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