ArgenTina's Travels

Hola todos,

After days of eating pastries and breads for breakfast, I woke up this morning needing protein. My challenge for the morning was to find a place with eggs.

And I found one! It’s definitely made for American tourists, but Rosalia had delicious coffee and scrambled eggs. (Among other toasts, juices, smoothies, and more.) I was such an American tourist for a few minutes, and it was exactly what I needed.

It started pouring outside while I was inside the cafe, though, which was concerning: I had a walking tour in an hour and didn’t want to have to cancel.

Fortunately, the rain mostly let up and, as I walked the city for the next few hours, I was sprinkled on a bit and it only heavily rained a few times (when I escaped to canopies). (I refuse to buy an umbrella at this point. I’m falling for the fallacy of sunk costs: if I’ve made it this far without an umbrella, why bother?)

My walking tour was led by Giacomo, an architect by training who was a fabulous guide, bringing Florence’s history to life. I’ve done a ton of walking tours, and his was maybe the best I’ve been on.

Our tour began in San Lorenzo square, just off a church (the Church of... you guessed it... San Lorenzo) and the Medici's private chapel and palace.

The tour hit many of the same sites from my walking tour yesterday, but this tour focused on the history of Florence and learning all about the Medici family and the drama between the artists of the Renaissance. (And Giacomo was a fantastic storyteller!)

The Medici were a wealthy and powerful family that shaped Florence into the powerhouse city it was and the artistic city is remains. Throughout the tour, we kept going back to this family, which consisted of popes and bankers, corruption, and financing of both wars and artists (like Donatello, Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Botticelli). Michelangelo even grew up in Palazzo Medici.

The dynasty died out in 1743. But Anna Maria Louisa de Medici, the last living female Medici, wrote a binding contract, still in effect today, that catalogued and bequeathed the Medici private collection to Florentines and the world. (Which kept the art out of the hands of the Hapsburgs, the royal family into which she married, and is the reason none of Florence's art is available for sale.)

Giacomo also shared key information about another important part of Florence: its food culture! He gave us a long list of local foods to try and recommendations, although I think I'll be avoiding both the tripe and the lampredotto--different parts of cow stomach.

After the tour, it was time for lunch. I made my way over to SchacchiaVino (recommended by Giacomo) and grabbed a schiacciata, a sandwich on thin slices of focaccia. (This one was salami, pecorino, and honey. Delish!)

I ate it outside of my next stop, the Basilica of Santa Croce.

These beautiful doors are carved wood.

It started to rain pretty heavily, so I decided to hop inside to tour the church and let the rain pass. I also got the audio guide for this tour to give me some extra background and context at what I was looking at.

This Basilica is a Franciscan church, made in 1295. Originally, this neighborhood was outside of the city walls and populated by poorer Florentines--a key demographic of Franciscan outreach.

Originally, the church was decorated in the medieval style: the walls were frescoed and the stained glass was elaborate. Now, the walls are bare except for a few patches.

And lucky for us, the beautiful stained glass remains.

The church holds 250 tombs in its floor. These were put into the church during a time when there were no graveyards, so in-church burials were apparently common.

Little enclaves in the walls also hold a series of beautiful paintings.

But the real draw for Santa Croce are the people who are buried here. Famous Italians and Florentines are either buried here or have monuments in their honor that were erected upon their death. For example:

Galileo, holding a telescope with female figures Astronomy and Geometry by his side.

Michelangelo, who initially wanted to be buried in Rome but one of the powerful Medici (I forget which one) forced his burial at Santa Croce. The three female sculptures are the weeping and sorrowful Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture.

Dante who, although his remains are in Ravenna, where he is from, has a monument.

This carved pulpit is unique because it isn't balanced against the column with a wraparound stair; rather, the pillar was hollowed out and the pulpit was built onto the column.

There is just an incredible amount of stunning art at this church. The ceiling, the paintings, the chapels, the main altar.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a Franciscan Church without a relic (or many) of St. Francis. This was one of his habits!

I spent quite some time in that church waiting for the rain to pass. It was *pouring* for a while. Can you see it in these photos of the courtyard?

The second the rain let up, the skies totally cleared up and sun came out. I headed back to the hostel to rest before setting out for Oltrarno across town. I had dinner reservations at a new restaurant to try some nice Florentine dining and celebrate finally signing my lease.

Bistrot Monaconero was *fabulous*. I had an assortment of regional Tuscan dishes that were delicious, and the vibes were absolutely divine.

The negroni was invented in Florence, so of course I had to have one with my pere e pecorino appetizer. Bistro Monaconero used a locally produced gin.

They had a build-your-own charcuterie menu! I didn't partake since I have limited stomach space, but the selection looked great.

For dinner, I had a glass of Chianti Classico (a local regional wine) and pappardelle con cinghiale (pappardelle pasta with a wild boar ragu sauce). This is a Florentine/Tuscan dish, hard to find elsewhere in Italy, that Giacomo told us to try.

I had a bit of a longer walk home through Florence, but I was grateful for the opportunity to walk through the city at night. It was less crowded, beautifully lit by street lamps and storefront signs, and the weather was perfect for a nice walk home.

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Cumulative steps: 188,059

Hola todos,

To begin, Florence harbored good omens. It was warm and sunny as I awoke in a new city, ready to tackle a day that would logistics until everything was signed and settled, and then fun. I checked out of the hostel (the check-out window would end during my appointment) and, with all of my possessions once again on my person, I headed to my appointment.

On my way to the U.S. consulate, I passed the Santa Maria Novella church again, in daylight this time.

I walked through a few different winding streets, ending up at the River Arno.

The River Arno cuts through Florence. There were lots of runners along the river's sidewalk at this time in the morning.

The consulate! (Peep the American flag!)

I arrived to get everything notarized about 45 minutes before my appointment because I wasn’t playing games. And good thing. When I got there, it turned out at the e security wouldn’t let me go through with a large bag or any electronics other than my phone! The guards were nice, though, and pointed me to a few luggage storage options down the street.

I finally made it back to the consulate in time for my appointment and, to make a long story short, was told they couldn’t notarize any of the documents I had been sent.

All of the stress and schedule rearrangement for nothing. Mamma mia!

So I went back to my luggage and spent the next few hours slowly sipping an espresso at a cafe while I figured out what to do. And, although it took years off my life, I got a housing situation worked out. (Needless to say, I do NOT I repeat do NOT recommend scheduling international travel over a housing search and lease-signing period.)

But with that huge weight off my shoulders, it was finally time to see Florence. After a quick grocery-store lunch in a park, I headed off to my new hostel to store my bag for the day until check in. (I also dropped off my jacket—it was a warm one!)

The aforementioned park for lunch.

Then, I did this Rick Steves walking tour through the heart of downtown Florence, the Centro Storico, to get an overview of the main sights and the rough contours of Florentine history. Florence used to be the capital of Italy and was the birthplace of the Renaissance, forever changing art and producing some of the most famous artists, architects, engineers, and thinkers of world history. And that was after the Black Death killed half of the city’s population. So for such a small city, there is a lot to learn about.

The Duomo, the city’s main and most famous cathedral, is one of top 10 biggest cathedrals in the world. It’s officially called Santa Maria della Fiore and draws its name “fiore” from the Italian word for flower for which Florence is named. Its cornerstone was laid in 1296.

The Dome was built later (in “just” 16 years) and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It’s self-supported by bricks laid in a herringbone pattern.

It’s bell tower (right) is 270 feet tall. On the outside are copies of Donatello’s sculptures of the 4 prophets, and you can climb to the top for stunning city views.

The Duomo complex’s Battistero, or baptistery, is the oldest building in Florence. Dante, author of The Divine Comedy, was baptized here!

The batiestero holds two sets of bronze doors, both made by the same artist, Ghiberti. The second set, made in 1425, were called the “gates of paradise” by Michelangelo. They consist of 10 panels depicting Old Testament scenes. Made of bronze only a few inches deep, they artfully use illusion and perspective to artfully make three dimensional scenes. This second set took Ghiberti 27 years to make.

Then I took a walk down Via dei Calzauoli, a true pedestrian street lined with famous luxury brands and trendy Italian boutiques. It was packed with tourists.

I passed by the Church of Orsan Michele. It was a combination church and granary--something to do with the power of both commerce and the Church.

Niches around the church's exterior were sponsored by various merchant guilds. This is a statute of St. George by the famous Donatello. Its Renaissance art style led it to eventually be adopted by Florentines as the symbol of their city.

Next was the Piazza della Signoria, the main plaza which holds the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence's town hall, still functioning today). Outside of the Palazzo is a copy of Michelangelo's famous The David in his original habitat, and a beautiful open-air sculpture museum.

The Palazzo Vecchio is the building on the left with the tower. On the right is the Loggia, an open-air sculpture museum, thanks to the wealthy Medici family. Most of the sculptures in the Loggia today are originals.

This is one of the Medici rulers depicted as Neptune. It is also carved out of one block of marble.

In the Loggia. This incredible sculpture on the right was made in 1556—the three figures are carved from one complete piece of marble. It's a beautiful piece that almost forces you to walk around it with its spiraling form.

Outside the Palazzo is this copy of The David. The original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia, which I will visit in a few days.

This is a bronze plaque in the middle of the Piazza commemorates the death of Savonarola, a Dominican friar who, in 1492, overthrew the dictator Medici and organized democratic rallies in the square. He was instrumental in returning Florence to constitutional republic and was outspoken about Catholic reform. But he also upset plenty of Florentines. Who ended up arresting him, torturing him for two days, and then hanged and burned him in this exact spot. Functionally ending the Florentine Renaissance in 1498.

This is the exterior of the Uffizi Gallery, an art museum and former offices of the Medici (“uffizi” means offices).

The courtyard holds statutes of Florence’s hall of fame:

Lorenzo il Magnifico (a Medici patriarch)

Giotto (who made the Duomo’s bell tower)

Donatello (the famous sculptor)

Leonardo da Vinci (the definition of a “Renaissance man” who is claimed by Florence)

Dante (the first great Italian writer who was the first Italian to write a popular work in non-Latin—he used the Florentine dialect to write The Divine Comedy, turning Florentine Italian into standard Italian)

Vespucci (the European who first sailed to the Americas)

Macchiavelli (author of The Prince)

Galileo (yes, that Galileo)

What a walk through world history just from those Florentine heavy-hitters alone!

More scenic views from further down the River Arno.

The River has had major flooding, and even took down this bridge, Ponte Vecchio in 1300s. However, the stone bridge has stayed up since it was rebuilt in 1345.

It’s the only bridge in Florence to have survived WWII: Nazis were ordered to destroy all of the bridges but the commander in charge decided to preserve Ponte Vecchio for its beauty and history.

I walked along the Vasari Corridor, across the Ponte Vecchio, over to Oltrarno, the neighborhood across the river (literally "on the other side of the Arno"). It was super crowded.

Originally filled with butchers and tanners, jewelers now fill the shops along the bridge. And when I say jewelers, I mean *nice* jewelry shops. Like hide-the-price-tags-because-if-you-need-the-price-you-can't-afford-it kind of nice.

I went back to the hostel to check-in and get settled in my room, but quickly headed back out to walk a little more around the city in the evening.