Two views of Florence

Sunday, May 31st 2009
Day 12
Written en route to Turin, Italy at 7:15pm

We are currently on the super slow regional train heading to Turin, leaving Florence. The past two days have been a blur of cathedrals, leather shops, tiny, buzzing streets, and sleepless nights. Though I'll admit the 'must see' tourist attractions were quite impressive--I found the Duomo's beauty to come from its simple grandeur, and who knew David looked so apprehensive from his left side?--we also found the most memorable and exciting moments to come from happenstance.

On Friday night we were able to get in contact with two professors Seth had become close with back in Chapel Hill, Dr. Nadas and Dr. Haar. They spend much of their summers in Italy conducting research on Renaissance culture and usually base themselves in Florence. After cleaning ourselves up the best we could in our scuzzy hostel and putting on the best of our 'travelling clothes', we met John and Jim at an upscale cafe right in the Piazza della Signora, once the center of the Florence's political activity. After drinks of wine and whiskey they took us around a few clever corners to a dark alley with a neon 'Ristorante' sign hanging above a door. Quaint and hidden from tourists, we found the ideal family owned restaurant. John was quickly greeted by the wife and he acknowledged the husband cooking behind the counter (it was apparent he was a regular). We were poured two more wines, little fried dough things, and delicate melt-in-your-mouth swordfish carpaccio. For primi piatti (first plate) Seth and I ordered the same dish--a perfectly light and fluffy gnocchi. Finally, they treated us to espresso and a platter of formaggio (cheese) and pere mature (ripe pears). I never understood the deal over the combination of pear and gorgonzola until that evening. It was like heaven. After having eaten out a couple times on our trip and walking away disappointed, we finally got to experience the food that we were hoping to find in Italy, and shown, by experts, how to eat it. The entire time John was chatting with the wife and cracking Renaissance-oriented jokes in Italian (which of course I didn't get), showing off his knowledge of 16th century poetry, culture, and his fluency in the vernacular. Jim, Seth's older mentor, was brilliant and encouraging and clearly proud of Seth's good work. The evening was so lively and fun and Seth and I instantly agreed it would be difficult to express our appreciation.

Dr. Haar and Dr. Nadas in the Piazza della Signoria

Yesterday night was equally surprising. After a long, tiring day, we rushed over to the Basilica di Santa Croce for the 6pm mass--the church closed at 5:30pm to paying entrants but opens at 6pm for a Saturday evening service--we decided to get in via mass. Santa Croce is home to both extraordinary artwork and the remains of influential historical figures, and we hoped to arrive early enough before mass to walk around the chapel for a quick peek. Unfortunately we arrived late--which wasn't too bad considering we had a hard time following the Italian sermon--and when it ended we inconspicuously strolled around, frantically absorbing as much of the history as possible before getting kicked out. After a couple minutes the congregation cleared out and the lights were being shut off, and we were approached by a Franciscan priest. He started talking to Seth (I don't really know how or why), but after a few moments the priest said 'ah, United States, I show you the true free Liberty'. He walked us over to the back of the cathedral to show us a monument of Liberty, said to be the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty in New York City, but this one was free of its chains. Truly Free. Then he said, 'do you see Michelangelo? I show you Michelangelo'. He walked us over to a corner, and sure enough, there was the extravagant tomb of Michelangelo. And then he showed us to the final resting place of Galileo, directly across the hall (I was totally thrilled to see this). Then the composer Rossini. Then Napoleon's sister and cousin. He led us into a separate room to show off relics of St. Francis, and explained the water damage in the halls and how many pieces of art suffered a terrible 4m high flood in 1966. After a few minutes of leading us around the cathedral, Seth asked 'and Brunelleschi has works here?' Father said, 'Yes, Brunelleschi. The cathedral is closed, but I can show it specially for you.' He pulled out a key from his pocket and took us into the cloisters designed by Brunelleschi, and finally, into a circular room called Cappella de'Pazzi, described as Brunelleschi's most impressive work, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture (Seth had wanted to see this). Indeed, the cathedral was so impressive and packed with so many influential pieces that it was a shame to not spend more time there--we probably could have explored it for many hours. However, it seemed so unique and satisfying to be led by a priest on a private, after-hours tour away from the rest of the mob that it didn't matter. As we left Santa Croce's gate and returned to the rest of the world we both felt shell shocked and bedazzled that that could happen to us.

On the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo

The view from Piazzale Michelangelo

The Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) at
about 6:30am -- before the crowds set in

The Last Judgement, the ceiling of the Duomo

Ponte Vecchio, the covered bridge--before the crowd arrives

The mob at Ponte Vecchio

Chiesa di Santa Margherita, where Dante first saw his muse, Beatrice, and wed Gemma (both women are burried here). Dante lived across the street.

Why can't there be more little electric three wheelers?

The Rape of the Sabines (the original), Galleria dell'Accademia.

Gelato

Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa, in the Loggia della Signoria

Piazza della Signoria
(again, an early-morning run to beat the crowds)

The leather stalls at the Mercato de San Lorenzo. As touristy as it is, I must admit I bought a hat here.

Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio: the outdoor food market

Mass at the Duomo the morning we left Florence

BFF (Bologna, Ferrara, Florence)

Thursday, May 28th 2009
Day 9
Written from Florence, Italy at 10:45pm

The past two days have been getting us out of our 'routine', with yesterday involving a day-trip to Bologna (pop. 385,000), only 30-60min from Ferrara by train.

From Central Station, we walked through the city center (Piazza del Nettuno and Piazza Maggiore) to the Palazza dell' Archiginnosio. I believe this is a part of the University of Bologna, the oldest Uni in Europe (1088AD, even older than UNC!). We arrived early enough to view the Teatro Anatomico, where human cadavers were once dissected under the scrutiny of an Inqiusition priest, and walked through parts of their massive library (Biblioteca Comunale).

Piazza del Nettuno (view from the Palazzo Comunale)

Teatro Anatomico

Biblioteca Comunale (the walls are decorated with the professors' coasts of arms)

During the mid-afternoon break--the two hours or so mid-day when absolutely everything closes--we had some leftovers for lunch then walked through a couple art galleries in the Palazzo Comunale (Collezioni Comunali d'Arte, and Museo Morandi, with an exhibit featuring Italian modern artist Filippo de Pisis).

Collezioni Comunali d'Arte (art gallery)

To test our eyes even more, we headed for the gigantic, incomplete, and (in my opinion) somewhat unappealing Basilica di San Petroni, the fourth largest Cathedral in Europe, then compared that with the Basilica di San Domenico, dedicated to St. Domenic, the founder of the Dominican Order. Seth and I both preferred this more simple cathedral, and even saw several Domenican priests in the courtyard, pacing with their bible, just like Father Laurie from Johns used to do.

Basilica di San Petroni (view from Palazzo Comunale)

From here we walked through the Quadrilatero, Bologna's big gourmet food district, and admired all the huge meaty pig legs hanging in the windows, then found ourselves wanting to grab an early dinner. We asked a lady on the street for a good place to have dinner, but she told us that restaurants don't open until 7pm. It being only 5:45, we teated ourselves to an appetiser of gelato. However, we didn't have just any gelato--we went to La Sorbetteria Castiglione, which many people say has the best gelato in Italy (it even had the awards to prove it). Our tre gusti (flavours/scoops) came wedged inside a big, fluffy focaccia bun, so you know it was good.

One of the many delis in the Quadrilatero. What impressive hams!

Our focaccia gelato from La Sorbetteria Castiglione

La Rossa

We headed up north, past the Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Garisenda (two VERY leaning towers--the shorter of the two 3.2m off center), before it began to rain and thunder very heavily. Forgetting our umbrellas, we ran into one of the first restaurants we came across. As Bologna is the food capital of Italy, and since Italy has some of the best food in the world, we were both pretty interested in sampling some of the city's cheesy, meaty, specialties, like lasagna and tortellini in meatsauce (ragu). However, this restaurant--actually, it was more of a pizzeria--only had a couple meaty pasta dishes and a whole bunch of other things. I got their one pasta that came with meatsauce and Seth had a seafood pasta, and we split a marinara pizza (these just have sauce, oregano, and garlic--no cheese). Mine was pretty good, though Seth's was a bit too creamy and he felt sick afterwards. They even drenched the pizza in olive oil, which didn't make Seth's stomach feel any better. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly the dinner we were dreaming about. (I later read that we were in the wrong part of town for restaurants--we should have been in the university district, but it would have been hard to get there through the pouring rain). After dinner we slogged back to the train station and off to sleepy, quiet Ferrara.

Bologna's leaning towers: Torre degli Asinelli (right) and Torre Garisenda (left)

Seth noticing the cream and foreseeing a stomachache

Mine was alright (though a bit small)

Today, after our run, we checked out of our room in Ferrara, and Seth zipped down to the library to finish his work. I stayed behind and enjoyed my last few hours in our neighborhood and hung out in the hostel with its long-term resident, a Japanese woman who was waiting for her fiance in the Naval Reserves. By 2pm Seth had returned and we had to rush over to the train station. It was sad to leave--everyone there was really nice and the hostel itself was very clean, comfortable, and at a wonderful low capacity. In fact, Seth and I had that 5-bed dorm to ourselves the entire time, and were only charged €15 each per night.

Ferrara's traditional twisty bread, top shelf and bottom right (ciupéta)

We took the train back down through Bologna and into Florence (pop. 381,000) and checked into our new hostel, the Ostella Santa Monaca. This place, once again, is completely different from the last--a typical busy, cramped, somewhat grimy, backpackers. It even has 22-bed dorms, which I had never seen before (luckily we had a 'coupon' for a discounted 8-bed dorm). To make it worse, its 'full kitchen' to serve up to 110 people is composed of two hot plates, a microwave, mini fridge, and washer and dryer (that's right, they are located under the sink).

After checking in, we whipped up a pasta dinner (taking up both burners), tossed it into our tupperwares, then walked to the massive and extremely beautiful pink and white Duomo to eat as we watched tourists walk by. We spent the rest of the evening exploring the city center and getting excited over what to do tomorrow.

Dinner on the steps of Florence's Duomo, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Basilica di Santa Croce

The Arno (river)

Family dinner by the Arno

Corner fountain

**As a note, the weather since our visit to Bologna and for the rest of the trip would be much more pleasant and seasonable. However, as much as we enjoyed Ferrara (and Venice) I think a part of me will always unfairly associate it with heat and blaring sun.

Castles and Cathedrals

Written on Tuesday, May 26th 2009: Day 7 from Ferrara, Italy at 3:30pm

The past couple days in Ferrara have been fairly slow-paced; with temperatures still sweltering in the mid-90s, keeping it slow is really the only thing you can do. On Sunday, Andrew, Seth and I went to mass in the city’s beautiful Cathedral (built in 1135), then spent the last remaining pre-noon moments wandering around the castle Estense. It is cute that such a small city has such an impressive cathedral as well as its own castle (with moat and drawbridge!), which provides a small indication of how powerful and culturally important the city once was. We spent the next couple hours lounging over coffee and pizza then saw Andrew off to the train station so he could head back to Rome. It was great Andrew was able to come up to visit—he was the first friend from Australia we have met since leaving Canberra exactly a year ago.

Corso Ercole I D'Este. The main road between our hostel and downtown/the castle. The parade went through here.

Castle Estense and its moat

Just within the city's walls

The cemetery

Coffee with Andrew

The restroom (left door) and the laboratory (right door) at the cafe. Apparently, the laboratory is where they make their pasta. However, this does not explain the microscope symbol (enlarge the photo).

Pizza!

Most of the rest of the day was spent trying to keep cool, which meant staying in the hostel. In the evening we cooked our own pasta dinner--probably the most satisfying (and filling) meal so far--then took a walk downtown. We were surprised to find that the streets were filled with people walking and biking and meeting with friends. It was Sunday night and it seemed like the whole city was out. It didn't appear that there was any special function going on, that that was just what folks do on a warm summer night. It was really quite fantastic to see, especially when compared with walking around home at night and all you can see is people's televisions flickering through their window shades.

Dinner in the hostel courtyard

Sleeping that night was just terrible--not only was it really hot, but there was a horrible mosquito that kept buzzing in my ear and waking me up. (Seth slept across the room where he thought it might be cooler). In the places where we have been so far, it seems that ceiling fans are nonexistent, air conditioning is rare (except for some shops and restaurants), and window screens have not yet been invented. You either sleep burning up with the windows closed but with few mosquitoes, or you sleep nearly as hot with the windows open but with lots of mosquitoes. We chose the mosquitoes but still woke up yesterday (Monday) morning already sweaty. To top that off, I chose the wrong pair of shoes to run in and my legs were not very appreciative.

The city is safeguarded and surrounded by a really cool wall, about 9km long--most of it is intact and offers a wide path down the middle. In the mornings lots of people jog, walk, bike, or take their dogs along it. In fact, the city as a whole seems extremely fit, slender, and active. Seth read somewhere that half the population of Ferarra jogs. To me, this doesn't seem possible, but it does seem like every one (and I do mean every one) bikes: students, old ladies, old men in suits on their way to work, people with children (some with two on one bike!), and some with a couple dogs on leashes running alongside. Most of the city center is closed to traffic and everyone takes advantage of the wide cobblestone roads to bike and stroll. The main part of the city (the area that is enclosed by the wall) is not very big and its main boulevards lead in the direction of the castle, so in addition to minimal automotive traffic, this makes Ferrara extremely biker-friendly. What makes it even more charming is that most bikes are of the simple 'old school' design with only one gear, topped off with a basket on the handle bars. There are certainly no true mountain bikes or expensive road bikes, and people leave them propped up with a kick-stand on any available patch of ground.

Running on top of Ferrara's ancient wall

Chiesa di San Giorgio (from 800AD), just outside the city walls

Everyone rides bikes!

Seth spent the early part of yesterday at the Bibleoteca Ariostea taking notes on his manuscripts. During this time I wandered around a large outdoor market we noticed being set up during our run several hours earlier; most of the stalls sold inexpensive women's clothing, and one section was full of fresh produce and cheese. Though the language issue was difficult, the vendors were generally very nice and didn't hassle me one bit, which I wasn't quite used to and left a positive impression.

The outdoor market

Just outside the market

The library closed early and we weren't sure where to go to read, so after walking around in the hot sun for a good hour or so we were both fed up and spent the rest of the afternoon at the hostel. We wasted a few hours trying to book accommodation in Bologna only decide (after booking a room at a hotel) that it would just be easier to make Bologna into a day trip (or two) from Ferrara since it is only 30min away by train. We cancelled our booking and were instantly relieved of certain difficulties associated with checking in in a new city.

The eating area at the hostel (possibly the coolest room in the building)

Today has been similar to yesterday--after another hot night and waken by mosquitoes (only one this time, thankfully), we went for a run around the city on top of the intact portion of the wall. This morning was a little different in that there was thick, muggy fog, but it was quickly burned away by the late morning sun (until this point the sky had been totally free and clear of any sort of cloud). After breakfast we headed back to the library. Seth was planning to finish his work in Ferrara today so we could spend tomorrow in Bologna, but the manuscript room unexpectedly closed early for an exhibition. We will have to spend another day in Ferrara, which neither of us minds, especially since the city seems so charming and modest and we have a good daily routine worked out, but it just means we can't spend more time somewhere else.

Outside the library

One of the reading rooms at the Biblioteca Ariostea. I don't know why we decided to sit in here since there were many other much more attractive studies. The manuscript room, which was closed (and I wasn't allowed into anyway), was absolutely beautiful, not to mention airconditioned!