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!

Beauty is Truth

 Florence has so many things in abundance.  The art, history, culture... is just immeasurable.  And yet I feel like a large percentage of the tourists who come here experience it on a superficial level.  There are the "must get" selfies.  I've passed by so many doing these.  At the Arno, by the Duomo, in front of Michelangelo's David.  Everyone seems to be having fun, but I can't help think how much is missed by this kind of experience.  The reality is, everyone travels in their own way.  And all those ways are just fine.

But to know the artists, their stories, the political upheavals, the inspiration behind the art and philosophy of Florence. It really extends one's appreciation of the city and the PRIVILEGE it is to be here.

This morning I finally made it to Ognisanti, the Church of All Saints on the banks of the Arno.  

It is gorgeous, of course.  But the main reason to come is to visit the tomb of the Master... Sandro Botticelli.  He is one of the Early Renaissance superstars.  He received scads of commissions.  Developed a unique elongated style and flatness that made his work very appealing.  His work is in the Uffizi, of course.  And who doesn't swoon over Primavera?

He was very pious, and even got sucked into the crazy radicalism of Savonarola.

But ... as we know .... amor vincit omnia. Love conquers all.  And when he caught sight of Simonetta Vespucci, that was it.  Simonetta married into the Vespucci family.  Yes, the one that featured Amerigo Vespucci, Italian navigator that made it to the Americas.  At 16, she married Marco Vespucci, whose father was a distant cousin of Amerigo.  Settling in Florence, she quickly became known as La Bella Simonetta.  Fair skin and hair, noble carriage, gracious manners, gorgeous wardrobe.  She became very popular at court.  She caught the eye of Botticelli, who was so captivated that he spent several years trying to capture her beauty on canvas.  It is said that she was his muse and model for many works:

She died, scholars disagree on the disease that took her out, at the age of 22.  Many scandalous rumors about whether she had had an affair with Giuliano de'Medici had been circling around.  The city of Florence mourned her death.  She was carried around the city in an open coffin to the wails of mourners. 

She was buried at Ognisanti, which was their family church.

When Botticelli died years later, he requested that he be buried at her feet.  Here you can see the circular stone that marks his place at the foot of her marble tombstone (she is buried in the floor):

Of course, this is all very Romantic and who really knows.

But it is stories and myths that make Florence so special.  

 

The transformative power of an Italian bra

 This trip I am immersing myself in the total Italian experience.  Food, of course.  Public transport, yes.  Skincare, I'm in!  Bra, done!  I purchased an Italian bra to see what sort of magic it could perform.  Does it make me feel more appealing, more Italiana?  Smoldering, even.  It's not what I'm used to in terms of fit.  I usually go for the 'minimizer' model.  I would categorize this bra as recreational.  Alas.  Why can't I find a minimizer in this Italian line?  The answer is:

Anyway.

This morning I spent a couple hours at Santa Maria Novella, truly one of my favorite churches/museums in Florence.  Completed in 1470 and distinguished by its unique facade of striped green and white marble, it's Florentine, Leon Battista's masterpiece.  Called Romano-Gothic because of its strange (and exquisite) blending of two very different architectural design components, it seems so small when you are looking at it from the street:

In fact, the facade works to hide the actual nave of the church.  But when you enter.... gasp.  Huge vaulted ceilings, massive 6 foot diameter columns, a vast collection of frescoes, paintings, sculptures, side altars and chapels.  So many masterworks, including Giotto's crucifix:

In the afternoon, I attended a lecture at the British Institute of Florence.  It was a lecture on the life and works of Bronzino, whose real name was Agnolo di Cosimo.  Born, raised, and trained in Florence.  He developed a Mannerist style and was the favored court painter of Cosimo I de'Medici.  He did this well-known portrait of Cosimo I:

And this of his wife, Eleanora of Toledo.  I love her.  She was super intelligent and very savvy about public relations.  She convinced Cosimo to purchase the Palazzo Pitti because she felt the old digs at Palazzo Vecchio were just TOO vecchio (old).  So he did.  Then, she convinced him that it would be best to have a private covered walkway to get from the Uffizi (offices) to the Palazzo Pitti.  This became the Vasari corridor, built on top of the Ponte Vecchio.  

Bronzino painted lush and erotic allegorical works as well:

The art historian put it so well.  Bronzino created "portraits of impenetrable aloofness and material splendor."  I aspire to both of those things.  Especially in my new bra.

Try as you might....

 Try as you might, but you just can't escape this reality.

Why is it that when I'm in Rome, I feel heavy?  I feel elated, but somehow subpar.  The city is so busy, so full of people and noise.  The wonders are endless.  There is just too much to know and/or learn.  The questions you ask your wretched self are as follows:

• What is wrong with me that I cannot walk for 6 hours straight?
• Why couldn't I ever get through Mary Beard's SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome?
• What lack of self control makes me want to eat fried rice balls all day?

However....

When you come to Florence, somehow the game has changed.  There are just as many tourists, but there is more sky.  Everyone seems to be trying to look their best.  There is a rosy glow.  A desire to wrap strands of pearls in your hair.

• You feel that you could take up smoking and never get cancer.
• You feel that with just a few adjustments, you too could look like Catherine de'Medici.
• You know that you can spend endlessly and never end up in the workhouse.
• You feel justified for never having finished ANY of Mary Beard's books because they really are annoying. 

Just breathe in this Renaissance gem of a city. But not too deeply as there are some stinky bits.