Yesterday, after my attempt to do laundry, I decided to cross over to what is known as Oltrarno (“across the Arno”). It was a spectacular day, with blue skies and warm temperatures, a perfect day for a stroll. I crossed over Ponte Santa Trinità, which takes you right into the Santa Spirito neighborhood. This is a more traditional Florentine neighborhood, with lots of shops, artisan workshops, and apartments, many that also had laundry hanging outside. Saturday must be laundry day! Looming over this neighborhood is the Santa Spirito church, which was designed by Brunelleschi. As you can see, other than the campanile and the dome, which you can see in the background, the church itself is quite pure and simple. In fact, it reminded me of something you might find in New Mexico, something Georgia O’Keeffe would have delighted in painting. Given the ornateness of everything else I’ve seen so far in Florence, this church appealed to me. Later I learned that Brunelleschi designed the church in 1435 and it was completed in the late 1400s, after his death. The front of the church is actually an unfinished façade that was added in the 1700s. Yes, unfinished. I rather hope it stays this way.
I continued my walk through the neighborhood, enjoying its peacefulness. This was where the poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning lived beginning after their secret wedding in 1846, until Elizabeth’s death, in Robert’s arms, in 1861. Their home, Casa Guidi, is open to the public three days a week, and I look forward to visiting. I can see why they loved this neighborhood, and I imagine that not much has changed since their days here.
I walked back over the Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”), one of the most famous sites in Florence. This pedestrian-only bridge, which is the only bridge in Florence to survive the WWII bombings, was built in 1345. Since it was built, the bridge has been home to workshops. In the early days, it was lined with butchers, tanners, and blacksmiths, but they were evicted in 1593, when Duke Ferdinando I decided he didn’t like the stench they created. The goldsmiths soon moved in, and they remain here until this day. I, personally, found the displays in the shops to be a little too ostentatious. Give me an antique book shop over a jewelry store any day!
I continued my walk through the neighborhood, enjoying its peacefulness. This was where the poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning lived beginning after their secret wedding in 1846, until Elizabeth’s death, in Robert’s arms, in 1861. Their home, Casa Guidi, is open to the public three days a week, and I look forward to visiting. I can see why they loved this neighborhood, and I imagine that not much has changed since their days here.
I walked back over the Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”), one of the most famous sites in Florence. This pedestrian-only bridge, which is the only bridge in Florence to survive the WWII bombings, was built in 1345. Since it was built, the bridge has been home to workshops. In the early days, it was lined with butchers, tanners, and blacksmiths, but they were evicted in 1593, when Duke Ferdinando I decided he didn’t like the stench they created. The goldsmiths soon moved in, and they remain here until this day. I, personally, found the displays in the shops to be a little too ostentatious. Give me an antique book shop over a jewelry store any day!
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