Today after class I walked to the Piazza della Signoria to visit what is called the "Gucci Garden." I had heard about this exhibit from one of the students at Alberobello. It was a very interesting, immersive experience.
First, you walk up the staircase which has been painted with graffiti and lots of positive messages:
You know, "Think peace," "No pollution," "Fashion cares" ;-)
Then you walk into this set where a woman is riding a subway in a fabulous Gucci ensemble. This is an example of Urban Romanticism from the Fall/Winter 2015 campaign which asked what it meant to be contemporary. Gucci posed the rather philosophical question, "Are the truly 'modern' those who can the distance necessary to accurately perceive the moment they're in?" There should be a mandate that fashion houses, of all things, should not be allowed to pose questions that the smartest of the lot can simply not answer. But, there you have it:
From there you walk into a room where the flood and Noah's ark is being reenacted, along with pairs of animals running for the boat. The humans are dressed in Gucci Gothic from the 2019 show which was all about dreamers looking for a new paradise, an Eden remade. Multi-cultural, non-binary, non-judgmental only with very expensive clothes:
Then you walk into this room of TV sets featuring very unusual-looking people wearing Gucci lipstick:
And then it's on the Gucci does Soul Train:
And then you calm down and enter the luscious, Baroque hall of mirrors:
And then, fashion deconstructed. All the parts without the body. No model. Naomi was being difficult.
And then two Gucci fiends in the bathroom at the club:
Then, finally, people who collect weird things: clocks, Gucci shoes, butterflies:
And if you are so inspired, there is a gift shop and boutique:
It was a very innovative and fun exhibit, though you left not really remembering any of the fashion. There wasn't one outfit that hit me as being gorgeous. But just outside of the Piazza is this, and it IS gorgeous:
I think I will let Dante get the last word on this one. This is one of several plaques at the Palazzo Vecchio with quotes from The Divine Comedy:
"Oh which I saw by those who are undone by their pride."
My language course has begun and so I spend 3 hours each morning in class from 9-12. I walk from my neighborhood in the Oltrarno with its picturesque architecture, super fabulous antique shops and on every corner at tribute to the Queen of Heaven:
The antique shops.... oh, if I had loads of disposable income... I would buy this fabulous marble torso:
And the vintage clothing shops... Chanel, Lagerfeld, Gucci. No junk. Somehow, Florence always makes me feel like I need to try a little harder:
I mean, I'm looking in the window at vintage Chanel and I'm dumpy. Ugh.
Onto class. I always meet fabulous, wonderful, charming people when I travel. It's just what happens. I have buddied up with 3 German women and today we went out to lunch at a rice restaurant. Yes, rice. A totally gluten-free rice restaurant. Why ask why? It was delicious, I must say. I had this very interesting pistachio and dried raspberry risotto:
After lunch, my friends went off to a tour and I walked over to Santa Maria Novella, handsome as ever:
From there it is only a short walk down Via della Scala to the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy, one of my favorite places to visit every time I am in Florence. The pharmacy itself dates back to 1221 when the Dominican Order that founded the convent at SM Novella, decided to cultivate a garden that focused on pharmaceuticals and herbs that could be used both in the kitchen and to heal, soothe and comfort. They still make some of the ancient preparations. Tinctures and teas, and other interesting ointments. They also make a luscious line of perfumes.
Here is the entry way, festooned with garlands of dried herbs:
This is the actual pharmacy from centuries ago, so the building itself has paintings, old ceramic apothecary jars, lovely fresco painting:
It's so divine. Try and get away without spending $$$!!! Buonissimo!
Yesterday's train trip from Puglia was arduous. Trains were late because a high speed train on the Naples-Rome line derailed so they had to shut down an entire area. No serious injuries, fortunately. But it meant a disruption for many trains coming from the south. My train was only going to get on that line toward the end, after Casetta, so from there we were routed around which added another 60 minutes to the trip. Molto stress because I had a connection to make to get to Florence. But, that train was late as well so it all worked out.
I am staying in a lovely apartment in the Oltrarno neighborhood. Florence has such a cool style. From religious paintings and votive altars at every corner:
Thursday afternoon we drove to the Basilicata region to the town
of Matera, a remarkable complex of caves and dwellings built into (rather, carved
into) the hillside. Archeologists who
have studied this area have found evidence of human populations having lived
basically since the Neolithic period. Please notice that I am resisting the urge to
begin a sentence with, “Back in caveman days….” In this video you can see that it is a canyon
and that on one side you can see caves, on the other is a very dense palimpsest
of dwellings of different styles from different peoples, civilizations and time
periods. Matera has been occupied by Greeks,
Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Aragonese (Spanish), etc. just like the rest of
southern Italy, essentially. But in the
beginning: cave men.
During the middle ages, churches and a monetary were built
and remain today. But it is a windblown,
completely hostile climate and no place for the timid. This church is a testament to that. Notice the pock marks on the stone.
The limestone used for the construction of
most of Matera is local. Limestone is
porous, and so it actually helped the early (and later) cave dwellers to collect
water into underground cisterns. We went
into a cave dwelling and you could see all the parts of the home, where they
cooked, where they kept the animals, where they hung up their clothes, tools,
etc. I’m sorry, but it was a pretty wretched
existence: stinky, moldy, humid.
In
fact, Matera was evacuated in 1952 because it had become a cesspit of malaria,
typhoid, poverty, overall serious wretchedness.
It was abandoned until the 80s when someone realized how remarkable the place
is. Really. People have lived in this valley since Neolithic
times. A little clean up, a little
invitation for people to reclaim ancestral homes, a little marketing, a little
missive to UNESCO and boom!: In 1993
Matera becomes a UNESCO World Heritage site and in 2019, a European Capital of
Culture.
These photos do not capture how magical it is. How baked by the sun, buffeted by the elements. Its permanence. I was very moved by it.
(And on another note, parts of well-known movies have been filmed here: the last James Bond with Daniel Craig, Wonder Woman, the remake of Ben Hur, scenes from Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.)
Remember those fabulous movies from the 60's that brought to life, in a marvelously awkward but earnest fashion, the stories of Greek mythology? They seemed to always take place in some remarkable coastal location, where the sea was turquoise and clear, gorgeous creatures, male and female, practically naked, relaxed on the rocks just waiting to lure some wretched sailors to their deaths, and at any minute something impossible, breathtaking, astonishing could happen? Dreams, fantasies, miracles. Gods, sirens, demons.
All along the coast are sea caves. We went in several, but this one was one of the best. The water gets that milky turquoise color from the limestone. There are NO color enhancements used in ANY of the photos I am presenting.
Into the cave:
And if there is an opportunity to jump into the sea, count me in! Oh, it was so glorious. I would say the temperature was in the upper 70s, about the temp of a lap pool. Very nice. Glorious salt water. Buoyant. Divine.
And the town is super cute though very small. Mostly made up of tiny shops and restaurants and a few churches. Totally fab.
But it is really the sea that is the main attraction:
And how about a late lunch featuring cialledda, a classic Pugliese salad made of tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, pepperoncino, basil and olive oil> I think it's been a perfect day!
