Firenze

We arose early to explore Firenze, a city I've not visited since the '90s. It hasn't changed! And the vertigo one gets from putting your mind and soul into your eyes has a name: Stendhal's Syndrome.

From Wikipedia:

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Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion and hallucinations,^[1] allegedly occurring when individuals are exposed to objects, artworks or phenomena of great beauty.^[2]

Stendhal syndrome was named after Marie-Henri Beyle (1783–1842), better known by his pen name, Stendhal.

The affliction is named after the 19th-century French author Stendhal (pseudonym of Marie-Henri Beyle), who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy, in his book Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio. When he visited the Basilica of Santa Croce, where Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo and Galileo Galilei are buried, he was overcome with profound emotion. Stendhal wrote:

I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty . . . I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations . . . Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.^[3]

Although psychologists have long debated whether Stendhal syndrome exists,^[1] the apparent effects on some individuals are severe enough to warrant medical attention.^[4] The staff at Florence's Santa Maria Nuova hospital are accustomed to tourists suffering from dizzy spells or disorientation after viewing the statue of David, the artworks of the Uffizi Gallery, and other historic treasures of the Tuscan city.^[1]

Though there are numerous accounts dating from the early 19th century, the phenomenon of people fainting while taking in Florentine art was first named in 1979, when it was described by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini; who observed over a hundred similar cases among tourists. There exists no evidence to define Stendhal syndrome as a specific psychiatric disorder, and it is not listed as a recognised condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, however there is scientific evidence that the same cerebral areas involved in emotional responses are stimulated during exposure to art.^[5]

A more recent account of the Stendhal syndrome was in 2018, when a visitor to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence suffered a heart attack while admiring Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.^[6]

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It's truly mind boggling, and Firenze really deserves a minimum of three days: at least one entire day for the Uffizi, one for the  sheer delight of its gastronomia and oenoculture, and one for the Battistero, the Duomo, and everything else. 

We had just one day for it all, and made the best of it!

And since it's all about the art, I'll give you with visuals and, where warranted, some written explanation.

But first, ride along with me through the lush Tuscan terrain from Pisa to Florence. The morning fog sits low, in the distance.

Wasn't that lovely? It gives you time to meditate with nature before being slammed by the incomprehensible beauty created by human hands.

I wasn't particularly in love with our local expert's style, darling as she is. I understand the method. Florence is A LOT. She whizzed us by the exterior of lots of places, enticing us, but of course with only one day, we didn't have time to enter them. I told Joe, "It's like going to a movie and finding out only the audio works". He gets tired of my sidebar commentary, I can tell, but I can't stop myself.

My suggestion would be to pick three things and do each one more fully; art, church, and gastronomy. There's your tip for your next visit.

We started with a walk along the Arno, past the Biblioteca Nazionale.

Cool base on the lampost; 

Ponte Vecchio in the distance 

Biblioteca Nazionale 

I like this ironwork.

We stopped in front of the Basilica of Santa Croce, which faces the Sant'Ambrogio piazza -- home to a lively market; non-touristy and less crowded than areas near the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, or Uffizi. If shopping is on your list and if you have time, this is a good stop.

Carabinieri having a great time

Pretty building details

Santa Croce

Monopoly game pieces

Beckoning street

The Basilica of San Croce bursts with Giotto frescoes and holds the tombs of two incredible historic figures -- Michelangelo and Galileo. Alas, we didn't go in, but at least I was there a billion years ago. I should have some film negatives somewhere, with photos of it. 

In front of the basilica is a sculpture of another notable, Dante Alighieri. Recall the Tuscan eagle and lion motifs explained in yesterday's post on Pisa.

Dante, Lion, Eagle 

Next, through the streets on the way to Piazza della Signorina.

The Piazza della Signorina was bustling with activity, and I lost Joe and our friends for a while.

A copy! The real one is in the Accademia near the Uffizi, and stands much taller. Reputedly the perfect image of man, I do see one area that could use improvement. I mean; he has such big hands, so....

Palazzo Vecchio, once home to the 

Medicis, is now a museum.

Detail, Fountain of Neptune

Neptune and his horse

Towers

Street art and fire hose hook-up

Stone work and street lamp

Rape of the Sabine women by Giambologna, for Cosimo I de Medici.

Interesting that the word 'rape' is interchangeable with 'kidnapping' or 'abduction'. In the history of Rome, in order to populate the area, the Roman men committed a mass abduction of young women from the Sabine region. The topic occurs throughout much post-Renaissance paintings and sculptures. 

Information that is uncomfortable at best.

Now we stroll along the Arno again, to get to that relic which straddles it: the Ponte Vecchio (literally, 'The Old Bridge'). Some of the jewelry shops have been in the same family for generations spanning nearly 600 years. I bought a ring there last time I was in Florence; a rope of the three Italian golds (white, yellow, rose). I still love it.

Arno, Ponte Vecchio, Reflections

The other way down the Arno. 

Nice plantings.

Shop detail

Detail of the colorful shops, defying gravity over the river.

Bust of sculptor Benvenuto Cellini

Bastion detail

When a shop is closed, it's locked up with these beautiful wood doors and the Florentine symbol (as well as San Giuseppe's and Santa Caterina's) of the fleur-de-lis.

Now back along the Arno, we walked the incredibly gorgeous streets to get closer to the Uffizi, where we're meeting after lunch.

Arco Trionfale in Piazza della Repubblica 

Torch holding rings

Tether your horse here 

Or here 

Random street fountain

Doorbells... Joe's cousin Lucy saw this (mother is from Florence) and we all got excited thinking one of them was a family surname, but it's off by a few letters. Dang.

These photos of a gorgeous facade are of the Palazzo di Bianca Capello. It's a Renaissance-style palazzo of the Corbinelli lineage. It house the mistress-turned-wife, Bianca Cappello, of Granduca Francesco I de Medici (Francesco the Great)

And now we come to one of the main attractions of the city, The Duomo, Battistero, and Campanile.

I find this architectural engineering information fascinating. Said more eloquently than I, Wikipedia offers:

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Brunelleschi adopted a highly innovative solution, preparing a double self-supporting dome during construction, without resorting to the traditional formwork. After having freed himself of his rival with a stratagem, Brunelleschi had free rein to deal with the grandiose project, gradually resolving all the difficulties that this entailed: from the construction of cranes and pulleys, to the preparation of reinforcements, from the organisation of the building site to the external decoration, which was resolved with the creation of the suggestive 8 marble ribs.

The internal dome appears to be enormously thick (two and a half metres at the base), while the external one is thinner (less than a metre), with the sole function of protecting the internal dome from the rain and making it appear, according to the architect, more magnificent and swelling on the outside. The arrangement of the bricks in a herringbone pattern served above all to create a grip for the rows of bricks in order to prevent them from slipping until the mortar set. Due to the complexity of the undertaking and the extraordinary result obtained, the construction of the dome is considered the first, great affirmation of Renaissance architecture.

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The famous Battistero, Duomo, and Campanile of Florence

White and green marble facade of the Duomo

Better view of Battistero and Campanile 

I didn't go inside; again, I've been there twice and we were short on time. And by short on time, I mean we wanted a long lunch, in order to eat the famous Bistecca Fiorentina!

Vincenzo is critical on food; he was on this mission for a great dining experience. He succeeded. And ordered for us.

Macelleria Auditore

The meat

Presentation of our raw order, making sure it all looks good

The prepared and sliced presentation 

Rock salt base

Yes. It was all eaten.

Mariella cut Joe's down to the bone so he got all the good stuff.

Cute place mats

"If a cook is missing one finger, then 

we have carpaccio"

Barely able to waddle after we finished our bistecca, vino, e caffè, we hoofed it over to the Uffizi for our pre- booked entrance.

The museum is mind boggling. A series of selected works ensues:

Detail (because: dogs); Madonna del Popolo, by Federico Barocci

He's in the bottom right corner

MY LOVE: CARAVAGGIO!!! 

Titled Bacco, the god of wine is depicted here as a young one roasted boy. The glass of wine is an invitation to conviviality, but also is a consideration of the impermanence of life. The luscious ripe fruit and saturated colors are carpe diem call. This is one of Caravaggio's first important works.

And here is Caravaggio's shattering chiaroscuro in full force: Medusa.

This parade shield was given to Grand Duke Ferdinando I by Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, a Medici agent at the papal court in Rome. The classical Medusa subject is reinterpreted here in the artist's naturalistic vein -- the eyes open wide in horror, the mouth frozen in a cry of revulsion, the writhing tangle of serpents (paralleled in the scientific plates commissioned by the Medici from Jacopo Ligozzi) seemingly at odds with the drastically severed neck. Just... brilliance.

Calm corridor in the Uffizi

The photo is misleading. The panels are about the size of a modern day snapshot photograph.

Santa Famiglia, Michelangelo 

Spinaria, Boy with Thorn

MY OTHER LOVE: BOTTICELLI!!!

I get emotional just looking at her 

face and hand

And I will always and forever love Birth of Venus, as my first deep discussion of art with a child was over this painting, with my daughter Maria.

Just look at her. And truly, standing in front of the original is spellbinding, causing Stendhal's Syndrome just by a glance at her knuckle. A copy doesn't compare. But gives me joy, regardless.

And Primavera... good Lord. Primavera. 

My birth season.

View of Ponte Vecchio from Uffizi window

Giacomo Fancelli (undetermined)

Cupid and Psyche

Ideas for bathroom pics... I'm a little ashamed to admit that

I spotted the BOTTICELLI from 

across the room.

We walked back along the Arno, rode back, and had a convivial discussion over dinner with all our friends, old and new. 

Antonio showed me my job title in Italian.

Maria Grazie and her astoundingly gorgeous son, Antonio, along with our art expert, Alessandra, will be lifelong friends. And of course Mariella, Vincenzo, and Marisa are inside my heart forever.

It was an exhilarating, exhausting, incredible day.