ITALIAN DIARIES PART II- THE FLOWER OF ITALY

Hello there, I see you have come back for the Part 2...and if you’ve not, then mentioning it should make you inquisitive to read Part 1!!

It is very difficult to see everything that Italy has to offer in one trip and so our Mother and Daughter had selected the Holy Trinity of Rome-Florence-Venice for their first trip to this beautiful country. Eurail is the best way to travel as it takes you across the countryside with its picturesque landscape. The view from the window is exactly like a painting we used to make when in school- hills with the Sun peeping out, trees on rolling green fields and colourful houses with their sloping roofs and chimneys, square windows and  rectangular doors with  gardens in full bloom in Spring! Once you reach Florence, stroll your suitcases down the cobbled streets for walking is the only way to get around in this boot shaped country!

Firenze

“I would imagine in Venice...create in Rome...and live in Florence.” I found this scrawled in the travel diary of our friends here. This is the magic of Florence that made it a punishment for Michelangelo to leave this city when called by the Pope to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and later again for the Last Judgement...that made Dante look to it as his Paradise lost on being exiled...that made da Vinci immortalise its Arno as the most looked upon river in the world by painting it as the background for his Mona Lisa!

While Rome is like a lasagna, with layers and layers of history, Florence is like a tic-tac-toe grid with the rows and columns being the roads and the X and O being things to see with a church here and a museum there.  It owes much of its richness to the Medici (pronounced as Madici) family who were not only patrons of art but also were the benefactors of Michelangelo and supporters of Galileo when the world called him a heretic. The last of the Medici,Anna Maria Luisa willed all the personal property of the Medici family to the Tuscan state provided that none of the treasures of Firenze would be taken out of the geographical boundaries of the city.

The must sees in Florence-

The Duomo- Somehow the reason a Centaur was called Firenze becomes crystal clear when you see the Duomo. Just like one is confused whether to call a centaur a horse or man, you do not know whether to gush about the beauty and intricate work on marble of the church or to marvel at the architectural genius of Brunelleschi’s dome...it is the perfect combination of science and religion. The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore or Flower has one of the most extravagant facades made from Carrara,(white), Prato (green), Siena (red) marble. Inside the church there are glass paintings by Donatello and a painting of Dante explaining his Divine Comedy standing at the gates of Florence by Michelino. The huge dome, designed by Brunelleschi was constructed with the workers working on a floating platform. Miraculously only one worker died during this construction, that too from an underlying illness. The interior of the Dome is adorned by the Last Judgement, a fresco by Vasari and Zuccari. The Duomo is best described as “a mountain of marble topped by a giant ruby.”  And here’s the last trivia, Florence is derived from the word Fiore/ Flower so literally this Church is dedicated to Saint Mary of Florence, truly the Flower of Italy.

There is also Giotto’s bell-tower that you can climb up and the museum situated behind the Cathedral. The Baptistery just opposite the Cathedral is octagonal in shape. Ghiberti’s gilded east door of the baptistery has been rightly described by Michelangelo as the Gates of Paradise with its ten panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament. While the real doors are in the museum, the replica is placed in the Baptistery, after a flood damaged the original ones.

                                                

Uffizi Gallery- Earlier an office complex it is now a museum housing some of the greatest sculptures and paintings from Raphael, Caravaggio and Titian to Botticelli, da Vinci and Michelangelo. In the world there are only 1 and ½ paintings of Michelangelo, one of which, The Holy Family is in this Gallery. The rich colours are dazzling and so is the frame that Michelangelo designed himself. There is Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation and another painting, Baptism of Christ that he made with his master Verrocchio where he happens to actually ‘paint the very air of Florence.’ But the star in Uffizi is undoubtedly Botticelli. While Michelangelo’s figures are muscular and strong, Botticelli brings out the grace and gentleness of a Woman...whether it is his Birth of Venus, where Venus is depicted as the most precious pearl of the ocean or Spring taking the place of winter with Zephyrus chasing the nymph Chloris who then transforms into Flora and the three Graces dancing in the Garden of Venus with Mercury and the blindfolded Cupid. Don’t miss the breathtaking view of the River Arno from the Uffizi.

David-“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” said Michelangelo.

He was given life by a 26 year old magician from a block of Carrara marble on which two sculptors had worked previously and had rejected. He was built to be placed on top of the Duomo along with other statues. He was scrutinized by a team of seven great artists that included the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Filippino Lippi. Being as magnificent as he was, he was placed in Piazza della Signoria outside the Palazzo Vecchio. His charm drew so many admirers, one of them even damaging his toe with a hammer, that he was then taken in to be housed in the Galleria dell’Accademia. He stands tall, his gaze thoughtful, his poise determined and yet oblivious of his own aura. He is David...need I say any more?

Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio- This is something that is very difficult to imagine, you have to see it to believe it. Here you have numerous sculptures, of Hercules, Neptune, Perseus with the head of Medussa, Rape of the Sabines, all in the middle of the street. Aside from three sculptures, including the replica of David, all are original pieces of work. It is an open air museum, to be admired by all, tourists, a local strolling casually or by Nature herself, the Sun, the Moon and the Stars!

River Arno and the Ponte Vecchio- The Ponte Vecchio was earlier the market for butchers but was replaced by gold jewellers because of the foul odour the Medicis had to suffer as they passed through the Vasari Corridor above the Ponte Vecchio. Aah, the Vasari Corridor...the passage designed by Vasari connecting the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace through the Uffizi. Today it houses the self portraits of various artists.

Leather Market- The famous leather market of Florence is in a Loggia or a building with a roof and columns but no walls. You cannot go back from Florence without a sexy leather jacket...yeh toh banta hai!!! Be sure to rub the snout of Porcellino, the bronze piglet outside the leather market and promise that you will return!

Pisa

A trip to one of the wonders of the world is a given. What makes this trip so enjoyable is the ride through the Tuscan countryside, the clear blue sky smiling down on you, the vineyards waving at you cheerfully and the scenery calling out to you to stay with them and write as you munch cantuccini biscotti!

The Miracle Square at Pisa is nothing short of a miracle! There is a cupcake shaped Baptistery, a Cathedral dating back to the 10^th century with the chandelier that made Galileo formulate the principles of the pendulum and the Bell Tower, popularly known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. To be honest, it is weird! When you enter the Miracle Square, it peeks out mischievously from behind the Church. It entices you to take pictures with it forming illusions that you are either pushing it or holding it as it falls. And as you start climbing it, you realise that it is no illusion at all!!! It is badly tilted, weighing down on the soft soil beneath it! The guide there explained to our duo that while all structures in this square are slightly tilted because the soil is yielding from the beginning when a river flowed underneath it, the reason for the gross inclination of the Tower is that it is built from the heavy Carrara marble and it has no windows making it all the more heavier...guess the architect forgot why the avian skeleton favours it to fly in his flight to the top!

Well folks, so much for today. I’ll leave you, only to be back next Sunday.

Till then, go out...explore...travel...live...the planet is not so lonely after all!

 MS