Old and New, New and Old

 I believe this is my 5th time in Florence.  But the truth is, it never gets dull.  You visit and revisit museums, palazzi, sights, and every time there is something new you discover.  How could I have missed such details?  Alas.  This is what happens when you are overwhelmed by the amount of glory and bellezza that Firenze offers.

An example: Today the umpteenth visit to the Palazzo Vecchio.  It's really a lesson in Florentine political and economic power.  First, you walk through this portal, coming into the palazzo from the Piazza Signoria and the groovy loggia that houses several fabulous sculptures of mythological scenes:

And it's all very grand and opulent so you are very pleased you thought to wear your Prada sunglasses:

And you wander through the halls that once served as a sort of town hall, where all the business of Florence was discussed and debated.  Hundreds of years of meetings (and I'm sure they were as loath some to them as they are to us); so many meetings by so many men who clearly favored their right leg because the first step is has been worn down where countless right leg steps have been made:

I'm practically an archeologist!  Anyway, keep moving up the stairs, so many stairs, the stairs to rooms of fabulousness:

And you will enter rooms whose purpose was enhanced by the art commissioned to cover the walls and ceilings.  Glorious allegorical motifs, clever references to mythology and biblical characters.  And lots of this whimsical and rather pagan design known as 'grotto-esque.'  Late Renaissance aesthetic really enjoyed harkening to the exotic and fantastical:

And as I said, there are room displaying the life and times of certain mythological characters, of course, those that the Medici somehow associated themselves with.  Hercules was revered.  He was a stud, for sure.  Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alceme (which was NOT his wife.... uh oh).  And so, of course, Juno (his wife) hated Hercules and tried many times to kill him.  Her first effort was to put two snakes in his cradle.  But because Hercules was the son of a god and a mortal, he had superhuman strength from the get-go and his life was full of remarkable deeds.  Overcoming huge obstacles and being very impressive.  Duke Cosimo I's father had some life and times that reminded his son of the 12 Labors of Hercules and so this room is dedicated to him.  

Italians love juxtaposition, apparently, because I am often stumbling upon exhibits in which the new and the old are partnered up.  There is an intriguing exhibit going on now where some modern art is placed in rooms.   What do you think of a Henry Moore inspired work by Marino Marini?:

Or how about some of Giacometti's haunting figures?:

Or, maybe you just want lunch?  How does duck and candied oranges and pine nuts sound?  With a glass of rose?  I thought so. 

A presto!  Ciao, ragazzi!