How people actually lived in Florence in the 14th and 15th Centuries

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We met Alexandra at the Horne Museum. This is a small palazzo from the 15th Century that was fully restored by Herbert Horne in the late 1800s. As the restoration was completed, he died of tuberculosis and left the museum and his entire collection to the state. It is now managed by a foundation. The palazzo was charming and most of the time we had the museum to ourselves. Leon Battista Alberti in his Della Famiglia laid out the rules for family life (even though he was not married) and the Palazzo's layout clearly reflected the rules. Husbands and wives had separate bedrooms with a connecting private corridor so they you have discreet visits. Men had safes or entire rooms where they could stop papers that their wives shouldn't see. While holding several banquets each year was required, Alberti advised they be modest, since the the benefit was gone before the food was fully digested. This prompted a conversation on conspicuous consumption and how there are a lot of people today who could benefit from Alberti's advice. Alexandra described a wedding recently in which the groom booked the entire Four Seasons hotel for a week and Santa Croce for the wedding ceremony. Pretty over the top, with two saving graces: the people were nice and respectful and the bride was very concerned that the guides who had been hired for the event spent time with the guests so they would understand the history of the church where they were having the wedding. We agreed this is a different world than the one we live in. There were paintings by Giotto to Simone Martini, Masaccio, Filippino Lippi, Domenico Beccafumi and Giambologna, as well as lots of household artifacts. The second and third floors had identical layouts so two brothers could each have their own living space without intruding on the other.

Our next stop was the Palazzo Davansati that is representative of life in the 16th Century (http://museumsinflorence.com/musei/palazzo_davanzati.html). It was larger and grander than Horne Museum. The frescos were amazing and since these were very, very rich people they had all the latest in furnishings including bathrooms. The toilet was a hole in a raised platform with a pipe so the waste went into ????(there were no sewers) and the tub was a shallow pan where you cold stand and pour a little water over yourself when absolutely necessary. At the time people believed that water opened your pours and let in bad things (germs weren't around yet). Women didn't change their dresses, only the sleeves and rarely left the bedroom. They were married as soon as they menstruated and were pregnant or nursing for most the the rest of their adult lives. If life was tough for men, it was tougher for women who must have been bored out of their minds with noting to do but pray, do needlework and take care of kids with a great degree of isolation.

We had lunch at a tiny, off the beaten path restaurant that had panini with truffle sauce. It was so good that we bought a small bottle that I'm willing to schlep for the rest of the trip so we can have this at home to remind us of Florence.

Next was the Uffizzi, which is pretty overwhelming. The most annoying thing is being pushed aside from looking at a painting by someone who is trying to take a picture of the painting. Taking a picture in an iPhone will yield a pretty lousy image especially compared to what's available on Google Art where you can get an amazing image. I can understand taking pictures of interesting buildings or views, but taking photos of pictures makes no sense. Fortunately, they've banned the selfie sticks in the Uffizzi but unfortunately despite posting a sign at the entrance that flash photography is not permitted isn't sufficient. Several times our guide explained to people that they shouldn't use a flash because it damages the art, and they look at her as if to say, "Everybody else may obey this rule, but I don't have to." Generally, to get close enough to see a picture you had to wait until a large group started to move away and then push forward and hold your ground as the next group tried to dislodge you. I learned about Artemisia Gentileschi, the most famous woman painter of the Renaissance, not that there were very many women painters at the time. Evidently there is an interesting book about here that I now want to read.

For dinner we headed back to the Centrale Maercato and had fried fish, wine and pastries. We chatted with two women, one from North Dakota and the other from South Dakota. They were the first people I'd ever met from either state, provincial me.

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Photos

Bedroom in the Palazzo Strozzi
Completed in the mid 1500's. The images at the top tell the story of an unfaithful wife who gets her throat slit by her husband as a warning to the new bride who will inhabit this room.

Family tree
You can see the coats of arms of related families along the edge. Family feuds were pretty serious (people killed each other they didn't simply communicate by email) so having a lot of connects kept you safe.

For private worship
Looking at pictures of healthy, blond, blue eyed babies was supposed to help women produce male heirs.

Generale Insurance
Co-founded by Jews with the Star of David on the facade.

Mercato Centrale
The second floor is one giant food court without a single fast food restaurant! YEAH