Experiencing The First "Wine Town Firenze 2010"

When one thinks of Florence and the Renaissance, one thinks of art. And there is certainly no shortage of art in Florence.

But the Renaissance, was also a rediscovery of science. The scientific advances of the Greeks and Romans were rediscovered via the Arabs, and Europe once again started to look and examine the world about them in a critical and scientific manner.

The recently renovated Galileo Museum was something I was looking forward to seeing. Located right next to the Uffizi Galleries, the modern museum promised a lot.

The artifacts are indeed works of art in themselves. Astrolabes, telescopes, clocks and meterologic equipment are all displayed. Old maps and globes, are all beautifully to look at. Perhaps the most intricate of all, is the Armillary Spheres that mechanically made the universe move in the complicated manner if the earth was the center of the universe.

But it does feel like a museum. Which is a pity.

There is potential for this museum to be so much more.

They even alluded how at one point it was fashionable to have working models demonstrating these scientific principles, and they even exhibited some of them as well. Why did they not take advantage of this, and have working models as part of the exhibit? It would have been much more fun and interesting to see and hear the crackle of a charge of static electricity leap across electrodes rather than simply read about it. Or look into a microscope at various specimens.

In the end, I appreciated the "art" of these amazing precision instruments that revolutionized how we look at the world. But it was dry, and I was disappointed. I felt they missed a grand opportunity to make science fun and interesting, not just academic and "exhibited" behind glass cases.

What was much more fun and interesting was the first annual WineTown (www.winetownfirenze.com). Over the weekend, at various lovely sites in Florence, wine tastings and various events were held.

We walked our now so familiar streets, and again came to the Arno River, and gazed at the iconic Ponte Vecchio. Crossing over the charming bridge, we briefly stopped and listend to a street musician, before me carried on our way.

One of the first places we visited was the vineyards held by the Guicciardini Strozzi family, located near San Gimignano. (http://www.guicciardinistrozzi.it/eng/proprieta.htm)

Irina, a charming young lady happily greeted us and informed us of their wines as well as the history of the vineyard which dates back to 994. Yes, a vineyard over 1000 years old. We tasted several of their delicious wines, met her sister Natalia, and were invited to tour their estate. The two sisters are actual descendants of La Gioconda, of the Mona Lisa.

As we walked about, Hera had mentioned how the two Princesses, were so charming. At first, I had thought Hera was joking, but she told me to look at their card. Nobles by birth, their demeanor was gracious, sincere and very warm.

We walked about, toured and sampled more wine at another exhibit, while a jazz band played. Again we were pleasantly greeted by the vineyard's representative, Doth Simone Modugno. We exchanged our views on wines, as we sampled their selections from Castello Di Verrazzano. (http://www.verrazzano.com/)

Calling it a night, we approached our street, and noticed that the Bargello museum, which we had not yet toured, was also playing host to WineTown. We entered the luxurius setting as another jazz band played. It was quite magical to look at the fine sculptures at night, as soft music played around us.

But the night was not yet finished. Diane, one of Hera's friends, had told her to try Limoncetta when we were in Florence. Earlier that day, we had picked up a bottle, and had chilled it.

Made of Lemon rinds in Vodka and Everclear (very potent alcohol), then cut with simple syrup, it becomes a deliciously dangerous liqueur.

Served iced cold, it was a great way to end our day.

Photographer's note: Experiencing (not just drinking) wine is about discovering its scent, then taste and this way it can become a personal experience that we can share through conversations with other wine lovers. Doing visual  justice to any bottle of wine is quite hard, unless your shots are staged. Which in our travel Blog nothing is staged. My photos are snap shots of the moments we both shared.

Experiencing The Tuscan Town Of Siena

Today we were off to nearby Siena. At one time, Siena vied with Flroence to be the dominant city. Both grew wealthy with banking, both started to build their cathedrals, both suffered horribly from the plague. Florence recovered, Siena never did.

The bus ride was quick and pleasant, and gave us our first views of the country side, albeit from the perspective of a major highway, but we did get some treasured glimpses here and there.

Photographer's note: Obviously the two shots you see below were taken from a bus window. I did not use a poloriser filter. I slighlty underxposed my shots.

Siena is a pretty town. Small and easy to navigate. Its narrow winding streets make it easy to imagine life here in medieval times.

We followed the crowd, winding our way down, until we came to the main square Il Campo. We took a seat and ordered some food and a drink. We knew it would be pricey and not that great, but sitting and relaxing on such squares is a delight on its own.

After our short break, we found our way towards Siena's Duomo, Santa Maria Assunta. It too was built over the site of an earlier church, and we had the chance to visit parts of the old church, and marvelled how colorful were the wall decorations.

Siena, competing with Florence at the time, planned on building a church larger than Florence's. It was to be the largest church in Christendom, but alas, plagues, questionable planning and financial difficulties, forced them to build a smaller, though still impressive church.

It is impressive to see the original wall of the Nave that was built, complete with vaulted ceilings in one of the aisles, and completed windows, the original front wall, as well as parts of the other wall of the Nave. One can only imagine how the church would have looked had they completed the original plan.

The church that stands now, is still no less impressive. Its facade is highly decorated, and we can see the changing styles or architecture as it was built. Romanesque on the bottom moving to gothic at the top.

The interior of the church is very impressive, more so that Florence's Duomo. There is art everywhere. The floor itself is a site to behold, as well as the paintings and sculptures that adorn the church. Bernini, Donatello, Michelangelo, and others are all represented here.

But I was most impressed by the Piccolomini library. The scenes themselves are all superbly executed, with excellent 3D perspective that takes into account the height of the frescoes above the viewers. Even more impressive is how vibrant the colors are, even though the frescoes were painted over 500 years ago.

Equally impressive is the story that the 10 scenes recount. They recount the life of one of Siena's favorite son's. A well educated noble man sent off to make his fortune. On the way, he argues against the Pope, visits England and fathers a couple of illegitimate children, then and acts as a diplomat. He then moves and joins the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III in Viena where he is crowned court poet, writing poetry, some racy stories, a play and an autobiography. He then serves on some military campaigns, and again acts as a diplomant this time between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor.

He reconciles his own differences with the Pope, renouces his old galavanting way of life with the Ladies and become a priest. Soon he is promoted to Bishop of Siena, then Cardinal and ultimately becomes Pope Pius II.

Like Florence, Siena also has a Duomo museum that is well worth the visit for the art alone. But an added highlight, was that it allowed us to walk up to the top of the high wall, that was to be the facade of the originally planned church. The views in all directions were spectacular and breath taking.

We decided not to tour the Civic Museum. It sounded interesting, but since we were here only for a day, we prefered to walk the streets, and get a feel for the city. We looked into shop windows, and of course Hera had her gelato.

Across town we came across the austere grand church of San Francesco. Surpisingly, the nearby buildings are now used as part Siena's University. I can only imagine taking a lecture in such impressive decor.

We walked a bit more, before calling it a day, and headed back to the bus station.

Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

Our Eleventh Day In Florence

Time is passing by way too quick, and we planned on visiting some nearby cities. So we started our day by going to the bus station, ask our questions, and plan some out of town visits.

Buying our tickets for tomorrow's trip to Siena, we walked back into town.

Hera visited some shops, from the Chic and Expensive, to the everyday boutiques. For shoppers, Florence has it all. But only appreciated by those who can appreciate such sights, and I am not counted as one of them.

As usual, we found ourselves once again at the Duomo. We decided that today was finally going to be the day to visit this Cathedral which so dominates Florence.

While everyone calls it the Duomo, its name is Santa Maria del Fiore. One of the largest churches ever built, it was started in 1296, before the technology to complete it even existed. A huge gaping hole remained until Brunelleshi came along in 1436. His dome was the largest ever built since the Roman Era.

 

The exterior of the church is not the original. Originally, only the lower third of the facade was ever completed. As the styles changed with the years, it was decided to update the exterior, and the old facade was removed. It remained without a facade for centuries. With Italy's creation last century, the completion of the church was "rushed," and the today's facade was created.

People have varying reactions to this facade. In the sun, it is way too bright, and it is best viewed on an overcast day.

The interior is vast. Both Hera and I felt that the "spirit" of the church was not really present. Just as in Saint Peter's in Rome, a hollowness seems to ring in the empty space. Is it because most who enter the Church, enter as tourists?

As our custom, we lit a candle and said a prayer.

Next we walked around and then visited the Baptistry. We gazed upon the magnificient doors, again sorry that we were not able to see the originals in the museum.

The Baptistry at one time was where everyone of Florence was baptized. Originally surrounded by a cemetary, it was an appropriate symbol.

The interior reminds one of the Pantheon of Rome, while the gorgeous mosaics on the ceiling are clearly Byzantium. The floor has Arabic Motifs, while the walls pay homage to the Germanic heritage of the Holy Roman Empire. We might forget today, but these four empires were very much present in the minds of the poeple of the time.

We walked about, up and down some streets that we had previously strolled, and decided to stop at a cafe for a beer and to people watch.

Florence is filled with friendly and helpful people. We noticed that on our first day. The agent at the Toruist Information booth was very friendly and helpful, and this friendliness was repeated over and over, again and again. It even seems to spill over into the tourists as well.

Yesterday, while gazing at the Duomo, we came across a couple from Bordeaux, France. We chatted for quite some time yesterday, talking about sites we visited to politics. As we enjoyed our beer, and people watched, they walked by. We called out. And once again, we talked for over an hour with Christian and Veronique. They finished off their gelatos, while we nursed our beer.

Florence is not only a delightful city, but a friendly one as well.

Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

Tasting Typical Tuscan Food In Florence

Last night Hera and I decided to go to Ristorante del Fagioli, a near by family run restaurant located at 47/r Corso Tintori, just south of Santa Croce church. (Tel 055 244285)

We were not too sure what to expect. Most restaurants have a wide assortment of pastas and pizzas, but none of this was to be found on their menu.

An Italian gentleman entered ahead of us, and the waiter asked if he had reservations which he had, and was ushered in. We had none, but being early, they had a place for us. If possible do make reservations, as the restaurant soon filled up with locals who seemed to be regular patrons, with a few tourists here and there.

The wine menu was easier to understand than their food menu. We decided to enjoy ourselves and chose the 2007 Avignonese Vino Noblile di Montepulciano. The friendly waiter agreed our wine choice was excellent an excellent one, and he was more than happy to explain the menu to us.

He poured a small portion of wine, and the nose was fabulously aromatic and full. I took a sip, and felt the harsh pungent flavours almost sear my throat. The wine was good, but needed to breath a bit before it could really be enjoyed. (This is true for many good wines of this region. Let the wine sit and breath a bit in your glass.)

A few minutes later, the wine started to open, offering its full bodied flavors that did not disappoint. This was a wine to be sniffed and slowly savoured.

We started our meal sharing an appetizer of Crustini tipico, small pieces of bread with a rustic liver pate that made us realized we were in a treat for some good local cuisine.

For our first course, we ordered two of their soups. We had mentioned that we wanted to taste each others meals, and they happily obliged us. Bringing one soup at a time in the center of our table, and a bowl for each of us.

The first was a Riboliita. Ribolita basically means reboiled leftovers usually with beans, vegetables and bread. The dish was exquisite, with white beans and spinach.

The second soup was called a bread soup, and this one was equally good. A tomato based soup, with lemony hints, thickened with bread.

Bakeries have various sorts of bread, and we had bought Toscan bread. Though it has a great crust, the bread itself is non-descript, but it is excellent to soak up the flavours of our soups and the meals to follow.

We had meant to take a photo of the menu to remember the names of the dishes, but we forgot.

For main courses, we chose two different meat dishes. Hera decided upon the roll of fried meat with a potato filling, while I had a roll of meat stuffed with artichokes and mozarella in a tomato sauce. The hearty meals were delicious.

As a side dish, we ordered some fresh porcini mushrooms that they sauteed simply in olive oil, letting the full flavours of the mushrooms present itself for our enjoyment.

For dessert, we enjoyed some Almond Biscoti dipped in Vin Santo.

The ambiance of the restaurant was joyful and festive, the food, rustic, delicious and filling. We learned later that this restuarant had been accepted and approved by the    http://www.accademiaitalianacucina.it/en_index.php

Another must dining experience for all who visit Florence.

For a quick visit follow this link....

http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/italy/florence/del-fagioli

Cheers,

Anthony & Hera