We have been having way too much fun and way too little internet access, so have fallen 2 weeks behind in our blog. We will try to summarize the general feelings now as we have 2 hours on a high-speed train to Rome.
We arrived Florence by train from Bologna on September 27, and taxied to the beautiful AirBnB 5 Bedroom apartment Laura had rented for our hiking group. Again this year we were delighted to see Laura and Jim Gregory, Millie Olson and Tom Tawa who were already enjoying the neighborhood and the modern spacious apartment and were also battling mosquitoes when windows were opened and/or frustrating AC when closed.
We had been to Florence several times before, and thought we had seen all the major museums, galleries, churches, monasteries, piazzas and vistas. But that was before we met Lise, a fantastic woman who lives and breathes the history of Renaissance (plus before and after) Florentine art and who moved from Chicago to marry our wonderful hiking guide Mario over 30 years ago. Lise had us looking in all directions: up to see the details above columns windows and doors where families displayed their crest and and built towers to show their wealth, at huge wooden doors studded with iron stakes that would break the ax blades of those trying a "home invasion"; entries with ladders that were lowered only to family or trusted friends;
at street level where wine was sold thru a port in a stone wall without need to let a potential enemy in.
It was interesting to us that such domicile defenses were no longer necessary after the Black Plague of the 1300's that left the survivors grateful to be alive and in a mood to cooperate.
Lise also showed us many churches filled with beautiful religious frescoes, paintings and della Robia ceramics from the 1400's. It's interesting to wonder whether artists would have found other inspirations to display their talent if not for religious fervor and benefactors hoping to buy their way into heaven. We revisited our favorite frescoes at Santa Maria D'Carmine. Part of the reason we like them so much is the distinct character of the subjects:
the most moving for us being the banishment of Adam & Eve from the Garden of Eden.
The before banishment fresco ain't too bad:
There is an interesting graffiti artist in Florence who modifies traffic signs. Below are a few examples:
On Sunday we headed north into the hills to a small village of Scarperia and to a monastery with a beautiful Donatello sculpture of Christ, a fine old church
and a lovely court yard
a couple of Medici castles
and then on to Lise and Mario's farm home where the extended family had laid out a feast for us.
There was a lunch of luscious items from their garden, including these figs with prosciutto,
great Panini and Prosecco and wines. Then we got busy watching, learning and helping as Mario's sister Alba and Lise demonstrated the art of making Capelletti (tiny little pasta hats filled with ricotta, spinach and Parmesan and later served in the most delicious chicken/beef broth ever produced),
a delicious salsa verde for the boiled chicken and meat, and an amazing wild blackberry tart with whipped cream that Lise whipped together. Mario had always talked so happily about the abandoned stone farm house that he and Lise had enhanced with luxuries such as electricity and hot running water to turn into a lovely home, his prolific garden,
his loving sisters and their cooking, and most of all his son Lorenzo. We finally got to meet them all and to realize it was even more rich and full than Mario could describe, even with his words and that smile. Although he was seriously ill four years ago, Lorenzo is now healthy, in photography school and living on the farm and in Florence with his girlfriend Francesca. He is a charming young man, and how could he not be with parents like Lise and Mario.
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