Florence - An Eclectic Alphabet

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This is a miscellaneous collection of interesting or intriguing subjects that we came across while staying in Florence.  Note: the Italian Alphabet does not have the letters J, K, W, X, Y


Animation
Bikes
Cell Phones
Driving
Ecclesiastical Nudity
Festival
Good Nazi
Hard Rock Cafe
Italian Empire
Lost
Madonna and Orgies
No Photos
Obstructions
Police
Questionable
Romance
Science
Tourist Office
Underwater
Vendors
Zzzzzzz!




Animation

One of the most interesting views of Florence is that provided by an excellent animation of the city in the 1470's.  It gives a real feel for the city as it was then and allows one to see the continuity through to present times.

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Bikes


Bikes and motorbikes are more useful than a car in Florence because of restrictive parking and narrow streets.  However, it seems that you need to be creative with your parking, whether you own an antique shop...

...or a barber shop!

However, someone may have second thoughts about where they put their bike.

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Cell Phones


Cell phones seem to be universal, even if you are driving a horse-drawn carriage.

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Driving


Driving in Florence is at the very least an interesting experience, sometimes an impossible one.

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Ecclesiastical Nudity


It seems that the church in sixteenth century Florence did not have the same hang-ups about sex and nudity as the present Papacy.

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Festival


Billed as the coolest Summer Party!

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Good Nazi


Gerhard Wolf was the German Consul in Florence for most of the Second World War and the City of Florence honored him with a plaque on the Ponte Vecchio, not only for saving the Ponte Vecchio (possibly most important for the Florentines), but also for saving the lives of many Jews and political prisoners during the Nazi Occupation of Italy.

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Hard Rock Cafe


is this the only tasteful Hard Rock Cafe?

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Italian Empire


Inscribed on a school in Florence - Faith in the Imperial Destiny of their Fatherland was heroically sealed by the generous sacrifice in Ethiopia of their youth....!!!

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Lost?

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Madonna and Orgies

In the refectory of Santa Maria Novella, there is a strage juxtaposition of a Bacchanalian orgy...

...and a classical Madonna and Child surrounded by Dominican saints (Santa Maria Novella was the Dominican church rivalling Santa Croce, the Franciscan one across town - perhaps like Liverpool and Everton, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic or A.C. Milano and Internazionale Milano).

They are together on the same wall.....

... because the madonna was covered over when the orgy was painted and so survived to emerge unscathed. 

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No Photos!

There is absolutely no consistency in rules about photography in museums, churches or even Tourist Offices (see below!).  Some allow photos, others forbid the use of flash; some forbid movie cameras (does that include iPads?), other prohibit all cameras.  Usually there is a nearly invisible or even no sign at all saying what the rules are.  Our policy was to use our cameras until told not to - usually very politely with a wag of a finger or a whispered request.  

The photo below is a legal photo of David taken from outside the Accademia, which forbids the use of cameras inside the museum.

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Obstructions

Florence is plagued by a plethora of churches.  In most cities the churches have space around them to preserve their dignity.  This is certainly not always the case in Florence, where if the churches are in the way and cannot be demolished, you just incorporate them into your building.

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Police

Stylish.....

.... not so stylish!

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Questionable?

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Romance!

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Science




The Universe got horribly complicated in the sixteenth with telescopes discovering new planets and stars especially when one was obliged to believe that the Earth was the center of the Universe.  This is a magnificent view of the Universe in the Galileo Museum (well worth a visit).

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Tourist Office

Yes - this really is an official city tourist office!  Beats those of most cities.

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Underwater Rugby


This is a game that defies the imagination.  Unfortunately, we did not see the poster until after the game!

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Vendors

Have you ever wondered how those omnipresent sellers of postcards and other tourist trinkets got their stalls home at night?  - Probably not at the top of your need-to-know list!
The answer is that they have an electric winch with a handheld remote to pull their stall into their van.

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Zzzzzzz!

Before going to sleep, I must mention a wonderful craftsman/artist that we were so happy to find. He truly confirms our faith in Florentine craftsmanship.  His name is Paolo Carandini and he works with great creativity on parchment and leather and he also a very pleasant gentleman.

You can see more of his work on his website.

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A Day in Florence

We recently spent just over three weeks in Florence.  Several people have asked how we spent our time.

The primary excuse was to take Italian lessons.  My wife has been studying Italian for years while my studies had been limited to one week in Cefalu, Sicily,  last year.  As a result we were at very different levels.

We were staying in a great apartment on the Arno, so we often woke up in the morning to the sight of exercise buffs rowing on the river.  They only have a relatively short length available to them as the Arno has several weirs controlling the level of the water.

After a hasty breakfast, we set off for our Italian course.  We were only five or six minutes away and went down some little side streets, although since the closing to traffic of the road in front of the Pitti Palace there are now many cars trying to wend their way through these streets.

Judging by the many posters on the walls, this change is making the mayor very unpopular in this part of town.  It should also be pointed out that it makes driving even more difficult than ever as some of the turns require two or even three attempts.

We would pass several craftmens' workshops, including one that had a cat door in the iron grill.

We would also pass the Osteria Toscanella (see previous blog) and would frequently do so just as Fabrizio Gori, the artist and restauranteur, was arriving.  However, we did not have time to chat as we usually left just enough time to get to class.

Being back in a classroom was a difficult experience for me, especially as the first two hours were focused on grammar.  Fortunately, at eleven o'clock we had a coffe break.  My wife and I would meet just up the road and I would have a cappuchino and share a "brioche".

I should have mentioned that the school, Il Centro Machiavelli, is beautifully situated on the Piazza Santo Spirito, one of the fine piazzas of Florence, just in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito
The Caffe Ricchi, where we took our morning coffee, has a great collection of different possible restaurations of Brunelleschi's fine facade, which he never completed.

The Caffe Ricchi's versions are somewhat more decorative.

 My favorite ones were:

The Basilica is well worth a visit with frescos by Filippino Lipi and many other 15th-17th century artists.  If you can work out the opening hours, the Sacristy contains a crucifix carved by Michelangelo when he was seventeen.

Sometimes we would buy some fresh vegetables from the market in the Piazza, although most of the market was taken up with stalls of cheap clothes.

Then it was back to the grindstone with the next two hours dedicated to conversation.  It took almost the full three weeks for me to start using some Italian instead of Spanish, with which i am more familiar and which is too close to Italian....but not close enough!  The classes were an interesting experience as the other members of my class were either Japanese or Korean.  They were a very interesting mix ranging from an operatic baritone, an architect turned artist, someone intending to open an Italian restaurant in Tokyo....etc..  Our teacher, Gino Tozzetti, did an incredible job to keep the class interesting and stimulating.  I definitely intend to return for some more courses.

On leaving the school, we would either go back to the apartment for a light lunch, or, despite our good intentions, we would be tempted into having lunch at one of the local restaurants.

Then would be the time to plan our afternoon.  Here one needs internet access, a recent guide book and a slide-rule.  The problem is to work out which museum, art gallery or church is open when.  Some are open mornings only. Others are closed on bizarre days, like the first, third and fifth Monday of the month. Others close early in the afternoon, but stop letting one in half-an-hour or an hour before closing time.  Others just seem to have somewhat random hours, that are occasionally quite different from their website or the guide books.  There is certainly no shortage of things to see.  Sometimes we would just wander and soak up the sights and atmosphere.

In the evening we would usually eat out, occasionally returning to the Piazza Santo Spirito, where the Restaurant Ricchi (next door to the Caffe Ricchi) is one of the few restaurants in Florence that has a strong focus on fresh fish.

Other evenings, we might go to a concert in a church, a ballet in the Teatro della Pergola, or even Dvorak's 9th conducted by Zubin Mehta in the (yet unfinished) New Opera House - which has superb acoustics for where we were seated a few rows back from the Mayor and the Cardinal!!

Teatro della Pergola

The New Opera House

Unfortunately, the lobby area of the New Opera is as soulless as the average airport - perhaps that part is not yet finished.

And then back to the apartment, with plenty of Italian homework to do.  We were certainly kept busy! 

Florence Restaurants - an Empire and a Novelty.

There are many excellent restaurants in Florence so it makes no sense to try to cover them all when one only spends a few weeks there.

The Cibreo Empire covers both sides of the via dè Macchi between the church of Sant' Ambrogio and the market of the same name.  This Imperial Domain has been built up by Fabio Picchi.   The keystone of the structure is the Ristorante Cibrèo.

This restaurant has an excellent reputation, but it is a little too pricey for us.  However, one can eat from many of the same dishes from the same kitchen, but at well under half the prices.  One can achieve this by going round the corner from the main restaurant into the Trattoria Cibrèo.

Over the years, we have eaten many times at the Trattoria and have always had excellent meals.  The staff, several of whom have been there for many years, could not be more helpful.  There are, however, a few things the reader should take into account.  There are no reservations; if you are a couple, you will often have to share a table, and they do not serve coffee.......

......because you are expected to take your coffee in another part of the Empire -

This is definitely a refined and elegant place to take coffee (and cakes) - at somewhae outrageous prices.

Across the road from the Caffe, is the most unique of the Picchi enterprises - the Teatro dal Sale.

At 7 pm, doors open and provided you have a reservation and have duly signed the membership agreement and paid a 5 euro fee, you can enter the theatre passing through a shop that sells Cibrèo souvenirs and food.

The meal, which can become an orgy of food, is self-service.  You can watch the food being prepared in the kitchen and when a dish is ready, the chef proclaims, in a voice well suited to the role of regimental sergeant-major, what it is.  The video below disproves the myth that Fabio Picchi does not serve pasta!  You go up and stand in line to get some of that dish.  Vin ordinaire is self-service, but you can buy a bottle of more repute in the shop.

After many, many courses, the tables are cleared away.  The seats are rearranged in rows and the performance begins.  It usually has a strong musical content, but may also be satirical or comic - obviouly in Italian.  The night we were there it was a definitely unusual musical group - three trumpets, three trombones and a tuba!  It was very entertaining!

Local legend has it that the pizza restaurant next door is also part of the Cibrèo Empire... and it looksto be of a high standard, although we have never eaten there.

Moving south from Cibrèoland, passing the basilica of Santa Cruz, heading towards the Ponte Vecchio over which we cross the Arno and go to the Oltrano.  Turn right on  Borgo San Iacobo and then go left on a narrow alleyway, via Toscanella.  There one will find the Osteria Toscanella underneath the exterior extension of an old palace.

The interior is quite dramatic and very beautifully decorated.  It was the Loggia of the palace and is reputed to have been a very important meeting point in fifteenth century Florence.

Note: The glass covers part of the original floor of the Loggia.

The restaurant is very new, having only opened on the 10th May, 2012.  However, we eat there several times, because the food, which is traditional tuscan and very reasonable, the ambiance and the staff are all outstanding.  

Perhaps most interesting of all is the owner - Fabriccio Gori - who is an accomplished artist, but who worked for many years at the family restaurant.   Not only is he an artist and restauranteur but is a very pleasant gentleman with a passionate interest in Florence.  On the wall of the restaurant is a large canvas and one can also find a copy of an triangular book on Pinnochio.

A copy of the book can be found in the book collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Other works of Roberto Gori can be found on his website.  The restaurant also has a website parts of which were still being completed.