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.