Tuscan update
I was in Florence yesterday. I’m only about a half hour south of there, so it was a no-brainer to go, although I knew it would be crowded and very hot.
It was crowded and very very hot. Walking on the sunny side of the street was nearly impossible; shade was an absolute necessity. Replenishing lost water stores almost constantly was required—lots of sweat being shed and evaporated. And the crowds at places like the Uffizi made visiting that ordinarily-must-see sight impossible.
But how could I not go to Florence? I’d only been there once before, for a single day when I was 15 years old, on a teen budget tour where we were herded around but hardly saw a thing that I remembered except a guy on a motorcycle (or motor scooter?) who chased me and a bunch of my girlfriends up a flight of church steps.
So yesterday I walked Florence’s very uneven sidewalks (ouch!) and saw its ancient facades, fabulous Duomo (only from outside, but that was impressive enough), fashionable shops, evocative bridges, scrumptious gelato stores, surrounding hills, and the Bargello, a building whose insides (and especially ceilings) fascinated me as much as its art collection.
My general impression of Florence was of a beautiful city gone to seed and yet not to rack and ruin. There was a whiff (not literal) of decay, and yet the people seemed very vibrant and alive. An amazing and fascinating place.
One of the ceilings in the Bargello:
I have only been to Florence in the winter, which is a good time for crowds. But, at least back then, the Northern Italian concept of heating was vastly different from ours.
It is an exciting city.
Thanks for sharing, Neo. I hope you continue to have a safe and delightful trip.
More architectural detail photos please. Got a zoom lens? And how about a sidewalk scene? It might be that morning or early evening would offer more dramatic lighting and cooler conditions.
But then … you are not freewheeling around on your own Vespa, are you. LOL
“…. fashionable shops, evocative bridges, scrumptious gelato stores, …”
My wife loved the fashionable shops. The Italians have such a talent for beautiful styles in clothes. Then there are the gelato stores. Almost worth the trip just for those. 🙂 The evocative bridges – yes, but you can see evocative bridges in most countries.
Too bad you are there in high season. It must be trying. I’m enjoying your reports, crowds and heat and all.
I’m enjoying your vacation. 😉
I remember the Bargello well. The family went to a Duomo, but I bugged out to take in the Bargello. [The ABC tour == “Another Bloody Church”] The collection was fantastic.
RE: “My general impression of Florence was of a beautiful city gone to seed and yet not to rack and ruin.”
Much of Europe is like that. The place is decaying, so they market their history. Italy has a particularly tough time as they are broke.
Have a great trip. I suggest taking a walk in Florence in the evening along the river, and see the city from atop the hill.
Have you been to Venice and San Marino? You must see them while you are in the vicinity. Years ago when I was working in Berlin we took a vacation on the Adriatic coast and did some sight seeing. Driving over the Brenner pass into Italy was quite an experience. Driving on Italian roads could be a hair raising experience because if you went off the road it was a long way to the bottom. It was rather amusing in that on one side of the border you have blond blue eyed Austrians and on the other side of the border you have blond blue eyed Italians. Obviously there were some cultural exchanges going on.
Ever see the movie “Stealing Beauty”? Whether you like it as a movie or not, I enjoy it as an escape into an idyllic world. (Well, near idyllic. Most of the people in it aren’t all that great, but young Liv Tyler in a scanty dress . . . yum.) It takes place in a Tuscan villa and surrounding countryside.
My general impression of Florence was of a beautiful city gone to seed and yet not to rack and ruin.
Rather like Italy itself, which has been economically stagnant for about 20 years and has a total fertility rate of 1.37 children per woman per lifetime. Countries which frown on reproduction slowly disappear.
No mention of Michaelangelo’s David or the Birth of Venus? They are worth the wait.
Having seen great works like those it makes me sad at times to go the modern wing of our The Museum of Fine Arts and see some of the dreck on display that would make a six year old blush with shame.
I was last in Italy about 30 years ago and it looked a bit worn and run down then, which seems to be the style of the place everywhere. It’s nothing unusual but not unexpected after two and a half millennia full of life.
When you come back, you can watch “Medici, Masters of Florence” on Netflix to see a lot of what you missed. They are responsible for the Florence that you see today. The interiors in the show are fabulous. I wish my bedroom walls were painted by Botticelli. There’s even some episodes with Brunelleschi and the construction of the famous dome of the Duomo, an engineering masterpiece.
My foreign travel has been limited to a somewhat lengthy stay in Morocco — mostly Tangier — and a trip to Southern France when it seemed my then-wife and I might move there. (She was from Marseille and Avignon.)
I’ve stayed for long periods in Manhattan a number of times. I grew up in Portland, Oregon; traveling to New York was a large ambition of mine when I was young. I ended up staying at the Chelsea Hotel when it was still the Chelsea Hotel. I blew a lot of movie money there. I wasn’t trying to accumulate “experiences,” but I did.
I’ve also spent a lot of time in Vancouver BC.
If you haven’t already been Neo, the Great Synogogue of Florence is well worth the time.
The world is going to Burn. Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with it.
I visited Florence in 1985, but late in the fall, so the crowds were not that bad … but still, lots of people, and some lines to see popular things … plus everything there was to see had an admittance fee. I began to feel that the whole town had their hand out. The galleries in the Uffizi were the most splendid part, I think. And I stayed in a small hotel on the top two floors of an office block which had a view of the Duomo from their roof terrace, which was really nice.
I really think I enjoyed visiting Ravenna even more. The various late Roman churches, chapels and baptistries, all encrusted with splendid moisiacs were scattered all through the little town, most within a short walk of each other. And the local people seemed very proud of their town, and rather shyly flattered that visitors came to see “their” sights.
Nice ceiling.
When St. John’s at Creighton and the Omaha Cathedral were repainted, it made a huge difference. Both were done by the same company from Greenwich Village.
I drove through Ravenna, Nebraska yesterday.
So many small Tuscan towns like Modica where you can see a more leisurely pace, eat great food, and drink good wine.
I am a construction engineer and, as such, I see those delicate arches from a different perspective. When seeing those old cathedrals, remember that they were constructed of completely unreinforced masonry. There was no Portland cement mortar and no rebar. Each stone was carved to fit exactly next to the adjacent one, with nothing between them but a smear of limestone paste to help distribute the loads.
And yet, these buildings have endured for many hundreds of years, allowing us to appreciate their beauty and grandeur. When I see these buildings and think about the men that built them, I am filled pride and awe at the accomplishments of the constructors that came before me.