Florence
Ciao! As Mike has already written, we are really enjoying Italy! We awoke this morning to the Easter bells from the nearby campanile - they also rang last night at 11pm and at midnight.
Our hotel is in the shadow of the Duomo and it is nice to be at the centre of the action - although Florence is actually pretty compact so anywhere in the city centre would be close to the Duomo.
There are strict controls on parking and driving in the central city so there are very few cars and this makes Florence a very pedestrian-friendly city. It is very crowded at present for the Easter Holiday and by mid afternoon it is difficult to walk because of the volume of people.
We enjoyed our visit to the Uffizo Gallery yesterday - considered one of the best collections of Italian Art - particularly from the late medieval and early Renaissance periods - anywhere.
The galleries are arranged in roughly chronological order and it was interesting to see the progression from 2 dimensional medieval iconography to the more realistic dimensions and settings of the renaissance period. Much of the sculpture and art was from the collections of the Medici family and I thought about the tremendous wealth that must have been required for the family to surround itself with such beauty - not just the actual works of art, but also the decoration of and ornamentation on the buildings. Very impressive!
Sarah is learning many of the conventions of religious art and can identify the following themes: The Annunciation, Madonna and Child, Adoration of the Magi, Mary with Jesus and St John, Jesus on the Cross, and the Pieta. Yesterday while looking at a Pieta she was moved to feel like crying because the artist had so accurately depicted Mary's grief-ravaged face as she held her dead son. It is exciting to see Sarah identify the art that moves her and understand the stories behind the pictures. Some of iconography is also becoming familiar to her: San Sebastian and the arrows, St Catherine and the wheel, St Peter and his keys, St John and his animal skin coat.
She is also becoming familiar with Greek and Roman Mythology - Leda and the Swan, Perseus with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, the labors of Hercules, the Judgement of Paris, etc. Visits to art museums are a great start to a classical education!
Throughout our museum visits this year Sarah has consistently been one of the only young children viewing the art and even though she tires before we do, I have been proud of her concentration and good behaviour and ability to enjoy and learn from the art.
The food has been very, very, good. I did indeed try the tripa firenze -tripe florentine- yesterday. It was a bit of a culinary leap for me but actually not bad at all. I enjoyed the Cantucci and Vin Santo - three biscotti-like cookies: 1 with chocolate, 1 with dried fruit, and 1 with almonds -these are dipped into the sweet, sherry-like Vin Santo.
I have also enjoyed the salamis and sausages made from cinghiale - wild boar - and have had panini and antipasto with these.
I have yet to sample the bistecca firenze - Florentine Beef Steak. This is usually priced on the menu per kilo or per etto (100 grams - aprox 1/4 pound). You order the size of steak that you want - though there is often a minimum size allowed.
Last night I had a sampler of soups for my prima piatti - first course. Ribollita (reboiled) is a vegetable soup thickened with day old bread. Pan et Pomodorro is a bread and tomato soup. I also had a tuscan bean soup. All three were simple and delicious. The Florentines are known as mangiafagiole - bean eaters and they do a bang-up job of making this simple staple delicious.
My family appears ready to make the move to breakfast - Capuccino and a roll for me, Cafe Americana and a roll for Mike, Chocolate and Roll with Nutella for Sarah - so I will sign off now and return later to post some photos.
Love,
Margo
Our hotel is in the shadow of the Duomo and it is nice to be at the centre of the action - although Florence is actually pretty compact so anywhere in the city centre would be close to the Duomo.
There are strict controls on parking and driving in the central city so there are very few cars and this makes Florence a very pedestrian-friendly city. It is very crowded at present for the Easter Holiday and by mid afternoon it is difficult to walk because of the volume of people.
We enjoyed our visit to the Uffizo Gallery yesterday - considered one of the best collections of Italian Art - particularly from the late medieval and early Renaissance periods - anywhere.
The galleries are arranged in roughly chronological order and it was interesting to see the progression from 2 dimensional medieval iconography to the more realistic dimensions and settings of the renaissance period. Much of the sculpture and art was from the collections of the Medici family and I thought about the tremendous wealth that must have been required for the family to surround itself with such beauty - not just the actual works of art, but also the decoration of and ornamentation on the buildings. Very impressive!
Sarah is learning many of the conventions of religious art and can identify the following themes: The Annunciation, Madonna and Child, Adoration of the Magi, Mary with Jesus and St John, Jesus on the Cross, and the Pieta. Yesterday while looking at a Pieta she was moved to feel like crying because the artist had so accurately depicted Mary's grief-ravaged face as she held her dead son. It is exciting to see Sarah identify the art that moves her and understand the stories behind the pictures. Some of iconography is also becoming familiar to her: San Sebastian and the arrows, St Catherine and the wheel, St Peter and his keys, St John and his animal skin coat.
She is also becoming familiar with Greek and Roman Mythology - Leda and the Swan, Perseus with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, the labors of Hercules, the Judgement of Paris, etc. Visits to art museums are a great start to a classical education!
Throughout our museum visits this year Sarah has consistently been one of the only young children viewing the art and even though she tires before we do, I have been proud of her concentration and good behaviour and ability to enjoy and learn from the art.
The food has been very, very, good. I did indeed try the tripa firenze -tripe florentine- yesterday. It was a bit of a culinary leap for me but actually not bad at all. I enjoyed the Cantucci and Vin Santo - three biscotti-like cookies: 1 with chocolate, 1 with dried fruit, and 1 with almonds -these are dipped into the sweet, sherry-like Vin Santo.
I have also enjoyed the salamis and sausages made from cinghiale - wild boar - and have had panini and antipasto with these.
I have yet to sample the bistecca firenze - Florentine Beef Steak. This is usually priced on the menu per kilo or per etto (100 grams - aprox 1/4 pound). You order the size of steak that you want - though there is often a minimum size allowed.
Last night I had a sampler of soups for my prima piatti - first course. Ribollita (reboiled) is a vegetable soup thickened with day old bread. Pan et Pomodorro is a bread and tomato soup. I also had a tuscan bean soup. All three were simple and delicious. The Florentines are known as mangiafagiole - bean eaters and they do a bang-up job of making this simple staple delicious.
My family appears ready to make the move to breakfast - Capuccino and a roll for me, Cafe Americana and a roll for Mike, Chocolate and Roll with Nutella for Sarah - so I will sign off now and return later to post some photos.
Love,
Margo
Labels: Florence
posted by Margo Nelson at 11:29 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home