Posts Tagged With: Italy

Fondly From Virtual Florence

Posted on April 25, 2020 by fondlyfromflorence

In this time of the pandemic Covid 19, travel plans have had to be put on hold. Disappointing for sure. Those of you who were looking forward to visiting Florence may still be able to enjoy museums tours and as well as special presentations given by some of Florence’s most sought after art historians and tour guides…all online. Think of this as a time to build your foundation in all things Florentine so when the world opens up for business you will be all set to go. So take a break from Netflix streaming and tune into Florence.

The following link takes you to Art Historian Elaine Ruffolo’s web site. Last Sunday I joined her zoom presentation on the highlights of the life of the artist Caravaggio. There were close to 300 in attendance. It was a very special treat. Sunday, April 26 she will be discussing Michelangelo. Check her website for future virtual presentations. Not only will you be experiencing first rate events, presented by an expert you also will be better prepared to enjoy your trip to Florence hopefully in the near future.

https://www.elaineruffolo.com

There are over 70 museums in Florence and some have virtual tours. Two that have a good selection of virtual tours are the Uffizi and Grand Museo del Duomo

https://www.uffizi.it/mostre-virtuali

The bight side of a virtual tour: No lines, no crowds, no scaffolding. Below, Palazzo Vecchio, The Loggia della Signoria and the Uffizi Museum

https://www.museumflorence.com/museum

Works at the Museum of the Duomo, including Michelangelo’s last Pieta.

At the start of the quarantine in Florence, the Councilor for Culture and President of the Teatro della Toscana established an open and shared forum for artists to contribute and use a venue to stream concerts, and performances through a you tube channel: https://tinyurl.com/firenzetv

Another good site to visit is the website from the Opera Theater of Florence to check for news of virtual concerts: https://www.maggiofiorentino.com/en/home/

Let’s continue to take comfort connecting with our families, friends and communities through platforms such as zoom, skype, What’s App and to also travel to our favorite destinations. Florence is just a click away!

Stay Safe!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #covid19, #firenzetv, #maggiofiorentino, #museumoftheduomo, #virtualflorence, #virtualuffizi, Florence, Italy | 5 Comments

Autumn Weekends in Florence and Enjoying the Rhythm of the City

Posted on November 11, 2019 by fondlyfromflorence

As the weather turns cooler, visitor numbers are smaller and one can really feel the true vibe of Florentine life, without the distraction of navigating lines of tourists. One of my very favorite things to do here is to go with the flow. On the weekends, city traffic is less and strolling in town is a pleasure.

Saturday traditionally is a shopping day and going to the outdoor food markets visiting the fruit & vegetable and meat stands, shoulder to shoulder with the locals, is a rite of passage. Sant’ Ambrogio market is the heart of our neighborhood and our Saturday ritual is doing our shopping there, stopping for a mid morning cappuccino, picking up flowers and the Saturday newspaper. On this particular Saturday we arrived at the grand opening of the relocated flea market, Mercato delle Pulci, right across the road from the market. Plenty of pomp and circumstance including the Florentine city ceremonial band in medieval costumes as well as the mayor and lots of journalists. A beautiful new location for antiques and bric-a-brac.

Sunday or “festa” as it is referred to in Italy to differentiate from the work day or “giorno feriale” is indeed a day to change your pace. The wonderful bells announcing Mass throughout the morning and in the early evening will remind you to do just that – slow down. Florentines often go to museums before or after 1:00 pm lunch which is the one day a week that the country is in agreement with having a big meal at that hour as it has been done for centuries. (In the last few decades, the main daily meal has been moved to the evening as students as well as working parents are not coming home for lunch).

This Sunday, Palazzo Antinori’s special exhibit “La Firenze di Giovanni e Telemaco Signorini” ended. The lines for its seven week run were impressive. My husband and I were happy to wait in line for an hour in the courtyard of this amazing building chatting with the locals about Antinori wine as well as the art we were about to view. The paintings of life in Florence showed just how much the city has not changed over the centuries. Beautiful and a tribute to this city!

Ponte alla Carraia Via Della Condotta

Don’t despair if you missed this exhibit, as the The Gallery of Modern Art at the Pitti Palace contains many works of the Macchiaioli, a form of Italian Impressionism in the second half of the 19th century, that were represented at the Palazzo Antinori exhibit.

For those travelers that are planning a trip here soon, take advantage of visiting the Palazzo Strozzi to see the exhibit of the Russian artist Natalia Goncharova. As always the Strozzi exhibits are not to be missed. The exhibit is scheduled to close on Jan, 12, 2020. Here are a few images form this show.

The best way to end a Sunday morning museum visit is having the Sunday meal at one of the best restaurants in this city…Il Latini, and it never disappoints.

Word of advise to visitors, after a few days of the mandatory sight seeing, save some time to be a local. Follow their lead and savor their routines and customs to really understand the lifestyle of the Florentines.

Word o

Categories: Contemporary Art in Florence, Culture observations, traditions, Uncategorized | Tags: #illatini, #mercato, #mercatodellepulci, #mercatosantambrogio, #palazzoantinori, #Palazzostrozzi, #pittipalace, #Weekendsinflorence, Italy | Leave a comment

Save the Children: Istituto degli Innocenti

Posted on November 1, 2016 by fondlyfromflorence

Whenever I return to Florence I am faced with the decision as to which new opening I will first attend. The Instituto degli Innocenti has been a favorite of mine and when I learned it had opened its newly renovated museum on June 23 of this year my decision was made for my Autumn trip!

The original site of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents/Foundling Hospital and Orphanage) continues to focus on the well being of children as the Istituto degli Innocenti.

Built, with the support of the Silk Guild of Florence, by Brunelleschi, it was completed in 1445. It soon became the model orphanage of Europe, not only welcoming abandoned children but providing outstanding health care as well as an education that included the arts.

The Museo degli Innocenti is part of the Institute and presents to visitors the history of the orphanage from its conception through 1900. This journey is a must for visitors to understand how forward thinking folks were back in the day.

Part of the complex that makes up Piazza SS. Annunziata, the Istituto flanks the beautiful Basillica Santissima Annunziata and is opposite a campus of the University of Florence. In the following photo, the University is to the left of the church and the Institute, not seen, would be on the right, under scaffolding at the moment as often is the case with many of the city’s structures. This symmetrical complex was designed by Brunelleschi, the same architect who built the Dome of the Duomo.

The entrance:

Due to the work on the outside of the Loggia, all ten of the beautiful blue and white ceramic Andrea della Robbias “putti” (chubby child) wrapped in swaddling clothes on the upper part of the facade, can not be seen. Here at the very beginning of the Loggia you can see one above the museum entrance. So interesting that today the swaddling of newborns is back in practice.

Here is a piece from the museum’s beautiful art collection.

I recommend first starting your visit by going to the lower level to study the timeline and history of the orphanage and reviewing the past before going up to the art collection and then onto see the conference rooms and architecture of the Institute which highlights the present and future.

Again due to the reconstruction under the Loggia you will not be able to see the “Ruota” (turning wheel) where for many centuries abandoned infants were passed to waiting caregivers. It remained in service until 1875.

The practice of refuge for new born infants as we use it today at a fire house in California (modern day version of the Ruota)

What I found most moving were the reconstruction of the stories of 70 orphans, including artifacts, such as the charms that mothers would pin to their children or put on a string around their arms, so they could identify their child when and if they would be able to come back for them. In this photo you can see the half of a medal that came with the child the mother holding onto the other half.

I found this quote from 1528 really gives you a sense of the integrity of the Ospedale.

Moving onto the Art Collection located on the Third floor, there are approximately 80 moving works of art.

Below Botticelli’s “Madonna and Child with an Angel” demonstrating the philosophy of an abandoned child handed over to the Madonna who will care and love for this child.

Another moving piece “Madonna of the Innocenti” by an unknown Florentine painter:

Visiting the Ground Floor you see the courtyards where the children played and bathed:

bath tub:

Currently there are three day care/nurseries on the property. Also UNICEF’s Global Office of Research.

Today some rooms off the courtyards are used for conferences featuring topics that are about the welfare of children, their families and society as a whole. The Future and how to make it better.

The title of this Conference: To Migrate into Tuscany sponsored by the Center of Global Health.

The Instituto degli Innocenti continues to serve Florence with many education and outreach programs, helping to shape the future.

Do not forget to go up to the rooftop restaurant the Cafe Verona to enjoy the views and have a drink or meal.

I promise you will spend a morning, afternoon or full day that will move you.

* May, 2019: The just released film about the renovation of the Madonna of the Innocents at the Museo Degli Innocenti

https://binged.it/2Maqe4b

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Andrea della Robbia, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Florentine orphans, Institue of the Innocents, Istituto degli Innocenti, Italy, Madonna and Child with an Angel, Museo degli Innocenti, Museum of the Innocents, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Ruota, Santissima Annunziata Florence, Unicef's Global Office of Research | 6 Comments

Bells and Whistles!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by fondlyfromflorence

One of the things I love most about living in Italy is experiencing the magic of the church bells ringing. No need to check your watch, cell phone or even be connected, for the hourly and half hourly chimes are quite accurate. Announcing the hour, calling to prayer, workshop, weddings and funerals, all varying in rhythmic patterns, add to the hit parade of bells.

The most famous bell tower in Florence is Giotto’s Campanile located in Piazza del Duomo.

Each Florentine neighborhood has at least one church, so one can be serenaded throughout the city.

Sant’ Ambrogio, my “quartiere” if full of hustle and bustle, yet the ringing of the bells in the evening to summon parishioners to Mass or at the hour of the Angelus, provides moments of a mental pause.

While walking in the rain, the muffled sounds of the bells can lift your spirits.

Another type of music heard in the streets of Italy, that may not be as uplifting as the bells, but none the less upbeat, is whistling.

In the midst of political and economic crisis I often hear people whistling as they go about the city.

Years ago young women contemplating study or vacationing in Italy were warned that Italian men would at the very least whistle in appreciation of their beauty or at worse pinch their bottoms. Fact or fiction I can not say, but appreciation and attention to and of beauty is very much alive and well. In the United States, if men were to stare at well dressed women and nod their approval it would not be appreciated to say the least. However in Italy, many women are flattered by the attention. There seems to be more of a mutual respect thing going on, or may I say an appreciation of la bella figura.

La bella figura is all about an emphasis of beauty and appearances. There are many implications of this cultural characteristic, both pro and con, but for today’s post I will just concentrate on the art of looking good. Italians have style. As a person who also lives in Southern California, where I can truly appreciate living in a sweat suit and choosing not to worry about the latest fashion trend, it is fun see how the other half lives.

People dress at the market:

while riding their bicycles:

Pushing baby strollers:

Or just strolling:

It all just seems to fit.

So much to say about aesthetics and how beauty is displayed whether it be a personal fashion statement, arrangement of fruits and vegetables at the outdoor market or shop window displays. It is all about the attention to detail. A final photo of my favorite chocolate shop and how those works of art are displayed. Yes, I promise next post will be on my favorite shops and on seasonal specialty foods, but just a reminder that while in Florence listen for the bells and enjoy the view; you just may find yourself whistling a happy tune!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Bell tower, bells, Church bell, Florence, Giotto's Campanile, Italy, style | 2 Comments