Jess 2-9-08

Hey! Just some quick photos -- the leeched internet in the apartment isn't good enough to handle uploading more than a few. Sorry! I'll upload more on Monday when I have better internet, so be prepared!


Happy couple!

Me, maybe a 1/3rd of the way up the Duomo :)

There's my handsome man!

Ciao! Good evening everyone.

Bill and I had a very exciting day today, since we actually got out to see the sights a little. We went inside the Duomo and looked around, and there honestly wasn’t too much to see, although I found a (not so) Secret Medici! Then we climbed to the cupola at the top. All 427 claustrophobic steps. Much of the ascent to the top of Florence consisted of tight, dark, spiral staircases big enough only for one person to pass (a problem when at some points it becomes a two way street). There are a few rooms on the way up: a room showing how the Duomo was built with tool replicas from its time, and a room of stored statues. Of course, to encourage you they let you walk directly underneath the grand frescoes of the Duomo’s dome, undoubtedly Brunelleschi’s greatest work (which he most unfortunately never saw to completion – like all but one piece of architecture he built). It’s a beautiful and fantastic pictorial 8-panel representation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, complete with juxtaposed 3-headed Satan devouring Brutus, Cassius, and Judas, surrounded by red inferno, and the risen Jesus surrounded by golden light and clouds. I must tell you it is a bit daunting to be confronted by 10-foot tall demons and people being tossed into hell, closest to you at the lowest edge of the artwork.

The demons and devils were very creative – sometimes eyeless, sometimes skinless or in the process of rotting away, sometimes half-animal and half-human, always sneering and sometimes cutting open helpless mortals with spears. It’s very gory and disturbing, even for today’s standards. In the middle layer, between Jesus and Satan, is what we assume to be Purgatory. Interestingly, and in the style of the Renaissance, a row of all the Classical scholars that influenced Italian culture and the church at the time reside there. And of course the top, which nobody pays much attention to because angels are much less interesting than creepy demons and blood-stained teeth. People’s imaginations seem to flourish so much more with the morbid and the creepy.

So after viewing that for a while, we trudged up the last hundred steps or so through more dark wormholes behind a huffing Scottish couple. The Scottish man told us not to worry – there was a slide on the way down. I was so relieved! And finally we reached, triumphant, the cupola. Greeted immediately with sunshine and fresh, cold air, it felt good to be out of the stuffiness of the walkways. It truly is the best view of Florence; mountains in the distance, all the streets (we found where Bill lives!) the extensive olive and wine vineyards in the hills, the Arno. Unfortunately my place and the school were obscured at all angles by Giotto’s tower.

To my dismay the Scotsman was lying and there was no awesome slide, so after an equally grueling descent to the earth, (the stairs seem much more steep and precarious on the way down) we went to Santa Croce. Bill found a (not so) Secret Medici too! We went inside for 5 euro, which was a little disappointing considering the most beautiful part of the church was covered in ugly scaffolding. But the trip was well worth it for me to see Michelangelo’s tomb. We also saw (and took pictures of! Unheard of!) Machiavelli, Dante, and Gino Capponi!!! Just as a refresher, Bill’s street is named after Gino. He was stoked J

We visited the Museum inside the old monastery, which had a beautiful Ascension of Mary in bright orange sunset colors, some charcoals for beginning painting on plaster, a bronze bust, and some other very interesting paintings, in particular one of Jesus freeing souls from Purgatory into Heaven – it’s rare to see a nearly naked Jesus standing around mostly naked people. Interestingly, there are no ugly people in Purgatory. Just a note.

So we sat in the closest thing to nature for a while, in the cloister and relaxed our sore legs before we headed home.

Oh, and there is a dollar store just opened up on via Servi near Bill’s place! We were so excited. I love dollar stores here. I think tomorrow we will be going over to Piazza Michelangelo, since it was cold and we were much too exhausted to make it over that far afterwards. Apparently there are some very beautiful views of Florence from there, and another copy of the David. We made a really good dinner – beef rollups with bacon and lemon cream sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots.

Well, that’s it for now. We’ve been trying to be good, although we forgot about Mass on Ash Wednesday we did not eat meat on Friday! Well, ciao for now.

Best,

Jess and Bill