Firenze

This beautiful song brings back memories of Florence. A street musician was playing this on his guitar at the Ponte Vecchio. This was on my first evening in Florence, on the 30th of June. I had had a stressful journey from Rome to Florence after my one week stay in Rome with the group organized by Opus Dei. It was the first time I was alone, and already I had run into a bit of trouble - the queue at Termini Station to validate my Eurail pass was so long that I missed my train to Florence. Thank God though, for 8 Euros I was able to board the next train leaving Rome to Florence. I checked in at Hostel Archi Rossi, an excellent place to stay recommended by Monika, then went for a stroll.

Rome is grand, awesome, eternal; Florence seems more fleeting, and it has a touch of fantasy and magic to it. Perhaps this is because of the city's tumultuous political history, which I had read up on (mainly in Paul Strathern's Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance), or maybe its the fact that Florence is the tourist city par excellance and seems totally geared towards welcoming foreigners (and therefore it's not uncommon to hear English spoken along the streets, unlike in Rome or any of the other Italian cities I visited), or perhaps its the musicians you often encounter as you wander through the city. Whatever it is, you just can't miss the unique charm of the city. It's in the air.

In Rome I relied completely on Fr Marin's excellent knowledge of the city's history and architecture. It was my own knowledge that came alive as I walked the streets of Florence that evening.

The Church of Santa Maria Novella was the first landmark that greeted me after I left Florence's main station, which takes its name from that Dominican church. This was where I attended Mass while in Florence. Mass was in a side chapel - sadly I never got to see the interior of the main church.



 

During my walk, I passed the Medici family church of San Lorenzo, with its unfinished dome. Again I didn't get to step inside this church and take a look at the Medici tombs. Nearby was also the Mercato di San Lorenzo (Market of St Lawrence).





The Medici coat of arms, at the Cathedral square. The Palle can be seen all over Florence:



Then I reached the famous Duomo - a place I had been wanting to visit for a long time. Florence is very small, especially compared with Rome. Almost as soon as I left the hostel, I could see the beautiful and iconic masonry dome of the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore. It's an extremely beautiful building.












Saint Reparata, a third century Christian virgin and martyr, patron saint of Florence. Florence's Cathedral was originally named after her:

A photo of the dome, taken the following afternoon:



I didn't ascend Giotto's Bell Tower, from which you can get a wonderful panorama of Florence.



I was able to slip inside the next afternoon, bypassing the long queue because I went in to pray, rather than as a tourist (which meant that I couldn't spend a lot of time exploring the interior, as much of it was cordoned off and was open only to paying tourists.

Here's a photo of the dome from the inside, taken the next day (July 1):


The dome depicts the Last Judgement, and was commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, painted by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, and Zuccari and a number of collaborators, such as Domenico Cresti after Vasari's death.

I love the sound of church bells and I heard the Duomo's bells quite a few times during my stay in Florence:


The famous Baptistery of St John, where all Florentines used to be baptized, making it the heart of the city's faith:


The east pair of doors, the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti, was dubbed by Michelangelo "the Gates of Paradise". Ghiberti beat Brunelleschi in the competition to make these doors.



The interior is spectacular. I paid to enter it the following evening (July 1). There was no queue at that time. Here are some photos:

The ceiling:








The Cathedral Square is the centre of the city life and is always packed.



One unforgettable memory is of the relaxing times I spent on both evenings, when the sun had already set, just observing the people walking about, sitting on the Cathedral steps, eating gelato, and the toy vendors who went about demonstrating a projectile lit by LEDs which they kept launching high into the air and then expertly catching.

The Duomo at dusk, taken on the 1st of July:



On one part of the square, gazing up at his greatest creation, the Cathedral dome, is a statue of Fillipo Brunelleschi.




Somewhere around this area, I entered a souvenir shop, to buy a shot glass, and some postcards. While waiting for the owner to tally the price, I admired a small statue of Dante Alighieri that was on display. The owner, seeing my looking at it said that Dante was her favourite author. It was great to be able to whip my copy of Dante's Purgatory out of my bag and show her. Florence is indeed the city of Dante. Plaques bearing quotes from his Divina Comedia are a very common sight.

After passing the Piazza del Repubblica, I came to the Palazzo Vecchio, formerly known as the Palazzo della Signoria where the Signoria, the government of the Renaissance republic, was headquartered. This palace has seen so much of Florentine politics and the struggles for power that are part of Florence's history.



From the courtyard of the Palace, here is an example of the plaques I mentioned:


"O how beheld I those who are undone By their own pride!"

Just outside the Palace was a collection of reproductions of the great sculptures of the Florentine Renaissance, including Michelangelo's David and Donatello's Perseus (the bronze statue in the photo below)


Nearby is the world-renowned Uffizi Museum. I visited the museum the next day, but that evening I spent some time admiring the statues outside - sculptures of the great men of Florence.



It was thrilling to see the statue of Cosimo the Elder, whom I had read about quite a bit. It was under Cosimo that the Medici family rose to great political prominence. He was also a patron of the luminaries of the early Renaissance including artists like Michelozzo Michelozzi, Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, Donatello, and Brunelleschi.

Another exciting discovery was the statues of Dante and Niccolo Machiavelli. I've had a several academic encounters with the latter and admire the way he writes, though I disagree with much of his advice in The Prince.

"On the coming of evening, I return to my house and enter my study; and at the door I take off the day's clothing, covered with mud and dust, and put on garments regal and courtly; and reclothed appropriately, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where, received by them with affection, I feed on that food which only is mine and which I was born for, where I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reason for their actions; and they in their kindness answer me; and for four hours of time I do not feel boredom, I forget every trouble, I do not dread poverty, I am not frightened by death; entirely I give myself over to them.

"And because Dante says it does not produce knowledge when we hear but do not remember, I have noted everything in their conversation which has profited me, and have composed a little work On Princedoms, where I go as deeply as I can into considerations on this subject, debating what a princedom is, of what kinds they are, how they are gained, how they are kept, why they are lost."

- Niccolo Machiavelli, Letter to Francesco Vettori, Dec. 10, 1513

 The Ufizzi (which means 'Offices' and which used to house the Florentine magistrates in the later Medici years) is near the River Arno, so I soon glimpsed the famous Ponte Vecchio:

"I was bred and born 

In the great city on Arno's lovely stream."

- Dante, Inferno, Canto XXIII

Along the Ponte Vecchio, there are many padlocks locked to various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. It was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers: by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded.

The Ponte Vecchio is lined with shops, mostly goldsmiths:





I spent a while just taking in the scenery at on the bridge. It was perfect - beautiful music, people talking and laughing happily, a peaceful sunset over the river:



BY THE ARNO
by: Oscar Wilde

HE oleander on the wall

Grows crimson in the dawning light,

Though the grey shadows of the night

Lie yet on Florence like a pall.

 

The dew is bright upon the hill,

And bright the blossoms overhead,

But ah! the grasshoppers have fled,

The little Attic song is still.

 

Only the leaves are gently stirred

By the soft breathing of the gale,

And in the almond-scented vale

The lonely nightingale is heard.

 

The day will make thee silent soon,

O nightingale sing on for love!

While yet upon the shadowy grove

Splinter the arrows of the moon.

 

Before across the silent lawn

In sea-green vest the morning steals,

And to love's frightened eyes reveals

The long white fingers of the dawn.

 

Fast climbing up the eastern sky

To grasp and slay the shuddering night,

All careless of my heart's delight,

Or if the nightingale should die. 

 

Seated on the curb on the bridge was this man and his cute and scruffy dog:






I put some coins into the cup.



Here's a video I took. Unfortunately it's quite shaky:


I did not cross the bridge to the part of Florence that lay on the other side of the Arno. I did that the next day. So after some time on the bridge, I turned back towards the city centre, with the Duomo as my guide.

I passed by the Mercato Nuovo, or the New Market, famous for its leather work. I bought my sister a purse from here the next day.

Il Porcellino (Italian "piglet") is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar. Visitors to Il Porcellino put a coin into the boar's jaws and rub the boar's snout to ensure a return to Firenze. This tradition that has kept the snout very polished when compared to the rest of the boar's body.



Back at the Piazza del Repubblica there was more music. This girl was singing O Sole Mio:




As I reached the Duomo I heard drums and trumpets and a crowd was gathering at one end of the square. I was so lucky! I arrived just in time to watch a pageant with people dressed in Renaissance costumes and a marvellous display of flag-throwing.









Unfortunately my camera battery gave out and I wasn't able to take a lot of photos.

I had a late dinner near the Duomo and headed back to the hostel to sleep.

So that was my first encounter with Florence. I had seen much more than I had planned to - the city was unexpectedly small and there was so much to see within its confines. The next day was much more packed as I rushed around the city visiting all the museums and other historic places that were on my itinerary.




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