Lucca is that music. Count Orsino, so dramatic but... so Italian... Well, no-one here want to kill off the "lerv" through excess, but merely allow the tune to "play on" so our spirits can splash happily in the fizzing atmosphere of Lucca. The closest we have come to Lucazade is the wonderfully refreshing "spritze". In fact, I am about to suspend writing this piece as the call has come from my erstwhile travelling companion that it is "after 5pm and time for a spritze." If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die A refreshing mix of vermouth, prosecco, soda water and aperol (orange liqueur) poured over ice with a slice of orange, Spritze is probably only toppled by the local spelt beer on our thirst quenching list of Italy so far. Lucca loves its towers. Like Siena, this penchant for high structures harks back to grizzlier times when the advantage height was often required.
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After a mid afternoon nanna nap we headed out to walk up the hill to the monastery where Benedictine Monks work their enterprising skills with their "mass" production of cookies and olive oil. We strolled across the river... via the bridge ... and walked up the hill to the Monkhouse smashing out 30+ flights of stairs according to my Fitbit. Whist in the Monastery Shop one of the monks came in dispairing of the behaviour of tourists with their cameras having the audacity to take snaps in inappropriate places. As he ranted to the woman behind the counter I resisted the urge to take his photo... somehow. The shop sells all manner of monk-made cookies, cake and momentos. I was disappointed that there were no Monk House Tour T-Shirts for sale. Sadly miracles are not for sale, but instead one can attend a service complete with singing that is somehow associated with miracles. So indeed we popped in for a bit, marvelling at yet another amazing piece of architecture and associated artwork... and of course, the experience was en-chant-ing. Bazinga! The views of Firenze from their front door is rather splendid.
Is it just me or can others appreciate the idea that there must have been an alcohol fueled luncheon or dinner somewhere amongst Team Curation at the Bargello to put this piece of "ridiculo" on display... Not withstanding this, the Museo Nazionale de Bargello has a superb collection of sculptures, tapestries and paintings. The room crammed with the plaster versions created before marble is chiselled was quite... um... marbleous. Not of huge fan of christian iconography but the light was too good... Hmmm... did the symptoms of the Black Plague look like smallpox...? A decided this snap below should be entitled minimalist Jesus... who does appear to be giving the Romans the double finger.
A lovely Uffizi story... For the sake of the argument, lets just call her Maria... her father was apparently a well respected painter. He wanted to give his money only to his son, so he forced his two daughters to be cloistered in a convent to exclude them from any claim on his estate. (Boo!) At 16 years of age Maria was considered so beautiful that the upon receiving a request from another local artist for a model for a religious art work, the Mother Superior sent Maria and another to sit for the artist.
In a time honoured tale and one which the Sound of Music folk clearly borrowed... From noviciate to wife in quick passage of time, Maria had sons with the artist, at least one of which became a dab hand with the brush... and I hope made more money than the inheritance her brother received. Before Catherine Medici gave away a sizeable chunk of the family fortune, the all powerful and obscenely wealthy Medici family didn't like to mix with the common folk that much. Something about the level of personal hygiene of the hoi-polloi ... and oh, the threat of assassination. Actually the personal hygiene element is interesting (according to me) as it was compulsory to visit the terme for a wash on a regular basis ~ all free to the common person as the Medici and others worked out that a healthy seething mob was a happy seething mob. There were less problems for the state if there was less ill health due to poor personal hygiene. Allegedly the Medici paid well for good work on a similar basis. Perhaps our current politicians could take note. Anyway, I digress.... the Vasari Corridor was the Medici secret passage so they didn't need to descend to street level. Think the third floor transverse corridor of Myer in years gone by... but over a kilometre in length. It was an emergency route in case of any attack, but mostly for a quiet stroll past self portrait after self portrait from any painter of note across time. Clan Medici even had a chapel built with access from the Vasari corridor so they could hear mass and not been seen. I am starting to form the view that the Medici folk might have been alternate lifestylers of the "clothing optional" kind... Another secret door experience, it did afford some lovely views of the Ponte Vecchio as well and the Arno River. Below is but the first part of the corridor that twists and turns across the 1,000m distance. Michelangelo... check... Raphael... check..and now Leonardo self portrait... now where is Donatello... (TMNT rock!) Not completely sure why Da Vinci had the prescience to paint LED lights into his self portrait... but he was ahead of his time with the helocopter design and many other inventions. Tubby Taylor and Fujitsu take note... this is how you do an air conditioner. Yep, with some spare change just lying about the Medici household bill dish, they commissioned their own 3 chamber grotto. Its one way to beat the heat of high summer... and the cost of a pool cleaner avoided.
... and this is why they called him the Master. Amongst the 2.700 pieces of art on display at the Uffizi, the skill of Michelangelo stands head and shoulders about all others. He has hit the other masters who have to be considered 'also rans' over the fence, over the grandstand and into the Arno River for more than a six. His capacity to work with colour is remarkable. It would seem that no-one did blue like Mickey A. This work entitled Doni Madonna, is thought to have been commissioned around 1507, to celebrate the wedding of man about town Agnoli Doni to Maddalena Strozzi the daughter of a rich Tuscan family. Despite the years the colours remain vivid. It sits in a room with paintings done by those who would copy his skills with colour, each coming second, third and fourth by a country mile. It sits there in its original frame (yowzers!... is that an art appreciation technical term...?) like a beacon of perfection. The round frame suggest domestic harmony according to our most excellent guide Roberta who told us that this painting was commissioned for the bedroom... which might explain the bevy of strapping males in the buff lounging about in the background. It would seem that the Uffizi provides some balance in the nudity stakes which in art across most modes is predominantly female. However, here they are not afraid to get out the odd tonk or three in the statue stakes. Above is the Rape of the Sabine Women with Hercules and the Centaur in the background. The Sabine woman story I shall save for another time... But here is that violent streak coming out again in the foreground and the background... a good clubbing is never far away if one is a centaur it seems. As one walks about the Uffizi, where art piece after art piece sings to you, the symphony is a powerful one indeed. You are presented with so many works of art, that is is impossible to spend sufficient time on a guided tour to truly appreciate the visual feast before you. Access to the amassed art of the Medici family has only been possible by the bequest of the last of the Medici line, Catherine, painted here with her French husband Henry (really...seriously...Henry not at least Herve?) As she didn't have children from the marriage, she donated all the art and buildings to the state. Cant imagine some of the rellos were all that happy about such a decision.
It was all going so well up to the mid 14th Century and then someone had to get sick... Siena, a city and area mostly unchanged because the plague wiped out 75% of the population, whilst at its height of its creative and administrative influence. Artist.s artesans, bakers... nearly all disappeared due to death or distance. (Not only the well to do fled the area thinking it was possible to outrun the epidemic, "the ne'er do wells" of artist colony fame also created a dust cloud from sandalled feet trading hard on dirt roads.) Rumour has it that the concept of the free market economy was born here. A flourishing yet feudal agricultural system enabled the canny and somewhat scarily named "The Council of IX" or just "The IX" to make their own rules as is the want of the wealthy. They decided the manner of taxes, tithes and payments of all things commercial. It was the IX who also made money by bank-rolling the Papacy ~ though it came with a sizeable interest charge. (Think the Bank of Bravos for the GoT fans.) The local Duomo didn't do too badly out of it all of course. Like St Peters B, trying to take in the art work and the adoration of all things Godly, is a real challenge. To help out, I have used an external snap. It tells a story about what might lie inside I suggest. Ok... can't help myself... Of the internal narrative, one thing is obvious, beyond the adoration factor, the Senesa were a blood thirsty bunch who seemed to like nothing more than a good killing whenever possible. Divided into areas within areas and quite happy to fight with Firenze, Lucca or whoever, the Game of Thrones reference seems once again to be apt. From the floor of the Duomo, a small piece of story outlined in marble. Killing babies, women and children... an oft taken optional extra. Just a thought... Siena might also be the birth place of splatter films... The Romans conquered the Etruscans from whence comes the name Tuscany, so the town of Siena decided to adopt the She Wolf and Romulus and Remus as its symbol in recognition of its heritage and contribution... oh, and the claim that R&R were suckled here in Siena.
For the first time ever, (yep, slow learners) we took a spin on a Hop on Hop Off Bus service. Having discussed the values of such many time in different cities, we finally took the plunge... thrill seekers living dangerously right...? It seemed like the right city to do a blockie in. Great chance to re-visit some places already snapped and we took a walk along the Tiber in places new to us near the VC (Vatican City)
Sure, this is not the usual snap of the Basilica one shares. But Vatican City has a million stories beyond the towering edifice of St Peters. In the background of this snap is the hotel built initially (and relatively recently) for the cardinals who are instrumental in the voting system for each new Papa. Its a system a tad akin to that used by the Eurovision Song Contest... ( or is it the other way round?) but it involves lock down. Previous to the construction of the hotel, the Cardinals slept the corridors. Dorm party anyone? Actually no, as the 70+ year olds all shared one or two bathrooms... So here is the front view, looking almost devoid of folk compared to those moments in the year when it is filled to capacity with the faithful. The Galleries which surround the Basilica are remarkable, extensive and illuminating. Impossible to absorb in one tour. One passes through kms of internal walls and ceilings crammed with paintings and statues including the odd Caravaggio, Ciccarello, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Despite being able to take photos I found the paintings impossible to capture. Too overwhelming. Sculptures and artefacts were easier. "This man is a dentist so we can't show you his face..." or groin (... for non-Aussies and younger ones, its a reference to a toothpaste ad from the 70s)). Our tour leader felt this was as finer set of glutes one might encounter in VC. So, still didn't find any basil... but 400 year old olive trees that still produce fruit... yep. Inspiration for The Terminator look... the English Gardens at the Vatican.
A bonus of the Vatican Tour with Tick Italy was it is one of three companies who can access the Bramante Stairs. Oh the privilege of being led through secret doors. I felt the eyes of envy fall heavy upon us as those less fortunate who assumed we were taking a secret passage directly to El Papa himself, gazed on. Donato Bramante was the architect behind the rebuilding of the Basilica San Pietro... okay... the church of St Peter in the Vatican city... and a few others to boot. Bramante was a good friend of Pope Julius II who reformed the ways of the Church after the ravages of the Borgias. The stairs that bear his name is a spiral access for materials and services required in the building of the church. Whispers suggest it is one of many routes that snuck up a back passage in the Vatican. At the top of the stairs one can stare out upon Roma. Not too shabby at all. |