Advertisement
Casa Guidi
Where Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived with her husband Robert in the mid 19th centuryIt was quite cold today with rain and thunderstorms. Three things today.
First I must tell you where I went yesterday afternoon. To Casa Guidi just up the road. Where Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband Robert lived from 1847 until 1861 when she died there. A large elegantly furnished apartment, it is open three afternoons a week from 3-6pm, just ring the bell and go up in this tiny lift that feels like vertical coffin. I came down the stairs! I loved the beginning of one of her beautiful poems, From
Casa Guidi Windows:
“I heard last night a little child so singing
‘Neath Casa Guidi windows, by the church
O bella liberta, O bella! “ It was amazing to be there where she wrote many of her poems.
So to today. Bev and I headed off among the raindrops to Basilica Di Santa Maria Novella. We had passed it on our first day here when going to the Station, didn’t go in as I wasn’t sure what was in there. Well it is a very large monastery complex which we enjoyed immensely. Lots of surprises with large and even larger cloisters framed with
green and white marble arches and incredibly beautiful frescoes. One is very important, Masaccio’s
Holy Trinity (1424-1425) uses the then newly discovered techniques of perspective and proportion. The guide book said allow 2 hours and they were right.
We got a bit lost coming home as we dodged even more raindrops. Bev’s daughter Leanne had sent her over with ponchos. They were very handy over the top of our raincoats.
When Ian came home he and and I went to find the Brancacci Chapel which is part of the Church of the Carmine over past Santo Spirito. Unfortunately it closed at 5pm just as we arrived. However into the church we went because we knew that the Corsini family had the chapel on the opposite side to the Brancacci.
What a treat. We couldn’t believe it. All that we had learned for taking tours in Auckland came back to us. There were the earthly remains of Saint Andreas Corsini - he who was the subject of the painting with the bullet holes in it in Auckland - in a glass fronted case. He looked quite small really with his toes sticking up and his Bishop‘s hat on.
The living room with Elizabeth’s desk
Although she wrote mainly from a chaise longue He was the Bishop of Fiesole. Either side was the family coat of arms with a Bishop’s hat on top and on the side walls the coat of arms had Cardinal’s red hats on.
In Auckland there was a sketch of the painting in the dome so we were thrilled to be able to recognise it when we saw it in situ. Light flooded in from windows in the dome making the colours all stand out. All in all it was very impressive.
Tomorrow we visit the Palazzo Corsini itself.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.062s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0277s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
