Rome and Florence

Tuesday, December-14-10 8:45 PM

Last evening Mark and I explored an area south and east of the train station, just outside one of the city’s original gates. We had wanted to find a grocery store and our hotel host advised taking the Metro to the San Giovanni stop. Once there, he assured us, we would find a huge market that covered a couple of acres. It was well after dark when we arrived but the neighbourhood was well-lighted and busy with shoppers.  After a few false starts we did find the market he referred to, but alas! It clearly is a day market and literally a market, as in individual stalls and vendors. It was a pleasant evening and a cheerful area, however, so we simply mingled with the crowds, circumnavigating a large round-about fringed with shops. We stopped in at a pizza place attended by several high-energy, fast working cooks/servers. There were at least ten varieties on offer. Orders were sliced into squares about 6” or 7”, weighed, and priced accordingly. A woman across the room took the ticket that came with the order and one’s money. No drinks seemed to be available and there were neither chairs nor tables. Instead, around the edge of the shop were shelves between waist and shoulder height upon which one could rest one’s belongings while eating. The place was very busy with many people seeming to be in a hurry to be somewhere else but grabbing a snack on the way. So much for slow cooking the Italian way.

Close by we found a middle-sized grocery store which suited the needs of, and brought comfort to, the traveller: prosciutto, cheese, biscuits, yogurt, and bananas. Passing through the city gate we had an opportunity for a closer look at pieces of the original Roman walls, as well as an ancient building which appears to have housed soldiers manning that gate, and, the very large nearby church of San Giovanni  -- John the Baptist, in this case. Then back to what has decidedly become the home away from home.

After breakfast this morning we purchased 2^nd class tickets for the fast train to Florence. These leave very often so we had only to pay for our tickets and walk out onto the platform to board the 10:15 train. It originated in Naples and was headed for its final destination of Milan. It was a clear and sunny day so the lush hills and fields of Tuscany were in grand view as we sped along. The trip took only 1 hour and 35 minutes. In Florence we found our way through the winding streets to the Duomo, the Florentine cathedral. It is unusual in the sense that  its enormous size is squeezed into a very small area, entirely surrounded by urban life – absolutely no green space or walls. It is totally integrated into the city. Within is a large empty space – no pews or chairs. Not a great deal to look at actually other than the altar with the spectularly painted dome overhead, a few stained glass windows, and some statutes or plaques commemorating former burgers or popes. The Medici loom large with two gigantic tapestries showcasing a pair of significant dudes on horseback, wearing hose and great hats.

The Museum Della Opera situated behind the church, houses many art works formerly in and outside the Duomo but moved to better protect them from the elements – human and natural.  The most significant was a Pieta started but not finished by Michelangelo toward the end of his life. He intended it for his own mausoleum. The older man helping to take Christ down from the cross was Nicodemus, but his features were modelled after Michelangelo’s own. He didn’t finish the piece because of a flaw in the marble at the elbow of Mary. Some of the figures are more complete than others – Mary’s face is barely sculpted. We walked about the museum’s galleries for some time after looking at the Pieta. Mark was especially taken with the detailed drawings which described processes required for building the enormous dome. Brunelleschi, its architect, had to devise techniques known by the Romans but long forgotten in order to accomplish his plans. Mark purchased a large poster showing some of this detail but unfortunately left it behind in the restaurant where we had lunch. (When he went back later to retrieve it, they were closed. Quelle dommage!)

I had promised myself a repeat of a memorable experience that Theoren and I had had in Florence: home-made lasagne at a ristorante on the square of the church of Santa Croce. This church figures in the film, A Room With a View. It is the place that Lucy Honeychurch explores when she leaves her pensionne to explore Florence alone, without her ever-present and ever-annoying Cousin Charlotte. Theoren and I, of course, made a pilgrimage to this spot, and, being hungry, elected to enjoy lunch at a restaurant with tables arranged upon the square. (This square is an ancient site where festivals and sports events were traditionally held.) What a delight. Such a spot – so suggestive historically as well as filmically! And to make it even more sublime: the pasta was to die for! The server assured us that every bit of our meal was made there at the restaurant and had been done so for the many decades that it had been in his family`s hands. Since then, Theoren and I have assured anyone who would listen to us that they have never known lasagne if they had not enjoyed it at that never-to-be-forgotten restaurant.

Once more, I must sigh, "alas!" The restaurant was closed! The square itself was filled with temporary kiosks all in celebration of the coming of Christmas. Lots of beautiful home-made crafts were for sale, and there was luncheon food as well. We didn`t stay, however. Sitting in the quite chilly air on a metal seat did not appeal after the dashing of my hoped-for-repast. Instead we walked through a few of Florence`s  winding and narrow streets to the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza Della Signoria. The Palazzo was the home of and the administrative centre of the power-brokers of Florence. The piazza outside houses a copy of the large statue of David by Michelangelo (the original is in another museum in the city) as well as at least another dozen large pieces of statuary by other artists. Adjacent to the Palazzo is the Uffizi Museum. We had lunch at a restaurant in the piazza – lasagne for me. Was it as good? If it was I could never tell Theoren about it.

The great thing about visiting Rome and Florence at this time of year is that the tourist population is vastly reduced from the mobs that abound here from April (if not earlier) through to at least October. It means no waiting in line. At the Vatican yesterday we walked right in; today we had the same experience at the Uffizi. From the entrance rise wide staircases of at least 50 stairs/floor. Two small elevators stand to one side with the admonition that these are provided only for those who would otherwise have to crawl up the steps. Mark and I trudged the entire way up to the second level (100 steps!), only to see a group of young Japanese students step off the elevator ahead! Harrumph! Oh well, at least we can still do it.

I wanted to see the Botticelli paintings but we didn’t come across them. We saw the current exhibit of Caravaggio and many other great canvases. The religious art, which forms the greatest proportion, interests me much less than the wonderful portraits that began to be popular in the 16^th century – coincident, I believe, with the Reformation. Such interesting faces. And the clothes!

After the Uffizi we made a quick tour of the Ponte Vecchio (the very old bridge) over the Arno. There are buildings all along its length on both sides. On the ground level are gold and silver-smith shops; above is a long and narrow hall which connects the Uffizi, once a ducal domain, to the Pitti Palace, a relatively newer ducal domain, across the Arno. This arrangement allowed “the betters” to avoid unpleasant mingling with the hoi-polloi on their way over for dinner. Leaving all this loveliness and history behind we set out resolutely for the train station and our rapid journey back to Roma and the Termini.

 Again, I suggest scrolling to the bottom for more photos. Cheers. Brenda.