Exploring the Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor

The official name is the Galleria degli Uffizi, and it is the finest museum of Italian Renaissance art in the world. This is where one should begin to learn about Florence.

After a nice breakfast at a restaurant on the Piazza della Signoria, we met with our art tour guide, Maurizio Tocchione, to visit the Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor, which connects the Uffizi with the Pitti Palazzo.  Maurizio began by showing us a scratched picture of a face on a stone of the west side of the Palazzo Vecchio, which he described as Michelangelo’s worst artwork!  The entrance for our private tour was a door on the north side of the Palazzo, past the guards and into a large marble stairwell with portraits and busts of various Medici and Habsburg rulers.  The walls were painted a sort of pale lime green, which Maurizio called “Lorraine Green” indicating the décor changes in the Uffizi after Francis Stephen I of Habsburg-Lorraine took over as Duke of Tuscany in 1738.  [Historical note:  Tuscany had been a dukedom ruled almost continuously by the Medici family since the mid 1400’s, but the last Medici ruler died in 1737, and Francis was granted Tuscany in compensation for loosing Lorraine in the Treaty of Vienna, which ended the War of Polish Succession.  It’s all very complicated.]

Maurizio opened our eyes to see the transition in painting styles from the Medieval to the Early Renaissance, by showing us “Madonna Enthroned” of Giotto (circa 1260), much more naturalistic than the adjacent painting of the Madonna by Cimabue, separated by less than 30 years.  It was said of Giotto that he painted just what he saw in Nature, and if he made a mistake it was because there was a mistake in Nature. Heresy!  Giotto the innovator began to use natural colors for the heavens instead of the icon-like gold leaf of earlier medieval artists.  We saw paintings of such vivid colors it was hard to believe they were more than 700 years old. 

The upper level of the Ponte Vecchio is called the Vasari Corridor and was designed by the architect and painter Giorgio Vasari for the Grand Duke Cosimo I as a safe passage to walk from the Uffizi complex to the new Medici apartments in the Pitti Palace without going out in the streets among possibly hostile crowds.  The longest section of the corridor at 400 meters is filled with portraits of artists starting from around 1300 and ending in the mid 1800’s.  I recognized a portrait of Maria Cosway, a painter of miniatures and friend of Thomas Jefferson.

We bade farewell to Maurizio, with our heads fairly bursting with all the information he had given us, and after a snack on the Uffizi terrace, went to the Palazzo Vecchio for a self-tour.  Again the halls were decorated with the Medici coat-of-arms of a shield arranged with six balls, the upper one with the French fleur-de-lis.  Maurizio told us this privilege was granted to Lorenzo Medici (the Magnificent) in 1469 by the French King Louis XI in recognition of their alliance. Maurizio told us this was a way of dating the decorations in Medici architecture.  The Palazzo Vecchio had been the governmental building for the Republic of Florence, and the first room, called “Room of the 500” was enormous, with walls covered in frescoes of medieval and renaissance battle scenes.  We walked through the rooms, each one more lavishly decorated than the last.  After what could only be described as sensory overload, we climbed the tower of the Palazzo to get the most amazing views of the city of Florence. 

If you plan to visit Florence, I very strongly recommend booking an Art Tour with Maurizio Tocchioni, an art and architecture scholar, and native of Florence with a great command of English!

Maurizio Tocchioni

Art Tours in Florence Tuscany

www.florencepass.com    email:   tours@florencepass.com

San Gimignano, the Tuscan City of Towers

In what should have been an easy excursion from Florence, our day-trip to San Gimignano was made more time-consuming because of the bus service.  We were told to catch the bus at the train station Santa Maria Novella, and were so convinced of the simplicity of this advice, we walked there confidently hoping to catch the 9:00 am bus.  Ah, but things are seldom as easy as that here in Florence.  After purchasing bus tickets at a tobacconist shop, and having the shop-keeper come out into the street to point us to the bus terminal (not really near the train terminal) we felt we were getting close.  The 9:00 am was long gone before L. asked a man in the bus terminal which bus to take, and learned we could catch the 9:40 for Siena, but should get off at Poggibonsi and wait for the bus to San Gimignano.  Oh yeah, now I remember, one must go through Poggibonsi when travelling from Florence to anything in the Siena district.  ("when I die I don't know if I am going to heaven or hell, but I know I'll be going through Poggibonsi").
As we approached San Gimignano we could see the profile of the fourteen towers at the crest of the hill.  The bus chugged up the road toward the high gate through the rough medieval walls and we piled out onto the street.  It was just as I remembered from years ago, and wasted no time finding a great leather shop.  An hour later both L. and I had purchased wonderful, buttery-soft leather purses, in L's case, the purse she had remembered seeing in the same shop two years ago and regretted not buying then.
We then walked to the Piazza della Cisterna for gelato and mingled with the horde of tourists who were also enjoying gelato.  This piazza is not large, but it is charmingly Tuscan in appearance with a stone cistern in the center.  I can't imagine this was the sole water supply for the town, as the guide book would have us believe, but it must be the most picturesque.  Around the corner is the entrance to the Piazza Duomo, which fronts the large Romanesque church.  The steps leading up to the church were crowded with young people, tourists, children and dogs, and I had the impression that most of the people were locals, as if San Gimignano was the destination of the Italians driven out of Florence by the hordes of foreign tourists. 
Since I am always interested in antiquities, I persuaded my companions to visit the Museo Archaeologico, which contains some very nice artifacts from in and around San Gimignano.  I am especially interested in the Etruscan artifacts, and finding any examples of Etruscan writing, which has not been completely deciphered, at least the last I heard.  I had to stop in the little alabaster shop, off the main piazza, to see what carved goodies I could buy to stuff in my luggage.  The Tuscan alabaster is world-class, with a pure white translucent quality unlike Greek or Egyptian alabaster.  I love it, and have several pieces, delicate covered jars, vases, and little animals, all pure translucent white.
The town itself has an interesting history, with a fuzzy pre-history of Etruscan origins, perhaps dating back to the 4th century BC.  The Romans supplanted the Etruscans as the power in this region, and the town continued as stop on major trade routes.  Even though so much is known due to old documents and archaeological excavations, I find it interesting that the major question remains: what were the towers for?  At the height of the city's power, there were 72 towers, now reduced to fourteen.  Buy why?  One theory I heard was that they were used for drying long strips of woolen fabric, another was that the towers were built as a sort of "one-upmanship" between feuding families.  I'm just grateful the few towering survivors remain to give San Gimignano a unique character, and unmistakable skyline.
If you visit San Gimignano, check out the leather goods shop:
Le Torri, s.r.l.
Leather Goods Made in Italy
Via San Giovanni 22/24 -- 117 -- 34
www.letorrionline.com

Springtime of the Renaissance

Santa Croce and Wine-Tasting -- Beautiful weather in gloriously beautiful Florence!  Walking from our flat in the general direction of Santa Croce took us across a bridge over the Arno (not the Ponte Vecchio) past shops lining the river.  After we stopped in one of the ubiquitous leather-goods shops, we looked into a shop featuring mosaic artwork, which at first appeared to be oil paintings.  No, that delicate brushwork was really tiny, finely crafted chips of colored semi-precious stone!  The proprietor Francesco Tei showed us photographs of Florence taken in 1945, heartbreaking photographs of the destruction from the bombings.  He told us one of his earliest memories was of receiving chocolate from American GIs after they liberated the city.  He told me the Ponte Vecchio was spared because even the Nazis chose to not destroy one of the most famous bridge in Europe. The Michelangelo Bridge just downriver was re-built using the stone that was fished out of the water.  One of the statues in place at the bridge entrance is missing an arm because that was never found after the war.
This was my third visit to Santa Croce, and it is still amazing. We filed past the memorials and tombs of Galileo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Rossini, and the memorial to Dante, all dating from the 13th century to the memorial to Enrico Fermi in the 20th.  Many more names are enshrined within the church, with the added attraction of frescos by Giotto of scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi.  By the time we reached the serenely beautiful relief sculpture Annonciation by Donatello, it was difficult to imagine how these marvels of art and history could continue.  But continue they did, through the Museo dell l'Opera, with massive paintings and frescos, the church sacristy with ancient manuscripts of Gregorian chant music, and the best was a tour of the Pazzi Chapel, an architectural jewel by the master Brunelleschi (1377-1446) who also built the marvelous dome above the Duomo.  I remember reading years ago in the book Civilization by Lord Kenneth Clark that the Pazzi Chapel represented the earliest Italian Renaissance architecture, and thus represented the springtime of the Remaissance.  Humanism:  Man is the Measure of All Things.
Although we never got inside the Palazzo Vecchio, leaving that for another day, we accomplished another goal - to find a friendly wine shop for wine-tasting, that wouldn't break the bank.  C. was given the name of the Enoteca Alessi by her Italian teacher, which we found with only a little trouble, and what a great tip that was!  I was entranced by the table-tops, made from the lids of wine boxes with the vineyard name stamped on them.  The very charming and helpful lady at the shop brought us samples of Tuscan reds and whites, along with regional cheeses and olive oil-soaked breads.  We loved the Brunello from Montalcino, 2008, and we bought some bottles.  The wine varieties at the Enoteca Alessi was quite extensive, and the downstairs was even more impressive than the main floor.  We were treated to Tuscan pecorino cheeses, wrapped in grape leaves and in walnut leaves, and a Tuscan bleu cheese, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed,  I have included a photo of the shop exterior, and hope some of you travellers to Florence may have a chance to stop in for a delightful wine-tasting experience!
Enoteca Alessi
Via delle Oche
50122 Firenze
www.enotecaalessi.it

Wheels up!

And we're off!  The flights from Denver to IAD (Washington-Dulles), and from IAD to Rome-Fiumicino airport went very smoothly.  After a night of following the full moon's reflections on the ocean, we were treated to the stunning sight of the Alps at sunup.  The van ride from the Fiumicino airport to the Rome Termini train station was a bit like "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" from The Wind in the Willows, but we survived.  However, for anyone unfamiliar with the Rome Termini train station, the anxiety of not knowing which track one's train would depart from was unsettling.  With only five minutes before departure time, the binario (track) number was finally posted on the board, giving us little time to drag our bags to the correct binario.  We were aided by some helpful locals, who herded us through the crowds to Bin 7, and then held out their hands for a tip.  Whoa, they wanted five euro each, and we had no time to haggle, but forked over the money we had and climbed aboard feeling the sting.  Lesson learned: help from a stranger in a great transportation hub is not freely (or cheaply) offered. 
The train ride to Florence was pleasant, with the views of the Tuscan agriculture of grape and olive and wheat and corn punctuated by numerous tunnels through the Apennines.  Our residence hotel on the south side of the Arno near the Santo Spirito church (see photo) in Florence is quite charming, with a roof-top terrace, kitchen, and air-conditioned bedrooms.  Not having had much sleep during the night flight we had just about enough energy to find a local market for supplies, and go out for a nice dinner.
Tomorrow morning we plan to visit Santa Croce, the beautiful Renaissance church that holds memorials to some of the most important figures of Italian history.  In the afternoon, I'd like to visit the Palazzo Vecchio, touring the ornately decorated interior rooms, and climb the tower.  We'll see what, in fact, transpires!

Getting ready to sail away....

Anticipation is sweet, and although there are still two weeks before I set out for new adventures, my mind is filled with the mundane details of preparation -- stop the newspaper delivery,  get a vacation hold for the mailman, catch up on the bills, have a friend adopt the houseplants.  Instead of concentrating on work, my mind wanders off wondering whether I have too much luggage, enough books, insect repellent, Band-Aids? Where are the power adaptor plugs?  Don't forget the camera. How disheartening to know I will have nothing interesting to say until I shove off on 20 August 2013.  Stay tuned!