Florence: Leonardo da Vinci

dsc01927-640x425 From Fra Angelico we walked to the Museo del Opera del Duomo. According to my calculations we still had at least three hours to closing time for the museum which houses the most valuable works of art from the Duomo. But, again we were faced with ‘Florentine time.’ That museum was closed for maintenance. We couldn’t find anyone official to ask, but a wandering priest assured us that it would be open again tomorrow. There was no point in dallying, so we headed for the Duomo.

Ducking down an alleyway, hoping it was a short cut, we nearly walked past a small sign with a picture of Leonardo da Vinci on it. The place looked like an insignificant residence, certainly not a museum, but we decided to take a look.

The first flying machine?

Da Vinci’s tank

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Florence: San Marco and Fra Angelico

San Marco was on our itinerary for the 4th May, but as it was close to Accademia, we headed that way next. Before leaving Australia, I had noted the closing time as 2pm; once in Florence we were told 4 or 5 pm. We were getting into the swing of Florentine time.

dsc01903-640x425 The convent of San Marco was founded in the 13th century, and thanks to Cosimo il Vecchio was enlarged and rebuilt in 1437. He reserved two of the cells for his own peace and spiritual sustenance.

For me though, the frescoes, painted by Fra Angelico, were the main reason for our visit. Having been raised as Catholics, we knew the story of The Annunciation very well; Archangel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of God’s son, Jesus Christ.

Fra Angelico’s Annunciation

We walked to the top of the stairs in Museo di San Marco and my favourite painting of the Annunciation wowed us. Fra Angelico has created his Mary with the face of innocence and an air of humility and acceptance of God’s will. Even for unbelievers this surely has to be an image that draws the viewer in. Single blocks of colour, Fra Angelico’s style for most of the paintings, are part of the appeal in that I’m not distracted by details. Painted in 1445 (or thereabouts) the picture is still pure, clean and simply beautiful.

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Florence: Galleria dell’Accademia

David and me

Our plans for Florence – see all the great galleries and churches in four days – didn’t go quite according to my meticulously organised itinerary.
First stop on the morning of the 3rd May was to find the Tourist Office ‘Just down the road,’ according to the lovely Cristina, but with such a small sign we walked past it several times. Procuring two Firenze travel cards, the aim of our visit, took even more time as cash was the only acceptable payment. ATM’s don’t always work in the suburban streets of Florence, as we soon discovered, but about twenty minutes later, cashed up, we got our passes for three days with a warning from the man behind the counter. ‘Some galleries are closed today because of rolling strikes; possibly all this week.’
Stunned, I asked for more information. He didn’t want to phone any galleries because it wouldn’t help. ‘They can walk off at any moment,’ he warned, ‘but the Accademia is open until 2pm.’

Galleria dell’Accademia.

Michaelangelo’s David was, of course, high on my list, so we set off on the first of many brisk walks around Florence. The front of the building was closed, with nothing to indicate where one should try to enter. Around the corner we found a long queue which didn’t seem to be moving, so I left Susanne in line and went to investigate. Down the road and around the next corner was another line and the entry for Firenze card holders. By this time 2pm was getting too close for further dallying. We politely but firmly made our way to the front of this line and were allowed into the building.
‘Where is the painting called Madonna of the Sea, by Botticelli?’ I asked our ticket inspectors. Three of them didn’t understand English, although I think they understood ‘Botticelli’ and wanted to direct me to another of his works.
After several attempts I was permitted to enter the closest gallery, only to discover an empty space where my favourite Botticelli should have been.
‘It’s in Paris, on lone,’ I was informed by a forth attendant when I returned to the ticket counter and my puzzled sister.

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Florence: Actor and Diva Suites

Arriving in Florence with no-one to meet us, I was nervous about getting from the station to our B&B, Florence Relais Grand Tour which sounded very grand for a B&B but was absolutely delightful. The taxi rank was exactly where Christina, our hostess had told me to go and the driver found the tiny street in less than ten minutes. Double doors, two steps up from the pavement, displayed the number 21. After a couple of rings on the bell we were greeted by the charming Christina and our cases whisked inside and along the stone paved passage to our suites – Diva and Actor.

Diva Suite

Actor Suite

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Rome to Florence by Train

En route to Florence

On May 2^nd this year, we said goodbye to our friends at the Hotel Farnese (lovely hotel if you’re staying in Rome, see them at http://www.hotelfarnese.com ) and set off in a private taxi for the Central Railway Station. Richard, our driver, parked a long way from the entry. After waiting inside for half an hour, I understood why he had chosen that cheaper spot and was grateful for his willingness to remain with us.

Susanne and I had no way of knowing where our train would come into the station, and at 10.40 am, with departure time still listed as 10.45 am, we started to panic, despite the assurances offered by our patient assistant.

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Rome: The Capuchin Crypt

After our visit to the Domitilla Catacombs we were taken by bus to the Capuchin Crypt, which turned out to be the most unusual of all our Roman adventures.

Still operated as a spiritual community run by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, the Museum and Crypt, as well as the chapel, are places of quiet, contemplation and respect for the dead. Although the information put out by Viator Tours (see them at http://viator.com) for this part of our afternoon tour didn’t try to hide anything, I hadn’t really expected to see human skeleton parts, especially not in the sort of arrangements that greeted us.

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Catacomb of Domitilla: Rome, May Day

After our special mass in St Peter’s on that Sunday, May 1^st, we took an underground train to the station near Piazza Barberini where we had to meet Barbara from Viator Tours. Again we were very impressed with the intelligence and enthusiasm of the guide provided by this company. See www.viator.com for small group guided tours if you are planning a visit to Rome.

Rome’s underground rail service.

My legs were aching as a result of so much walking. Thank goodness I had packed my ‘shooting stick’- a walking stick that turns into a seat at the touch of a button. I had seen travellers from UK and Europe using them on previous trips and was determined to find one here in Australia. They’re made from lightweight aluminium and fold down to fit into a case or even a backpack. I was the envy of every other tired traveller.

Catacombe Di Domitilla 1-DSC01779 was our first stop, a short distance from the piazza. We entered a church-like area, not far below ground level, then followed our leader along narrow passages and down steep, uneven stairways, many of them lined with burial spaces, now empty. At school we were taught that the Christians used the catacombs to hide from their Roman persecutors, but being so close to the surface and so obvious to the Romans, it soon became clear that this was a fiction told to us by gullible nuns.

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St Peter’s Basilica: Papal Blessing on May Day in Rome

In front of St Peter’s in Rome

May Day, the 1^st of May, is celebrated throughout Europe. Initially to welcome spring, it is now, at least in Italy, a holiday for the workers and called Labour Day. My sister and I decided to join the crowds at mass in St Peter’s before our planned tour of ‘Crypts and Catacombs’ with Viator tours that afternoon.

A mass of people crammed into the central aisle

We are in this crowd at the back section of St Peter’s.

Inside, the cathedral was packed with onlookers, crowded into the rear section as mass was in progress and tourists were not welcome at that time. Having been raised as Catholics we had no trouble convincing the guards that we intended to participate in the mass, not use our cameras, and generally conduct ourselves with decorum.

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The Vatican: Museums and Sistine Chapel

Our guide for the private tour of the Vatican Museums 1-DSC01692 (640x426) and the Sistine Chapel, met us in the foyer of the Hotel Farnese at 9am on Saturday, 30^th April. Having a guide isn’t necessary, especially for those who were raised in the Catholic school system, but we were promised a short cut from the museums and chapel to the basilica, so it seemed worth the price.

Decorated floor as we entered the museum corridors

Once inside the museum, Annalivia insisted on providing a twenty minute history lesson about the church and the papacy (most of which we knew) and describing the sections of Michelangelo’s ceiling, because, as we discovered later, speaking is not permitted in the chapel. One interesting snippet that I didn’t know, was that St Peter’s Basilica was only built after the popes returned from Avignon. Started in 1506, it was opened in 1626. Before that, the main papal church was on the other side of the river, in St John’s, which (I hope I’ve got this right) is still part of the Vatican territory, even though it’s outside their walls.

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Rome: Forum and Palaces of Augustus and Livia

After leaving the Colosseum we walked towards the site of the ancient Forum but on the way we stopped at a ‘digs’.

Archaeologists at work.

It seems that whenever anyone wants to undertake a new building in Rome, (or probably even do any renovations)

Before building, this area will be inspected for historical treasures

the archaeologists have to be consulted as treasures might be found anywhere, particularly around the Colosseum and other ancient sites.

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

The idea of using Viator Tours, visit them at http://viator.com was partly to avoid queues, but waiting here, outside the gate to ‘Ancient Rome,’ I was so excited that the wait didn’t matter. Once inside, there was so much to see and Lucia was so enthusiastic and informative that I found it impossible to record her words, take photos and have any chance of remembering more than what were, for me, the highlights. So, for those of you who are Roman history buffs, please excuse my mistakes and fell free to correct my efforts.

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