27 dicembre 2008
- Museo del Duomo
- Davanzati Palazzo
- Oltrarno
- Porta Romana
- Wine Tasting
Simone, our local guide
A brisk morning walk saw us to the Duomo Museum, where we met Simone, a local tour guide. After yesterday's talks about the birth of the Renaissance, today we went backwards in time to learn about the end of the Middle Ages. The cathedral of Florence was built over Roman ruins. The 5th Century foundation of The Baptistry was actually the first cathedral.
There are three layers of construction under the contemporary cathedral: 5th Century, 9th Century, 11th Century and the 12th Century existing building.
During the strict Middle Ages, when the Church ruled, anything carnal was considered corruptible: the human body is a source of temptation and all Roman art was rejected.
Interestingly, the marble coffins used for bishops were recycled Roman artifacts! Artisans in the Middle Ages simply turned the sarcophagus to hide the Roman art, which showed detailed human anatomy and contorted poses, and carved medieval imagery on the unused side.
Ghiberti's original bronze panels for the Baptistry doors ~ the Gates of Paradise ~ are housed in the Duomo Museum. Simone explained how Brunelleschi built the dome atop the cathedral - the first dome built in the western world since Roman times. We saw Brunelleschi's tools (some which he invented) used to build the Duomo, watched over by his death mask.
Donatello was a significant sculptor of the early Renaissance, as he reinvented three-dimensional sculpture. His Mary Magdalene, carved out of wood in 1455, doesn't recreate Classical art, but depicts a common person that has transcended into Christian enlightenment. This sculpture is so powerful that I could feel Mary looking at me directly, as if she was evaluating my soul.
During the middle ages, Florence, as well as many other hill towns, boasted a number of towers, and only a few remain today. Simone took us to the Palazzo Davanzati, where we had the opportunity to see inside a medieval merchant class house/tower - think Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet.
Door in the Porta Romana
We crossed the Ponte Santa Trinita to see how the poor class lived across the Arno. A long, southerly walk led a group of us to the Porta Romana - the Roman Gate - on a wild goose chase for a trattoria just outside the Porta San Frediano (to the west), only to realize that the mom & pop eatery would be closed on Saturdays!
A free afternoon led to window shopping, a lot more walking and then an evening of wine tasting at the Giglio Rosso. Here are the wines we sampled:
- 2007 Le Bruniche Chardonnay di Toscana IGT paired with crostini and porcini mushrooms, bruschette with tomatoes, polenta and cinghiale (wild boar - LOVE it!), and crostini with fegato, chicken liver pate.
- 2006 Il Piccolo Borgo Chianti Classico DOCG with a selection of salame and prosciutto
- 2006 Morellino di Scamsano Il Grillesino with pecorino, parmigiano, taleggio and fontina cheese
- spaghetti with garlic and olive oil
- Vin Santo with cantuccini
