Rome and Florence
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| Rome |
Many of you have
already been to Rome and Florence, or are at least all too familiar with the
most famous sites, so I'm going to report on some of the
lesser-known-but-absolutely-wonderful places we visited. Suffice it to say that
Ginny (what a trouper!) and I saw just about every church, piazza, palazzo,
museum, monument, fountain, etc. etc. that there was to see in each of the 2
cities and then some. We discovered the hard way that there is no such thing as
really comfortable shoes, an up-to-date guidebook, or a light suitcase. We also
discovered that sightseeing in Italy is a real crapshoot -- places are closed
somewhat arbitrarily because it's Sunday, because it's Monday, or because it's
Tuesday; for reposo (a 3 hour block anywhere from 12:00 p.m.-- 5:00 p.m.); for
restoration; for Pentecost; for First Communion; for private parties; even for
soccer games (Santa Croce!).
Most importantly, we
discovered food in Italy is almost uniformly superb -- be it in a grungy little
cafe or an elegant restaurant, the Italians take real pride in their food. What
meals we had! We had artichokes at every possible opportunity in every way
possible. Incredible sandwiches for a pittance (be sure to go to the Cafe Lily
if you're waiting on line for the Accademia -- I had a prosciutto, brie and
truffle sandwich for one Euro that was the most delicious sandwich I've ever
eaten.) Gelato in flavors that Americans would never dream of (nutella,
forgotten fruit, tiramisu, and limoncello to name a few). And, of course, pizza
-- in Siena we had a brasciola/truffle pizza that was to die for. Other
highlights included bistecca alla Fiorentina (which does NOT mean with spinach),
vitello tonnato, panforte, cantucci with vin santo, saltimbocca, linguini with
lemon sauce, ribollito, mussels marinara, fried stuffed zucchini flowers, and
spaghetti carbonara. Perhaps the best meal we had was at the Restaurant alla
Rampa in the Pza. Mignonelli near the Spanish Steps. We ordered the
antipasto bar (9 Euros each), 2 primi and a secondi. The waiter looked at us
like we were nuts. No wonder -- the antipasto bar had about 50 different items
(everything from quail to fried polenta to fennel gratinee to squid) and we
couldn't eat another bite after that.
In total, we spent 5
days in Rome and 4 in Florence -- barely enough time to cover my very thorough
agenda. We took trains between the cities -- a quick, inexpensive, pleasant way
to travel. Ginny was a perfect traveling companion -- (almost) as eager as I was
to see as much as possible and always good-natured.
In Rome, I was on a
Bernini pilgrimage. The Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria is
fabulous-- particularly the reliefs on the sides of the chapel of the Cornaro
family ecclesiasts watching and discussing amongst themselves what St. Theresa's
experiencing. We loved his baby elephant obelisk outside Sta. Maria Sopra
Minerva. (Inside you'll find some lovely Fra Lippi frescos and Michelangelo's
Risen Christ.) The Galleria Borghese is a superbly decorated villa, well known
for both its paintings and its Bernini sculptures -- his David, Rape of
Persephone, and Apollo and Daphne are all there. Tickets have to be ordered
ahead of time -- I did it on line.
At the Vatican, the
Raphael Rooms are well worth seeking out -- though at times we felt like we were
in a maze that we'd never find our way out of. St. Luigi dei Francesci and Sta.
Maria del Popolo have wonderful Caravaggios -- the experience of seeing them in
situ is completely different than seeing them in a book or on a slide. The
latter also has Bernini's Daniel and Habukkuk. We were very taken by Sta.
Passeda and Sant' Ivo alla Sapienza -- two small gems.
Near the Colosseum we
stumbled across the Domus Aurea -- it's fairly recently opened to the public
and so not mentioned in the guide books. Absolutely not to be missed if you can
help it. It's Nero's vast reception palace, in a remarkable state of
preservation because Trajan filled it in with cement as far as the arches of the
barrel vaults in order to build a bath on top of it. The gaps between the top of
the cement fill and the ceiling were discovered during the Renaissance and the
preserved painted decoration had a profound influence on Renaissance interior
decorating. Fascinating.
We had time
for a half day Carrani tour of Hadrian's Villa and the Villa D'Este. The latter
is a magnificent villa with incredible gardens renowned for the fountains, all
powered by gravity. We also took a CAF trip from Florence to San Gimignano and
Siena-- -- a beautiful drive and 2 very interesting cities. Siena's Duomo is
magnificent. Would love to be there for the palio!
Florence is
a delightful city -- so much to see, and all of it so close together. The Duomo
has been cleaned up and is more beautiful than ever. The Bargello has many
masterpieces, including Donatello's St. George and David, several Michelangelos,
and Giambologna's Mercury. A surprise was the Museo del Opera del Duomo,
featuring Ghiberti's original Gates of Paradise, Michelangelo's Unfinished
Pieta, and Donatello's Maddalena. The interior of the Palazzo Vecchio is
beautifully preserved, though we rushed through it because we glimpsed (and
heard) from the balcony a parade of bands in medieval costumes marching towards
Santa Croce. Turns out it was for a "historical" soccer game. Several of the
churches have elegant cloisters -- often frescoed by famous artists both inside
and out. San Marco is particularly interesting -- the monk's tiny cells (all
decorated by Fra Angelico) are open to the public.
It was poppy
time in Italy -- bright red poppies blooming in fields, in cracks in walls, in
small patches of earth . "Judas trees" were also in full bloom. The streets were
full of "Smartcars" -- picture a VW for 2. I'm told they get 100 km/litre. You
still take your life in your hands trying to cross a street in Rome, with or
without a traffic light. The weather was hot but not unbearable -- there would
often be a few sprinkles in the late afternoon, too slight to even bother with
an umbrella. All in all, a fabulous trip!