Moana Kuewa

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		2009.09.09 - 2009.09.08 ITALY Florence Niece Marie Auntie Chris Location: ITALY: Florence Florence is a vast and beautiful monument to the Renaissance, the artistic and cultural reawakening of the 15th century. Writers such as Dante, Petrarch, and Machiavelli contributed to its proud literary heritage, though it was the paintings and sculptures of artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Donatello that turned the city into one of the world’s greatest artistic capitals. While the Etruscans had long settled the hills around Fiesole, Florence first sprang to life as a Roman colony in 59 BC. Captured by the Lombards in the 6th century, the city later emerged from the Dark Ages as an independent city state. By the 13th century, a burgeoning trade in wool and textiles, backed by a powerful banking sector, had turned the city into one of Italy’s leading powers. Political control was wielded first by the guilds, and later by the Florentine Republic. In time, power passed to leading noble families, of which the most influential were the Medici, a hugely wealthy banking dynasty. Florence, and later Tuscany, remained under the family’s almost unbroken sway for three centuries. During this time, the city was at the cultural and intellectual heart of Europe, its cosmopolitan atmosphere and wealthy patrons providing the impetus for a period of unparalleled artistic growth. Artists, sculptors, and architects flocked to the city, filling its streets, churches and palaces with some of the world’s greatest Renaissance works. By 1737 the Medici had died out, leaving the city under Austrian (and briefly Napoleonic) control until Italian unification in 1860. From 1865 to 1871, Florence was the capital of the new kingdom of Italy. The famous 1345 AD Ponte Vecchio covered bridge on Arno River is the oldest surviving bridge in the city and is the last in a succession of bridges and fords on the site that dated back to Roman times. Designed by Giotto’s pupil Taddeo Gaddi, it was orginaally the domain of blacksmiths, butchers, and tanners (who used the river for disposing of waste). They were reviled for their noise and stench and were evicted in 1593 by Duke Ferdinando I to be replaced by jewelers and goldsmiths. Giorgio Vasari designed the corridor in 1565 to allow the Medici family to move about their residences without having to mix with the public. This was the city’s only bridge to escape destruction during World War II. Piazza della Signoria have been at the heart of Florence’s political and social life for centuries. The Palazzo Vecchio, “Old Palace”, still fulfills its original role as town hall. It was completed in 1322 when a huge bell, used to call citizens to meetings or warn of fire, flood, or enemy attack, was hauled to the top of the imposing bell tower. Two statues stand at the front of the palace entrance, a copy of Michelangelo’s David that symbolized triumph over tyranny (the original stood in the piazza until 1873 when it was moved to the Museum Galleria dell’ Accademia where it cannot be photographed by the public) and Michelangelo’s 1525 Victory statue. Just inside the entrance is a copy of Verrocchio’s Putto fountain in Vasaari’s courtyard. Across the street is the 1382 AD Loggia dei Lanzi, designed by Orcagna, is named after the Lancers, the bodyguards of Cosimo I who were billeted there. Now it covers Roman statues, possibly of emperors. On of the statues is the 1583 Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. The writhing figures in Giambologna’s famous statue were carved from a single block of flawed marble. The 1554 bronze statue of Perseus beheading Medusa was intended to warn Cosimo I’s enemies of their probable fate. Florence is also know at the “City of Flowers.” Marie and Chris enjoyed the floral beauty as they strolled between the Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo. Rising above the heart of the city, the richly-decorated Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore with its orange-tiled dome have become Florences’s most famous symbols. Typical of the Florentine determination to lead in all things, the cathedral is Europe’s fourth largest church, and to this day, it is still the city’s tallest building. The 1359 AD Campanile tower was designed by Giotto at 276 feet (85 meters) is 20 feet (6 meters) shorter than the dome. The Duomo, Campanile, and Baptistery are all clad in white, green, and pink Tuscan marble. Underlying the street plan of modern Florence is the far older pattern of the ancient Roman city. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Piazza della Repubblica, the site of the old forum. This pivotal square housed the city’s main food market until the 1860s when redevelopment tidied up the area and added the triumphal arch that now stands in today’s café-filled square. Two blocks away is the 1547 AD Mercato Nuovo, New Market, that mainly deals with souvenirs and is surrounded by inlayed statues of famous Floridians. Niece Marie’s visit was soon coming to a close, so the visit to Florence was limited to one night at the Relais Certos Hotel (that was a vestry for the Catholic clergy supporting the Cathedral towering above it) followed by a whirlwind day . A late lunch on the Arno River next to the Ponte Vecchio covered bridge was a nice goodbye to this fabulous city before driving to Rome. Traveling Individuals Names: Niece Marie Messina & Auntie Christine Bauman * Most of the descriptions are taken from the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide – Italy