Day 8

Wow, only Day 8? It feels so much longer since I left. Then again, it also feels like I have just scratched the surface of Italy.

This is the only post so far that I have written on the actual day; hopefully it is a habit I can continue, though I doubt it.

My roommate and I slept through both our wakeup call and his alarm and didn’t get up ‘till 8:12, when breakfast was at 8:30. We got ready fast and made our way downstairs for a breakfast that was similar, though not nearly as extravagant as our Roman hotel. Almost straight from there we met our tour guides and departed on a 2 ½ hour walking tour of Florence. In my last post I said how I wasn’t at first impressed by Florence. That all changed today. I learned that 90% of the buildings in Florence are actually medieval or renaissance buildings, often covered in plaster. First we made our way to the sprawling open air market (mostly leather and linen) around the Basilica San Lorenzo. Known as the San Lorenzo market, I can’t help think it may be somehow connected to the naming of the St. Lawrence market. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Either way, we saw the market and the church. On the front of the church there is just a façade of rough stone with horizontal outcrops every few feet running across the building. Apparently after all of his work in the Vatican, Michelangelo asked the Pope to sponsor the decoration of San Lorenzo. The Pope agreed and all the preparations were made, but the Pope died before the work was started and the new Pope decided not to continue, so the church is still unadorned. From there we moved on to the breathtaking Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. There are two churches there, one smaller church built in the early medieval period on foundations laid by the Romans, and another, much larger Cathedral (the biggest in Florence, if I heard the guide right) built between 1200 and 1400. The most striking features are the façade and the tower of this church. The mosaic and friezes on the walls of the church are amazing. White and green striped with intricate mosaic patterns, amazing paintings and gold inlay, it is astonishing to think that this was accomplished by hand. The façade was actually added in the late 1800s when Florence was briefly the capital of Italy and also the richest city in Europe. From Santa Maria we moved on to the Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square) which served as a center point for the city since its founding in roman times. There is an authentic antique carousel as well as a gateway arch restored, as much of the city, in 1895. From there we moved a short way to the Piazza della Signoria (Lords’ Square). Here is where the main building, or city hall, is located. Originally a single tower, the building was built around it over time. In the square there are many famous statues, all original. The only copy is actually Michelangelo’s David. David was originally commissioned to go on one of the towers of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, but the church was expecting the biblical David, small, meek and modest. Instead they got the famous sculpture, proud, strong, nude, notably done in the ancient Greek style, celebrating the human style. While this is what the renaissance, and especially Michelangelo, is famous for, it was not what the church wanted. Instead of simply rejecting it, a council of influential artists noticed its importance and placed it in the town center for all to enjoy. While a place of prominence, it doesn’t do the David justice; it was meant to be viewed from a great distance, up on a church tower. Because of this, David’s hands and feet are disproportionately big. Part of Michelangelo’s genius was that he understood that proportion had to be distorted sometimes to give the impression of proportion from a distance. Anyway, there is a replica of David in the Piazza della Signoria where it was placed from 1504-1895. In 1895 it was moved to the Academia museum (an old art school) where it is now. After the Piazza we moved to the most famous church in Florence: the Basilica of Santa Croce (Holy Cross). This church is most famous because so many historical figures are buried inside. The outside shows how the green and white facades were added in the 1800s; the front has the new, beautiful façade while the rest is the old stone of the medieval age. Inside, the floor is littered with marble rectangles. These mark the tombs of influential Florentines who paid lots of money to the church in order to be buried here and show their crests in the church (a kind of advertisement) along the walls are many beautiful paintings and sculptures. The most important part of the church is the tombs placed in between the artwork. These include Machiavelli, Galileo and most prominently; Michelangelo himself.

After Santa Croce we split up and my group stopped in a small restaurant for lunch. I ordered a pizza Diavola (Sauce, cheese and spicy salami) and I receive a thin crust, fresh baked, full sized pizza. I was luckily hungry and the pizza wasn’t too filling so I managed to just finish it before I was fully stuffed. From there we more or less made our way back to the hotel. I was planning on relaxing for a bit before heading out to the nearby café (it offered free wifi to customers). Unintentionally I ended up sleeping for about 4 ½ hours, until the sounds of Back Against the Wall by Cage the Elephant woke me up from down the hall. I freshened up and was about to head out when Sey came back from the pool and asked me to wait for her to change before heading out because she wanted to hit the café as well. We spent about 30-45 minutes there. At first I was apprehensive, but it turned out to be perfect. It reminded me of a Starbucks except while a Starbucks tries to make everything seem Italian, this came across as almost American. The fridge was stocked with Corona, Coors and Red Bull while the wall was covered in mismatched posters, most with English slogans. The price was what really made me love the place. It was just a good cup of cappuccino as anywhere in Rome, better than most, actually and yet it was €1.10 while in Rome it cost between €2.50 and €3.00. After this Sey and I explored the city for another hour or so. She looked for a dress while I scoped out the local Laundromat, then we checked out some of the markets as the closed down. On our way back we grabbed a slice of pizza and a coke at a small pizzeria near the hotel.

Back at the hotel I finished The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was excellent, in my opinion, especially considering the technological barriers for a science fiction movie in 1951. I played around with my camera settings for a bit so that they would come out a bit more detailed, though larger on the memory card. I then read some more homework and began to type out these last two blog posts. It is now insanely late (curse daytime naps) and I should be sleeping soon in order to take advantage of being able to sleep in for the first time this trip.

I bid you arrivederci until tomorrow.