City of Art and Ice Cream
We have been enjoying the slower pace of Florence.
At the Academia Museum, we saw perhaps the most famous male nude sculpture in the world, Michelangelo’s David. In this 13-foot-high statue of white Carrara marble, he fuses the religious ferocity of the David-Goliath story with the humanism and emotion of the Renaissance.
Some of us said this was our favorite single piece of art so far. We decided the look in his eyes was both valiant and expectant. His right hand holds the rock with which he will slay the giant, and his hand curves in, toward his thigh, causing the muscles of his arm to tense and his veins to stand out.
Because the statue is so famous, it is impossible to get within 15 feet of it. A five-foot-high glass wall surrounds it, and guards are always posted. In this way, it is much like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. Clearly, the power and the courage and the cunning on David’s face is meant to inspire awe. In a strange way, so does the heightened security of the 21st century.
At the Bargallo Museum across town, we focused on the medieval altar paintings which depict Biblical scenes and the church doors competition between two leading Renaissance artists, Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. Two panels, one from each artist, show the story of Abraham and Issac. In real life, Ghiberti won the commision. He won our own straw poll as well.
Florence has the best gelato in Italy, according to the gourmands and to us. We have tried chocolate, nutella, coffee, strawberry, raspberry, and pistachio. We have loved them all.
Our nice, charming hotel abuts the city’s largest fresh market. All foods are there, and the only disappointment is the fact that we do not have refrigerators to keep all the fresh meat and cheese.
At Il Lebbio Vineyard
We took an excusion into the Tuscan countryside on 22 May. We went to San Gimignano, a Tuscan hill town that once boasted 60 towers, primarily for defense. Some of us climbed to the top of this fine place. Everything you have ever heard about the landscape is true: it is nearly beyond beautiful, as we can all attest.
From the town, we embarked on a visit to Il Lebbio, a small vintner and working oliv-oil farm. We had a delicious wine tasting, sampling reds and whites and even some white dessert wine. Standing outside, tasting our wine, was sublime. The only sounds were our own conversation and laughter, and far down in the valley, a tractor’s gentle whir.
It all sounded like the sweet breath of Italy.
– Prof. Charles Israel, Jr.
