More Italy!!!

Recap: December 28

After leaving Ava to crawl in with Joe and Claire early this a.m., I took a walk around Florence to revisit familiar haunts. So much looked the same: narrow streets, noisy motorbikes and mopeds, small cars zipping in and out, beautifully dressed people window shopping, picking up groceries here and there. Tons of trendy shops, leather leather leather, art art art.

New: fancy recycling and trash receptacles, very cool cafes and internet spots.
And lots of tourists with umbrellas (though it was merely misting).

After breakfast in our room – croissants, yogurt, toast and pastries – we headed for Santa Croce, which was around the corner from our hotel (well placed near churches on this trip).

We spent three hours there – much to see – the church of course, the Medici chapel and 15 other chapels, Michelangelo’s tomb, a big nativity, museum, leather factory and courtyard.

About the Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross): it is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. Legend says Santa Croce was founded by St. Francis himself.

In addition to Michelangelo, various other illustrious Italians are buried there, including Galileo and Machiavelli. Thus it is known as the Temple of the Italian Glories.

Many of the chapels in the church are decorated w/ frescoes by Giotto and his pupils.
Construction of the current church began in 1294 and was paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families (isn’t that the case w/ most churches?).

It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV.

Today the former dormitory of the Franciscan Friars houses the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School). Thus visitors can watch artisans craft purses, wallets, and other leather goods, which are sold in the adjacent shop. (We watched, didn’t leave w/ a bunch of leather, though.)
From Santa Croce we caught a bite at a nearby bar – I had incredibly tasty spinach ravioli in a lovely tomato cream sauce, kids had paninis, Joe pizza. Then we checked out the Duomo and Baptistery doors.

Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) is the cathedral of Florence. Known for its distinctive Renaissance dome, its name (Saint Mary of the Flower) refers to the lily, the symbol of Florence. The Gothic cathedral complex includes the Duomo, the famous baptistery and a campanile.

The cathedral, the third to be built in Florence, was built on the site of the previous one, Santa Reparata, prompted by the magnificence of the new cathedrals in Pisa and Siena.

It was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1294 to be the largest Roman Catholic church in the world (although the design was later reduced in size), with the first stone laid on September 8, 1296.

Work on the cathedral was on and off until 1418, when only the dome was incomplete.
In 1418 a competition was held to design this part, with Brunelleschi winning the competition with his distinctive octagonal design. Construction was completed in 1436 and the cathedral was consecrated by Pope Eugenius IV on March 25, 1436.

It was the first 'octagonal' dome in history to be built without a wooden supporting frame (the Pantheon, a circular dome, was built in 118-128 AD without support structures), and was the largest dome built at the time (it is still the largest masonry dome in the world).

The dome also used horizontal reinforcements of tension chains of stone and iron - paving way to the imaginations of iron and steel structural reinforcements, such as reinforced concrete in later centuries.

Brunelleschi's ability to crown the dome with a lantern was questioned and he had to undergo another competition. The lantern was begun a few months before his death in 1446 and was completed by his friend Michelozzo. A huge statue of Brunelleschi now sits outside the Palazzo dei Canonici in the Piazza del Duomo, looking thoughtfully up towards his greatest achievement. (I took a photo of the kids in front of Brunelleschi looking up at his dome.)

From the Duomo we did some window shopping, strolling about the lovely city, decorated so beautifully for Christmas.

Then we landed at yet another church (3 in one day. That must let us off the hook for…what…Purgatory? Oh come on, God has a sense of humor. He must. Look at some of his creations.)

So anyway. Santa Maria Novella:

Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church.

The church boasts especially famous frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance, financed through the generosity of the most important Florentine families, who ensured themselves of funerary chapels on consecrated ground.

The church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister.
Building on the church began in the mid-13th century and was finished about 1360 and consecrated in 1420.

Santa Maria Novella is full of amazing artwork by Renaissance masters, but this I thought particularly interesting: the pulpit was designed by Brunelleschi (Duomo architect extraordinaire) and executed by his adopted child Andrea Calvalcanti. It was from this pulpit the first attack came on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indictment. Galileo probably didn’t have a warm fuzzy feeling about Santa Maria Novella.

Finally, on the topic of Santa Maria Novella, the square in front the church was used by Cosimo I for the yearly chariot race (Palio dei Cocchi). This custom existed between 1563 and late in the 19th century.

Churched out, we wandered back to our hotel for a bit of R&R, then stepped out for dinner at Aqua al 2, which was fabulous. Joe and I had the tasting menu so we got to try 3 different types of salad, one with mozzarella di buffalo and tomato, the other two with delicious dressings and a variety of fresh greens. Then five different small plates of pasta came out, gnocchi with gorgonzola (my favorite), some tube like shape with vodka sauce, another w/ eggplant…all excellent.

Then we were served three portions of steak, each done differently – one w/ balsamic sauce, one w/ blueberry sauce and the last on foccaccia with rosemary. My favorite was the blueberry.

For dessert the girls were invited to go with the waitress to choose…they opted for chocolate cake and tiramisu. No shortage of either on this trip.