Chapter 5 - Southern Europe - florentine musings

I have spent days walking, walking. I first went to see the Genoese map of 1457, more modern than Fra Mauro’s map, at the Biblioteca Nazionale. Then I felt sufficiently ready to enter the Uffizi. The Uffizi gallery surely houses one of the greatest collections of Renaissance paintings in the world. I would need a month to see it all. This morning was devoted to the glorious icons, mostly pre-Renaissance and all glittering gold. Yesterday I ‘did’ the Botticelli’s. I know their popularity often demeans them in some scholars’ eyes, sort of like Monet’s lily pads, but maybe the reason they are popular is because they so instantly connect with the viewer. As a kid I used to think Walt Disney’s animated women were just too beautiful, and these make me feel the same way. If I could look like anyone in the world I would choose to look like one of Botticelli’s women. But then, you always said you liked my looks and so I guess I’d really prefer to stay as I am. I never used to think there’d ever be a time when I’d be satisfied to look like me!

I am inspired by Leonardo da Vinci here even more, if that’s possible. He was always a hero of mine. When people told me “You can’t do everything” or “You can’t go everywhere” or “Pick one thing and stick to it,” I’d mention Leonardo and ask “Why not? He did.” Imagine painting the most recognizable painting in the world, which I know is in Paris, but one can’t help imagining the Mona Lisa here when surrounded by her landscapes. Imagine painting her and then designing flying machines, hundreds of years ahead of their time. Science, art, engineering, he did everything it seems except write an opera. Seeing his work fires me up, makes that old desire to see the world and everything in it, the desire to accomplish as many things as I can flare up. My goodness, that’s the first time I’ve felt that way in a long time. Maybe the loss of my pack awakened something inside me. It would be nice to find something positive about the experience.

I have walked along the river Arno, across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti palace, and on to the Belvedere fortress with its magnificent view of Florence’s red clay rooves, looking like a Renaissance painting itself. Lush little fields with olive trees, shuttered casas up the hills looking back at me, tall black cypresses. I have been to Brunelleschi's Duomo with its stunning green, white and pink marble on the outside and its patterned floor on the inside. One room was all in wood with such amazing inlay work every wall seemed three-dimensional. To my disappointment, the Accademia Museum had closed off ‘David’ for renovation. I tried to see as much as possible through the barred windows but will have to rely on the myriad postcards and copies that are everywhere. I read somewhere that when travelling one should always leave something unseen so that one has a reason to return. “David” will be my reason to return to Florence.