If Naples is the birthplace of Pizza,Florence,the capital of Tuscany region,is the birthplace of Renaissance.
Note:Florence was a powerful city-state under the Medici family during the Renaissance (1400-1600);Under their patronage the artistic and intellectual life of the city flourished with brilliant work by Giotto,Michelangelo,Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante,Raphael,Boccaccio,Donatello,Galileo,Botticelli and others.
Located 475 Kms from Naples.we completed the journey in 3 Hrs passing through some exquisite Tuscan countryside. The primary train station in Florence is Santa Maria Novella,one of Italy's busiest stations,with 150,000 people passing through it every day..Ha,Ha....Our own CST(VT) has 650,000 footfalls a day.Thane/Kalyan may be more
A taxi conveyed us to San Gallo Palace,an elegant Hotel,and we were politely told that our room will be ready only by 2:00 PM.With the aid of a city road map and directions from the receptionist we set out on our quest to visit the main attractions.
Basilica San Lorenzo is one of the oldest cathedrals in the center of Florence and was consecrated in 393 AD.
It served as the parish church for the powerful and wealthy Medici family
We walk some more and reach Piazza del Duomo,the main tourist draw of the city.It is a cobble stoned Piazza with plenty of tourist traffic.As we sense rainfall,the umbrellas and Ponchos make their appearance with Bangladeshi hawkers
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| Baptistery in front,Cathedral with Dome and Tower |
The cathedral of Santa Maria die Fiori (Il Duomo) stands out both in dimension and by significance,compared to the other landmarks of the Piazza...the Baptistery and the Campanile (bell tower).What is striking about the exterior of the cathedral is its rich polychrome ornamentation,an effect yielded by the combination of colors,materials and sculptural motifs,as well as by the various religious scenes embellishing the facade.
This edifice used to be the largest cathedral in the world until the modern era.Now it is the third largest after the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome (Vatican) and the one in Milan.
The history of the cathedral goes back to the late 13th century (1296), when Cambio was commissioned to design the edifice, which he did, at least in part, in a majestic Gothic style. Yet, it was not until 1436 that the construction was completed under the supervision of Brunelleschi,after 140 years! 
The Cupola or Dome is the most elegant and attractive feature of the Cathedral. History has it that for a century or more there was a gaping hole atop until Brunelleschi came with a design and supervised the construction.Today,it has its own Iconic status and has come to represent the city,dwarfing other monuments..
Trivia: Most of the original sculptural masterpieces adorning the Cathedral,Baptistery and Bell tower have been removed,for fear of wear and tear and are now exhibited at the Cathedral museum,nearby.Duplicates fill their place.
Trivia: Most of the original sculptural masterpieces adorning the Cathedral,Baptistery and Bell tower have been removed,for fear of wear and tear and are now exhibited at the Cathedral museum,nearby.Duplicates fill their place.
We walk to Piazza della Signoria to see Michelangelo's David duplicate in front of the Palazzo Veccio and other sculptures.
Palazzo Veccio, now the town hall and historical Museum is a cubical building made of solid stonework, with two rows of Gothic windows.The solid, massive building is enhanced by the simple tower with its clock
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The vivacious construction of the open-air sculpture gallery in front of the Palazzo V has wide impressive arches open to the street. The arches rest on corinthian columns. This gallery's antique and Renaissance art is in stark contrast with the severe architecture of the Palazzo V.Cellini's Bronze work above right is magnificent and it took him 10 years to complete the sculpture
Trivia: 'Stendhal's Syndrome' SS- losing one's bearings as a result of being exposed to large quantities of beautiful artwork...originated in Florence.
So,not to overload and fall prey to SS we skipped going
inside this museum of history as we were planning to go to
Gallery Accademia later this afternoon. Uffizi,we missed as we did not book sufficiently in advance.
It began to rain as we were leaving the Piazza and walking towards Arno river and Ponte Veccio another landmark in Florence.Arno was in the news in May 2016 when its embankment collapsed due to a gash in a two-foot water main beneath the surface.It was in the proximity of Ponte Veccio,the old Arno bridge.Here is pic looking across from this bridge at Arno river.
Crossed the bridge to glimpse at Pitti Palace and had to hurry back to the location of Accademia Gallerie to see the Original David etc. Here he is...
We went into the section of the Hall to admire from a short distance the perfection of the most famous statue in the world,standing under a skylight which was designed just for him....Michelangelo's David. Completed in 1504 by the young Master,it is a 14 ft marble statue depicting the biblical hero in the nude.On close observation,one can perceive the Master's passion for the human anatomy and his profound knowledge of the male body.
The Rape of the Sabines, is a Giambologna masterpiece depicting three figures connected by a serpentine movement, with one man lifting a woman into the air while a second man crouches.What impacts the observer the most is the fact that the whole group was carved from a single block of marble.
Sculptures abound and there are paintings on the walls behind, all depicting scenes from Christian faith.  |
In the 13th and 14th century Halls in the upper floor one can admire Gothic paintings all on wood
After all that sharp/mild observation of sculptures and paintings,the hall of musical instruments was a relief where I sat in front of a Monitor and obtained information about the features and sounds of the instruments as well as about the explanation of the grandiose festivals arranged in town by the Medici in villas or theaters, proudly showcasing the richness of the cultural atmosphere of that era.We were impressed with the old Harpsichord and Stradivari's Viola.
We took a bus from Accademia,dreading another long walk,and dived into a Cafe for some refreshments before reaching our Hotel.We achieved a lot in a half day,Hard work pays!
Day 2 - Siena,San Gimignano,Pisa
After a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel we are dropped at the starting point of our coach trip which will take us south through the Tuscan countryside.I am actually traveling through the beautiful Chianti region gazing out at the olive groves,green hills and vineyards ....stunning to say the least.
Few geographical areas in the world can boast of the natural beauty that surrounds Siena.To the north,we have the richness of the Chianti landscape, woven with vines,olive and cypress trees that are symbolic of the Tuscan landscape;beautiful towns like San Gimignano with old towers, winding streets and incredible views. South of Siena, the Arbia valley leads to the hill-top town of Montalcino, home to the famous Brunello wine.
Trivia:Cypress trees in Tuscany are symbols of welcome;Big Villas and Hotels decorate their drive ways with Cypress and so do some Restorantes
We take a long walk from the Parking area to the assembly point,Piazza del Campo,which is a shell-shaped square.
We gather in front of the imposing Palazzo Publicco,the town hall today with the clock tower next to it
The guide counted us out Uno,Due,Tre,Quattro..until all were found and brought closer to listen to her spiel...
"Palio ...the time honored horse race between the 17 contradas or regions of Siena is held here,twice every year on 2 July and 16 August,and the competition is fierce.Only 10 riders take part as it is not possible to accommodate all.Around 20,000 people throng the Piazza while the buildings all around are packed to capacity at euro 500 per seat.The race which lasts for less then 2 minutes is the subject of debate and discussion all year round and can cause men and women to laugh or cry;such is the Palio, the greatest traditional festival in Siena."
Note: Even a riderless horse that crosses the winning post is declared a winner!
Now we walk to the Duomo.
We walk up the winding lane from the Palazzo and get to the Cathedral (1263) which predates the Florence Duomo.The exterior of the cathedral is pretty impressive,decorated in white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes,with a tinge of pink running between.While Florence's cathedral is immense and its cupola impressive,its interior is pretty spartan in comparison.In Siena you don't know where to look once inside.The columns continue the white/black marble striped motif and when you look up,there are busts of great religious men looking at you.We took a special special look at the flooring:
the most impressive and beautiful of the treasures the cathedral holds are on the floor decorated with the art of mosaics to create storytelling masterpieces.Plenty of yellow-brown highlight the mosaics,which is typical Siena color.
Other treasures such as the Marble Pulpit,with alternate pillars resting on lions...by Pisano
This magnificent Altar
created by Michelangelo.
It was a veritable feast,the sheer magnitude of columns, statues,frescoes and floor mosaics.On top of all this imagine finding a library of musical texts such as that for Choir music,inside a cathedral.The Piccolomini library is unlike any other library that you and I have seen anywhere.
This is stupendous! Beautiful frescoes,adorn the walls and ceiling, full of bright colors and gold details,by Pinturicchio and his team,which included the young Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael).The colors,the luxuriously dressed figures and their detail,the fine indoor settings and detailed landscapes; will take your breath away!
"Come along we are getting late for lunch"cries Claudia and back we go following her to the coach but not before stealing a few more views and partaking special Siennese sweets from Nannini a popular outlet.Legend: Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus and nephews of Romulus. Supposedly after their father's murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants,thus appropriating that symbol for the town
A Tuscan lunch with wine tasting, for the group was organised at a rustic wine estate with pleasing views of the country side.
A while later,we are climbing to San Gimignano,a charming hill town 350 meters above MSL. It is towards North in Chianti and the town center is perched up on a hill.It has about 7000 residents and preserves the medieval flavor.Famous for its numerous towers,built by its Nobility,each one taller than the other.There were 22, now only 7 survive.The picture to the right brings out the medieval splendor.We heard that San G is a victim of its own picturesqueness,too small to cope with the sheer volume of tourists that descend every summer.
Gelataria Dondoli gave us each two delicious scoops on cones,living up to its name as Gelato world champion and ......
as we progressed, we avoided getting into the Cathedral...how many Duomos can you see?... but walked slowly through the town, up the hill to be entertained by some fine views of rich agricultural farm lands around the village below
The coach resumes speed and our next stop was Pisa.We crossed the Arno river again,good to see in the late afternoon Sun.The Tower was about 15 minutes walk from the coach park,and we had to walk the gauntlet of tourist trap market stalls and traders before we got there.
Claudia shouts"Enough time for a quick visit to see the Leaning Tower, to take photo of your partner touching the Tower.No time to go up...allora, don't make delay"
Here are a series....reminding us of our tryst with the leaning tower
Back to Florence we go negotiating traffic all the way. Man,how they drive.The coach driver was circumspect and reached us safely to our destination.
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Montepulciano. Pienza. Montalcino...Day 3
Another beautiful day,a good breakfast and we are ready for a second round of Tuscany by coach.You can never get tired of it.I would like to spend at least a week in Tuscany alone,based in a small town.
Surprised to see only 12 tourists on the coach.
Arisa our guide,is an Albanian who came to Italy to do a language course,loved the country and its culture(may be she is not saying that she found a boy friend too),and found a job in Travels and Tours and has stayed back.She is good at her job.
Coming back to 12 of us only...our coach goes straight to Siena to pick up 10 more and off we go to Mon-teh-pulciano.
It stands high on a rocky ridge overlooking the picturesque landscapes. It is one of the highest hill towns in the region (600M), very charming town with renaissance era palazzos and ancient streets and alleys to explore as well a couple of important churches.
Arisa took us up the steps from Parking through those cute arches with lanterns and lead us to Piazza Grande,the centre of town.Here stands in all its nakedness,the rugged mass of Montepulciano Cathedral, built in the late 16th century. The locals have never had the money to dress up this jarring brick facade.To its left is Palazzo Communale which functions as the Town Hall and is very reminiscent of the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence
We assemble at the meeting point and our guide says "60 minutes I give you to explore..You can take the left for Panorama,go straight for a feel of what it was like to live in the medieval period or down this lane for shopping or seeing some cute decorated windows.After that we go for some wine tasting"
Here we are walking through those narrow winding lanes,all very quiet, the houses quaint...
The Arch is ubiquitous, to border a doorway or to attach another building in a lane.For some reason the windows are mostly shut,even in late spring making one wonder about its habitation. Hallo! Is any one there?
This ancient well at the far end of the main square is decorated with lions holding the symbol of the Medici family as well as with griffins.
Here is a mosaic on wood by Giodotti.
But for the street signs,
the setting carried us away to 1500 AD
We turn our attention to the Panorama.
View from one side where you see Olive groves and Vine yards and rolling farm lands beyond
This view is particularly picturesque Because it looks out onto the beautiful domed church...San Biagio
We do a quick run through the shopping area and see creative window dressings.Just like these....Shoes and Wine
Arisa is waiting patiently and after Uno, Duo, Tre...
she hurries us to a makeshift setting at Crocinio,a family run winery in the vicinity.We were greeted by the friendly owner in the tasting room and asked to have a seat on benches.She brought over glasses and small trays of those hard bread and local cheese.The tasting included 3 different wines – we had a Super Tuscan,a Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, and a Riserva. Before each pour,she talked about the wine including its grapes, bottling process,and taste compared to the other wines presented.We bought Vino Nobile and said Ciao..
With that we complete our tour of the town and get into our coach.
We go to Pienza,famous for its design.It is honoured by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Given the hype about medieval town planning,the reality did not stand out as anything really special - In 1459, Pope Pius II began a scheme designed to turn Pienza, the place of his birth, into Italy's first model city; apparently the Pope died after the Cathedral was finished,leaving only a fragment of his dream realised. Below, see a shot of the small town from afar.
It is yet another quaint town with which Tuscany abounds.It has a beautiful Piazza bounded by the Cathedral (built by the same Pope) and three palaces and wonderful views across the Tuscan countryside from the old city walls.
We enter Pienza's main street through the beautiful gateway called the Porta al Prato.You can see the bell tower as you walk.We pass the old Church and continue past the great Palaces of Piccolomini. All accomplished quickly? Very quickly!
We came to the Piazza and we needed the services of a wash room.We saw a cafe very close to the Cathedral and ordered a coffee...may be a Capucino,and we requested the Cafe owner and he gladly obliged.We could use the b'room! Next,we ordered Pizza slices as we were hungry and bingo he pointed to a couple of chairs outside the Cafe door and requested that we be seated while he heated up the food.No Servizzio was charged for the seats.
This is the cathedral in the Piazza.To the side of the cathedral there is a lane that leads to a very nice viewpoint to see the countryside
Though small,Pienza has plenty of Nooks and Crannies and caters to tourists' every need.Cafes,Curio shops, Bars, Restaurants,wine shops and plenty of local artists to pencil sketch and sell paintings.
Next....Montalcino
They say Montalcino is a part of the Tuscan Voyage and it is famous for its Brunello wine and of course it is medieval with cathedrals,churches,Forts and so on.I have written a lot about them and so I will skip that part of our voyage.
This small town is situated on a hill covered with olive groves and famous vineyards. After a short run through the town we were ready for the last main event of the day.....A visit to a special winery which is about 30 minutes away from here.
Montalcino has been made incredibly rich and famous by its Brunello wine,one of the world's best and most appreciated Italian wines.The precious formula of the Brunello was invented in 1888 using only the Sangiovese grapes.Before the Brunello is ready,it must age for a minimum of 5 years, 2 of which must take place in oak barrels.
Abbadia Ardenga is a historic winery of Brunello di Montalcino, and absolutely worth a visit for its location,and for its products,which includes Olive oil.It has very ancient history...the property once belonged to the powerful Piccolomini family (they are there everywhere in Tuscany).
The organisation runs under the stewardship of an 85 year old Italian full of Zest for life and for females.He made his grand entry after the 22 of us were seated and as is his custom held a lucky draw first and gave away a wine bottle to the winner...a lady! Then we started tasting different wines, from the pedestrian to the most expensive (3 all red)and finally a Grappa to end the proceedings.All with some cheese to bite.We picked up a bottle from the medium range
Location was picturesque.Pic taken just outside the tasting hall
Note: Grappa is uniquely Italian.Traditionally made from discarded grape seeds,stalks and stems that are a by-product of the wine making process.Grappa has been around since the Middle Ages.For generations,Italians have sipped this "firewater" after meals and even added a little to their morning espresso,to "correct" it (try to order a "caffe corretto" next time you are in Italy).Grappa is making itself known around the world. Distilleries from Australia to Oregon,are trying their hand at making this with surprisingly good results.
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| With Arisa |
Our tour of Florence comes to an end and we take the train to Venice in the morning.See you in Venice
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