Florence
– The Renaissance City – 2
Well, it is now truly autumn now that I’ve been back in the UK
and Bristol for a couple of weeks and the sweaty heat of Italy is almost
forgotten but, the experience is most definitely not forgotten and Florence is
a city which can only improve on another visit – for me that would be a third.
We started our Sunday morning, with a visit to Florence’s
celebrated Duomo – the Cathedral [Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore – the
Church of Saint Mary of the Flower]. You can find it in the Piazza del Duomo,
unsurprisingly. The building, started in the late 13th century and
completed in 1436 has a facade of marble panels of green and pink with later
additions of white. Although the main entrance has been cleaned and is
sparkling, the rest of the exterior is definitely in need of restoration –
not apparent from a distance.
On Sundays, tourist visits to the Duomo don’t start until mid to late
afternoon. We had not registered this fact when we got up bright and early for
our visit. However, you can still enter the cathedral for Sunday mass which, we
decided to do – well, I did have to persuade my daughter – just a little. I loved
this and found the experience soothing. I was somewhat surprised at
‘collection/offering’ time that we were the only participants who gave a
‘silent’ contribution [paper money]. I believe every other participant gave coins. When my daughter drew my
attention to this I was somewhat surprised. I am not a regular churchgoer but,
having not been in a church for many years where adult churchgoers give only a
few coins, I thought it a little mean.
The inside of the Duomo is very plain, unlike many of the
other churches around the city. I liked this but, if you are looking for the
more ornate Renaissance style do have a look at the Basilica of San Lorenzo,
one of the largest churches in the market area of the old city.
As we came out from mass, the predicted thunder clouds had
gathered darkly over us and as spots of rain started to speckle the pavement
before us, we decided to enjoy a cafe latte under the huge umbrellas of a nearby
cafe. Even before we were served, the thunderstorm broke above us. For a while
we enjoyed the excitement of the storm. However, eventually the heavy driving
rain forced us indoors where we skulked until the skies started to clear.
We then scampered though the light rain at the end of the storm to
the Museo Galileo [Institute & Museum of the History of Science] on Piazza
del Giudici.
Normally, I can get bored with museums quite quickly but, this
one is truly fascinating and well worth a couple of hours to visit and experience the many
explanations of how things work. If you have young children with you, there is
a small interactive section.
Our next planned visit was to the Boboli Gardens. I had hoped
to visit the Belvedere Fort, from where, I understood, I would be able to view
many miles over the Tuscan countryside. However, after some accidents in the
last couple of years, it seems the fort has been closed to visitors.
I was surprised, though I don’t really know why, to discover
that the gardens stretch over many hectares up and over a hillside so, if you
are visiting, expect a strenuous climb and a lot of walking. Still, the views
are amazing and the gardens relaxing and very beautiful – though very different
from the British idea of a beautiful garden which, with its much higher
rainfall would be greener and full of flowers.
The next day we had planned a trip to a couple of vineyards. I
don’t drink red wine normally as, I discovered many years ago that I was allergic to many
red wines [possibly the excess sulphides used in the production of some wines
or the tannins from the oak barrel storage]. My daughter did point out to me
that most of the wines produced in the area close to Florence were red wines.
However, for me the experience was the ‘thing’ – let’s just go and enjoy it.
Our first visit was to a very quiet, family run, small vineyard
to the south of Florence – Castello Sonnino at Montespertoli. Following a tour
of the castle and the wine production, we were enthralled by an early lunch
with wine tasting. Starting at 11.30 in the morning it was somewhat
disconcerting that there was no expectation that our ‘tasting’ involved
spitting out the extensive variety of wines. Of course, it was pointed out to
us that, in Italy, wine is always drunk with food. The food arrayed before us
was simple, local, organic, delicious – breads, cheeses, hams and salamis,
honey, salads and... for the second course,
pasta with fresh pesto. By midday, or shortly afterwards, we were
definitely feeling mellow and could probably have stayed much longer if the
second vineyard had not also been booked. Many of our group bought a range of
products, including the wonderful wines. My favourite was definitely the
Cantinino – very dry and spicy [not cheap at the vineyard, you could expect to
pay four times that amount in a restaurant so, well worth buying a box or three
to send home]. ‘Do you have any negative effects from the wine?’ my daughter
asked me as we left. But, no, I didn’t, happily, probably because the wines
from this vineyard are all totally organic.
The next vineyard we visited was much larger and although,
still family owned, was much more commercial with many tours passing through.
The gardens were pleasant and the cellars interesting. The three wines we tried
were good but definitely not as seductive as those we enjoyed at Castello
Sonnino. However, the two vineyards were very different experiences and both
worth sampling.
We booked our tour through Viator. The guide was very knowledgeable,
being a qualified sommelier and I would really recommend this tour – most enjoyable
and informative – and oh! the food!
We reluctantly left Florence on Tuesday morning to return to
cool, rainy UK and work but, the advantage of living in the UK is that we are
so close to France, Italy Spain, Germany and all these wonderful experiences.
And, of course, I would still rather have our cool, reliably wet, growing
environment to come back to. Now to harvest my tomatoes, peppers, chillies,
courgettes and all those different brassicas.
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