Professoressa in a Palazzo

I’m currently reading an anthology entitled A Traveller’s Companion to Florence, which is a collection of the letters, diaries, and memoirs of travelers to and natives of Florence over the past several centuries. Some of the writers are well-known (Giovanni Boccaccio, Giorgio Vasari, D.H. Lawrence, Dylan Thomas, Robert Browning, Henry James, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Benvenuto Cellini, E.M. Forster, James Fenimore Cooper, Albert Camus, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain), but most are just ordinary people who happened to record memorable moments in Florentine history.

One of the contributors, painter and author Antoine Laurent Castellan, wrote a letter to a friend in 1820 in which he described the Piazza Santa Croce: “It’s length, and the beauty of the palaces which surround it, fit it for the theatres of the festivals which are given in it . . .”

And it just so happens that one of our faculty, Janet Black, lives in one of those very palaces. In fact, I believe that she lives in the most beautiful palace of all on the Piazza Santa Croce, a striking structure whose façade is completely frescoed. We had heard a bit about Janet’s apartment, but no amount of description could prepare us for the utter beauty and grandeur of this place. We all were able to see it first-hand this past Thursday when our faculty meeting took place there.

You enter Janet’s building off the piazza through massive wooden doors; you then climb to the second floor to enter her vestibule. Let’s just put it this way: I think my entire apartment would fit in her vestibule! It’s gorgeous and has the feel of a museum; in fact, the walls are lined with stately antique seats and chairs, some of which are even outfitted with velvet ropes to prevent sitting.

As we walked into the actual apartment, with its high ornate ceilings, we were literally left breathless. You see, her entire apartment is frescoed, as is evident in the photos. Now, to the average person this would be an amazing thing, but it’s even more meaningful to Janet as she is an art historian. How wonderful for her to be living in Florence in this frescoed palace!

In addition to the frescoed walls, her living room has a gorgeous marble fireplace and huge windows overlooking Santa Croce (Janet truly does have a “room with a view,” one that Miss Lavish and Lucy Honeychurch would have been more than satisfied with). Her bedroom, which also overlooks Santa Croce, is fit for a queen. The bed, as you can see, is huge and adorned with silk coverings, and the striped draping you see on the walls is actually painted on. Silk draperies cover the door that leads into a huge closet and adjoining bathroom. Her kitchen is also quite large and has two things that are extremely rare in Florence: a microwave and a clothes dryer. We were all slightly envious and, in fact, even felt a bit underdressed!

We all had a marvelous time playing queen (and one king!) for the evening! Once again, the affair was potluck, with antipasta, salad, beef stew, pasta, and bread. Toni and I were thinking alike and both ended up bringing dessert. No problem there – after all, there’s always room for more than one dessert!

At the end of dinner, we said goodbye to our gracious hostess. Janet, what a simply glorious apartment you have! Oh, and did I mention, her neighbor is a countess!

Art and Wine

On Wednesday the students went on their first Italian Life and Culture (ILC) field trip. Each week, on either Wednesday or Thursday, students will visit a famous place in Florence, where they will be given a professionally guided tour. Yesterday two groups of students visited the Uffizi, and I joined the 3:00 group. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take pictures inside, but I did capture a few moments as students waited to enter, including one who was getting fortified for the experience with a little gelato!

Once inside, my group joined our guide, the wonderfully knowledgeable and witty Angela, for a tour of the Uffizi’s highlights.

The word uffici means “offices” in Italian, and that’s exactly the original purpose of this massive structure. It was built in the late 1500s as offices for Duke Cosimo I’s new administration (yes, Cosimo was a Medici). The architect Vasari made this building unique in that he constructed the upper story an almost continuous wall of glass, allowing spectacular views over Florence and the Arno. Cosimo himself must have appreciated the design as he began displaying the Medici family’s art treasures here beginning in 1581, making it essentially the oldest art gallery in the world.

And Angela led us through this remarkable gallery, explaining in detail many of the most important pieces, including Giotto’s The Ognissanti Madonna, Piero della Francesca’s portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino. Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Annunciation, and Boticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus, the latter being a work of art I’ve long desired to see. Angela even stepped back as we were admiring The Birth of Venus to let one of our students, Ben (yes, Pauline, your Ben!), take over as lecturer. Ben had written a detailed paper about this painting for an art history class and was eager to share his ideas and perspectives. We all agreed that he did a fantastic job!

After walking around the Uffizi for about two-and-a-half hours, our feet hurt and we were ready for our next event: wine tasting! Several of us walked back to the school for this cultural event. Our instructor was Todd Bolton, who owns a company called Tuscan Trails, which takes groups into the Tuscan countryside for wine tasting and traditional Tuscan cuisine. Although Todd is an American, he moved permanently to Florence many years ago and is now extremely knowledgeable about Tuscan wines and wine production. During our two-and-a-half hour class, Todd covered so much: the history of Italian wine production, the important wine-producing zones in Italy, Italian wine classifications, grape structure, and the basic compounds in wine. He then began to focus specifically on Chiantis and Chianti Classicos, leading to the moment we had been waiting for: tasting!

During the evening we tasted three Chiantis: a Cantina Leonardo and two Selvapianas. Todd walked us through visual analysis of the wine, where we learned to look for color, limpidity, and consistency. We then moved on to the olfactory analysis, which included determining intensity, complexity, quality using just our noses. We also learned how to distinguish aromas in wines, such as flowers, fruit, herbs, and spices. Finally we got to actually taste the wine, as Todd led us through the gustative analysis. We learned how to determine the amounts of sugars, alcohols, poly-alcohols, acids, tannins, and mineral salts, all in a sip or two. We also learned how to taste for balance, intensity, and persistence. The wines got progressively better as we went along, which of course was Todd’s plan. And the students became more and more knowledgeable about wine as the night went on as well. We had a fantastic time, and my guess is that the students in this class will never look at (or smell or taste) wine in the same way again.

A Night at the Symphony

What better way to celebrate Martedì Grasso (Fat Tuesday) than to attend a symphony concert at the fabulous Teatro Verdi! The students put on their finest (no jeans or tennis shoes!) in preparation for a cultural event like no other.

Teatro Verdi is one of Florence’s most important theatres. Founded in 1874, it was built on the foundations of an old prison. The theatre is stunning and unlike any theatre I’ve ever seen. There is an orchestra section and a balcony section in the back, just like most theatres; however, what makes this theatre unique is its six levels of loges that flank both sides of the theatre, which I learned is a traditional Italian design. The first three loges are lined with striking globe chandeliers, which were dimmed but not extinguished during the performance, adding an air of romance. The gold and red color scheme makes this large theatre somehow seem cozy and intimate.

This was the perfect place to see the performers for the evening, the world-famous Orchestra della Toscano. This 45-musician symphony orchestra was founded in 1980, and the Teatro Verdi serves as its home, although the orchestra has toured internationally since 1992. Last night’s concert, a Concerto di Carnevale (a Carnival Concert) was entitled Voci di Primavera (Voices of Spring) and included pieces by Offenbach, Strauss, Lanner, Vater, and Fukit.

And what a show it was! I think all of us were taken by surprise with how amusing and entertaining it was. My guess is that this particular concert gave the orchestra members a chance to just cut loose and have some fun. You see, this was no traditional symphony concert. The orchestra, led by Conductor Peter Guth, played approximately two hours of upbeat, uplifting music, just perfect as a prelude to spring. And Peter Guth wasn’t content to just have us sit back and watch. Instead, he had the audience involved throughout the entire concert. We were clapping and stomping our feet and, at one point, he even had us do a wave-like maneuver. After the intermission the entire orchestra came out in full Mardi Gras regalia: masks, clown noses, bald clown heads with lots of hair, space helmets, and other costumes. I’ve never been to a concert until this one where a musician came out a played two anvils with a hammer, stopping to mop up his sweat and drink some water halfway through. Hilarious! And for the last piece, Peter Guth pulled a young boy, age seven or eight, out of the audience to conduct the song. Why? Because he then led his entire violin section down the middle aisle of the theatre, playing away, while the little boy conducted the remaining musicians. The boy may have been a little off-tempo, but he stuck with it! When the conductor and violinists returned to the stage, he asked the young boy to take a bow. When the boy didn’t, Peter Guth simply grabbed the top of his head and pushed him down into a bow. The crowd roared!

Yes, it was quite a night. Many of the students had never been to a classical concert before. Although I can’t promise that they’ll ever see one like this again, I know they all had a grand night at the symphony!

La Cucina Italiana

It’s interesting that the words la cucina italiana can mean both “the Italian kitchen” and “the Italian cuisine.” Well, on Monday evening the students got a taste of both. We all met at the school at 6:00, and Kirsty proceeded to lead us across the river to what turned out to be a Socialist club. This is a place where local members can meet, converse, debate, play cards, drink wine, and, of course, eat. And the chef here is kind enough to open her kitchen several times during the semester so that AIFS students can learn the fine art of Tuscan cooking.

After scrubbing our hands, we all donned stylish plastic aprons and made our way into the tiny kitchen. Yes, tiny. The 25 of us pretty much filled the place! The chef, the wonderful Mirella Calvelli, who spoke only Italian, went over our menu for the evening, and Kirsty translated for the group. We then got immediately to work! Very quickly the chef had everyone doing some required task: separating eggs, mincing garlic, slicing bread, chopping cilantro, deskinning sausage, and stirring pots. Kathleen even got stuck washing dishes! And in what seemed a very short period of time, we had whipped up a Tuscan feast:

Crostini Campagnoli (thin-sliced bread topped with a sausage-cheese mixture and baked)

Penne alla Carrettiera (penne pasta in a spicy tomato sauce)

Roast Beef (seasoned with a cilantro-garlic rub and roasted to rare)

Piselli (peas cooked with sugar and pancetta)

Tiramisu (literally translates to “Pick Me Up,” which is appropriate given the espresso that is used to prepare it!)

And then the best part of the evening arrived – eating our creations! We carried everything into the dining room, toasted our good work, and dug in! Somehow food just tastes better when it comes from your own hands. Buon appetito!