I slept better last night than I did in a long time.
We thought (wrongly) that we were due at the Uffizi Museum at 9am, and also realised we had no tickets, which meant we were speed walking in the direction of the museum but in our heads the thought-lines were going every which way. We discovered part way through that in fact we hadn't booked a ticket, and when we got there we decided to be luxurious and go along on a tour of the museum.
The Uffizi was built by the architect and artist, Vasari, as an administrative building ('Uffizi' directly translates to 'offices') under the instruction of Cosimo I, of the rich and powerful Medici family. Because art collections were not yet a thing in the 1500s, Cosimo began acquiring and storing art as a private collection in the Uffizi, essentially turning it into a small museum. Now it's a very very large museum, with incredible work inside. What most struck me were the paintings Allegory of Spring and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. Allegory of Spring is a poetic image showing the blue spring zephyr, the eastern wind, chasing the nymph Chloris, who transforms into the Goddess Flora. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, nature was flower-less before Flora began scattering them, as she does in the painting (which has more than 300 plants and flowers). Venus is in the center of the grove, standing in a posture of blessing. The mix of the classical Goddess and the Christian virgin Mary, the representations of platonic and Christian love, are also something that comes up in The Birth of Venus, where pink roses that represent spiritual love rain down behind the amorous Venus.
'I love Botticelli...in winter, when it's not so crowded.' Our guide concluded. She was a sassy Italian woman who told us about some of the most interesting details about the paintings, sculptures and the Medici family that was behind the Renaissance in Florence. She was particularly taken with the husband of Marie Medici - King Henry IV of France. 'I would like to marry him...But our kingdom would collapse. We would smile all day long and no one would rule the kingdom.'
It was raining when we emerged from the Uffizi, and we dodged the street vendors offering ponchos and umbrellas and instead went back to our hostel to get our raincoats and to pick up some food for lunch. We also stopped by an incredible fruit shop, where we picked up bananas and green figs...and promptly had to put them down again because the vendor said 'No! No no!' to us - they would pick it out for you, it turns out. We arrived at the Santa Maria Novella Square slightly later than our tours' starting time of 2pm, but discovered no one there, and also that our tour started at 5pm rather than 2pm, so we sat in the sunshine with our spinach sandwiches and talked, and then headed to the Duomo.
There was a free tour inside by a very nervous Italian girl who struggled to find the English words and apologised - it was her first tour ever! She showed us a fresco of a horse that seemed to turn its head and follow us as we walked, a painting by Dante showing hell, heaven and purgatory, and Brunelleschi's dome that was to be 'more useful and beautiful, more powerful and honorable' than any other (and which has a rather dramatic building history). Nat and I noticed a group of young people who looked, and sounded, like they could be Singaporeans, and got excited, but didn't say hello.
After coming out of the Dome, both of us were desperate for the toilet, and tried going into a tourist toilet but that required payment and so we tried a hotel but were stopped by a suspicious receptionist and my own stupidity, for when they asked which room we were in I blurted out '901' when any fool with eyes could see that the tiny hotel couldn't have any more than 4 floors! Eventually we entered what we thought was an empty restaurant and used their toilet, although when we came out a waitress made us pay 50 cents each for it.
When it was time to head back to Santa Maria Square for the tour, we went early, determined not to miss the tour. As we neared the square, we noticed a group with a red umbrella moving out of the square form it's opposite end! Oh my! We ran across the square to join them
and realised that they weren't in fact our tour group, but just a group of people that happened to have a red umbrella.
Slightly embarrassed, and quite bemused, we trailed about a little and then saw a group with a man in a red hat on the other side of the square! Oh my! We ran across the square to join them
and realised, upon asking that they weren't a tour group, but 'a group of scholars heading to the train station'.
We did eventually join our tour group, and joined a very entertaining tour guide who kept a poker face the entire tour, and repeated the phrase 'there is something strange...' and then would come out with a deadpan but hilarious joke. Some things I gathered from the tour were:
-The Medici dynasty spanned over 300 years, and rose to power in Florence as a result of the banking industry.
-They are all now buried in the dome of the San Lorenzo Church, the second largest dome in Florence. Its size is a result of a rather strange ambition of the Medici family – they sought to steal the Holy Sepulchre and be buried around it in San Lorenzo, but failed to do so, and now there is a large space still left in the Dome for Jesus!
-The Palazzo Medici, though it sounds grand, is a ‘little modest house, simple’ for the Renaissance times. In Medieval times the Medici had lived in towers, for safety, but the moved into the Palazzo Medici to be closer to the people. Its first floor has medieval-like architecture, while its final floor has the much flatter brick of Renaissance architecture, as the building evolved with the times as it was built.
-The big metal rings on the side of the Palazzo Medici and other large houses were for one to tie horses, and the ‘benches’ that surround them were a provision for the poor to sit on – the rich were required by law to build them for the poor.
-The Medici dynasty spanned over 300 years, and rose to power in Florence as a result of the banking industry.
-They are all now buried in the dome of the San Lorenzo Church, the second largest dome in Florence. Its size is a result of a rather strange ambition of the Medici family – they sought to steal the Holy Sepulchre and be buried around it in San Lorenzo, but failed to do so, and now there is a large space still left in the Dome for Jesus!
-The Palazzo Medici, though it sounds grand, is a ‘little modest house, simple’ for the Renaissance times. In Medieval times the Medici had lived in towers, for safety, but the moved into the Palazzo Medici to be closer to the people. Its first floor has medieval-like architecture, while its final floor has the much flatter brick of Renaissance architecture, as the building evolved with the times as it was built.
-The big metal rings on the side of the Palazzo Medici and other large houses were for one to tie horses, and the ‘benches’ that surround them were a provision for the poor to sit on – the rich were required by law to build them for the poor.
-The Piazza de la Signoria, where the replica statue of David stands, holds a number of other statues to, such as Perseus holding Medusa's head, to represent Cosimo Medici squashing any form of rebellion in the form of a Florentine republic. There is also an legend around this bronze statue - legend has it that it took the artist 9 years to make the cast to pour the molten bronze inside, and after he had poured in the bronze, he realised he hadn't enough to finish up the head of medusa and half of Perseus' arm. So he melted his kitchen tools to make up for the deficit. Although no one can prove that legend, scientists have discovered that the head of medusa and half of Perseus' arm is in fact not pure bronze. This Mannerist masterpiece is designed with eight angles of view .
-Michaelangelo used the leftovers of other artists to carve David - a piece of marble that no one wanted and had been left for 20 years, as it was thought to be too ugly and fragile to make a statue. Michaelangelo apparently said, 'I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.'
-The Ponte Vecchio, which now sells gold and jewelry, used to be a fish market! It is the only bridge to survive the second world war when the retreating German forces blew up all other bridges across the Arno in 1944 to slow down the Allies. Our guide, looking out at the other bridges, said, 'Those bridges are fake!'
-Michaelangelo used the leftovers of other artists to carve David - a piece of marble that no one wanted and had been left for 20 years, as it was thought to be too ugly and fragile to make a statue. Michaelangelo apparently said, 'I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.'
-The Ponte Vecchio, which now sells gold and jewelry, used to be a fish market! It is the only bridge to survive the second world war when the retreating German forces blew up all other bridges across the Arno in 1944 to slow down the Allies. Our guide, looking out at the other bridges, said, 'Those bridges are fake!'
While walking back to the hostel, it turned chilly and we got our raincoats out, which Nat described as perfect to 'break wind' - she meant as windbreakers! Probably the first of many funny Nat-isms throughout the holiday.
15 June 2016
A favourite day, this one was. A sunshine, lots of walking, beautiful art and good ice cream sort of day which, let's be honest, no one can say no to.
While walking from the hostel to the center of Florence, we came across the man in the picture above.Traffic roared past him, people walked with quick, clipped steps, but he sat there, serene and oblivious to everything around him. I think he found the eye in the storm that is every day life.
We began the day in laughter, which is the best way to start. What happened was, we went to the Fotoautomatica booth near the train station, a vintage instant photo booth, but, unprepared, our strip came out hilariously! In one photo, Nat is entirely absent from the picture, and I am wearing something between a smile and a scowl. We hadn't time to take another, because we were headed for another tour, which was on the Renaissance. This one, unfortunately, wasn't as interesting as the one the day before, but we met a group of Singaporean medical students from NUS - the same ones we'd seen in the Duomo! Nat and I didn't have any small euro notes so unfortunately we had to pay the tour guide a paltry amount in coins.
Both of us needed the toilet desperately (this sounds familiar) and so we first tried a Chinese Restaurant, but got turned away by a lady who just kept saying 'No!' - we found out from her colleague that the restaurant was reserved, and so even if we wanted to eat there so we could use the toilet we couldn't. We'd almost given up hope and resigned ourselves to the conclusion that Italians assume tourists don't need to pee, when we came across a leather-making factory. I don't know what possessed us to think to go in there, but as I said - we were desperate.
Two vegans walked into a leather-making factory - it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. But thankfully, it turned out well, because we came across a kindly old man named Michele, who directed us through a door marked 'Private' to the staff toilets. From that moment onward, all the angels we met throughout the course of our journey, we called Michele.
We had our lunch sandwiches and apples, and then walked to Gelateria Del Neri for gelato. Fun fact: In Italian Gelatos, usually the fruit sorbets and (surprisingly) the dark chocolate gelato flavours are vegan! I had dark chocolate and blackberry, and Nat had coconut, mango and blackberry. We sat on the poor man's ledge which is now a bus stop, licked at our gelato and listened to the accents of the people around us. We saw a sweet little girl who stared intently at us, wrinkling up her nose, while licking blue ice cream which stained her mouth. I managed to call Dad and Mum, and let them know about our trip thus far and where we were planning on going next - Naples, which Dad kept pronouncing as 'Nepal'!
I felt a little homesick after that call, and Nat and I talked about what coming back/going back Home (there is a difference I think, and I'm happy because I feel like I've come back. But I'll also come back to Cambridge. Ah, more on this in future.) would feel like as we walked to the Piazzale Michelangelo. She told me about how surreal it would feel to be physically around family after long spells of Skype, and she said the disbelief would take a while to lapse. And of course, that the humidity would be a struggle to adjust to.
The views from the Piazzale Michelangelo were stunning, and I could pick out the Duomo and the Santa Maria Novella church. Florence is a sea of red roofs, but further beyond are the rolling green hills of Tuscany, where they have vineyards and olive groves. I promised myself I would come back one day, if only to walk in those hills.
We managed a very steep climb to the Borboli Gardens, but stopped first at Fort Belvedere (where Galileo Galilei used to watch the skies) which was showcasing a contemporary sculpture exhibition by Jan Fabre, called 'Spiritual Guards'. My favourite three sculptures were:
1) This man in a bathtub, finger poised to look like it was hovering above the water. The thing was, it had rained the previous night, and water had indeed filled the bath tub, to just below his finger. (I touched this sculpture and was told off by an attendant!) He was reflected perfectly in the water, almost reaching himself but not quite. I was reminded of the rich inner world of infinite imagination we have when we are in those quiet, mundane places, like the bath tub.
It made me think also of our insatiable desire to understand the divine and the wonderful world around us, and also that wonderful feeling of freedom I get for some reason when I stand on the tops of ladders.
A favourite day, this one was. A sunshine, lots of walking, beautiful art and good ice cream sort of day which, let's be honest, no one can say no to.
While walking from the hostel to the center of Florence, we came across the man in the picture above.Traffic roared past him, people walked with quick, clipped steps, but he sat there, serene and oblivious to everything around him. I think he found the eye in the storm that is every day life.
We began the day in laughter, which is the best way to start. What happened was, we went to the Fotoautomatica booth near the train station, a vintage instant photo booth, but, unprepared, our strip came out hilariously! In one photo, Nat is entirely absent from the picture, and I am wearing something between a smile and a scowl. We hadn't time to take another, because we were headed for another tour, which was on the Renaissance. This one, unfortunately, wasn't as interesting as the one the day before, but we met a group of Singaporean medical students from NUS - the same ones we'd seen in the Duomo! Nat and I didn't have any small euro notes so unfortunately we had to pay the tour guide a paltry amount in coins.
Both of us needed the toilet desperately (this sounds familiar) and so we first tried a Chinese Restaurant, but got turned away by a lady who just kept saying 'No!' - we found out from her colleague that the restaurant was reserved, and so even if we wanted to eat there so we could use the toilet we couldn't. We'd almost given up hope and resigned ourselves to the conclusion that Italians assume tourists don't need to pee, when we came across a leather-making factory. I don't know what possessed us to think to go in there, but as I said - we were desperate.
Two vegans walked into a leather-making factory - it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. But thankfully, it turned out well, because we came across a kindly old man named Michele, who directed us through a door marked 'Private' to the staff toilets. From that moment onward, all the angels we met throughout the course of our journey, we called Michele.
We had our lunch sandwiches and apples, and then walked to Gelateria Del Neri for gelato. Fun fact: In Italian Gelatos, usually the fruit sorbets and (surprisingly) the dark chocolate gelato flavours are vegan! I had dark chocolate and blackberry, and Nat had coconut, mango and blackberry. We sat on the poor man's ledge which is now a bus stop, licked at our gelato and listened to the accents of the people around us. We saw a sweet little girl who stared intently at us, wrinkling up her nose, while licking blue ice cream which stained her mouth. I managed to call Dad and Mum, and let them know about our trip thus far and where we were planning on going next - Naples, which Dad kept pronouncing as 'Nepal'!
I felt a little homesick after that call, and Nat and I talked about what coming back/going back Home (there is a difference I think, and I'm happy because I feel like I've come back. But I'll also come back to Cambridge. Ah, more on this in future.) would feel like as we walked to the Piazzale Michelangelo. She told me about how surreal it would feel to be physically around family after long spells of Skype, and she said the disbelief would take a while to lapse. And of course, that the humidity would be a struggle to adjust to.
The views from the Piazzale Michelangelo were stunning, and I could pick out the Duomo and the Santa Maria Novella church. Florence is a sea of red roofs, but further beyond are the rolling green hills of Tuscany, where they have vineyards and olive groves. I promised myself I would come back one day, if only to walk in those hills.
We managed a very steep climb to the Borboli Gardens, but stopped first at Fort Belvedere (where Galileo Galilei used to watch the skies) which was showcasing a contemporary sculpture exhibition by Jan Fabre, called 'Spiritual Guards'. My favourite three sculptures were:
1) This man in a bathtub, finger poised to look like it was hovering above the water. The thing was, it had rained the previous night, and water had indeed filled the bath tub, to just below his finger. (I touched this sculpture and was told off by an attendant!) He was reflected perfectly in the water, almost reaching himself but not quite. I was reminded of the rich inner world of infinite imagination we have when we are in those quiet, mundane places, like the bath tub.
2. This sculpture titled 'The Man Who Measures Clouds'. They had another one of it in the Piazza della Signoria. Jan Fabre said this about it:
"That sculpture pays homage to my late brother, who was a dreamer. It expresses the feeling of planning the impossible, which is actually what the artist does. That figure symbolizes my trade. Artists attempt to get a grip on things, but it never quite works out as planned. Life is so fluid and flexible: today, we are no longer where we stood yesterday. The artist measures: he or she establishes connections—mental, physical, political, and philosophical rapports. I am constantly measuring these types of relationships—that is my duty as an artist. As an artist, I constantly measure the clouds.
The Man Who Measures the Clouds represents a frozen action—an homage to death and to the artist. The man is shown standing precariously on top of a library ladder placed at the edge of a crate, while holding up a school ruler. It’s dangerous to be an artist—both literally and figuratively speaking"
3. This man in an astronaut suit, conducting the city of Florence, like some sort of Major Tom/God figure. He had a comfort about him, an 'everything is going to be alright in this place', but also an exuberance and joy. I imagined his conductors baton flicking to direct the chimes of the church bells of Florence.
We leaned against the railings of the Fort and looked out across the gardens, at a part of Florence we hadn't yet seen. The Florence we'd walked around previously is majestic, historical and city-like. The Florence we gazed at from Fort Belvedere was pastoral, full of cypresses (the tree that we have come to associate with Florence) with quiet lakes and beautiful hills that in my mind's eye I am already hiking.
We walked back through the Florence we know, the one with miniature vans, shutters everywhere and smoking, and had an early night.
