Pasta & the Pope: Florence (Day 9)

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