Mi dispiace mi amici

 I am sorry, my friends, for not writing sooner but I honestly have been busy with classes  which tend to be  very long leaving me with little energy.  In between the classes and the homework and the readings I had to research and prepare a thirty minute presentation on the Palazzo Medici in Florence.  Let me be a little clearer; both the Palazzo and the presentation were in Florence.  We just returned to Rome after spending four glorious days in Florence and Venice.

 Florence is a lovely city with the most amazing collection of Renaissance art.  The Uffizi Gallery alone is filled with works by Duccio, Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and countless other artists whose works I have up to now only seen in books.  Not to mention the churches with the Rafaels and the Masaccios.  During class it is inappropriate to take photographs-actually it is forbidden-so you will just have to take my word that the art is spectacular.

Brunelleschi's Dome

As I said above, Florence is lovely, filled with Renaissance buildings, large piazzas, flat-ish streets and sidewalks that more than two people can occupy at the same time-which is a good thing considering the city was crowded with tourists and it is still the slow season!  I was particularly struck by the light as it gently caressed the palaces along the Arno river creating magnificent reflections in the slowly moving water.  At one point the reflections reminded me of Impressionist paintings.  There were a couple of museums I missed so i must return to Florence soon.  

Santa Maria de Fiori
Also known as il Duomo

Perseus with the head of Medusa

All the statues in the Piazza della Signoria face the Perseus statue as
if they have all been turned into stone by looking at the face of Medusa

 We left Florence in the late afternoon and took the train north.  We arrived in Venice long after sunset and the boat ride from the train station to our hotel was breathtaking.  Actually that is a good word to describe the city as I was gasping with each turn of a corner-and trust me, there are a lot of corners!  Rome is a magnificent city and Florence is quite lovely but Venice is perhaps the most beautiful city in the world, certainly the most beautiful city I have ever seen and I have seen some beautiful cities.

 The light in Venice, like that of Florence, is amazing.  But in Venice it sparkles over across the sea and reflects in the countless canals that weave and dart their way through town.  Morning was perhaps my favorite time of day; not only were the streets quiet but there was a very special glow as the sun penetrated the very thin fog emanating from the water.  Sunrise over the Grand Canal is a sight to behold. 

Both fragile and resilient, Venice was founded on a few sandy islands sometime between the 4th and 6th centuries by people seeking refuge from the invading barbarians attacking nearby Padua and Verona.  The early Venetians brought logs down from the Alps and planted them like pylons into the lagoon allowing the Venetians to expand the islands.  After sever hundred years of soaking up water from the Adriatic the logs eventually petrified.  The Venetians, being first class merchants, were able to import stone from across the known world used to erect buildings whose stylistically unique facades also represent the myriad of cultures the Venetians were in contact with; the Byzantine decorated domes of San Marco and the Middle Eastern inspired lancets on the palaces of the Grand Canal are just a couple of examples.

Venice is the new...
          Alexandria-the campanile represents the Lighthouse at Alexandra and sits right next to the Library, the largest in the world at one point and started from a large donation from Plutarch.
          Constantinople-the patriarch of Constantinople fled to Venice to escape the capture of his city by the Turks.  He also brought with him the Icon of the Virgin Mary that St. Luke is purported to have painted.
          Jerusalem-the Palazzo Ducale has the same proportions as the palace of Solomon and sits right next to San Marco as Solomon's palace stood next to the Temple.

 Again the art in Venice is astounding.  Because of the humidity of the city Venetian painters worked mostly in oils which allowed them to create incredibly detailed paintings like the Northern Europeans such as Durer and van Eyck.  We saw works by Titian, Tintoretto, and, of course, the Bellini brothers, Giovanni and Gentile.  As with Florence there just was not enough time to explore all the museums at our disposal.  It looks like another trip to Venice is in the future as well....hmmm, perhaps for spring break!