Took the early morning “rapido” train to Florence arriving at 10:00 AM. The taxi line was almost 100 yards so we hoofed it to our hotel on the Arno at the Ponte Vecchio (quite a ways with our luggage over cobblestones). Got into our room and changed for a hot day in the city, then hoofed it over to Santa Croce for a visit and to chat with Barbara Gori, the woman who runs the Leather School, Scuola del Cuoio. This business was created by the Franciscans to teach the poor a skill back in the Renaissance. Now it is one of the foremost creative leather product producers in Florence. Had a nice visit with Barbara Gori who runs the place now that her sister has retired. She is very savvy about the business, about the ... read more

What a night we had (but not as bad as it might have been). A 5-person soft rock group by the name of Lo Stato Sociale performed from 9PM until Midnight. The setup – stage, lights, huge SOUND system and fog machine – took two days to prepare (with regular testing of the sound system … which rattled the windows in the flat). When the concert was in full swing there were about a thousand young people dancing and clapping and singing along with the band. Most enjoyable to watch from our vantage point. At the end, the main vocalist climbed out onto the crowd and was moved around and then deposited back on the stage for the finale. Great fun. Of course the band dismantled their equipment from midnight until 2AM so there were some ... read more

Today Rosella was good enough to share her extensive knowledge of art and history and took us to Piazza Pubblico, the city hall with a frescoed history of the Sienese republic. The most important works are in the Hall of Good and Bad Government. This incredible allegorical work (by Ambrogio Lorenzetti) from the 14thCentury shows exactly what is necessary for a city state to sustain itself and its people. The room is divided into three walls: one for the effects of “bad” government, one of the effects of “good” government, and one representing the values and virtues that must be considered to create good over bad. This representation from almost 600 years ago is just as accurate today as it was when it was created. In the midst of the representation of “bad” governance is a ... read more

Ahhh, we slept in today. Perhaps the pace has slowed and we are recovering ourselves. We had a our breakfast in the flat and then made our way to the Duomo to take in the incredible art and workmanship. Of course it was crowded and we had to move with the wave of tourists, but it was worth the wait. The pulpit by Pisano was incredible, detailed and moving. The Piccolomino Library was superb with its frescoes and illuminated manuscripts (to be sung from). Peggy is moved by the workmanship and the beauty. We moved around the altar and the choir seats and were amazed at the inlaid woodwork done for each seat. Imagine spending months or years creating something that has lasted centuries but nobody knows who did it. The only reason we know about ... read more

Despite being up early with the idea of visiting the duomo we were surprised to find out that it did not open on Sundays until 2:30 as there were multiple services being preformed. So our plans changed and we headed for the quaint little streets and medieval byways. On the way we stopped at the archaeological museum and had a fabulous conversation with one of the men that run the place. Seems there are lots of Etruscan tombs and ancient burial sites in the tufa all around the city. Orvieto is a wonderful little city with lots of children and families living very pleasant and relaxed lives just 60 minutes from downtown Rome. After some nice views and curious little back streets, we made our way back to one of the restaurants we had heard about ... read more