A great mind

 And, of course, I'm not referring to myself.  But as one wanders the streets of this medieval and later Renaissance city, one is constantly reminded of its importance during the Renaissance.  That the Medici took control of the administration of the city and established one of its banks here might be enough.  True, the Medici presence continues in the design of the communale, the Medici coat of arms (or rather, balls) affixed to the main well, the beauty of various loggia and the evidence of wealth and influence that only a fine family (albeit nouveau riche) can bring a city.  

As you walk on the Via Poliziano, you will pass this building:

This was the birthplace and home of Angelo Poliziano, also known as Angelo Ambrogini.  Born in 1454 and educated in the Classics and Humanism, both very influential during the Renaissance, he rose to notable status as a translator of classic Greek works and a brilliant scholar of philosophy.  It was his knowledge of the humanist principles from the works of Leon Battista Alberti that brought him into the Medici circle.  Lorenzo de'Medici ("the Magnificent") was also mesmerized by this new philosophy that put human endeavor and potential at the forefront of education and social importance.  

Poliziano was hired as a tutor for Lorenzo's children.  And they became rather extraordinary.  One of them, Giovanni, eventually became Pope Leo X.  Here is a section from a fresco that shows Poliziano with Giuliano, Lorenzo's son who eventually is featured in a few of Botticelli's works:

Notice the fabulous Tuscan nose.  Just divine!

The ups and downs of student life

 I have noticed doing research on tourism in Montepulciano that the photos of the city are often of the main piazza, which features the Medici coat of arms, the town well, the palazzo communale:

What is impossible to photograph is the elevation of the city, how it perches regally, looking out over the Val d'Orcia and the Val di Chiana.  A steep, steep, medieval hilltop city, it will have you burning calories  and going anaerobic all day.  Up, down, up, down. Regardless, it draws me back almost every summer.  The school is just marvelous, with wonderful teachers who are enthusiastic, patient and kind.

And the friends I make.... many Europeans wanting to add to their language count.  Most seem to speak about 3 or 4.  So many different lives I get to learn about.  Kindness.  From asking me to join them for a coffee or even lunch.  I have made friends, as always.  And thanks to WhatsApp, I still keep in touch with people I met years ago. 

I went to Porto di Bacco with Alix, a retired nurse from Philadelphia.  I had roast duck with potatoes and oranges, and a large serving of sauteed spinach (my favorite contorno).  A glass of Rosso, a helping of panacotta, a caffe.  Two hours of conversation.   Home to do schoolwork, read, daydream.  What is this magical life of mine?

Abbey of Sant'Antimo ~ going medieval

 Thursday's afternoon excursion was three-fold: a visit to a medieval abbey, a degustazione of Brunello, and a quick walking tour of Montalcino.

The Abbey of Sant'Antima is very extraordinary.  It is one of the most interesting medieval monastic sites as it was founded by Charlemagne (Emperor of the Carolingian Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries who was largely responsible for uniting central and western Europe to tidy things up religiously and politically after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  But more than anything, he is remembered for his tidying up practices in the scriptoriums, introducing the infamous CAROLINGIAN MINISCULE!!  Please press geek alarm.)  The abbey became a stop on the Via Francigena, the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome.  

As you can see, it is Romanesque Splendor!  A central nave, thick walls, Roman arches, few windows.  Glorious medieval beasts and creatures carved in the columns, smacking their lips as they look down on the monks during vespers.  It is all so easy to imagine!  It is constructed of travertine and marble.  Such a wonderful duet of stone.  The marble is greenish in hue and has developed a sheen.  

Molto bello!

Our art history group is made up of a Finnish woman, Ava,  (a tiny little creature who has a penchant for Latin), a French woman, Annetta, (lives in Strasbourg, is retired, teaches refugees French, very simpatica), and Mickey (a retired American professor whose family comes from Puglia), and ME (a student of the world, traveler, ever curious, day dreaming, chocolate loving, aspiring Italian speaker). 

Pienza ~ The perfect Renaissance city

 Perched on a hilltop is the rather small town of Pienza.  It is about a 20-minute drive from Montepulciano, so today my art history class did an excursion to this lovely place:

Known also as the "city of light" largely because of its city planning.  It dates back to the 9th century but it was in the early 14th century that a large part of the town came under the control of the Piccolomini family.  In 1405, Aeneus Silvio Piccolomini because Pope Pius II.  A humanist, Pope Pius II had some great notions about city planning and urban life.  One humanist principle at work in his redesign of the old Pienza was the belief that environment has a direct effect on people's ability to thrive.  Thus, his idea of the "perfect city" was born.  Bring on the grid, the open spaces, the human-scale buildings and piazzas.  And the grid of the city must be such that plenty of light can come in.  And there must be plenty of wells and an abundance of food:

This is the cathedral which is rather staid and Romanesque on the outside, and a bit of wild Gothic on the inside. 

Looking out over the Val d'Orcia, which is a Unesco world heritage site, one ponders all things magnificent.  AND, one enters a bar and has a lovely panino with cheese and olives.

Pienza has its own blue ribbon as well.  This year they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the town being a Unesco world heritage site. 

Salute!

Italian idioms

 In Montepulciano for a month of living and learning.  What is better?  What magnificent star was I born under?  What bliss is this for a mere mortal such as I?

Montepulciano is a hilltop city with ancient roots.  Scholars can date the use of this hill as habitation as far back as the 4th century, BC with the Etruscans.  In fact, there are museums quite full of Etruscan marvels in nearby Pienza and Chiusi.  E veramente bella:

I love it.  To feel so connected to the past.  To know that the Medici took a fancy to this city and set up operations here.  And you can see that influence daily if you walk through the Piazza Grande and take a look at the municipal building.  Look familiar?  It should.  It is almost an exact replica in a smaller rendering, of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

And as always, a long walk down the hill to San Biagio.  This little gem of a church.  So exquisite.  Renaissance perfection.  Restrained.  This is sprezzatura at its finest. (sprezzatura means amazing without even trying).  It is what we all want to be:

I went to mass this morning and I must make an observation.  I think Pope Leo has sent out a memo to all the priests in Italy to include a message of pace (peace) in their homilies.  The priest in Rome certainly went on about it and this very feisty priest in Montepulciano was bringing it home.  He wants us to represent peace in our daily lives and interactions.  Embody it.  Be glorious in our peace-loving modus operandum.  So I will certainly give it a try.  It's easier here than in a place like Florence where one has to witness uncoordinated American tourists who can't twirl spaghetti onto a fork.  Good lord.

So this message for peace is obviously meant as an indirect response to the big D.  Now there are many words that begin with D.   I can think of one right off the bat.

This makes me think of the gloriousness of Italian idioms!!!

What is better than le frase idiomatiche?!!!!  Niente!!

An idiomatic phrase is something that cannot be fully understood literally. 

Examples in English are: "piece of cake" or "under the weather"

Here are some of my favorite Italian idioms:

Trump e una capra.  Literally: Trump is a goat.  Meaning:  Trump is stupid.

Lui a un prosciutto sulle occhi.  Literally: He has ham on his eyes.  Meaning:  He is so stupid, he cannot see what is in front of him.  

Lui e un carogna infame.  Literally: He is dirty carrion.  This one is interesting because carogna is like road kill (carrion) that is so disgusting that even the vultures won't eat it.  But how this is used is like saying, he is a dirty bastard.  

The endless uses of Italian!!!  Don't let anyone ever tell you that having another language is pointless.

Rothko ~ always controversial?

 Okay.  I have seen my share of Rothko works in various museums. I can appreciate them at an emotional level, I guess.  And really, even Rothko stated that that is the essence of what art is and does.  As he communicated to curator Katharine Kuh, who worked at the Art Institute of Chicago, he felt that "paintings should speak directly to the viewers, without the filter of critical interpretation.  'Silence,' he implied, is the most honest form of engagement with art, an idea that mirrors the meditative stillness [of many of his works]." (from a placard at the Strozzi)

Now.... the Palazzo Strozzi, THAT is my kind of place.  I love this palazzo.  It's enormous, looming over the street, almost menacing.  Very 'plunked' from the heavens; so perfectly Renaissance in its design.  And with a light and airy inner courtyard:

The Strozzi were a very wealthy banking family.  And when their palazzo was built, it was truly one impressive palace.  

When the Pitti family wanted to build their family palazzo, they informed the architect that they wanted Palazzo Strozzi to fit in its interior courtyard.  I think that is known as a 'sick burn'.

So the dimensions were noted, and the architect proceeded to design Palazzo Pitti around them.

The Pitti is..... colossal.  And way too much.  Which was why they agreed to sell it to Cosimo I de'Medici, when his wife, Eleanora of Toledo, got tired of the small rooms in Palazzo Vecchio.

Back to Rothko... which I really don't like.  Maybe I'm a schmuck..... I don't really get the impact.

His work is even at San Marco, "in conversation" with Giotto's work in some of the monk's cells:

What can I say?

 

ad locum or in situ?

 Either Latin or Corsican, it means "on site."  Stuff in its place.  Not in a book.  In a location.

For example, in Florence's Loggia dei Lanzi, there are several masterworks in situ. You can look up in awe at two works, in particular.  Cellini's Perseus with the Head of the Medusa:

Or you can be astonished at the detail in Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women.:

Right now, these works remain in the Loggia, though as the art historian I listened to yesterday said, there is discussion on moving them to the Uffizi and putting copies in their place.  Why?  He said, 'badly behaving tourists.'  If you can imagine?  Why are there such swine in the world?

I must say my greatest discovery during this visit to Florence has been the British Institute in Florence.  My visit was timed with a week of lectures, most of which I attended.  These were on Florentine artists.  And it is so satisfying to listen to a scholar talk and then go visit the works he enlightened you on. 

There is no Italian word for 'geek.'  The closest I could find is tipo strano.  "Strange one"... that's me, I guess!  Bello!