that reminded me of the Picasso in the Daley Center!

I went back to the hotel to rest before dinner, and then went to the Trattoria 4 Leoni for dinner. A bit expensive, but well worth it. You are greeted with a glass of prosecco, and then I had a rucolo and pomodori salad, followed by coniglio in umido (rabbit in a light sauce), which was excellent, and nice to have. I like rabbit, but you don't often see it on menus in the States. For dessert, the best tiramisu I've ever had. Again, dinner was accompanied by the house red.

More later.