Adventures in Italy: Day 5 Florence, Chianciano

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Italy Day 5, Saturday, October 8, Florence

We left Chianciano with the rising sun casting warm orange colors over the cloud covered valley.
As we headed north in the light rain and intermittent fog more mountains appeared and the heavy clouds dispersed showing us the beautiful landscape in the Provence of Chianti. (The movie Miracle at St Anna, set in 1944 Italy was filmed in Chianti.)

Since the ride from Chianciano to Florence was about two hours, we stopped for a break at the Autogrill, a gas, restroom and food stop on the highway. These restrooms are reliably clean and free of charge, whereas most places charge .50 Euro for the use of the restroom facilities.

2016 is the jubilee year for pilgrims to venerate Christ in Florence. Although we were not pilgrims, we were anxious to see the beauty and glory of Florence, my favorite city in Italy. We all hoped that the rain would soon subside but alas, as my feet first hit the wet ground I opened my umbrella to protect me for most of the remaining day. It was disappointing for sure but I felt sorrier for those who had not been to Florence before. In Florence just outside its protective wall, I was surprised to walk right past the Botanical Garden of Florence. Unfortunately there was no time to explore the gardens, plus it was not conducive to walk the gardens in the rain. Another reason to return.

Florence is the epicenter of the Renaissance (largely funded and encouraged by the Medici) and we were about to explore as much of its cultural wonders as was humanly possible in a day.

Since this was my third and my husband’s second time visiting this city there were many sites that were not necessary to visit again giving us new areas to explore. We walked first to Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a large piazza with a beautiful open space flanked by important churches like the SS Annunziata. The life size Ferdinando de Medici Equestrian Monument, commissioned by Cosimo II and sculpted by Pietro Tacca, is a dominant and impressive feature here. The statue was cast in 1602 using bronze from captured cannons on Turkish galleys. Ferdinando I of Medici might have been a story of love lost, popularly suggested because he sat on his horse gazing longingly, an arm raised toward his unrequited love across the Piazza, but it is likely a confusion of a story from a different time frame of a newlywed couple from the 1500s who were tragically separated by war. She waited by her window (indicated by Fernando’s arm in this same piazza) for her lover but sadly he never came home.

From here we pressed on in the rain toward the famous Il Duomo di Firenze (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore). On the way amidst the dark and narrow buildings, we observed Michelangelo’s famous ground floor “kneeling window decorations” that he designed to be used under windows, with their “legs” from sill to floor, as a decorative means of support.

In Florence during the Middle Ages people lived in towers because it was safer, but now these towers have become apartments with buildings on either side presenting a tall dark aspect. It was in one of these apartments near the Uffizi Gallery that my 12 year old father and my grandmother lived for a year while studying art and music.

Even on a rainy Saturday there were exceedingly long lines to climb to the top of Brunelleschi’s majestic Duomo and sadly the sunless sky did not illuminate the beautiful pink, green and white marble exterior of the church, the tower or the bronze panels of the Baptistery. Dave and I had climbed to the top on our last sunny visit here and highly recommend it on a good day but my feet were soaking wet from the rain so I suggested we go into the elegant Scudieri (Dave’s and my favorite cafe from a recent trip to Florence) for a coffee and pastry and a chance to dry out a little. Unfortunately after I came back from the unisex restroom, someone had stollen my good umbrella. The manager saw I was upset and gave me another but sadly not nearly as good as my original one but it did keep me dry for the rest of the day.

We splashed past the Baptistery and Duomo to get in the short line for the new Mueseo Dell Opera Del Duomo. Thankfully this line lasted only 15 minutes compared to an hour and a half for the Duomo Cathedral. While waiting in line I bought a beautiful scarf in the adjacent shop. Never lose an opportunity to shop.

This impressive new museum was 15 Euro per person, but included the Duomo Cathedral that we did not go to because Dave and I had visited this a few years ago. There are more than 750 works of art here set in 25 rooms on three levels. Although modern inside, the exterior does not reflect the amazing new interior.

The Sculpture Gallery was spacious and well lit with high ceilings displaying a large collection of important Gothic sculptures as well as the rarely seen reverse side of the Baptistry door panels impressively located on the walls. In the next room we found Donatello's very moving carving of the gaunt and sad Penitent Saint Mary Magdalene. A tiny adjacent room housed relics of St Agata and the finger of John the Baptist as well as a large jewel encrusted gold cross and golden mitre. In total there are more than 600 relics of various types to be found here in this museum.

In a quiet room, impressive by itself, we found one of the four Pietas sculpted by Michelangelo. This Pieta had Nicodemus leaning over Christ and the Madonna. It is said that Michelangelo carved his own face to represent the hooded Nicodemus. Michelangelo is believed to have damaged Christ’s left leg in this sculpture because of his frustration at what he perceived were his seemingly failing skills. I think this may be my favorite Pieta. For me, this work by Michelangelo created more emotion in his subjects than any other. There were icons, paintings, carved stone reliefs and much more that we left for another visit in an attempt to cover more ground in the short time allotted in our Florentine visit.

Once again, rain gear deployed, we walked through a persistent drizzle the to the Piazza Della Signoria (now known as the Piazza Vecchio or Old Palace, the location of the city’s town hall) stopping to admire a replica of the sculpture of David (Michelangelo’s original David is in the Academy of Fine Arts Museum). The statue of David was originally installed here, at the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio and in 1873 was moved into the Academia Gallery to protect it from the elements. David, depicted before his battle with Goliath, was originally place so that his eyes were looking towards Rome. I am not sure if this still applies in his new location. We later learned Dustin Hoffman and his crew was in this piazza for the filming of the Netflix movie Medici: Masters of Florence, filmed in Florence and the Tuscan countryside, but he was likely enjoying his lunch indoors out of the elements. By the way, if you love all things Florentine, this series is a must!

Lured by the glitter of all things gold, Donna and I pushed on dragging our husbands John and Dave to the famed medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge that spans the Arno River. For centuries the shops on this bridge were occupied by butchers and other merchants. Some have said that during WWII Hitler intentionally spared this bridge, bombing all others across the Arno, but that is just speculation. In more recent times this bridge has become famous for its unique designs in gold jewelry. I was very lucky on this my third shopping trip here, to secure a beautiful gold and multicolored jeweled ring that to me suggests the colorful colored windows in this region. Donna still searches for the perfect piece.

We soon joined the men who had left us to have a nice lunch at Ristorante Celestino at the far side of the Ponte Vecchio where we finished the remains of their pizza and beer before setting out to walk the Oltrarno (the other side of the Arno River). We passed the large Pitti Palace, now the largest museum complex in Florence, and short on time, and because of the long lines due to the rainy weather, we passed on this museum and its beautiful Boboli Botanical Gardens to begin our exploration of this quiet part of the city. Winding in and around the narrow streets we found mostly residences, the few shops we did see were closed.

We crossed back across the Arno on the Ponte Santa Trinita to look for the 11th century Church of Santa Trinita (rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries), where Donna’s cousin is a priest. This is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. The church once belonged to the Strozzi family and then later passed to the Medici family. It is located off the via de’ Tornabuoni, one of the most elegant streets in the center of Florence. Sadly the church, (located in the Piazza of the same name), closed minutes before we arrived. We later learned that this church is also a museum housing some important Luca della Robbia, Bicci di Lorenzo, and Barbieri masterpieces, a fragment of the column Jesus was tied to when he was whipped, and a beautiful altarpiece by Domenico among many other notable artworks. Again, Florence must be seen and experienced over several days, not just a few hours.

The sun came out to tease us in our remaining hour and a half but it wasn't until we walked along the Arno to Piazza Santa Croce that the sun cast shadows and lit up the warm colors of the buildings and the impressive Basilica of Santa Croce, making a gloomy dark city sparkle and come alive. Unfortunately we arrived too late to tour the inside of this beautiful Franciscan church where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli were buried.

Standing outside the church is a seemingly defiant monument of the poet Dante, sculpted in beautiful Carrara marble and donated by Enrico Pazzi, called Monument to Dante. Dante was exiled from his native Florence because his works often included thinly veiled references to powerful people at the time. Instead of being buried in Florence, his place of birth, he was buried in Ravenna where he died in 1321. In 1519, Pope Leo X had a change of heart and ordered Dante’s bones to be transferred back to Florence but his order was refused. The Franciscan monks who were in charge of Dante’s remains had secretly hidden them in their monastery and sent instead an empty coffin. It wasn’t until 1865 on the 600th anniversary of the birth of the famed poet that Pazzi’s statue of Dante was completed and given to Florence. There are four Marzocchi lions, an important symbol of Medici Florence, at the base of this statue holding names of Dante’s works. The monument was moved to the steps of the Basilica of Santa Croce in 1968 in order that the annual costumed football matches could be held in the piazza.

We had just enough fair weather to remind us that Florence is a place that we should return to as often as possible. Our ride back to Chianciano was mostly in fog and rain but the occasional lifts of the clouds let us know that Tuscany is truly a magical place.

Back in Chianciano at our temporary home in the Hotel le Fonti we enjoyed a wonderful dinner consisting of (finally!) a vegetable buffet, risotto al chianti that was sooo good, deliciously steamed (using just a little water I’m told) cannelloni beans with olive oil parsley and a little onion (I asked specifically how it was made so that I might try to replicate it at home), porcini mushrooms and cauliflower ending with a torte and good decaf cappuccino. A perfect ending to the day.

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