Firenze and the perks of being Catholic

“He looks around, around

He sees angels in the architecture

Spinning in infinity

He says Amen and Hallelujah!”

- “You Can Call Me Al,” Paul Simon

It's nice being Catholic in cities where they like to charge tourists a lot, even to enter a church. And I fit in quite a lot of churches this weekend. But you can skip the line and/or the price to go to mass or say a prayer, which is nice.

Me and Brunelleschi, the architect of the dome

Florence is a wonderful city, probably one of my favorites in Italy. A few of us went a day early to be able to see as much as possible. We got there Thursday night, had dinner in the Piazza della Signoria, walked around a bit, and went out.

Hey there Ghiberti doors!

Friday morning we went to mass at the Duomo, which was incredible. I was the only Catholic in the group, but the other girls decided to come along - mass is in the part of the church where the tourists don't get to go. I loved it - the dome is beautiful from underneath, and I could understand a fair bit of the Italian mass from the words I've learned and context. Afterwards Caroline and I went to the Bargello museum, where Donatello's David and St. George are, among other interesting things. There's a reason that people go to see the other famous David in Florence and not this one, but having seen Michelangelo's, I thought it would be great to see this too. And to experience again the in class/in person understanding. Afterwards we got lunch the Florence/Italy way - grab a panino and eat it sitting outside or walking around (because they charge you to sit down). The only problem is there aren't that many places to sit in Florence, which is why the palazzos built by the great families like the Medicis would provide stone outcroppings to sit on outside their buildings (and then remind you how great they were for providing such a service).

I love this kid. The parents are oblivious, but he's reading the map.

Also loved the fruit stands in Florence. I'm going to miss the produce/food in Italy.

We walked around some more, wandering the city and checking out the leather markets. I also got to the post office to finally mail my postcards - the Italian post office is very confusing, but if you know/figure out what you're supposed to be doing, surprisingly efficient. We strolled across the Ponte Vecchio - and back - to look in every shop window along it. Caroline and I were drooling over the stunning displays of gold and jewelry. We also got to the Boboli Gardens, which are really beautiful and peaceful - a lot of French tourists, and not many American ones (same at the Medici Chapel - maybe the French know the better places to go? Or maybe my tastes are closer to the French tourists'). The island fountain there was really neat.

On the Ponte Vecchio

The rest of the group got in Friday afternoon, and we met up with them for a nice dinner at a restaurant that had blueberry steak - a great combination.

Three preparations of steak (la bistecca ai mirtilli is on the left)

Saturday we met up with Professor Wallace, an Art History professor from our school who took us on a tour of Florence. He specializes in Renaissance art and Michelangelo, and there really isn't a better person to learn from. I can't wait for his class in the fall. We started in the Piazza della Signoria and walked around to see churches and palazzos and have him explain the history, architecture, and art. He pointed out the insignia of the great families of Florence that I never would have understood otherwise. I felt like I understood the city so much better after our tour - I could look around and understand why there were iron rings and projections from the buildings, and why loggias were so important. I won't go over it all here, but it was fantastic.

Piazza della Signoria

Wallace and the Baptistery doors

On our lunch break from the tour we met a really nice artist and a few of us bought paintings/etchings from him - and he painted us business cards. We ate our panini outside a church with organ music drifting out of the open doors (and peeked in for a moment - even the small neighborhood churches are incredible).

On the tour we had seen the outside of the Duomo and Baptistery, and gone inside Orsanmichele (important granary and church), the Sassetti Chapel, and the Medici Palazzo, among other things.
Most people were tired after the tour and took naps, but I'm not a napper and my feet weren't tired yet (it hit me the next day). Instead I walked around on my own, getting mistaken for a local since I wasn't in a large group (yes!...but they knew as soon as I spoke). I also got to give directions to a cute old French man (yay French!). He looked delighted that I spoke it - I could tell from his confused expression when he asked the question that he was trying to say it in Italian but didn't remember. (J'ai la meme probleme, Monsieur). I did a whirlwind tour of San Lorenzo (because I thought it was the Medici Chapel that Wallace had recommended, whoops) - I went in the prayer entrance there and lit a candle. I don't know how many candles I lit this weekend (quite a few), but I think the total church count was 8. I'm pretty happy with that - I love holy spaces, and these are, in a way, mine.

After San Lorenzo I went to Santa Croche - I didn't go in because I didn't want to pay the fee (although in retrospect I should have; I didn't know there were Giottos in there!). I just wanted to see it to have a Room With a View moment - Santa Croche is the setting of an important scene (although the piazza was hosting an opera that weekend, so there was a large stage/seating taking up most of it. Bonus: we could hear it from our windows at the hostel!). I also had my happy literature moment walking along the Arno. I really wish I'd brought that book, but I packed in a rush and couldn't find it.

Under a loggia

Afterwards I read my FT Life and Arts under the loggia in the Piazza della Signoria for a while, which was lovely. I ended up people/tourist watching and soaking in the city. The loggia was a meeting/resting place for tourists, couples and people reading on their own, people sketching the statues, musicians playing soothing Italian songs on guitar; public space, as intended by the Medici, for the city of Florence to gather. (Before the Medici it was the symbol of democracy in Florence, where people could participate, but so much for that.) It seems like we packed so much into the days, but we started all of them early (and ended late, too).

We had dinner at the apartment of another professor in Florence - the art school's program was just beginning while we were there, so we got to meet up with other students. It was a great dinner, and we stood on her balcony with a wonderful view of the Duomo, talking until almost everyone had left.

Ponte Vecchio before sunrise (and tourists)

The Arno - reminded me of Monet/Van Gogh

Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone (vs. Sunrise Over the Arno)

Sunday, our last morning in Florence, a few of us woke up at 4:45 to see the sunrise over the city. Caroline, Matt, Daryl, Marietta and I walked to Piazzale Michelangelo, across the Arno and above the city, for a fantastic view. It was a hike up, but absolutely worth it. We walked back down for breakfast and mass at the Duomo again (this time with Matt, Marietta and Caroline). Once again it was lovely, and this time (I guess because it was Sunday) there were helpful multilingual pamphlets.

We met an older priest named Alexander, who came over to talk to us before the mass. He was enormously friendly, and talked in a mixture of Italian and English of which I somehow understood most.  He talked about joy before the mass began, and he had one of those calm, joyful faces that I associate with the peace of deep faith. His face lit up - not because of anything, it just was. He asked us to pray for him because he was having an operation in a few days, and I did and will. He thought he was going to paradise soon, and I believe it of him, if anyone.