My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 3

This weekend is Europe Arts Appreciation and all the museums are open free to the public; we toured both the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Piti free yesterday. We met up with Donna and Mary this morning for coffee and then headed for the Uffizi to see about reservations for later in the day. The line were very long and there was an equally long line to get into Palazzo Vecchio, so we headed for the Duomo, Baptistery and Campanile.

Climbing 400 plus stairs to the top of the Campanile is not for the faint of heart, especially as there is no organization around ascending and descending, so there are people heading up and down at the same time. The winding staircase is very narrow, so narrow at the top that you have to hug the wall in order for anyone else to squeeze by. But you are rewarded at the top with a panaramic view of Florence. The facade is beautiful white, green and pink marble and together with the Baptistry and Duomo make up a stunning piazza.


















While we waited in line to get into the Duomo, Mr. Man and Donna went off in search of a pannini for each of us. The line moved so fast that Mary and I had to get out of line twice. We ate the sandwiches on the side steps and were harassed by a gypsy begging for money and rubbing her amply fed stomach. We finally had to move in order to get away from her. As it is Sunday, we were only allowed to enter the main aisle of the Duomo, but were immediately struck by its vastness and by its lack of interior decoration when compared to its exterior beauty and extravangance. Unfortunately, we were unable to see more than glimpses of the frescoes within the dome as we couldn’t really get close enough. Perhaps we’ll revisit this beautiful undertaking again before we leave.

The most famous thing about the Baptistry is, of course, its bronze doors. But, inside awaits beautiful mosaics in the dome. The original bronze doors are no longer in place, but the replicas are beautifully rendered. The giant figure of Christ in the dome is wonderfully colored against the gold background, and there is a great depliction of Hell which is so beautiful you almost forget its horrible content.

San Lorenzo market was next on our list, but it wasn’t much more than a tourist trap filled with booths of largely non-Italians selling seemingly poor quality goods. We continued on to find Mercato Centrale, which unfortunately was closed. So we opted for a glass of wine. We stopped at an outdoor restaurant called Antica Taberna del Botticelli and had the worst experience of our entire trip (worse than our surly waiter and horrible food at Casa Blanca in Viareggio)! We ordered a liter of white wine and some water, and once the waitress discovered we didn’t intend to eat, she took up our paper placemats. The place was by no means busy; there were perhaps four other tables being occupied.

The owner, a very fat, sweaty gentleman (and I use the term very loosely) with a jowly face and bulbous lips was strutting around in a white shirt unbottoned to almost his navel with a large, brash gold chain around his neck, shouting orders. As soon as he saw we didn’t have placemats he had another waitress bring us our check. She then stood a little to the side making it very clear that she wanted us to pay. When we looked at the check and saw it was €30,00 we asked to see the menu as we certainly didn’t remember a liter of vino de casa being that expensive. Well, we must have offended our fat proprietor for he came stomping over barking at us about restaurant and cafeteria, yelling and sticking his finger in Donna’s face—he was practically foaming at the mouth. At one point during this exchange, I picked up my wine glass to take a drink and he began shouting at me; while I couldn’t understand what he was saying, it was clear he didn’t want me to drink it. He then tried to snatch the money from Donna. A totally horrible experience. We finally decided to just pay, finish our wine, and move on, vowing to post warnings to others on the Internet—I will also leave a note in the book here at the apartment for others who follow us.

It was a little hard to leave this experience behind us and recover our joy of being in Florence, but we tried. We retraced our steps to Piazza della Signoria and joined in the line for the last entrance into the Uffizi; with only an hour left for viewing we headed straight to the highlights—The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, along with his other works housed there; the Leonardo room; Michaelangelo’s The Holy Family and The Venus of Urbino by Titan. We didn’t make it passed the second collection (the Leonardo room) before announcements of closing began.

Both Mary and I had read a New York Times review of Teatro del Sala and we all decided we would have dinner there tonight. We decided to go directly there, eat dinner, and make an early night of it. It’s located along Via de’ Macci between Santa Croce and Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti. It was closed so we backtracked to a small restaurant we had seen on our way called Osteria de' Macci. This restaurant and its proprietor Alessandro were the highlight of our day and the best meal by far Mr. Man and I have yet to have in Florence. It has only been open for a month and so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It is very quaint and nicely appointed with white table clothes—a romantic atmosphere.

We were shown to a table with a view through a pass-through of the kitchen, where you can watch Alessandro and his assistant cook. Upon being seated, we were brought a delicious glass of Proseco and had a great discussion with Alessandro about the restaurant and Florence. Then he brought us the most wonderful bruschetta with tomatoes and delicate flavors of garlic and vinegar. Mary and I each had the soup of mashed white beans and clams, which was incredible. Pureed to a smooth consistency, this soup was neither too thick nor too thin. The flavor of the white beans together with olive oil and spices melded together perfectly. There was also a good amount of clams, served still in their shells (Il Passatino di Fagioli con le Vongole Veraci). Donna had La Vera Ribollita con l’olio dell’ Osteria; a tomato and bread soup that was also delicious. The olive oil is made in house and Alessandro made a gift to us of a bottle.

Mr. Man and I shared both a primi and secondi piatti of risotto (Il Risotto Mantecato alle Punte di Asparagi) with asparagus sauce—the lightest risotto I’ve ever eaten with a delicate flavor of asparagus; devine. This was followed by La Vera Bistecca Fiorentian (Tuscan steak) served with oven baked potatoes. This is a huge T-bone, cooked rare with a seasoning of salt and pepper that melts in your mouth. Both of these were accompanied by bottles of Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino, which we enjoyed so much that Alessandro soaked off the label for me. We all had dessert and then Alessandro made us limoncello, which was so good we had two more rounds. We continued to speak with Alessandro throughout the meal, which added to the overall experience and made us feel extremely lucky to have come across this jewell of a restaurant.

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 2

We met up with Donna and Mary this morning and spent the day exploring the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti.

View of Florence from Boboli Gardens.

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 1

We are staying on the residential side of the river, just a couple blocks from Piazza Santo Spirito. This area is much quieter—less tourists and lots of artistan shops and markets. We spent the morning just walking around familiarizing ourselves with our new neighborhood. We didn’t want to wander far as we were to meet our friends from Geneva, Donna and Mary, in Piazza Santo Spirito at 1:30pm. It is somewhat overcast today and we underestimated the temperature. While we waited for Donna and Mary we realized we were both very cold and when they hadn’t arrived by 2:00pm, we decided to risk a quick trip back to the apartment to change into warmer clothing and call Donna’s cell. We were not able to get through to them and spent the rest of the day hoping to connect at some point.

We headed out for dinner at Osteria on Via S. Spirito, which is close by. When we got home there was a note under our door from Donna! They didn't get in until 9:15pm, after a hellish day of one travel mishap after another. We have made plans to meet up tomorrow morning.

My Italy Diary: Pisa

We left Viareggio this morning and headed for Pisa—we had been told to skip Pisa on our last trip as “there’s nothing to see except the tower.” This couldn’t be more wrong, I only wish we’d planned more time there. We spent about four hours and managed to fit in the Baptistry, Duomo, Camposanto, and a long ascent up the Tower. The Baptistry of St. John is in such contrast to those we visited in Rome; very stark and minimally decorated. While we were inside, a young woman began to sing notes that reverberated to the top of the dome, the whole place just fell silent. It was so beautiful it actually gave me goose bumps.

The Duomo is splendid with smaller chapels lining each side and wonderful frescoes. Behind the pulpit is a wonderful mosaic which I’m sure my photos will not do justice; “Christ in Majesty” by Cimabue (c. 1302).

The funniest thing about Campo dei Miracoli is all the tourists (us excluded) taking snapshots of each other pretending to hold up the tower. Climbing the tower is certainly worth the effort as you won’t be disappointed once you reach the very top. You are offered panoramic views of all of Pisa, with the mountains and Tuscany as a backdrop. The closer you get to the top the more you “feel” the tilt of the tower. Going down was much easier.

The day was very gray with the threat of rain at any moment. It was also quite cool, but we were warmed by the exersion of climbing—and we are in relatively good shape. We wanted to make a quick visit to the Camposante before we hit the road and it was while we were here that the rain finally came. There are some lovingly restored frescoes here, which were largely destroyed during WWII. We didn’t really have time to see any more of Pisa, although it would have been great to explore the much overlooked city.

We managed to arrive in Firenza at 5:00pm; David was an excellent driver and between the two of us we managed to find the car rental agency to return the car. The apartment is just across the Arno River and I had planned that we would walk to it, but as it was raining we decided to hail a cab, but there were none to be had, so we wound up walking after all. By the time we got to the apartment we were soaked. And then there were four flights of stairs as there is no lift in the building! The young woman who met us at the apartment spoke wonderful English and graciously showed us around the apartment.

The apartment, “Anna,” is wonderful! It is small, but perfect for two. It has been beautifully appointed, with a small galley kitchen, a bed tucked into an alcove with curtains to draw for privacy, a great bathroom with a large walk-in shower, and a living/dining area; we are very happy with it. There are books and cds and even a connection for your iPod to the stereo/speaker system. There was a bottle of wine and a few other niceties waiting for us upon our arrival. We ate dinner at Angiolino’s, which was wonderful.

My Italy Diary: Viareggio

We left Rome this morning; renting a Smart car to drive to Viareggio and then on to Florence tomorrow. On the way we planned to stop at the Etruscan Necropolis in Cerveteri. It was amazing walking around the old burial grounds—or cities, as they were built specifically for the dead. We spent a good deal of time wandering around, with only a couple of other tourists sharing the site with us. It was nice to get away from the crowds of Rome and be surrounded by quiet.
I underestimated how much time would be needed to make all the stops along the way that I wanted to make. In Santa Maria Severa we stopped to see the castle but it is under restoration so we were unable to view it.

As it was getting late in the day and beginning to rain, we decided to bypass our other stops and headed straight for Viareggio. As David was fatigued, I took over driving while he napped and drove us on the Autostrade, in the rain, in a car with a manuel transmission, at night. At one point we were driving up the coast with the sea churning and these huge waves crashing up against the rocks. It was awesome.

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 6

We had reservations for Museo e Galleria Borghese today (you absolutely need to have reservations for this museum as sales are by advance only and for a strict period of 2 hours). There are 3 sculptures by Bernini which are remarkable. First, is “Apollo and Daphne” which is so exquisitely rendered. The details are incredible, from Apollo’s flowing drapery to Daphne’s fingers and toes as she begins her transformation into a tree, to the tear on her check. The leaves are light and delicate and fragile looking. Bernini was only 26 years old at the time of its execution. It is situated in the room so that you see the statue as the story unfolds; Apollo from behind, then Daphne as she begins her metamorphosis into a laurel tree (supposedly Daphne called out to the Gods to save her). This piece brought tears to my eyes and I didn’t want to move on.

Second, is his work of “The Rape of Proserpina.” I have seen pictures of this work, but am glad to have the opportunity to see the actual piece. The passion and realism—you see where Pluto’s hands dig into Proserpina’s flesh, and feel the force of her desire to get away as she pushes against him, stretchng the skin around his eye. It is breathtaking. The third piece is his “David,” which is also full of emotion. There is also a sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte, which caused quite a stir when it was commissioned as she posed nude for it. The only downside to this museum is that once your reach the picture gallery, you are only allowed a 1/2 hour to view all the paintings, an inadequate amount of time. And they are strict about it. They actually find you and tell you it’s time to go.



We tried to see the gardens of the Medici Villa afterwards but they are only open on Saturday and Sunday. We did make it back to Castel Sant’Angelo, which has a great view of the city from the top.

We bought a painting in Piazza Navona this evening; a momento of our return trip. Tomorrow we are off to Viareggio.

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 5

We decided to visit St. Peter’s and the Vatican today; even though we did a tour of each of these when we were here in 2005, we didn’t get as much time in St. Peter’s as we would have liked and who can resist revisiting the Sistine Chapel? We made our way toward Vatican City, but the line just to go through security was pretty daulting; we heard a rumor that the lines at lunch time were only a 20 minute wait, so we decided to see Castel Sant’ Angelo first and come back. It was closed. So, we grabbed a horribly expensive and rather poor meal near the Vatican (did we know better? Yes; did we do it anyway? Of course) and then after re-evaluating, we decided to revisit Palazzo doria Pamphili, which we enjoyed so much on our last visit. Afterwards we decided to head toward Piazza Navono and just visit what we discovered along the way; which is pretty much how this whole week has been. Having seen all the highlights in 2005, we feel free to start the day with a destination in mind and pop into anything along the way that looks interesting. We stopped at San Luigi dei Francesi which has 3 paintings by Caravaggio, and also made another quick pass through the Pantheon to remind us of it’s vastness and our relative smallness. Afterwards we went to Cul de Sac for a glass of wine (they have over 200 to choose from).

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 4

Today we headed first for Campo de’ Fiori as we still haven’t managed to experience the open-air market. Well, just our luck, it is closed on Sundays—we will try again tomorrow. We grabbed a panini and a coke and headed for Fontana di Trevi, which we saw last time we were here, but it was raining and we decided it was worth another view. Today the sun is shining and there is a crowd around the fountain. It is truly magnificent. It is so large and the water is crystal clear. We did not, however, push through the crowd to again throw a coin over our shoulders in hopes of returning. We have already decided that we will return as often as we can.

After Fontana de Trevi we walked to Piazza del Popolo. This piazza is huge and is flanked on both sides by beautiful fountains, and if you walk up the stairs that lead to a look-out, you have a fantastic view of the piazza and Rome, as well as finding yourself on the grounds of the Villa Borghese. We took a short rest for we have learned that we cannot go full speed all day and expect to not feel it. On our way back down to the piazza, we saw there was an exhibition on “The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci” at the Galleria Agostiniana. It was very interesting with interactive machines and inventions reproduced from Leonardo’s drawings and projects. Where would the world be today without Leonardo da Vinci?

We made our way to Fontana del Tritone (which was fairly anti-climatic, but only because we are exhausted and somewhat disappointed that there is nothing more to see—which means more walking. We keep talking about taking a taxi, but somehow never do). We grabbed a table at a little cafe and ordered some wine while we assessed whether to continue on with our itinerary or go back to the apartment to rest. Even though resting wins out and we begin our walk back, we find that we actually feel better, and when we come upon the Palazzo Barberini we decide to take a detour; we have had enough of churches for today. The museum is actually small, so doable; unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures. Most striking is the fresco on the ceiling in one of the salons by Barberini. There are lounges for you to sit and view, but to truly take it in you must lie back. It takes a few moments to figure out whether the four corner sculptures and moldings are real or painted in relief. The colors are vivid and the perspective from below...it looks as if things are floating above you. There is a large set of golden keys that look as if you could grasp them, as well as three of Barberini’s signature bees.

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 3

Today we walked and walked. First we headed toward San Giovanni in Laterano. The is well past the Coloseum and took us a while. We first stopped to have a coffee and grab a bite to eat just downstairs. The Churches are already beginning to run together and the next takes the place of the one before in your mind. On the way to Laterano we made a quick pass through the Fori Imperiali, then on to the Temples of the Forum Boarium, one of which is under restoration. Across the street is Santa Maria in Cosmedin, where there was a line to get in—the line was long but only because everyone, including us, wants to stop and put their hands in the Bocca del Verita (Mouth of Truth), which has hung here since 1632, and have their picture taken. It was once thought that a liar would loose his hands if he placed them in the mouth of the Bocca del Verita. It seems there was once a jealous husband who decided to see if his wife was unfaithful to him and had her put her hand in the open mouth. Supposedly, as she was about to put her hand in the Mouth, a stranger from the crowd ran up to her and started hugging and kissing her. Everyone thought the man was crazy, but in fact, he was her lover. She put her hand in the Mouth of Truth and said that she had never been touched by anyone other than her husband and the crazy man, so when she put her hand in the Mouth of Truth it was not bitten. After this you enter the Church and find it relatively empty. The Mouth of Truth is obvisously the draw here.

We then headed for San Giovanni in Laterano, detouring through a lovely park where we saw 3 brides with their grooms posing for photograhps. This was followed by a short walk through a rather seedy neighborhood before we found our destinatin. It was quite a hike but well worth it. This Church is massive and the paintings and staturary magnificent. We followed our visit with a quick lunch and started back toward ancient Rome. We had hoped to visit the Baths of Caracalla, but we were worn out. We did stop at San Clementes, which is very old, with exposed wooden beans on the ceiling. And then stopped for a glass of wine in Piazza Navona where we watched six young men dancing and putting on a show for the crowd. This is the the time of day we like most; the temperature has dropped and the piazza is full of people—artists, tourists, and locals. One of the performers was on crutches as it looked as if he might have cerebal palsy. He was incredible, spinning his legs around, picking up one crutch to pass his legs through them. At one point, he even did a hand stand on his crutches and was jumping them. He seemed so happy to be performing with his friends, you truly couldn’t help but feel happy along with him.

We dined at this little pizzaria tonight just down from our apartment. We had to wait a while, but we didn’t mind. We had a couple glasses of wine and when a table was available outside we wound up sitting by three young Americans, one of whom now lives in London. We enjoyed chatting with them for a while and were the last to leave the restaurant.

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 2

We slept until 12:30pm! We were both shocked when we woke up. After showering and dressing, we managed to get out the door by 1:45pm—just in time for lunch. We headed first to Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This magnificent Church contains many small chapels and today as we walked around we had the added benefit of listening to choir practice (beautiful), it lent an even greater sense of being in a holy place. When you enter the santuary, you are immediately struck by the beautiful blue central nave. To the left of the main altar is a statue of the “Redeemer” by Michelangelo, which was started in 1519, but was finished by another artisit. Interestingly, there is the addition of a bronze loincloth—we learned on our last visit that Pope Clement XIII ordered the covering of nudity on statues and some paintings.



After viewing the Church, we headed for Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, which we found after wandering around a few side streets. This Church too has several small chapels lining both sides of the main alter. Most striking was the gold ceiling and the gorgeous mosaics [click the picture for a closer look at the mosaics]. There is a feeling of peace and quiet here, and you feel you need to speak in whispers so as not to disturb the tranquility. We had the opportunity to go below the main floor to the excavated crypts, most of which was fairly nondecript until you get to the end and then suddenly behind a fense is the most beautiful chapel.

Next we headed for Santa Maria di Trastevere, which is the oldest Church dedicated to the Virgin. Inside there is a statue upon which people have tucked notes/prayers to the Holy Mother. This Church too has beautiful mosaics, a central alter, and smaller chapels on each side. Unfortunately, they have already begun to blur together in my mind.
















We walked up to Monte del Gianicolo, where you can see all of Rome. The view is breathtaking and well worth the climb. Unfortunately, I had exhausted my battery and only managed to take one picture. On the way back we looked for a restaurant, Dar Poeta, recommended to us by some friends in Atlanta, but as they were not yet serving we moved on and ate at a little restaurant a few blocks off Piazza Navona, Osteria del Gallo. We shared a first and second course—gnocchi with pesto, clams and arugala, and roast pork, both delicious.

My Italy Diary: Rome

We are in Rome; two years after our last trip. I’m still somewhat surprised we made it back so soon. After two years of planning and the last couple of months of anticipation, it is finally a reality. RomePower.com made it so easy; they are wonderful. We met our driver at baggage claim; he very quickly told us he didn’t speak English, but on the way to the real estate office he tried very hard to give us information on points of interest; especially once we were in Rome central. The apartment (which is just around the corner from the Piazza Navona) is great; small, but with everything we need. The downstairs consists of a couch and large, but shallow wardrobe, plus a kitchenette with a table and two long, padded benches. There is also a small bathroom. The bed and TV are upstairs in the loft—accessed by the narrowest stairs I’ve ever seen. It is very comfortable and larger than a hotel, and best of all it on a fairly busy alley with restaurants right outside the main door, and just a couple blocks from Piazza Navona.

We spent today, or what was left of it after we checked in, walking around and re-familiarizing ourselves with the city. We ate pizza for dinner and were in bed by 10:00pm. Tomorrow we plan a full itinerary...