Mornings in Florence, Part 1

This year we are trying to do more short posts to share more of our daily life and small activities, which are what make every day a small adventure some sort. Last week was filled with so many of these that I will quickly summarize here.

A Morning Visit to Ognissanti

The church of Ognissanti (All Saints) is one of Cathy's favorite small churches in Florence. Rather modest from the front and off the main tourist trail, it is usually quite empty except for a dedicated few who come to appreciate its small treasures.

These treasures include two frescoes of St. Augustine by Botticelli and St. Jerome by Dominico Ghirlandaio (the lighting wasn't the best to capture the rich colors).

St Augustine by Botticelli

St Jerome by Ghirlandaio

 

 

Most touching of all to me, is the humble stone marker that indicates Botticelli's final resting place in the church. This magnificent artist whose room of paintings at the Uffizi is packed to overflowing attracts only few to his tomb.

There is, however, always a single rose and now notes left on the rail. I stop and spend a few minutes reflecting on the amazing beauty Botticelli gave the world and the events through which he lived--from Lorenzo the Magnificent through Savonarola.

A further treat was that the cenacolo (refectory) of Ognissanti was open that day - a rare occurrence - so I was able to get into see Ghirlandiao's fresco of the last supper. Here in Florence one quickly learns that you could dedicate days to visiting versions of the Last Supper by various artists, but this is one of my favorites and so my morning was complete before heading off to lunch with friends!

 

 

L'ultima Cena (Last Supper) by Ghirlandaio

 

 

 

Fall Fashions 2013

 

Fashion is one of the most fun things here in Florence. The shop windows are always decorated to wow with eye candy and this fall is a treat. We were also lucky enough to be out one evening which happened to be designated as "Fashion Night". All the major fashion houses were open late, and models were wandering the throughout the center showing off the latest in Italian shoes and clothing. Fashion will be an ongoing chapter of the blog so...to be continued.

 

Ferragamo windows

 

 

More to come!







Return to Florence, September 2013

Well here we are back in Florence once again, for our third year. Clearly, we have fallen in love with Italy in general and with Florence in particular although there are so many wonderful places and so many adventures we have had here since last updating our blog in June of 2012. Eventually part of this new blog will be dedicated to recapping some of those highlights.

This time we are living in a charming house just off of Piazza Tasso on the south western side of the city, one street over from the old city walls. It takes 15 minutes to walk to the Ponte Vecchio yet is a quiet and untouristed area, filled with fascinating shops and restaurants. The map shows a green space on the lower left-hand corner -- we are just on the other side of the street running past that space.




Florence - Piazza Tasso at left

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of our lovely house.

 

 

 

Our first week was busy getting settled in and welcoming our friends Nick and Kim for their first visit to Italy. Serious Francophiles, they decided to branch out and explore Tuscany for a few days with us.

 

We all enjoyed a wonderful wine tour through the Chianti area sponsored by the Tuscan Wine School with Bernardo, our excellent guide. The Chianti region, south of Florence, is a beautiful area of softly rolling hills filled with cypress and umbrella pine trees as shown on all the postcards of this part of the world.

 

Our first stop was the Corzano & Paterno vineyard near the town of San Casciano for a wine and cheese tasting. The grapes are grown naturally here. i.e., without any chemicals.

 

Bernardo, our guide

 

 

We then headed to the town of Panzano where we enjoyed a lunch at the famous butcher shop of Dario Checchini (we also reported on this experience in our earlier blog). Dario is know for his high quality meats, particularly beef, and his small restaurants here.

 

 

Outside Dario's butcher shop

 

 

 

After lunch we turned northward toward Greve and visited the Villa Calcinaia vineyard owned by the Florentine Capponi family for over 500 years. Another wine tasting and then back to Greve for a brief visit before heading home.

 

 

 

 

Because Kim owned and ran two Italian restaurants in Maryland, it was fascinating to get her insights and perspectives on the Florentine cuisine. Through a colleague she know of a super restaurant not far from our house and so on Saturday night we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Mama Gina's eating way too much and loving every mouthful.

 

 

Kim, Nick and Lee post dinner

 

 

 

Sunday brought us back to Greve for the wine fair and to visit the home (La Ventolina, the soft wind) of our friends Francesca and Uli who live on a magnificent hilltop with views extending forever. We shared a beautiful Sunday lunch reveling in great food from the garden, home-made wine and olive oil, wonderful company and amazing views.

 

Lunching at La Ventolina

A view of Chianti

 

Nick and Kim departed on Monday and we returned to getting established here. We will be renewing acquaintances with friends drifting back to Florence from summer holidays, taking art history classes at the British Institute and an architecture class at the Accademia dÁrte,  and visiting the fabulous line-up of exhibitions here over the next months. In October we will be cruising from Basel to Amsterdam through wine country of the Rhine and Mosel rivers.