Em julho deste ano tive o prazer de contemplar esta magnífica obra de Sandro Botticelli, exposta na não menos magnífica Galeria Uffizi, em Florença, Itália. É uma têmpera sobre tela e mede 172,5 cm de altura por 278,5 cm de largura  e foi pintado em 1482. Foi encomendada por Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Médici para a Villa Medicea di Castello.

No quadro, a deusa clássica Vênus emerge das águas em uma concha, sendo empurrada para a margem pelos Ventos D’oeste, símbolos das paixões espirituais, e recebendo, de uma Hora (as Horas eram as deusas das estações), uma manto bordado de flores. Alguns especialistas argumentam que a deusa nua não representaria a paixão terrena, carnal, e sim a paixão espiritual. Apresenta-se de forma similar a antigas estátuas de mármore (cujo candor teria inspirado o escultor do século XVIII Antonio Canova), esguia e com longos membros e traços harmoniosos. Belíssimo!

Galeria Uffizi

I’ll be honest – I hate art.  Most of it makes zero sense to me and I believe that it makes zero sense to everyone…they just want to be pseudo-intellectual by saying how “deep” and “meaningful” the art is.   Really, the artist responsible is laughing at how gullible regular people are.  Yes, laughing at you, pseudo-intellectual.  Kind of like Scientology.

I can barely think back on all the art I saw in Europe without wanting to hyperventilate.  Not because it was memorable, but because I was in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence crying because there was NO way to get out of the endless hallways.  Literally no exit for 1,930,239,048,392,080,438,920,849,302 of the SAME painting.  The painting of the SAME ugly woman with the SAME ugly, naked baby.   Gross.

Ew.

This artist (Kevin Van Aelst) makes art that is interesting from real life things.  And I like that.

Here’s his website.

*Sidenote:  This commentary is a knock on art, not religion.

[Posted by Shannon]

To celebrate the 50 year anniversary of  SU Florence, alumni of the program were invited to a  ‘festa’ held October 25-28 in Florence, Italy. Over 60 SUF alums and their guests traveled to Italy to attend the event, which featured faculty lead discussions, classes, and tours, as well as a chance to reconnect with friends and host families.

The ‘festa’ kicked off with an afternoon walking tour of Florence, lead by Field Studies Coordinator Elaine Ruffolo and Assistant Field Studies Coordinator and All-School Field Studies Instructor  Rocky Ruggiero. This was followed by the welcome back reception held at the Villa Rossa.

For Day Two, SUF held “Alumni University” in which alums chose to attend classes ranging from photography to History of the Mafia to a private visit of the Duomo and Baptistry.  After a long day of not-so boring classes, a reception was held in the Studio Arts Building and then the alums either went to dinner at a local trattoria or visited with  host families.

On Day Three “Alumni Univeresity” continued, and the alums had more classes to attend with topics ranging from a visit to an art restoration laboratory, a round table discussion on modern Italy, a trip to the Vasari Corridor at the Uffizi, or a behind the scenes look at Michelangelo’s David and the current Mapplethorpe exhibition at the  Accademia with curator and professor Jonathan Nelson.

That evening, the closing activities began at the Orsanmichele building, with Vice Mayor Dario Nardella and Vice President of the Region of Tuscany Federico Gelli in attendance. The ‘festa’ ended with a celebration at the U.S. Consulate in Florence, located on the banks of the Arno, hosted by U.S. Consul General for Florence, Mary Ellen Countryman.

After such an arduous trip full of art, wine, and reminiscence, I’m sure the SUF alumni were anxious to return home, only to begin planning their next trip to Florence.

For more information on the SUF Festa, click here.

Favorite weekend in Florence: this past one, where Kathryn came to visit me!  We had a rockin good time celebrating 21st birthdays, getting free stuff from my favorite restaurant/potential crime ring front, seeing historical sites and testing gelato.  Oh, and that part where we caught up and got to hang out – that was a favorite thing, too.  I think I just about toured her head off, but her timing was perfect because being a tour guide turned out to be a pretty helpful studying gig before midterms this week!  At least we always kept it mature and classy during our touristy moments…

Me pretending to be burned alive on the spot where Savonarola was burned at the stake. Sensitive, huh?

Favorite thing in the Uffizi: Okay, I know it’s totally predictable, but I loved the Botticelli paintings the most.  But I’m in distinguished company: Botticelli was Lorenzo il Magnifico’s favorite painter as well.  I had a minor freak out and serious map consultation when I thought they were on loan elsewhere (the museum is shaped like a U, how was it even possible for us to miss the room the first time?), but it was totally worth it to hunt  for them. Plus, they’re huge! It’s not like the Alamo or the Mona Lisa where the real deal is so disappointingly tiny that all you see are tourists. As she should, Venus dwarfs the tourist who clamor around her.

Favorite season in Florence: Fall!  I like it best because it’s pleasant and the most conducive to stylish outfits. Unfortunately, this magical season is fleeting. I think Kathryn brought it with her, because the weekend was absolutely stunning and it bitingly cold and windy as soon as she left.  Winter is here! Time to buy my snuggly and touristy University of Florence sweatshirt at San Lorenzo Market this weekend!

View of the Ponte Vecchio and the Vasari Corridor from the Uffizi Galleries

Favorite Historical Site that I won’t get to see: The Vasari Corridor!  You can see the corridor as the red-roofed path going from the right of the photo above and then across the river on top of the Ponte Vecchio.  This was a “secret” tunnel the Medici built through Florence so they could get from their palace across the Arno into the Palazzo Vecchio without interacting with the common folk/potential assassins.  SO COOL, right? Well I’ve been trying to see it ever since I got here, but the tours are only given at strange hours on certain days.  Plus they have been for Italian citizens only for the past few weeks (or at least that’s what the rather bitchy woman on the phone led me to believe…) because they will soon be closed for a two year restoration!  Che tragedia!

Favorite new food discovery: Roasted chestnuts! Kathryn was totally jazzed when we saw street vendors selling these, and I didn’t understand her glee until I tried one. Delicious!! Hot and perfect for the cold weather!  They go great with this hot chocolate they serve here.  (It’s literally just melted chocolate. This place is heaven.)

look at that excitement! and at that adorable chestnut bag!

Favorite thing unrelated to Italy: I recently found a blog run by my favorite band, Delta Spirit.  If you don’t know them, you really should.  And their blog is pretty cute.  It’s sort of strange, but there’s lots of entertaining videos on it.

Fall break is next week! Tomorrow is actually my last midterm and class, so really I should say that fall break is Thursday!  I’m going to Perugia (for the European Chocolate Festival. My life might peak during that trip), Asissi (to see the home of St. Clare, for obvious and egotistical reasons), Fiesole (because it’s only 20 minutes away and pretty), Lucca (to ride a bike around the medieval city walls – adorable, right?), and Ireland (to see Kathryn!).

ps – my least favorite thing is that we’re about to have a fall break and we just had midterms, both of which imply that my time here is dwindling…

Virgin vacations put out this list a while ago of the best 16 museums in the world.

I believe this list is a little American-centric, but I decided to put it to the test and see what real travelers thought about each one anyway.

1. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France

Chelseyineurope inside the Louvre in Paris

As for the Louvre, it is GIGANTIC. I sat in the lobby of the museum for 20 minutes before finally convincing myself that I could conquer the Louvre and go all the way inside. When I finally convinced my legs and my lower back that I am not 85 years old and that they can deal with the Louvre, the first painting I saw was the 2nd painting (Cimabue’s Madonna) I studied in my art history class last fall. That’s when I really realized I had hit the art history big time. I am so so glad I took art history in college, and I think I saw close to half of the paintings I studied in class during my time in Paris.

I walked through the Italian hall, which is pretty much different artists painting the same scene (the Madonna and the Christ child). And of course I saw the Mona Lisa. Not that exciting, but she does have an odd enticing quality. The Louvre visit was made well-worthwhile by watching tourists push each other to take photos in front of the Mona Lisa and listening to people talk about her in 20 different languages. I also get a kick out of the people who video tape museums. What poor family member left back it home is going to be forced to watch 3 hours of footage of the inside of the Louvre? – Chelseyineurope

2. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA

Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Jimandlaura

Took the subway uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wow, what a place. We loved it and we only scratched the surface. Particularly liked the modern art (Hirst, Pollock) and the ancient Japanese silk prints. You could spend a week there and still not see everything. Great cafe too! – Jimandlaura

3. Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Rome, Italy

The ceiling in the Vatican Museums

The museum was extended in 2000 for the millennial year celebration of Christ’s birth, and the renovations included a large spiral ramp leading to the entrance to the museums. We had fun by challenging the group to run up the spiral ramp while they took the escalator.

We saw a number of interesting sculptures while waiting in a courtyard to enter the first of the museums. One was of a pine cone from 1 AD or 2 AD, that was a symbol of fertility and was first made as a Roman fountain. In the courtyard, we also learned about the story and significance of the Sistine Chapel. The chapel is used as the place where the cardinals choose the next Pope. It was named after Pope Sixtus IV.

As we walked through various parts of the museums, I was surprised to see some art from Ancient Egypt and Greece, even including two marble sculptures of Diana the fertility goddess and Diana as the goddess of the hunt. Worship of Diana was notorious in the New Testament. It seemed to me as though the presence of the artwork indicated the idea that the church acknowledged and saw itself as the fulfillment of many earlier traditions and religious practices. My interpretation could, however, be incorrect.

I was awestruck by the tapestries depicting various events in Christ’s life. The tapestries were housed in a darkened room and one of them gave the impression that Christ’s eyes were following you as you walked past. Another interesting room was a room of ancient maps. – Woodsfamily

4. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

Ruthperelstein on the terrace of the Uffizi Gallery

Tuesday we visit the Uffizi Gallery. This is another place where you have to have a reservation. It does make it less stressful and you do beat the lines, which are long and full of grumpy tourists.

The Uffizi Gallery has the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere, including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. It is beautiful. The time periods this museum are not my personal favorites but again the sculpture knocks us out.

Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name “uffizi” (“offices”). There is also a corridor that extends for the end of the building along the Arno river and through the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace that is no longer used by was the way the elite could travel without stepping a foot into the dangerous streets. – Ruthperelstein

5. Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Juliana of Paul-jules at the Prado Museum in Madrid

We got to our hotel, and headed out to the Prado museum immediately. It is one of the best museums we have seen on the trip. It has a large number of El Greco paintings. He has become one of our favourite artists. It also has many by Raphael, Reubens, and Durer. – Paul-jules

6. The State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

Fishtails04 found the State Hermitage overwhelming

The State Hermitage, located in the former Winter Palace of the tsars, in St. Petersburg, houses one of the finest art collections in the world, with more than three million pieces – it seems that Catherine the Great liked big numbers in more than just her lovers. And that’s the problem really: it’s estimated that to walk through each of the galleries would total about twenty-five kilometres – i.e. it’s just too big to cover in an afternoon. It’s also too excessive in style for me to really enjoy: all busily decorated floors, marble pillars, highly decorated ceilings, heavy furniture, dark portraits of gloomy monarchs, imposing sculptures, huge crustal chandeliers, and gold and gilt opulence. As the guidebooks says, “One must visit the Hermitage on a visit to St Petersburg…”, and it was worth it to gain an appreciation of its scale, but I felt something of a failure when, after an hour and a half, I’d had enough and, with that sense of panic I experience in large department stores when I can’t see a way out, started frantically searching for an exit. – Fishtails04

7. J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA

Inside the J. Paul Getty Center with Jeznkez

At length the road wound up through the hills and we arrived at the J. Paul Getty Centre, which is a gigantic art museum, housed in a purpose built series of monoliths amid the verdant grounds. The museum is perched on a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains, looking over L.A. and out to sea.

We had nowhere near enough time to do justice to the whole four buildings, each of which contains different styles of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, but had a good look around and enjoyed the peaceful and exquisitely conceived gardens, interwoven with sculptures and water features. The whole complex is constructed from Travertine (1.2 million square feet of it) which is a fossilized, textured stone that reflects the bright Californian sunlight, imparting the whole place with a luminous, ethereal glow. Overall an incredibly successful public space and a great example of modern architectural design and realization. And all free of charge! – Jeznkez

8. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France

Londonpenguin at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris

Our long walk ended up at the Musee d’Orsay. I headed straight for the Impressionists upstairs, and leisurely made my way back down. Happened upon the Salle des Fetes, which is a glorious burst of gold, crystal and mirrors. I also found the Art Nouveau rooms and was really enjoying them when the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the museum would be closing in 15 minutes, which was half an hour earlier than we had been told. Slightly disappointing, but it was definitely worth going back to. – Londonpenguin

9. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

The Enemans standing in front of a fountain at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC

The style of the buildings downtown is such a far cry from anything else you’ll see. There were times when I thought even the Greek Gods would be impressed. I was surprised to see how brand new the art gallery looked, despite having been open for sixty years. The marble floors were pristine and the walls were un-scuffed as if it had been built last week. I was particularly anxious about the Ansel Adams beach photography gallery on display for a limited time. – Jeneman

10. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Mamakarpus at the Centre Pompidou in Paris

I really wanted to see the Pompidou Centre, so we went looking for that. It took us forever to find it, it was so annoying. We kept looking at the map backwards, so we were wandering around forever. Oh well. We eventually found it and it was pretty cool. It’s a modern art museum. I honestly didn’t care about going in to see the art, but I wanted to see the building and the fountains right beside it. So I was happy. – Mamakarpus

11. Tate Modern, London, England

Laohallo's friend at the Tate Modern in London

After borough markets we headed over to tate modern which is a modern art museum. Im blaming Tammy for picking this tourist attraction. Lets just say the art is very strange and modern. It was a good laugh though. – Laohallo

12. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, USA

Julesjb found this statue in MoMA's sculpture garden

After that I then went across to Manhattan to see the MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art) which was amazing. All my favourites were there including Cezanne, Magritte, Picasso and Dali. I also saw a few Jackson Pollack’s which I thought were very impressive in terms of scale and use of paint. – Julesjb

13. British Museum, London, England

Harmony at the British Museum in London

It was spectacular and we could not believe the size and the amount of artifacts, especially since it was free to get in! We saw the Rosetta Stone, a massive Easter Island head, many beautiful Greco Roman sculptures, and much much more. – Mikeandharmony

14. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, USA

Ineednewears found this to be one quiet place in the Guggenheim museum

Who would have thought that on a windy, rainy, cold Friday evening dozens of people were willing to queue underneath the semi-permeable dripping roof of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in their damp clothes and soaked shoes just to get in for close to free (for some, pay-what-you-can comes frighteningly close to nothing). I pictured a Friday night at the “Gugg” along the lines of a Friday night at the library or much like a sheep pasture with but a few bodies scattered around in the far corners, but what I got involved much more arm-against-arm rubbing and additional queuing as the spiral-shaped interior, seven-levels high, filled up.

I complained not about the crowds but about the barriers along the spiraling platform being too low, and constantly feared toppling over to free fall and be torn open by one or more of the suspended cars on my way down. - Ineednewears

15. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA

Toddfamily had a "Rocky moment" at the Philadelphia Art Museum

The next day we spent the morning on a bus tour of the city and ended up at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We really enjoyed this museum too and were once again lucky to join a tour with a very knowledgeable guide. We met Mark at the front of the museum afterwards and had a little Rocky moment on the front steps – those of you who know the first Rocky film will know this scene! – Toddfamily

16. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

Traveled loved the Chicago Art Institute

We took the Metro to Union, then walked down Adams to the Art Institute. We saw more exhibits in one day than I recall seeing on any of my previous visits. We started off in the European area, then lunched at the cafe, which was surprisingly satisfying, and finally we took a couple more hours to walk through the American and photography exhibits. One my favorite works of the day was one that probably does not receive the attention it deserves, located in the corner of the same room as “American Gothic” by Hopper, called “Nightlife” by Motley. But of course, I also loved almost everything I saw there. – Traveled

McDonald’s sbarca al Louvre. Dove sta lo scandalo? Il più grande museo del mondo fa otto milioni di visitatori all’anno. Cioè 26mila al giorno. È diventato fenomeno più di massa di un centro commerciale. Una volta che s’è messo su questa dimensione, aprire le porte ad altri marchi di massa è diventata quasi una formalità. McDonald’s, dopo Starbucks s’è posizionato nei grandi spazi aperti sotto la Piramide di vetro. Sarà Gioconda e patatine: ce ne faremo purtroppo una ragione. È l’omologazione, bellezza.

Per consolare gli inconsolabili ho pensato a questo gioco: passare in rassegna tutti le più belle (e un po’ selettive) caffetterie dei musei, andando a memoria mia. La preferita, per me, è quella di Palazzo Madama a Torino. S’affaccia con grandi vetrate sulla piazza, ha belle poltrone, è poco frequentata, si fa forte dell’arte pasticcera sabauda. Segue la caffetteria degli Uffizi, certo meno tranquilla, ma con spettacolare terrazza su Palazzo Vecchio. Strepitosa anche la terrazza di palazzo Caffarelli, ovvero del bar dei Musei Capitolini a Roma (quando non è affittata per cerimonie private). Sempre a Roma, a piano terra, ma con soffitti alti 10 metri è la caffetteria del Museo nazionale d’arte Moderna. Milano si salva con il bar-design della Triennale, affacciato sul parco. Venezia soffre gli spazi angusti ma al Museo Correr c’è un angolo di caffè di sapore settecentesco. Di nuovo a Torino, fa la sua bella figura il bar lungo, appoggiato nel verde al museo di arte contemporanea di Rivoli. Capodimonte a Napoli e i Vaticani a Roma, sono da bocciare. Non apro il file dei musei esteri, perché non è sufficientemente aggiornato: ma ricordo l’emozione al Kunsthistorisches di Vienna dove si mangia e si beve avendo Caravaggio a un tiro di schioppo.

(A Brera, museo magico, amato ma un po’ abbandonato a se stesso, non si può bere un caffè. Chi tutto e chi niente… Sbarcasse Starbucks tirerebbe su il morale a tutti…)

Ma ora dite la vostra!

Brunelleschi, bevendo un caffé agli Uffizi

From the Polo Museale Fiorentino website:

Marco Ricci, "Riunione musicale," before 1708 (Florence: Galleria dell'Accademia)

Splendour and Reason: Art in Eighteenth-Century Florence

(Il fasto e la ragione: Arte del Settecento a Firenze)

Uffizi, Florence, 30 May — 30 September 2009

Francesco Carradori, "Bacchus and Ariadne," 1776 (Florence: Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina)

With the extinction of the Medici dynasty in 1743, Florence did not lose its prestige as capital of culture and the arts, thanks to the government of the Lorraines, who gave the city the international profile required by Enlightenment policies. This exhibition is the first overall panorama of the principal artistic events of the eighteenth century in Florence. We are speaking of 120 paintings, sculptures, art objects and furnishings of the great, public and private commissions, works from the entire century, which in a spectacular vein record the changes in taste from the late Baroque period to Neoclassicism.

The show starts with the commissions made by Cosimo III and the Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici, which opened the city to “foreign” artists like Sebastiano Ricci and Giuseppe Maria Crespi. They favoured sculpture (with personalities like Giovan Battista Foggini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi), and developed the manufacture of tapestries and semiprecious stones. In this context, the families of the Florentine aristocracy performed a very conspicuous role: the Gerinis for the diffusion of the veduta, the Ginoris for the famed manufactory of porcelain of Doccia, the Corsinis for their constant relations with pontifical Rome. All these episodes contributed to defining the image of a vital and modern city, crossroads of many experiences and a workshop of original artistic productions.

Pompeo Batoni, "The Education of Achilles," 1746 (Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi)

With the extinction of the Medicis, Peter Leopold of Lorraine brought the European version of Rococo and Neoclassicism to Tuscany, along with the reformist spirit that accompanied the theories of the Enlightenment even in the figurative arts. A new elite of patrons thus took shape in Florence, also made up of its foreign residents (the Englishman Horace Mann, for example). It was also thanks to them that Florence became a mandatory lap of the grand tour. The Tuscan artists received advantages, especially the modern painters of vedutas (landscapes) (including the naturalised Englishman Thomas Patch and Giuseppe Zocchi). Foreign visitors preferred the repertory of gallantries and vedutas translated into semiprecious stones by the renovated Opificio dei Siriès. The Grand Duke proved to be a protector of the arts. He reformed the by-laws of the Academy where prominent artists like Pietro Pedroni, Innocenzo Spinazzi, and Francesco Carradori worked. He stimulated the worksites of the grand-ducal residences – first and foremost, the Pitti Palace and the Villa at Poggio Imperiale – and spurred the study of antiquity,
transferring the spectacular group sculpture of the Niobe from Rome to Florence.

Catalogue edited by Carlo Sisi and Riccardo Spinelli, 352 pages, ISBN 9788809743755

In this climate of civic and cultural fervour, the Frenchmen François-Xavier Fabre, Bénigne Gagnereaux, Louis Gauffier and Jean-Baptiste Desmarais came to Florence, driven from Pontifical Rome after the murder of the diplomat Nicolas de Basseville. With them came the international version of neoclassicism, thus contributing to the “reform” of the portrait, the veduta, and the historical painting, on the eve of the instatement of the Napoleonic court (1799).

The exhibition is curated by Carlo Sisi and Riccardo Spinelli. The catalogue is available through Michael Shamansky, at artbooks.com.

[All images are taken from the exhibition website; click here for more information]

Tenho aproveitado muito bem o privilégio de levantar sem horário. O passeio será apenas às 16h30 e isso me deixa com muito tempo de sobra para fazer o que quiser.

Depois de um belo banho em um banheiro onde pr…tudo bem, eu paro de falar sobre o banheiro daqui, resolvi ir andando até a Galleria degli Uffizi, uma vez que eu peguei a trajetória no Google Maps (conquistarei o mundo! O mundo!).

Cheguei ao local, que parecia uma praça fechada com pilares e teto (e muitas estátuas), e tirei muitas fotos, até que resolvi sentar e descansar. Estava tomando um gole de Gatorade quando um dos seguranças (todos velhos) veio me pedir para guardar a bebida, pois era proibido beber lá dentro.

Um casal americano do meu lado viu a cena, e o cara veio brincar comigo sobre a situação, e ria alegremente. Eu e ele fizemos mais algumas piadas, algo como eu pedindo se poderia respirar por um segundo, que eu prometeria segurar a respiração para não incomodar.

Alegria internacional.

Tirei muitas fotos e faltava mais de 1h30 para o encontro do passeio turístico, então comecei a andar pelas ruas, olhando as vitrines, as pessoas, vendo outras coisas legais para tirar foto (é difícil fugir de igreja ou obras de arte), até decidir passar em uma mercearia/padoca/não-sei-o-nome-exato e comprar quatro fatias de um tipo de pão (doce) que é torrado a valer, com uns grãos inteiros na massa que parecem semente de abóbora. Eram realmente fatias pequenas, imagine você pegar um pão francês e fatiar em tiras da grossura de um dedo (humano, regular).

Menos de €2, e estavam ótimas. Fui mastigando e andando, mastigando e andando, até voltar à famosa praça fechada cujos seguranças velhos não deixam você beber nada. Até que eu comecei a pensar em desistir do passei, pois já havia visto tudo, tirado foto de tudo e estava cansado… Foi quando percebi que eu não estava na Galleria degli Uffizi, e sim em uma praça em frente à verdadeira Galleria.

Claro que quando eu percebi isso já havia passado a hora de encontrar o grupo que faria esse passeio por dentro da Galeria. Sinceramente? Não me importei. O local abriga grandes obras, mais pinturas do que estátuas, e tudo é lindo e maravilhoso, e não precisava ter uma excursão com uma pessoa falando sobre cada quadro (geralmente uma pessoa velha, com um ritmo lento e de carisma não tão calorosa).

Aproveitei bastante andando sozinho pela Galeria.

Saindo de lá, ainda comprei algumas coisas, tanto para mim quanto presentes para algumas pessoas (tanto minha família quanto alguns amigos em específico). Foram os melhores presentes que eu comprei, e eles foram caros, portanto faço questão que apreciem cada milímetro dele.

Tomei um sorvete de limão (novo vício sazonal) e estava procurando pela igreja, imensa, que fica perto da estação central de trem (não sei o nome, não sou culto, me deixem em paz). Parei em uma esquina e fiquei olhando, procurando a abóboda da igreja (que dá para ver de um certo ponto de tão grande e detalhada) – ou qual seja o nome verdadeiro – quando ouço uma conversa em português… do Brasil!

Alegria nacional.

Perguntei para o cara onde ficava a tal igreja imensa. Ele me indicou, fui lá e tirei minhas fotos, e a essa hora o tempo estava começando a fechar para formar uma chuva, então precisei ser rápido e até desisti de voltar a pé (considerando que estava andando desde às 14h) e comer uma pizza (que provavelmente deveria ter o tamanho de um cordeiro).

De volta ao hotel, quarto arrumado (e eu ainda estou para testar o serviço de lavanderia do hotel), presentes guardados, estou com uma vontade absurdamente grande de comer hamburger, mas nada de McDonalds, e sim um sem marca, tipo o que vende aqui no hotel, que é caro mas valerá pela vontade.

Desconsidero os petiscos durante o dia e considero o hamburger minha única refeição no dia, o que é ótimo para quem quer perder peso e ao mesmo tempo experimentar as iguarias locais.

Tinha planos de ir à Pisa amanhã, de trem, mas isso significaria perder um dia de trem de meu bilhete já programado para me locomover entre todas as cidades que vou ficar. Isso significa que amanhã eu continuarei por aqui, darei mais voltas nas ruas, procurarei algo novo para conhecer (um concerto, outro museu etc.) e farei uma loucura: no dia em que eu precisar ir para Roma, antes, irei passar em Pisa.

Por quê?

Pois em Pisa será muito rápido pois irei apenas visitar e fotografar a torre, e depois voltar para a estação de trem e, no mesmo dia, partirei para Roma. O bom desses bilhetes de trem é que eles são válidos durante o dia todo, por isso minha idéia irá funcionar dessa maneira, sem eu gastar nenhum dia (e nem perder dia de checkin ou checkout nos hotéis).

Agora me dêem licença que eu irei comer meu hamburger.

From there, we walked past Brunelleschi’s Dome (which is the huge cathedral I wrote about earlier.) After a LONGGGG lecture about the dome, we walked through the back streets of Florence with Yadri leading the way. We came across Dante Aligheiri’s house (the famous author who wrote “The Divine Comedy”), and past Uffizi (a large art museum.) In front of Uffizi were a lot of statues of famous Florentines. Among those were “living statues” that scared the daylights out of us when they moved unexpectedly. I swear they could’ve passed for actual statues!

Afterwords we walked to Ponte Vecchio, where we said arrivederci to Yadri. 

Later we walked through a huge market called  San Lorenzo Market, where we bought many more souveniers. Afterwards we went to dinner (I got lasagna ) at an outside dining area. Everything went well in terms of getting on the waiter’s good side, until it came time to leave. When Dad stood up, he bumped the table with his knees. It was enough force to send olive oil and glass shards from the water pitcher into my lap. I was fine…but I can’t say the same for that water pitcher…

After our dash for the exit, we went to a gelato place called “Grom” that Yadri had recommended. We were exhausted, and headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Wow, it seems like just yesterday we arrived in Florence ready to see another side of Italy, and now tomorrow we are set to leave for Venice by train in the morning. In the end of it all, Florence was nice. It doesn’t have the same energy at night that we found in Rome, which was hard to adjust to, and it isn’t as liesurely as Rome when it comes to walking around and eating. However, it has just as much history to it as Rome, and there are a lot of “foodies” here (people who enjoy the preparation and eating of good food) like myself, so I felt right at home in that sense.

Well I have an early day tomorrow, so I’ll write again when I’m in Venezia! Ciao!

We went to the Uffizi.  What I remember most about the Uffizi is the Botticelli room.  That’s probably because I spent a lot of time in there…  And by “a lot of time” I mean ten minutes…but it felt like 30.  I’d like to say that I was so awe-struck by the shear talent of Botticelli’s work, that I had to sit down in order to soak it all in.  I’d love to say I was inspired beyond all imagination.  Or that I was trying to feel his motivation.  But in reality I was trying to *not* feel the raging cramps ripping through my mid-section.  Kinda hard to appreciate art when Aunt Flo is seriously harshing your mellow.  Ironically, Venus is the Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility. Fertility.  Damn you, Venus!  However, if I focused on a Botticelli hard enough, I could momentarily forget the pain and nausea and realize how awesome it was to stare at such paintings.

Female problems aside, I wish we had gone to the Uffizi when we first arrived in Florence.  Or within the first few days.  Because by week three we were so inundated by art, much of it started to blend together.   Luckily our guide David walked us through the “more important” rooms of the Uffizi.  Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Da Vinci.  Check.  Check.  Check.  It’s not that I didn’t enjoy seeing it ALL.  But I think it was sensory overload.  If you held up a piece of Renaissance or Gothic art and asked me if I saw that specific piece…the answer is “yes,” even if I’m not sure, the probability is in my favor.

In addition to all the beautiful art… we saw Rob Reiner and his family at the Uffizi, too.  Hey Rob… Tiramisu!  You’ll love it!

(and yes, the title is from the Bananarama song, hehe)

Today was an early morning visit with my classmates to the Uffizi Museum, one of the greatest museums in the world.  Usually getting up super early on Saturday is not something I do with enthusiasm, but seeing this definitely provided the motivation.

    We got to see with our own eyes the Birth of Venus and Primavera by Botticelli, who apparently studied under Verrochio at the same time as Leonardo da Vinci.  It is pretty interesting, I think, that although Verrochio is not as well-known as his pupils, he trained some of the finest artists in history thus far.  A good teacher makes all the difference.

    Some of the things I jotted down while listening to the art historian, random symbolism and bits of history I thought fascinating:

        “Sfumato” means “to go up in smoke” in Italian, and means to blend your paint so that it blurs the image or the edge.  This produces a lovely soft, ethereal effect.  Leonardo Da Vinci used this alot, a reason his paintings look so mysterious.

Sfumato effect by Leonardo

        In paintings depicting the baby Jesus, many artists depicted a bird nearby.  The bird is the symbol of the soul, and nourishes itself on thorns.  It is a symbol of the passion of the Christ to come later.

       Standing before the Primavera and Birth of Venus was pretty cool—they are much bigger works than I expected them to be.  Huge, actually, about as tall as a man, and at least double in length.  They are beautifully crafted, very cleanly executed it seems, as the edges can sometimes still be seen beneath the paint.  I remember learning about these and seeing pictures of them in textbooks.  Isn’t it beautiful?  I like the treatment of the hair here…

Detail from Birth of Venus, by Botticelli

In Primavera (or, Springtime), there was recently some research done on it, and apparently Botticelli made the springtime flowers in the grove so clear and easy to identify that botanists confirmed that each of the plants represented in the painting did indeed blossom in the Florence spring.  Also, I never noticed the little cupid at the top who is blindfolded, representing the idea that love is blind.

Primavera by Botticelli

         Another interesting fact about the Uffizi building—the Medici family, patrons of the arts in Florence, worked there and used it as a gallery.  At one time the most prominent, powerful Medici couple, newly married, had a passage called the Vasari Passage built that goes from the Uffizi museum, over the picturesque Ponte Vecchio bridge,  and over buildings through secret passageways all the way to the Boboli gardens and Pitti Palace, where they lived.

The Vasari Corridor--an ancient walkway above the water

This was so that these elegant nobles and ladies did not have to go through the streets with the commoners.  They then decreed that the merchants on the bridge below that passageway only be goldsmiths, so that they would not have to endure the smells of butcher and food shops rising up into the passageway.  And that is why, today, only fine goldsmiths sell their work on the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

      I also had the experience of seeing the original Venus of Urbino by Tiziano Vecellio, Caravaggio’s Head of Medusa (I actually gave a little shriek of surprise when I turned around and saw this one! It is painted on a convex shield, so it looks as if it is coming out at you.)

The Head of Medusa, by Caravaggio

 Many other of Carrivagio’s works were there, and I also really liked Gherardo Delle Notti’s works on display full of dramatic lighting, Supper With a Lute Player and Wedding Feast.  

Supper With a Lute Player

      The Uffizi has endless rooms full of priceless art.  I was in there a long time, and I must confess emerged into the sunlight blinking and stepping back into my own century.  I was a bit overwhelmed by it—when you see so much in just a day, each masterpiece you see begins to look like the next.  Most very detailed and beautiful.  I was struck by the odd combinations of the political struggles and religious beliefs combined in the paintings; for instance rulers in the Medici family commissioning a work of the birth of Christ and requesting to be painted in as the three wise men, etc.  Each piece seems shrouded in mystery and drama, and has some rich story behind it, lived out hundreds of years ago by real people who walked those same halls.

      I walked out exhausted by all that priceless beauty.  It seems like it is a temptation for the artist in centuries to unknowlingly fall into the worship of the creation of beauty, rather than worshipping the Creator from which all beauty comes, and is the only source of real peace and everlasting beauty.  These great works of art by man will eventually turn to dust, but until time is done God’s beauty falls on us everywhere—the stars, each sunset, the dagger of each lightening stroke in a storm, each new life. 

      But I walked out enriched, not disheartened.  Even though it seems sometimes that the best of art has already been created, each of us is here with a purpose and with something to give, art aside.

isabel's shot of the arno from the ponte vecchio

Today was a day of necessary splitting up.  Sophia, still feeling crummy and a little warm stayed behind in the hotel with Corey while Isabel and I hit the Uffizi.  Being twins our girls don’t get a lot of one on one time, and they never have.  Today, with this is mind, I basically let Isabel have and do whatever she wanted.  Audio tour?  Sure.  Necklace made of wire from the street vendor?  Sure.  Lemon slushie thing even though she barely ate lunch?  Why not.  It’s so easy with only one kid that it seems more like hanging with a little buddy rather than dealing with squabbles, whining in stereo and my favorite, the tattling.

Anyway, Isabel and I conquered the entire first hall of the Uffizi.  At first the art, the gold, gilded extravagant works, the marble floors, and the frescoed ceilings enthralled her.  Then all of the serious Jesus paintings began and she became seriously disturbed by them.  She asked me how he was held up on the cross.  Then, horrified by that answer, she asked why he is always in pain and why someone would paint him in agony.  Why did he look like he was starving?  How did the Romans catch him?  How did he finally die?  She became obsessed with his entire story, and unfortunately did not want to see any more art because she was really too worried about seeing more of Jesus in pain.  “I can’t take anymore of this Jesus art,” she said, ” It makes me too sad.”  I couldn’t argue with that.  We looked at the Birth of Venus and Primavera and then skipped over to the Michelangelo room where she was happy to see Jesus in a peaceful light.  Then we made our way out.

Even after we left the Uffizi and made our way to the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio the questions kept coming about Jesus.   After a while I had to give up and tell her that there are many different stories about Jesus’ life and death and that she needed to ask her Catholic friends’ moms (feel free to comment below!!!) for the answers.  There are times where it takes a village (of all religions) and this is one of them.  So, with that I passed the buck.  But really, if we’re spending a month in Italy I’m going to have to brush up on my Jesus biography because we are going to see an awful lot of religious art.  Or maybe not.  I have to admit while I appreciate all of the works and the artists this kind of art is really not my thing at all.  I don’t think I have to schlep my kids to everything just so they can say that they saw it.

As we crossed the Ponte Vecchio Isabel tried to cajole me into buying some jewelry, which was so sweet I almost wanted to buy something just to make her happy.

in front of ponte vecchio

But, once I factored the startling exchange rate in my head it was hard to be accommodating.  Finally we grabbed some quick pizza, parked ourselves on a bench and had lunch.  We walked back over the bridge on the way to the hotel so that I could relieve my husband and he could get out and take Isabel to the Duomo and David while I stayed with Sophia.  However, that plan went out the window once we arrived and Sophia realized that Isabel was also going to get more rides on the carousel.  Suddenly she felt much better. (Carousels seems to work better than Motrin)

We headed out to the carousel only to find it was closed for Riposo until 4:00pm.  We continued to the Duomo instead, the line was long but the wait was only about 10 minutes.  It is probably the only free sight in Florence.  The first time I was in Florence I was 16.  The second time I was 26.  Now I’m 37.  Each time I love going to the Duomo.

outside of the duomo

I don’t even know why.  Maybe because it feels so cool and calm and quietly beautiful, or maybe because I loved A Room With a View when I first read it at 14 and that sense about Florence stuck with me.  The actual Dome is so awe-inspiring it gets me every time.

I went back to the hotel with Sophia after the girls splurged on heavy-duty crème puffs and cookies from Gilli on the Piazza.

the best cream puffs at gilli

Corey took Isabel back to the Ponte Vecchio with him so he could have some time exploring Florence and the Arno.  We decided to bail on the David.  Someone out there will tell me this is sacrilegious to be in Florence and not see the David.  I don’t care.  The girls said they saw the fake one in the Piazza della Signori and they were fine with that.  I couldn’t imagine making them wait on another line just to see a statue that you get herded past in 5 minutes and that you are supposed to appreciate for all sorts of reasons that won’t matter a bit to them.  I’ve seen it twice and Corey has seen it once and we were both fine with the girls not seeing it now.

Instead the girls will ride a few more times on the carousel, which makes them deliriously happy.  Its about 1/4 the size and half the speed of the one in Central Park but they don’t care.  They’ve never met a carousel they didn’t love.  And they learned a new Italian word, La Giostra.

We went to dinner in a much further a field restaurant past the St. Croce area towards an area that looked and felt more like the East Village, if the East village had been built 600 years ago.  The restaurant called Plaz was both inside and under a set of arches abutting what looked like the antique/used junk market (including a used book stand with a lot of  very visible vintage porn magazines which thankfully my daughters didn’t notice.  I’d had enough hard to answer questions for one day)  The meal was good, fresh and by the far the least expensive meal we’ve had since we’ve been here.   After dinner we went back to the hotel, via one last ride on the carousel.

I love Florence and Venice.  Both are cities that never fail with all of the picture postcard views everywhere you look, but I don’t think I ever need to come back again to either one for a very long time if ever.  For one thing, its hard not to be a little resentful when every restaurant feels like a tourist trap.  And for another, both cities are so over run by Americans that something distinctly Italian and foreign gets lost in the mix.  That’s probably just a hazard of traveling in July too.  However, when we leave Florence tomorrow I will feel more finality in the goodbye than I would’ve thought before this trip.

Gelato Scoops of the day:  NONE!  all about the creme puffs!

This is an original beccarama.com post

It was a last minute decision to drop into Tuscany just for the weekend. And what can I say? Tuscany is as pretty as they say and just like the postcards – with gentle rolling hills and cypress trees abound, dotted with olive farms and vineyards.  Weather was rather bad on our way out but thank god it cleared up later that Saturday. Our main target this weekend was to visit Florence. Here is a “brief ” account of what we did and saw in Florence.

• Stay

We booked a B&B just 20 mins drive outside Florence, called Casa Palmira , for €85 a night for 2 , double bed with own private WC/shower and breakfast. A really nice country house with pleasant owners. The rooms are clean and well kept. Breakfast was good – there was a nice selection of  fruits, muesli, yogurt and eggs if you wish.

Another place we considered initially was Johanna in Florence city itself, but decided to opt for the country house B&B just get a little away from the city. Next time we are planning to check out Johanna for the same price of €85. Through our email exchanges they appear to be very professional and helpful, so I am confident they have a high quality B&B to offer.

Some friends of mine mentioned another alternative, which is in the country side by Saturnia in the Maremma Tuscany area. It is the Saturnia Tuscany Hotel and you can look it up from the link http://www.saturniatuscanyhotel.com/

• Museums and things to see/do

If you want to go into the museums, a little bit of planning has to go into it. It is true the queues are bad for both Accademia and Uffizi , you can always ask your hotel or B&B to help you book or buy the tickets online through these sites:

1) http://www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi/default.aspx (best place to buy online without the exhorbitant fee charged by other sites – but you need to book at least 1 week in advance)

2) http://www.galleria-uffizi.museum-ticket.it/Home.action

3) http://www.florence-museum.com/

We did not manage to, but will be going back with prebooked tickets for sure. A friend got their tickets without queuing up at another gallery in a quiet street somewhere. Unfortunately she cannot recall the name of the gallery and neither did we discover any quiet gallery selling tickets on our trip.

So what other sights did we see? Well, you cannot miss the Duomo which is worth taking a look . Formally known as Cattedrale di S. Maria del Fiore (below) – this marble church is massive in comparison to her surroundings. Just opposite her front entrance, you have the most famous door Porta Del Paradiso (above) which is located on the building – Baptistery of Saint John across from it .  If you cannot find it, it is on the Baptistery’s eastern door . The Porta Del Paradiso or Gates of Heaven (named so by Michelangelo) is made of gilded bronze depicting scenes from the Old Testaments. Ghilberti was the main man behind that door, toiling on it for 28 years.  The other doors have different scenes depicted on them and were made by different artists – all worth having a look at too.

Walking further out towards the river Arno, another historical site is Ponte Vecchio (below), a famous landmark of Florence and probably one of the most famous bridges in the world. The river Arno runs below it. It was the only bridge to survive  WWII when the Nazi bombed all bridges around Florence in order to deter the Allied forces. The story goes like this -  due to a culturally sensitive German commander,  this bridge was spared and instead of blowing it up, he ordered the buildings at the end to be destroyed. Today along the bridge, you will find shophouses selling gold, which reminds me of the gold zouk in Deira, Dubai! I did not check out the prices so I can’t tell you if it is cheaper than Dubai, sorry!

Ponte Vecchio

Loggia Della Signoria

At the Piazza della Signoria (main square) you will find the Loggia Della Signoria – which is an open air gallery exhibiting sculptures like Cellini’s famous Perseus holding the head of Medusa and the Rape of Sabine Women by Giambologna.

And not forgetting, for a panoramic view of Florence, one should go up to Piazzale Michelangelo on Viale Michelangelo. The photo above is from there.

• Gelato

Generally, I judge a gelateria by the colours of their gelati. They can say anything on their signboards like homemade,etc but I look at their mint flavoured or pistacchio flavoured ice cream first. If the colour is green (too green) to be natural, I would give it a miss.

Vivoli (Via Isole delle Stinche) is being recommended by almost all guidebooks! It is good but for the price you pay for I don’t think it is that great! You pay by the size of the cup. For a double scoop you normally get around Italy, it costs €3.20 – so yes a tad expensive! Not everything is great in there. I did try their fig ice cream, it was good not too sweet. I tried the Riso (rice flavoured) and that was too sweet for my liking.

Vestri ( Borgo degli Albizi) an artisanal chocolate store, hence yes great chocolate gelati.

Carabe (Via Ricasoli) – their gelati I read is good , but best of all besides the gelati, you get to sample their Sicilian sweets like cannoli, cassata and granitas too.

Fiesole (10km from Firenze) - is a pretty hillside village located not too far from Florence or our B&B. There is a great panoramic view of Florence from there.  Also several great local restaurants. We tried one called Vinandro . We ordered a beautiful piece of meat (beef). Make sure it is controfiletto - which is prime quality meat hence juicier. It is the cut that is used to make roast beef - the english term fails me right now. The meat is commonly served  just simply chargrilled or cut out in strips , on top of  a bed of rucola and shaven parmesan cheese (tagliata con rucola e grana*).

I had also the ‘peposo’ a type of stewed beef with peppercorns – which was really tender. Wine (of the house) for  1/4 ltr costs about €3-4 which is fine enough for a casual dinner. For coffee, forget about asking for capuccino – a major faux pas after dinner . You get an espresso or in my case orzo (roasted barley that tastes almost like coffee minus the caffeine) to end a good meal on the right note Italian style.

NB - For you foodies out there, if you come to Tuscany – you only eat one thing (besides the gelato) – BEEF, forget about spaghetti marinara please or any seafood for that matter, leave that for the Italian coastal cities.

That is why their wines like Chianti or the prized Brunello are robust and deep as they pair well with the excellent meat you get here. The main grape variety here is Sangiovese.

* Parmesan cheese :  both Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padana are very similar. The difference is the forage; the meadows in the production area between Parma and Reggio have certain grasses, while those of the meadows of the section of Lombardy that produces Grana have others. As a result there are slight differences in flavor and color. I find Grana is a little easier to shave into large slices compare to Parmigiano Reggiano, but all depends on the exact age when you buy it to get the precise texture you like.

What a nice relaxing weekend. Oh by the way for those of you who drive, we found a good place to park (on Sundays it is free) – along Lungarno Del Tempio or Lungarno Francesco Ferrucci. If you want to park for free on other days and walk down to the old city, go up to Piazzale Michelangelo and make sure you are there early like 7-8am otherwise it will be full full full!

The hotel is furnished ‘Empire style’. It’s smarter than the hotel I stayed in in Venice two years ago and also the hotels I’ve stayed in when visiting Rome the past two times. I like it.

An enjoyable second day in Florence. A convivial breakfast in the large Empire style dining room. It has a kind of 30s feel to it but as I hanker after all things old-fashioned I’m minded to adore it. On the subject of food, I do tend to over do the cakes, croissants, juice – not to mention the cooked breakfast itself… it sets you up for a busy day ahead I always think. You spot the other English at breakfast as they also order tea; the Americans (who are here in abundance) tend to order coffee.

A strong Italian sun beats down, 34c again. First stop is the Bargello museum which is famous for its statues. And they’re rather wonderful. I’ve always loved statues. Trying not to be crude but there is more ‘meat and two veg’ than you can shake a stick at. And why not I say. There was an exhibition of Bernini’s sculptures on at the time which was particularly good.

After that we walked down to the Santa Trinita and on to a bridge overlooking the river Arno. We had lunch at an inexpensive pizza place which was perfectly decent.

We then went on to the Uffizi which is the Florentine museum housing the world’s greatest collection of Renaissance art. I adored the Botticellis – notably The Birth of Venus and also Primavera. I’m not a huge art fiend but you can’t help but be enraptured by much of it. Luckily we’d booked our tickets back in the UK so didn’t have to suffer the very long main queue.

After this we went to Vivoli which is the undisputed king of gelatarias (ice cream shops). It really was incredibly good. We each had a large 5 euro tub (which gets you two scoops). I had citron and vanilla and both were to-die-for. Quite different to back home. Full of flavour without being horribly sweet. I’d definitely recommend it. I’d read that the queues could be quite big but we were there mid afternoon and it was fine. We’re going there again before we leave it’s been decided!

We then went on to San Lorenzo but missed the Medici Chapel as that was just closing, we’re heading back to that later in the week.

Did a fair bit of other stuff not all of which I can remember the names of. Then back to the hotel to unwind for an hour before heading out to dinner. We ate al fresco. Sheridan had Bistecca alla Fiorentina which he asserted was ‘perfect’. I had a salad and then a risotto which were good. We drank chianti. I then had crème brulee, Sheridan had ice-cream. Watching the world go by. The bill came along with limoncello (shots). You can only be in Italy… perfect.

Now back at the hotel reflecting on the day and chilling out. Have taken a lot of photos but alas can’t post any as the upload speed on this free hotel wi-fi just won’t let me do it; keeps timing out.

PS We passed through the Piazza della Signoria that Room with a View was filmed in, is lovely. We’re doing the Accademia (where David is) on Thursday.

Arūnas su Virginija atsikėlė pirmi. Tylutėliai išsliūkino iš kemperio ir išėjo zonduoti vietovės. Kai jie po pusvalandžio gryžo atgal, mes kaip tik ropštėmės iš alkovos žemyn. Virginija aiškiai buvo susižavėjusi šia vietele, į kurią pataikėme netyčia. Aš įšokau į kelnes ir su Arūnu patraukiau registruoti mūsų nakvynei. Čia įvyko melo atvejis. Aš pamelavau žmonių skaičių – nutylėjau Eglę, ir dėl to vėliau visą dieną prastai jaučiausi.
Kempingo neįmanoma apibūdinti vienu kažkokiu epitetu. Jame vyravo kardinaliai priešingi dalykai tokie, kaip dvaro sodas, matyt įrengtas prieš amžių amžius, su senovinėmis skulptūromis ir suformuotais krūmais bei kanalizacijos dvokas. Nuostabi bambukų giraitė ir topolių pūkai, kurie lindo į akis, nosį ir kavos puodelį.
Labai greitai sukdamiesi, per porą valandų išsiruošėme į miestą. Nuo kempingo kalno apačios į miestą veža 17 autobusas. Bilietais nusprendėme apsirūpinti iš anksto ir vėl teko eiti į recepciją ir pirkti nelogišką 6 bilietų kiekį, nes kaip žinia mūsų oficialiai buvo ne 4, o 3.  Aš dar neatsargiai pasiteiravau apie vaikus, ar jie nemokai gali važiuot autobusu, ir čia recepcijos moteriškė užuodė klastą ir sako man, “o tai visgi kiek jūsų ten yra?”. Na aš jai sakau “3 suagę ir 2 vaikai”, o jinai man “o tai kur jūsų žmona?”. O aš apsimečiau, kad nesuprantu. Išėjau taip stipriai nesusipatoginęs, kad net baisu.
Kalno apačioje susiradome stotelę. Aš nufotografavau autobuso maršrutą, pavaizduotą ant geltonos lentelės, pakabintos ant autobuso stotelę žyminčio stulpo. Iki centro buvo viso labo 6 stotelės, ir tai mums pasirodė visai arti. Iš už kampo išlindo 17, ir iš jo iššokęs vairuotojas šūkalavo “prego, prego”, na mes ir sulipome pas jį. Vienas dalykas aiškus man dabar – autobusų stotelės nė kiek neatitinka stotelių lentelėse nurodyto maršruto. Nurodytos stotelės egzistavo iš tiesų, tačiau kiekviena jų buvo įsimaišiusi į kokią 12 kitų stotelių, kuriuose autobuso vairuotojas maloniai stabteldavo. Neišvengiamai mes išlipome NE TEN. Kai tai supratome, pasileidome eiti autobusui pavymui ir po penkiolikos minučių pasiekėme San Marco aikštę. O iš čia, per vieną iš siaurųjų gatvelių pamatėme kyšant Duomo stogą. Kadangi pastarasis buvo pažymėtas mūsų maršrute, tai ir pasukome link jo.  Siaurutėliu šaligatviu, stengdamiesi nesuvažinėti praeivių, mes yrėmės link kultūros paveldo. Kai galu gale jis iškilo mums prieš nosis, tai buvome pakankamai nusiplukę. Pati katedra, į kurią ir atvykome pažiūrėti, atrodė, na kaip čia pasakius… jos tiesiog nesimatė. Baisaus dydžio margas pastatas buvo įspraustas tarp namų, ir kad jį pamatytumei, reikėjo gultis ant žemės ir žiūrėti aukštyn. Įsivaizduokite, kad kas nors paimtų Vilniaus katedrą ir pastatytų ją pilies, bokšto ir didžiosios gatvių sankryžoje. Taip kad mėgautis šiuo architektūros stebuklu akustiniu būdu tiesiog neišeina, geriau jau pirkti kokį nors fotomontažą ir jį nagrinėti. Šalia katedros be abejonės buvo ir krikštykla. Jos durys vertos dėmesio, ir mes ji joms skiriame. Kol aš su Virginija detaliau studijuoju duris, Arūnas stebi nusikalstamą veiką. Keletas juodaodžių chuliganų pripuola prie turisto, užgula jį ir atima tašę. Tada visi bėga į skirtingas puses. Tada policininkas pagauna vieną chuliganą, o kiti stebi jį iš už kampo, prie kurio ir stovi Arūnas. Taigi nėra labai saugu toje Firenzijoje. Jei prie jūsų pribėgs keletas žmonių, žinokite – jus apvogs.
Nuo katedros pasukome link piazza della signoria ir pakeliui netyčia pataikėme į Dantės namus. Čia truputį pasiklausėme rusų gidės, kuri grupelei turistų pasakojo, kad žmonės Florencijoje į svečius pas kaimynus eidavo persimetę lentą tarp langų (nes buvo tinginiai). Nuo Dantės iki signoria aikštės – vos kelios minutės. Op. Viskas – žiūrime į Neptūno fontaną, kurio viduryje stypso pernelyg didelis šiai aikštei Neptūnas, o iš kampų nimfos laiko po kokį nors jūragyvį, iš kurio trykšta vanduo. Man rodosi, iš šio fontano Pamela Travers pasiskolino personažą vienai savo Merės Popins knygų – berniuko su žuvimi statulą.
Apžiūrime Michelangelo Dovydą. Nenumiriau. Apžiurėjau Persėją ir Sabinių pagrobimą. Irgi nenumiriau, nors labiau patiko nei Dovydas. Po apžiūrų vaikai praalko ir Emilis suvalgė  pizza peperoni o Benas  – pizza de latte.
Pasukome link paryškintos mūsų maršruto dalies – Uffizi galerijos. Pastarieji buvo raštininkai pas kunigaikštį Cosimą (šiai raštininkų gaujai Cosimas pastatė dviejų kilometrų ilgumo U raidės formos namelį), o vėliau jų namučiai buvo panaudoti Medičių meno lobynams eksponuoti. Medičiai buvo bankininkai ir kelis šimtus metų valdė Florenciją (kaip rašo šaltiniai – išmintimi ir protu) bei sukaupė meno vertybių, kurios vos telpa pas Uffizius. Į galeriją įleidžia maždaug 60 žmonių bangomis, tad tenka stovėti dvivalandinėje eilėje. Jei kas planuoja aplankyti šią galeriją, susiplanuokite daugiau laiko – eilė garantuota. Vėliau prieš pat bilietų kasą ir įėjimą patenki į lėktuvo bagažo tikrinimo postą, tik diržo išsiverti čia nereikia – o viskas kitas taip pat. Labai gerai, kad mus įleidžia su vežimėliais. Netgi geriau nei paprastiems turistams be vežimėlių – mes gauname liftą . Beje užmiršau paminėti, kad mums nusipirkus bilietus ir užsukus į tuoletą, Emilis iškėlė “Ne” sceną, o Benas iškėlė “Noriu valgyti” sceną. Žiūrovų kaip tik buvo ta 60  žmonių banga, su kuria patekome į vidų. Itališkoji bangos dalis klykė “Bella bambini”, o užsienietiškoji “What a cute kid” ir viskas susiliejo į bendrą operą ir dabar aš suprantu, kodėl Italija yra operos tėvynė.
Taigi, liftas, trečias aukštas, ir mes atsiduriame tarp Medičių giminės skulptūrų. Atydžiai apžiūriu visus. Visi Medičiai išsipustę pagal to meto madą. Kadangi keitėsi kartos, tai keitėsi ir mados. Visų pirma, randu Medičį su peruku, kuris daro jį panašų į pudelį, toks smulkiai garbanotas, labai ilgas, baltos spalvos ir su sklastymu per patį viršugalvį. Mintyse pavadinu jį užjūrio princu. Kitas personažas dėvi tą juokingą, garankščiuotą klouno apykaklę. Jis ir išliks mano atmintyje kaip klounas. Dar kitas apsigobęs kardinolo mantija, tad puikiausiai tiktų į trijų muškietininkų istoriją. Šie buvo ryškiausi, tačiau buvo ir kitų Medičių. Vienas – tipiškas konkistadoras, dar vienas – mandarinas, o trečias tikras Venecijos dodžas. Vienu žodžiu, neįšeidamas iš Ufficiu prieangio, susipažinau su visais įmanomais didikų tipažais. Ir visi jie atstovavo vieną giminę.
Pasukus iš prieangio patekome į vieną kilometrinę U raidės pusę. Kas trisdešimt metrų šiame koridoriuje buvo durys, vedančios į paveikslų galerijas. Vaikštant su vaikais viską įpranti daryti greičiau nei paprasti mirtingieji. Galbūt taip yra tik su mūsų vaikais, tačiau tikiu, kad yra ir daugiau tėvų, kuriems visiškai aišku, ką aš turėjau omenyje. Taigi, galiu tik trumpai suminėti, ką ten matėme – Fra Fillipo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Lenardo Da Vinci, Rafaelis ir Parmigiano. Daugiau nepamenu. Paveikslų ten per daug. Galų gale nebegali jais grožėtis. Tas galerijas galėtų skelti į keletą dalių ir galėtumei tas keletą ir lankyti. Nesuprantu, kodėl taip nedaro. Analogiškai galėtų elgtis kavinės, kuriose už vieną kainą parduodami dvidešimt penki torto gabaliukai. Tu jų išsinešti negali, o turi suvalgyti vietoje. Tačiau du dalykai man tikrai patiko  – pirmas tai Veneros gimimas, kuris pasirodė esąs išblukęs, bet vis tiek dailus. Antrasis dalykas – tai vaizdas pro galerijos langą į Florencijos tiltus.

Beje, mačiau kad pastarasis sulaukdavo daugiau dėmesio nei bet kuris kitas eksponatas. Dar vienas neblogas bet kartu ir blogas dalykas yra terasa ir kavinė ant Uffiziu stogo. Geras todėl, kad puikiai įrengtas ir nuo terasos matyti nuostabus vaizdas. Blogas nes kava kainuoja 5 eurus. Apie jos skonį nieko pasakyti negaliu, nes nepakilo man ranka atsisveikinti su aštuoniolika litų.
Po gerų dviejų valandų niekas iš mūsų nebeturi jėgų. Mūsų – tai Eglės, manęs ir vaikų. Virginija su Arūnų klajoja atskirai. Todėl mes pasigauname prižiūrėtoją ir sakome jai “scusi segnora, elevatore?” Ir ta miela moteriškė atlieka nuostabų dalyką – ogi ima ir praleidžia mus per užtvertą salę, už tokio sarkofago nugaros, kur pasirodo yra paslėptas tarnybinis liftas. Eglei kyla pagunda nuvažiuoti į kokį nors uždraustą aukštą ir rasti restauruojama Da Vincio darbą ir prie jo nusifotografuoti, tačiau lifte deje yra tik mygtukai reiškiantis apatinius ir visai neslaptus aukštus. Spustelime pirmo aukšto mygtuką ir po pusvalandžio iš trečio aukšto nusileidžiame į jį. Išlipame ir sekame “USTICA” ženklais. Apėję visus du kilometrus U raide atsiremiame į laiptus, nuo kurių su vežimėliais nulipti negalime. Du kilometrai atgal. Beje, einame mes ateities ekspozicijos koridoriais ir salėmis, mat greitai Uffiziu galerijos eksponatų skaičių ruošiamasi padvigubinti, o tai reikškia, kad čia taip pat padaugės depresuotų ir viskuo nusivylusių turistų, kurie paklaikusiais žvilgsniais ieškos išėjimo ir jo taip  paprastai neras. NEGALIMA išeiti visko nepažiūrėjus. Įsikalkite į savo turisto  makaulę. Ką gi, gryžtame ir leidžiamės liftu į NULINĮ aukštą. Kaip galėjome būti tokie kvaili, juk nulis lifte reiškia žemę. Pirmas aukštas tai lietuivškas antras. Antras tai trečias. Trečias tai ketvirtas. Ir taip toliau. Viskas jaunieji Gailiai palieka Uffizius. Atia.
Lauke vyrauja vėjas. Apskritai apie vėjus Firenzijoje reikėtu parašyti atskirą skyrių. Arba mes nelaiku pataikėme, arba šis miestas tyčia suprojektuotas skersvėjui. Atrodytų, kad didžiosios farmacijos kompanijos, gaminančios vaistus nuo peršalimo, eilę amžių atgal finansavo vietinius architektus, kad jie suprojektuotų tobulų skersvėjų miestą. O galbūt vasarą čia būna karšta ir miestiečiai rado tokį būda vėsintis. Bet kuriuo atveju, bet kuriame Firenzijos taške tave netikėtai gali truktelti vėjo gūsis. Ir ne bet koks, o toks sudėtingai žvarbus. Toks, kad tu jį pajunti visais kūno sluoksniais, pradedant epidermiu, o baigiant kaulų čiulpais. Taigi, jei kas nori suprasti, ką reiškia jausti savo kaulų čiulpus – mielai prašome į Florenciją. Jie čia taip įsimylėję skersvėjį, kad net Uffiziu galerijoje, kur lyg ir priklausytų ramuma (kaip ir dera galerijoms, kurios šiaip mėgsta pastovų mikroklimatą), radau italą, kuris užsiropštė ant didžiulės vienos salės palangės ir atplėšė langą. Labai abejoju, ar šis veiksmas buvo legalus ir suderintas su vietinės valdžios organais, tačiau prižiūrėtojai nekreipė į jį dėmesio. Netgi priešingai, jam nušokus nuo palangės, ir vėjo gūsiui pasiekus visus salės lankytojus, prižiūrėtojų veiduose atsirado šypsena, o italas, kuris atliko šį žygdarbį, salę paliko toks išdidus, kad jam praėjus pro galerijos duris, šios pavirto į triumfo arką.
Taigi, lauke mus pasitiko vėjo gūsis. Ir tikriausiai todėl mes labai užsinorėjome kavos. Jos buvo galima gauti bet kur, tačiau būdami perdėm išrankūs, išsirinkome gana turistinę vietelę ir kava ten buvo labiau brangi nei skani. Tam kad kavinė gautu aukštą mūsų įvertinimą, joje turi būti tiekiama skani kava, gaminamas autentiškas naminis maistas ir būtų įrengta padori tupykla. Mūsų pasirinktojoje kava buvo vidutinė, maisto neragavome, tačiau tupykla buvo nebloga. Tagi, kaip sako anglai “per visus” kavinė gavo padorų 6 balų vertinimą. Kiek vėliau vėl pasukome prie Neptūno fontano ir ten susitikome su Arūnu ir Virginija. Florencietiškos apžvalgos planas buvo beveik įvykdytas. Tiesa Arūnas dar pageidavo pamatyti šį miestą iš paukščio skrydžio, tačiau šią atrakciją atidėjome rytdienai. Vargais negalais susiradome 17 autobuso stotelę ir kartu su girtutėliu italu iš automato išgavome du trūkstamus bilietus (prisimenate – turime vieną nelegalą ir bilietų trūkumą). Sakoma kad antrą kart į tą pačią upę neįbrisi. Įbrisi ir dar kaip, Aš susimoviau ir garsiai sušūkau visiems – LIPAM. Na ir išlipom. Na ir net ten. Teko eiti su TomTomyte dar apie pusantro kilometro iki įėjimo į kempingo parką ir dar apie kilometrą iki savo kemperio, Visiems išskyrus TomTomyte, tai nepatiko. Šiaip netaip pasiekiėme kemperio lovas ir lūžome. Net nespėjau parašyti atia.

Today's Artist at Uffizi Courtyard

Note: Kathy of Dream of Italy® has listed her favorite ten books for Italy. Don’t miss her suggestions.

Destination: Italy

Book: Art for Travellers Italy, The Essential Guide to Viewing Italian Renaissance Art by Ann Morrow and John Power, with Illustrations by Matt Morrow and Erin Round

Another lovely book by Interlink Publishing, Art for Travellers: Italy, provides a college-level class in Italian Renaissance that can be useful to the armchair traveler as well as the ones who actually get on the plane and land at Venice’s Marco Polo airport. (And wouldn’t the adventurer be thrilled to know an airport was named after him?)

Like the Italy history I discussed yesterday, this book is paperback size, but very heavy because of the quality paper used.  And now I have to tell you something that may get the most delicate book lovers rather upset.  I sometimes cut relevant pages out of books like this, so that I can take them with me, and stick a few in my purse on the day that they apply to the place we are visiting. I bring them back and stuff them back in the proper place, so I can refer to them in the future.

In my Italy book, pages 181-186, for instance, are loose because after surveying the book and reading other travel recommendations, I knew that I wanted to see the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice. It turned out to be my favorite site in Venice, and these pages, with their lucid descriptions of Tintoretto’s masterful work added a lot to my enjoyment of what can be an overwhelming experience. Walls, ceilings, even stairwells covered with the enormous crowded paintings byTintoretto, every figure telling a story…the Sculoa Grande turly inspires awe.

I also tore out the section on Florence, and used their handy guide, complete with floorplan to lead me around the Uffizi.  I laugh every time I think of a native Italian speaker talking about going to the office to view all these masterpieces of art.

At any rate, whether you approve of my method or not, I highly recommend Art for Travelers: Italy for a crash course in the glory of the Italian Renaissance.

So do you want to talk about tearing up books? I know that some people will not even mark on a book.  I make margin notes all the time.  It is a kind of conversation with the author. Just like we have here.

Photo by Vera Marie Badertscher. All rights reserved

I più voraci e in­vasivi sono gli Anobium pun­ctatum e gli Oligomerus ptili­noides. Insaziabili, nonostante i quattro millimetri di lun­ghezza, nel masticare capo­lavori immortali dell’arte dipinti su legno e anche le strutture delle tele, le cornici, le sculture li­gnee. Non esiste museo al mondo che non li ospi­ti, giorno e notte, insieme a un’altra cinquantina di spe­cie di insetti, volgarmente noti come tarli.

E sono così perico­losi, i tarli, che la Galleria degli Uffizi di Firenze ha deciso di or­ganizzare una task force di esperti per combatterli, estir­parli e avviare una campagna di sensibilizzazione per trova­re sponsor capaci di curare le opere infestate. «È una batta­glia destinata a durare nel tem­po — spiega Cristina Acidini, soprintendente del polo muse­ale di Firenze —: purtroppo il problema si ripresenta periodi­camente anche su capolavori già trattati».

Intanto si cerca di bloccare l’attacco con la squadra «an­ti- tarlo». Usando tecnologie al­l’avanguardia. Come è appena accaduto per il polittico dell’In­coronazione della Vergine di Lorenzo Monaco, un’opera d’arte di grandi dimensioni, per il quale come hanno spie­gato gli esperti al Corriere Fio­rentino, è stato messo a punto un macchinario per produrre azoto capace di debellare gli in­setti mantenendo il legno vi­vo, con temperatura, umidità e pressione costanti. Davanti al polittico è stato montato un telo di materiale speciale in modo da formare un involucro all’interno del quale si è inseri­to l’azoto. Il risultato è stato ec­cellente; la spesa, consideran­do le dimensioni dell’opera, contenuta: 20 mila euro.

«L’impiego dell’azoto è mol­to efficace — conferma Giovan­ni Liotta, entomologo, docente all’università di Palermo e au­tore del libro Agli insetti piac­ciono le opere d’arte — l’unico che riesce a debellare il proble­ma in profondità. I tarli, infat­ti, costruiscono gallerie irrego­lari difficili da essere penetrate completamente dagli insettici­di. Aumentando l’azoto e sot­traendo l’ossigeno, l’insetto muore anche se è nascosto in profondità. Poi, dopo l’azoto, si impiega la deltametrina, un prodotto che genera una minu­scola barriera tossica capace di far durare l’azione di protezio­ne del manufatto».

Da settembre sono novanta­sei i dipinti disinfestati agli Uf­fizi. Almeno altri 20 ne hanno bisogno con urgenza. E tra que­sti, grandi capolavori come La battaglia di San Romano di Pa­olo Uccello, la Pala di Annale­na di Filippo Lippi e il Trittico Portinari di Hugo van der Go­es. «Siamo aggrediti dai tarli né più e né meno di altri mu­sei del mondo — spiega il di­rettore degli Uffizi Antonio Na­tali —: noi però abbiamo deci­so di affrontare la questione di petto, prevedendo fondi speci­fici per questo tipo di restauro che riguarda non solo le opere, ma anche gran parte delle strutture della galleria e dei de­positi come panche, cassoni, porte, infissi delle finestre».

Tutto cibo prelibato per gli insaziabili coleotteri. Una guer­ra che però ha anche bisogno di risorse. E di questi tempi, con crisi e tagli, Natali sta pen­sando anche a interventi ester­ni di privati. «Come sponsor che possono adottare un’opera — spiega — e pagare la disinfe­stazione che per le opere non particolarmente grandi costa assai poco. Sto pensando an­che di legare i prestiti a questo tipo di restauro. Insomma, la galleria che vuole una nostra opera ci deve garantire un trat­tamento». I tarli fiorentini so­no avvertiti.

Marco Gasperetti – www.corriere.it

Dopo l’esordio a Firenze, la mostra  Nella mente di Leonardo è stata  in Giappone , in California e in Ungheria.  Dal primo maggio a giugno approda  al museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia a Roma. Il  direttore dell’Istituto e del museo della Scienza di Firenze, Paolo Galluzzi racconta a left come la mostra, nel frattempo, si è arricchita

di Simona Maggiorelli

“Non fare Leonardo a fette. Ma mostrarlo tutto intero. Non puntare l’obiettivo su ciò osservava, quanto cercare di capire come funzionava il suo pensiero” è l’obiettivo che si è dato il direttore delll’Istituto e del Museo della scienza, Paolo Galluzzi ,nel realizzare la mostra La mente di Leonardo, aperta dal primo maggio al 30 agosto in Palazzo di Venezia a Roma. «La mostra appena approdata nella Capitale – racconta a left il curatore Galluzzi – fra gli autografi di Leonardo presenta tre disegni inediti di Leonardo, appartenenti a una collezione privata e mai prima esposti. Recano testimonianza della scenografia e della macchina teatrale che Leonardo ideò nel 1508, per una messinscena milanese dell’Orfeo di Poliziano.  E per la quale Leonardo realizzò una articolata macchina scenica, che riportava in questo mondo Plutone, dio degli inferi. Ma in mostra in Palazzo di Venezia ci sono anche i dipinti che testimoniano l’impegno di Leonardo su il tema della Leda e il cigno, che si legava a un progetto più ampio sull’ibridazione fra uomo animale e sulla sessualità naturalistica. Opere solo in parte autografe, certamente vicine per ispirazione al cartone che Leonardo realizzò a Firenze e poi portò con sé a Milano. Un lavoro che non finì. Come molte altri.
Un tema mitologico pagano , quello della Leda e il cigno, che già ci introduce a un tratto originale di Leonardo, la sua insofferenza verso dio e la teologia, documentati in vari passaggi dei suoi scritti
Leonardo certamente non era vicino alle forme di riflessione tipica del pensiero religioso tradizionale. Aveva una sua religiosità intesa come ammirazione per la natura come come forza fisica esplosiva, ma anche come forza vitale, come carica.
Studiosi come Batkin, come Pedretti e, più di recente,  Martin Kemp, nel libro Leonardo. Nella mente del genio (Einaudi)hanno decostruito lo stereotipo romantico dell’artista toscano, come genio isolato. Che ritratto ne emerge dalla mostra?
L’immagine di Leonardo come anticipatore chiuso in se stesso, che come un ragno tesse una tela, senza prendere materiali da fuori, purtroppo, è ancora molto diffusa, a dispetto dell’avanzamento degli studi. Chi va a leggere i manoscritti e confronta le fonti, scopre che Leonardo ha letto molto di più di quanto non si pensasse e che è pieno di debiti nei confronti di contemporanei e predecessori. Ma così facendo si scopre anche che Leonardo legge in maniera creativa. Assorbe e trasforma. Non è mai passivo. Ha sempre una reazione personale interpretativa o polemica nei confronti della tradizione o del contesto.  Insomma, che Leonardo vada letto nel suo contesto seguendo lo sviluppo cronologico della sua produzione fa parte di paradigmi acquisiti fra studiosi. Ma se in un saggio si riesce bene a dimostrare tutto questo, la cosa difficile è farlo con una mostra dedicata a un pubblico non di soli specialisti. Non per nulla questo tipo di operazione culturale non era mai stata tentata.
Come siete riusciti a far emergere la mentalità non compartimentizzata di Leonardo e la «trasversalità» del suo sapere?
Non dedicando sezioni separate a pittura, architettura, ingegneria eccetera, ma cercando lungo il percorso espositivo di attivare una visione multipla: dietro a ogni brano di pittura di Leonardo, per esempio, c’è l’anatomia, lo studio della natura, l’ottica. Leonardo non le separa minimamente. Se disegna un cavallo Leonardo istintivamente fa in modo che il suo centro di gravità cada nel punto previsto dalle leggi di meccanica e di statica. Non lo disegna in maniera solo fantasiosa. La mostra sottolinea  queste trame sottese al suo lavoro. Di fatto l’esposizione è una provocazione rispetto al consumo popolare delle mostre di Leonardo, rispetto ai modellini che si vedono nei piccolimusei leonardeschi. E’ una sfida a questo tipo di banalizzazione,  che ha la sua logica nel turismo di massa, nella fretta con cui si consumano gli eventi. E’ il tentativo di restituire dignità a Leonardo, una dignità offesa.
In controtendenza con questo tipo di operazioni “ in stile Disneyland” nella mostra La mente di Leonardo lei è riuscito a dar conto anche degli ultimi studi sullo sfumato leonardesco. In che modo?
Un’ampia parte della mostra è dedicata al Libro della pittura. Di fatto è un libro di scienza con dimostrazioni e esperimenti.  Da qui emerge l’importanza che l’ombra ha per Leonardo. Scrive proprio che l’ombra «è di maggiore potenzia del lume». Senza la gestione dell’ombra non c’è rilievo. È l’ombra che dà l’effetto di tridimensionalità sulla tela. Ma l’ombra è figlia dell’ottica, è la conseguenza della geometria; ha a che fare con la riflessione della luce, con la ricerca scientifica. Poi se ne potrà  fare un uso artistico.
Malgrado Leonardo rivendicasse il primato dell’esperienza, il suo sguardo non appare mai “positivistico”.
Leonardo è un artista che si pone come traguardo di riuscire a rappresentare perfettamente la natura. Per questo la studia. E se non fosse diventato uno “scienziato” non avrebbe potuto fare bene il mestiere dell’artista. Viceversa i suoi studi scientifici – anche quando lo trascinano lontanissimo, affascinato dalle piste che scopre- sono sempre concepiti come strumento per la rappresentazione artistica. Questa sua ossessione di comprendere i meccanismi della natura diventò via via sempre più febbrile, tanto che lui non finiva mai i suoi lavori. Si può sempre fare meglio nell’osservazione della natura. Quindi l’opera rimane sempre imperfetta, necessariamente incompiuta.
Resta anche nel non finito una sua straordinaria capacità di rappresentare l’invisibile, i moti dell’animo, gli affetti. Basta pensare allo sguardo di Sant’Anna nel celebre cartone conservato a Londra.
L’essere umano è al centro dell’opera di  Leonardo, che si interessa anche di fisiognomica e di patognomica. In mostra si racconta il suo interesse per i moti dell’animo, parlando dell’Ultima cena affrescata in Santa Maria delle Grazie (1945- 1948 ndr). Ne è l’espressione più alta e intensa. Leonardo qui mette al centro l’invisibile, ciò che può essere letto solo dall’espressione dei volti, dalla gestualità esterna, la quale però traduce in modo indiretto ciò che muove i personaggi interiormente. Il Cenacolo è il teatro delle emozioni in senso proprio . La cura con cui Leonardo prepara questa straordinaria pittura muraria abbiamo cercato di raccontarla in mostra attraverso il linguaggio del cinema, del teatro, della multimedialità.
È curioso che nelle migliaia di fogli che Leonardo ha lasciato non ci sia un accenno al fatto che il Cenacolo aveva già cominciato a disgregarsi quando lui era in vita. Lo stesso vale per la Battaglia di Anghiari che presto svanì dalle pareti di Palazzo della Signoria, a Firenze
Leonardo era un tipo molto particolare, probabilmente rimuove questi insuccessi, ma non possiamo affermarlo, non abbiamo documenti. Certo è che il Cenacolo gli costò molto di preparazione. Lui non era un pittore intuitivo, preparava le opere con un grande scrupolo. Compresa la Battaglia di Anghiari. Ma Leonardo è un uomo di successo, viene chiamato a Milano e ha una giustificazione anche con sé stesso per abbandonare Anghiari e dedicarsi ad altre cose.
Lei scrisse anni fa nel catalogo Giunti che accompagnava la prima edizione della mostra che Leonardo come scienziato non ebbe influenza sui secoli seguenti perché i suoi manoscritti per molti secoli furono dimenticati e dispersi. Oggi è ancora di quell’avviso?
Il giudizio credo vada bilanciato. Leonardo ha avuto una serie di grandi intuizioni. Nella sua maturità intuì che per capire molte di quelle attività che oggi chiamiamo scienza occorre la matematica, la geometria; è necessario introdurre dei modelli.  Che in gran parte riprese da Archimede a Euclide. Fu un pioniere in questo. Ha poi avuto un ruolo molto importante nell’ottica e ha praticato con cura l’anatomia. Arrivando a vedere dei fenomeni che solo un secolo e mezzo più tardi si potranno capire. Ma la ragione per cui queste sue acquisizioni non furono riprese non dipese solo dalla dispersione dei manoscritti, ma anche dal modo in cui erano concepiti. Ragiona per frammenti. Leonardo morde e fugge. Tocca un argomento e subito lo abbandona per parlare di altro. Nello sforzo di comprensione delle cose, la sua mente non segue  sempre un procedimento lineare, procede per intuizioni. Nei suoi scritti non ci sono quattro pagine consecutive dedicate a uno stesso argomento e questo tipo di materiale era difficilissimo da usare per i filosofi naturali del suo tempo. Il modello usato da Leonardo era in certo modo quello dei ricettari medievali, ispirati al principio della varietà.

da left-Avvenimenti primo maggio 2009

**

Roma, 16:00

LEONARDO DA VINCI: GALLUZZI, SUO PENSIERO PER INTUIZIONI

Leonardo da Vinci , Macchina volante

(AGI-repubblica.it) – Ragiona per frammenti. Morde e fugge. E tocca un argomento e subito lo abbandona per parlare di altro. Nello sforzo di comprensione delle cose, la sua mente non segue sempre un procedimento lineare: procede per intuizioni. Lo dice in un’intervista al settimanale ‘Left’ in edicola e curata da Simona Maggiorelli, il direttore dell’Istituto e del Museo della scienza, Paolo Galluzzi, uno degli artefici della mostra aperta ieri e fino al 30 agosto a Roma, ‘La mente di Leonardo’. Subito viene messo in chiaro l’obiettivo della mostra: “non fare Leonardo a fette. Ma mostrarlo tutto intero – spiega Galluzzi – Non puntare l’obiettivo su cio’ osservava, quanto cercare di capire come funzionava il suo pensiero”. E di Leonardo saranno presentati tre disegni inediti appartenenti ad una collezione privata e mai prima esposti che recano testimonianza della scenografia e della macchina teatrale che ideo’ nel 1508, per una messinscena milanese dell’Orfeo di Poliziano. E per la quale realizzo’ una articolata macchina scenica che riportava Plutone il dio degli inferi in questo mondo. Dipinti che testimoniano l’impegno di Leonardo su il tema della ‘Leda e il cigno’, che si legava a un progetto piu’ ampio sull’ibridazione fra uomo ed animale e sulla sessualita’ naturalistica. “Un tema mitologico pagano, quello della Leda e il cigno, che gia’ ci introduce a un tratto originale di Leonardo – osserva Galluzzi – la sua insofferenza verso dio e la teologia, documentati in vari passaggi dei suoi scritti. Leonardo certamente non era vicino alle forme di riflessione tipica del pensiero religioso tradizionale. Aveva una sua religiosita’ intesa come ammirazione per la natura come come forza fisica esplosiva, ma anche come forza vitale, come carica”. (02 maggio 2009)

www.repubblica.it/ultimora/24ore/LEONARDO-DA-VINCI-GALLUZZI-SUO-PENSIERO-PER-INTUIZIONI/news-dettaglio/3659159

Work in progress / VISIT US

The Artist’s House  in Greve in Chianti established in 2008 is a structure in line with the widespread practice of other European countries and the world to create environments where is possible the exchange and comparison between artists, and presents itself as an international center for business cultural and it is the first in Tuscany to be included in the international network of  Res Artis.
Recently  is been published the yearbook  “The Artistic Time” which includes a biography of the teachers with some of their works, and the artists of the residence in 2008.

Currently, guests are:

JILLIAN BONAHOOM (USA)
DOUG BOSCH (USA)

They work in the laboratories of the residence, each developing a specific project but also leaving open the path of confrontation and experimentation that will come naturally by living artists.

JILLIAN  BONAHOOM
young artist , lives and works in Detroit, Michigan.
In the Artists House is developing the project “Abstraction of the reflection” through the creation of large paintings in which merges images of natural elements with the figurative, manipulating shapes and colors in an intriguing amalgam.

DOUG BOSCH
He lives in Providence and is Art Professor at Rhode Island College.
His plan of residence “Nylon Catenaries” is based on research of intersection between art and science. Achieves small sculptures and drawings based on studies conducted at the Museum of Science in Rome and Florence.

Demetria Verduci

I think I’ve just had the most amazing spring break of my life. I absolutely fell in love with Italy.  Every city we visited had something new and exciting to offer.  Here is a rundown of my favorite things from each place I visited.

Rome:  This city is amazing purely because of its historicalness.  It’s almost spooky how old everything is here.  And the structures and buildings are so grandiose and magnificent.  All of a sudden I would be walking and then… BOOM!  a gigantic piece of architecture that just would wow me away!  I loved the lively piazzas, always adorned by a gorgeous tower or fountain.  

In the Ancient City, my favorite thing to see was the Colosseum.  This enormous amphitheater is the largest ever built by the Roman Empire, said to have held as many as 50,000 spectators.  Within 100 days after its opening in 80 AD, about 5000 wild beasts died in the arena. The floor once covered a labyrinth of brick cells, ramps and elevators used to transport animals from cages up to the arena level.  Competitions between exotic animals and gladiators, or between gladiators, took place here, ending with fights to the death.  These fighters were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals.  It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.  Other public events took place here as well. 

While walking to the Colosseum, we passed other cool sites like the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.  

In front of the Pantheon

In the Centro Storico, I was amazed by the Pantheon.  I’m wondering how this beautiful temple was built over 2000 years ago!  The light that enters the roof was used as a sundial and also indicates the dates of equinoxes and solstices.  How ingenious!

The Vatican City holds tons of things to see as well.  Basilica Di San Pietro (St. Peter’s) was a beautiful.  We didn’t bother climbing to the top of the dome – the line was really long and we heard the amount of stairs you need to walk may cause a heart attack.  We also saw the papal tombs and Vatican Museums.  At the end of the walk through the Museums, we saw Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

messin' around in the Vatican Museums

I hope my wish comes true!

In Piazza di Spagna, we visited the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain).  The famous custom is to throw a coin into the fountain over your shoulder to ensure you return to Rome. A second coin will have you falling in love with an Italian, and the third marrying him or her.  Anyway, I threw in two. The area was absolutely packed with tourists throwing coins.  

Tori and I also raced up the Spanish Steps.  Near the Spanish Steps are a lot of high end stores – we couldn’t afford anything, but enjoyed looking.

on top of the Spanish Steps! What a workout...

My favorite place to get gelato in all of Italy was at Giolitti.  I got gelato there three times! You can tell this place is good by the long line that spans the block outside of it – well worth the wait, and the line moves quick.  Huge portions for only 2 euros!  I highly recommend the banana flavor.  The quality of gelato can easily be told by the banana flavor.  If it’s bright yellow, the Gelateria makes gelato from a mix.  If it’s slightly gray, the gelato is homemade.  

We weren’t too impressed by the nightlife in Rome.  One evening we went to Campo de Fiori, got a drink at one of the restaurants surrounding the square, and people watched.  A lot of young people were drinking in the area and it was very crowded.

Florence: By far my favorite place in Italy.  I fell in love with Florence!  I felt like I was walking around in a museum – everything felt very beautiful and romantic. I loved the cobblestone streets.  There were a lot fewer cars than Rome and we enjoyed the nicest weather.

Here is a modeling photo on a bridge over the Arno River:

Tori and I modeling on Ponte Vecchio

Florence’s Duomo is a beautiful cathedral to see.  It is enormous so you cannot miss it!  There are a lot of great museums to see in Florence – my favorite museum was the Uffizi.  I loved that all the babies looked like old men!  It made me laugh every time.  Reservations are necessary, so don’t forget to make them at least a day in advance!  I would also recommend getting a reservation to see Michelangelo’s David at the

Galleria dell Accademia.  Paying the four extra euros definitely beats waiting hours on line!  He was absolutely stunning in person.  I was very glad to meet him.  Because Michaelangel was famous for not finishing things, it is quite amazing that he finished this glorious statue in just three years.  Only 26 years old at the time of commission, David demonstrates Michelangelo’s great talent.

Other sculptors did not want to work with the marble because of its imperfections, and there was a great debate where to put the statue because of the faultiness in the stone.  Originally, it was in Palazzo Vecchio, where it suffered damage on several occasions, struck by lightning in 1512 and damaged by street violence in 1527 anti-Medici riots.

This statue is so magnificent because of it’s accurate portrayal of man with correct proportions.  Also, his body effectively conveys to the viewer the feeling that he is in motion.   I would have to agree that he represents male physical perfection.

We also went to Museo Nazionale, which houses Donatello’s bronze David.  Very nice, but definitely not as impressive.

Florence had amazing food.  There was an amazing sandwich place in an arched alley off Piazza San Pier Maggiore, Near Santa Croce. It was called Antico Noè. You can probably find it by the line of students waiting their turn outside.  I would recommend anything there. I think I have sampled at least four different sandwiches – all wonderful. Prices are very reasonable, ranging from 3.50-6 euros (more or less).  The sandwich man takes such care when making these sandwiches!

For dinner one night, we went to a great restaurant.  If you are looking for an authentic Florentine and Tuscan cuisine that is not too touristy, go to Il Latini.  We loved our meal.  Without looking at a menu, the waiter brought us out a three-course meal, forcing us to leave with our belt buckles unfastened and our pants unbuttoned.  We made friends with everyone in the restaurant.  The people who worked there even taught us a dirty Italian song that we recited for the rest of our trip.  What fun!

We enjoyed the nightlife in Florence.  One night we went to a fun disco called Yab.  We had a wild time!

From Florence, we took two day trips.  One day, we went to Pompeii, and stopped in Naples to get pizza.  Getting the pizza took a little longer than expected, so we had less time in Pompeii than we hoped.  Naples was extremely dirty, with tons of trash on the street and graffiti everywhere.  Still very cool to see, just because of its sheer filthiness. In Pompeii, we did have enough time to see an amphitheater and an ancient brothel with inappropriate frescos on the wall.  On the way out, we met the preserved body and looked at some artifacts (old jars and stuff). 

Provocative fresco at a brothel in Pompeii

Another day, we took a day trip to Pisa, the countryside of Chianti, known for its famous red wine,  San Gimignano, and Siena.

Pisa: I would not recommend going to this place.  There is absolutely nothing to do here.  We took the classic picture of ourselves “holding up” the tower and called it a day.  We got some coffee at a nearby cafe.

Here I am holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

One

Two

Third time is the charm!

My favorite part of the day trip was the wine tasting in Chianti.  We tried many different types of wine and had a three course meal.  The most important thing I learned was that there really isn’t a specific type of wine for a certain food – you drink the type of wine that you like, not what someone else says you are supposed to like.  We left drunk, full, and happy.  If your hand is too small to stir the wine glass, you can use your cheek.

Becky stirring wine with her cheek

After the wine tasting, we went to the medieval town of San Gimignano.  There wasn’t much to do here, so we ate gelato  and then went to two torture museums – one focusing on the death penalty and the other pure torture methods.  We really enjoyed these museums.  Since no one was watching (and the museum was fairly empty), we got interactive with the exhibits… oops!

Siena was also a cute Tuscan city, which dates back to the 13th century.  We went inside a nice church with well preserved frescos and beautifully mosaic floors.  Siena’s centro storico, Piazza del Campo or Il Campo, held the most interest with me.  In this Piazza, the Sienese celebrate their heritage with the semi-annual Palio, a bareback horse race.  Each horse represents a different district in Siena.  The district you are born in determines the district you belong to for the rest of your life, despite marriage or the district your children are born.  In the horse race, you root for your own district.The districts have names like “caterpillar”, “eagle”, “forest”, “wave”, and “tortoise.”  between the different districts in Siena.    The locals have a lot of pride for their city!  

Venice:

Although this city is gorgeous because of the canals and the beautiful buildings, I never imagined the extent of how touristy this place would really be. It was impossible to walk with the masses of people. I found that Amsterdam was just as gorgeous with the canals and buildings and without the crowds of people. The place is almost completely geared to tourists, I’m unsure that people really live here.  Although, I did hear that I visited Venice at the start of the high season, when all the tourists begin swarming in.  It was so expensive too!  We still had a lot of fun.  I would highly recommend the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.  This museum differs from many of the museums that we saw in Italy because it is all modern art - Dalí, Picasso, Jackson Pollack, to name a few.  In the touristy San Marco Square, we went to the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), once home of Venice’s mayor but now a museum, and the Basilica di San Marco, which stole all of it’s beautiful gold mosaics from the Byzantines.   There are tonsThere isn’t a lot of nightlife, but I would suggest going to Santa Margherita Square (where a lot of young people are) and getting a Bellini at one of the bars that are in the square.   

Milan:

We were only in Milan long enough to get dinner.  We had a good dinner there though!

Flying home, we decided to take the RyanAir Airline.  Don’t be fooled.  RyanAir  does not fly out anywhere near Milan. It flies out about an hour away. Then when arriving back to Barcelona, we had to take an hour and twenty minute bus ride from Girona to Barcelona’s city center. The flights are cheap, but not worth it. Yes, every airline has a limit on the weight. However, their minimum is 15 kg, no questions asked. My friend’s weighed about 20 kg, and she almost had to pay over 100 euros for her bag before we threw half of her belongings in a shopping bag.

Paolo Uccello, a Florentine painter, was the artist behind this great masterpiece. The Battle of San Romano, comprised of three panels – each 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall, was completed in 1483 and believed to be a commission from a very wealthy banker – Lionardo Bartolinis Salimbeni. All three panels depicted the great 1432 war between the Florentine army and the army of Siena. Interestingly, it took a much longer time before this piece was brought to the attention of the 19th century British art public, who looked to Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci as makers of high art; anything before them, it seemed, were deemed as barbaric.

This piece was interesting because of its massive scale, its secular subject matter and most notably, the use of perspective in drawing which had been the hallmark of all high renaissance works. In particular, if one were to look closely at the first panel, Niccolo Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano, you can see hints of perspective calculations from the way Uccello had arranged bits of the broken shafts on the ground. The pieces formed a grid-like pattern consistent with the preparatory base he would have worked on – the vanishing point disappearing right into the middle of the painting.

Art historians had also found evidence suggesting that the meticulous and sensitive depictions of the knights in combat were derived from interviews conducted with the knights; the soldiers had had to demonstrate the movements for Uccello in order for him to paint such combat moves with accuracy. It should be pointed out as well that the panels as we are viewing it is far from its original form. Firstly, the top part of the painting is cut off abruptly. There was evidence showing that the commissioned work was meant to be fitted onto the walls of  Bartolinis  house and very likely rounded like a dome (imagine a semi-circle placed on top of each rectangle). This explained why the work may look strangely claustrophobic as it is; the original version would very likely have shown valleys in the distance and skies in the background. 

Secondly, much of the work had been restored over the centuries and may not have retained the original intentions of the artist. For example,  Uccello had used egg tempera to construct the masterpiece and the gold and silver colours on the knights were intended to glitter under the candlelight – the way it was meant to be viewed with; certainly the harsh lighting beaming down from gallery ceilings would have created a very different effect for the contemporary art public. Currently, all three panels have been separated, each housed in a museum in a different country – the National Gallery of London, the Uffizi Gallery and the Louvre (Paris).