Visiting Venice

Venice is beautiful but exhausting. The best way to get around is on foot. The vaporettos and gondolas ply the Grand Canal and will take you close, but you will still walk down narrow alleys and over numerous bridges to reach your next destination. 

St. Mark's Basilica is undoubtedly the most beautiful church I have visited on this trip. The mosaics that cover the ceilings and the marble covering the floors and walls are incredible. No photography is allowed within the church or the museum area where the original four horses are displayed, so I took a few outside only. 

Venice is the city of Tintoretto and Titian and the birth of the republican form of government. This form was considered democratic, but essentially meant government by the aristocracy. 

The election of the Doge, the head of the government, was designed to avoid corruption and influence by any one group of the aristocracy. It supposedly worked well until Napoleon conquered Venice. 

Venice today is supported by tourism. The challenges facing the city are unsustainable tourism, that is, the visitor spending only a few hours visiting St. Mark's Square; the increased flooding of the city due to climate change; and the decreased population because of the high cost of living in Venice. 

We had our last gelato in Venice this afternoon. And it was terrific! 

Florence Addendum

Florence is formidable, which is probably why a few days isn't nearly enough to fully appreciate it. 

The Medici family ruled Florence during much of its history, even though Florence is generally thought of as a republic. This banking family was responsible for much of what makes Florence worth a visit, simply because they paid for much of the art. 

They even have a church that was built with their money and is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family, the Basilica San Lorenzo. 

The church had one thing I especially enjoyed in Florence, although others found it underwhelming. A wing of the complex houses the Laurentian Library, designed by Michelangelo in a style called mannerism. This library holds one of the first collections of ancient manuscripts and early printed books, the personal library of the Medici family and built under the patronage of a Medici, Pope Clement VII. 

The library reading room is not often open to the public. The library is lined with reading desks containing the chained manuscripts and books. The outside column of each desk holds the list of what could be found in that row. The librarian in me liked this. 

Yesterday we had tried to find a restaurant called Brac, housed in a contemporary art bookstore. We were unsuccessful. Today Mike and I tried again and found that it did indeed exist, but did not open until a bit later. It was definitely worth the hunt! 

Florence Art and Architecture

Florence is the home of Renaissance art. Michelangelo's David is here, arguably the best sculpture ever. He was influenced by Donatello, whose David is depicted as the adolescent he supposedly was. (Some undergraduates call him "Puss in Boots.") He is next to St. George in the Bargello Museum.

The Ufizzi has a collection of paintings that overwhelm. One afternoon is too little to take them in properly. Botticelli, Giotto, Lippo, da Vinci and more in the 60+ rooms. 

Botticelli's Venus

Botticelli's Spring

Michelangelo's Holy Family

Da Vinci's Annunciation

Lippo's Adoration of the Magi

The Duomo's Cathedral Museum contains the original "Gates of Paradise" by Ghiberti and a very striking "Magdalen" as an old woman, by Donatello. 

It also contains Michelangelo's second "Pieta," never finished as he was dissatisfied with his progress. 

Florence is the home of great leather and more. The Ponte Vecchio is a must see, especially near sunset, as the shops on the bridge close for the day. 

Brunelleschi's Dome takes the simple Duomo from spartan to elegant. 

The Baptistry next door, however, has a ceiling of gold mosaics, with the mosaic that partially inspired Dante's Inferno, from "The Divine Comedy."  

Arriving in Florence

We left Rome and arrived in Florence on Friday. We stopped at a lovely Tuscan winery on our way - where we did a wine tasting and had lunch. The food is definitely better in Tuscany! 

After lunch we drove on to Florence and saw the Duomo for the first time.

After a walk to familiarize ourselves with the layout of Florence we stopped at Riviore, where I had wine and tiramisu for dessert. Forget eating dinner. Sitting in the square is a relaxing way to end a day.

Our hotel is just a few blocks from the Duomo. It has the best view from the bar on the roof! We even saw a rainbow on our first evening! 

More Rome

Days Three and Four in Rome were very busy! We started our day by touring the Forum. The remains of the various temples are still impressive even if incomplete. 

We saw the Temple of the Vestal Virgins and the area where these important women lived. 

The earliest remaining Roman door - the green door of the Temple of Romulus - is now the entry to a church. 

We viewed the Arch of Titus and the Palatine Hill and then walked down to the Colosseum.

We had a special entry that allowed us to stand on the floor of the Colosseum and look down into the area that housed the animals and gladiators. 

After our tour we walked to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. I got my Steps in yesterday! 

Today we had a free morning - I even found a shop that sells Italian quilting fabric. We stopped for take out sandwiches from the fabulous Forno Campo de' Fiori, which we ate on the small balcony in our room. It overlooked churches and the residences behind the hotel. 

Then we met the group for our visit to the Galleria Borghese.  

The collection at the Borghese is an example of the Italian concept of paragone, or comparison. The art and poetry of this period of the Renaissance confronted the art of the ancients. The collection contains the sculpture of Bernini and paintings by many of the greatest artists of the period.  The sculpture of Pluto and Prosperina was probably my favorite!  

Tonight it was good-bye to Rome. We head to Florence next.