Bryce & Damon in Europe
by Pertinax Carrus
Chapter 16, Tuscany, Part II
Pisa
The city of Pisa is located on the Arno downstream from Florence, almost at the mouth of the river. In the earlier part of the High Middle Ages, this gave it an advantage over Florence, and it seemed for a while as though Pisa would be the dominant center of Tuscany. You never know how things will turn out. Pisa is not the port city it once was, modern shipping landing at Livorno instead. For some unknown reason, English sailors called Livorno “Leghorn,” one Anglicization which even Bryce found unacceptable.
At Pisa, Bryce drove directly to the cathedral square, or what is called the Piazza dei Miracoli, containing the cathedral complex. Of course, the most famous and most recognized portion of this complex is the campanile, or bell tower, known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It really does lean as a result of being build on inadequate foundations in soft soil. At one time, it was at about a 5.5 degree lean, but recent stabilization efforts have returned it to about 4 degrees. The campanile is the newest of the three major structures, having been begun in 1173. It contains a ring of seven bells which play out over the city. Damon was surprised to find that one can ascend to the top of the tower, and so they went up, following a stone staircase which spiraled around the inside of the tower until, a little more than half way up, one passed through a narrow door, and found oneself on the outside. There was a narrow ledge which one could follow to reach the top. From the top, there were great views of the cathedral complex and of the city.
The cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta (the Assumption of Mary), is the oldest of the three major structures, begun in 1064. This period of the eleventh and twelfth centuries is the period of Pisa’s greatest prosperity as one of the major commercial powers of the Mediterranean. Pisan ships vied with those of Venice, Genoa, and Amalfi at the time of the First Crusade, for example. The cathedral is one of the most impressive Romanesque structures in Italy. Unfortunately, there was a major fire in 1595 which destroyed most of the medieval and Renaissance treasures housed there, but one which was preserved is the tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, an early fourteenth century German monarch who loved Italy, but who died there unexpectedly in 1313.
The third building of the cathedral complex is the baptistry, begun in 1153 and completed in Gothic style, managing to combine that with the original Romanesque quite harmoniously. On the northern side of the cathedral square is the Campo Santo, or cemetery, which is a huge cloister-like structure begun in 1278. If a cemetery can be beautiful, this one manages.
After touring the cathedral complex, Bryce and Damon stopped at a place on the square for a glass of wine before heading back to Florence.
Florence Again
Back in Florence, after returning the car to its station on the outskirts, and again watching the boys playing soccer, Bryce led Damon to the Church of San Lorenzo, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who was also the architect of the Pazzi Chapel. The original church dated to the year 393, but the current one was begun by Brunelleschi at the behest of Giovanni dei Medici in 1419. At that time, the Medici were the wealthiest family in Florence, but had not yet achieved political domination. Despite their name, which means physician, they gained their wealth as bankers. San Lorenzo was the Medici parish church, and the site of family burials.
It was in this capacity that Bryce and Damon visited. They were primarily concerned with the Sagrestia Nuova, or New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo between 1521 and 1524, his first effort in the field of architecture, at the behest of then Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, who later became Pope Clement VII. As seems true with so many Renaissance works, it was never completed, in part because Michelangelo left Florence for Rome in 1534 never to return. He completed the tombs of two relatively minor members of the Medici family, Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino (1492-1519) and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours (1479-1516). Giuliano was a younger son of the famed Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), under whose rule the Florentine Renaissance and the Medici family both reached their pinnacle. Giuliano ruled Florence for his brother, Pope Leo X, for several years, then was succeeded by his nephew, Lorenzo of Urbino. This Lorenzo accomplished only one thing before dying of syphilis, which was to sire a daughter, Catherine, who became the wife of Henry II of France, whom the guys encountered back at Chenonceau. The tombs of the much better known Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother, the assassinated Giuliano, never were begun.
The entrance to the Medici Chapel or Sagrestia Nuova is an uncomfortable space, much too high for the ground space, and with an entrance staircase which almost seems like liquid. These disturbing factors are intensified in the tombs, and mark the beginning of the Mannerist phase of Michelangelo’s artistic career. The tomb of Giuliano is flanked by allegorical figures representing night and day, while that of Lorenzo has figures of dusk and dawn. These figures lie precipitately on the sarcophagi. Day is a bizarre figure, looking like a male with breasts sort of stuck on her chest. The whole leaves one uneasy, dissatisfied, which is characteristic of the Mannerist style.
“Yesterday we visited the Pazzi Chapel, which I said was the most beautiful space created by humans,” Bryce said. “Today, in the Medici Chapel, we have a much better known family and a much greater artist at work, but the result is not beauty as I see it. It’s powerful. It’s impressive. It’s a faithful reflection of the leading currents of the time in which it was constructed. But it’s not beautiful. Why?”
“I know what you’re going to say, and I agree,” Damon said. “The balance and harmony, which are so obvious in the Pazzi Chapel, are lacking here. The proportions seem off. These allegorical figures seem too big for the places where they lie on the coffins. And the figures themselves seem somehow disproportional, almost grotesque. There’s almost nothing about these figures which remind me of the statue of David we saw yesterday. It’s hard to believe they are the works of the same man.”
“Twenty years of tense, violent history separate these works from the David. When we get to Rome, we’ll see the same thing in two works also by Michelangelo, his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican,” Bryce gave a preview of coming attractions.
Leaving the Medici Chapel and the San Lorenzo complex the duo walked back to their hotel. They had decided to dine there this evening. After dinner, they again retired to the roof top terrace, from which such magnificent sights could be seen, and thence to bed.
On Wednesday, July 7, it was the turn of the Florentine cathedral, or the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore – Saint Mary of the Flowers. Florence succeeded Pisa as the dominant city on the Arno, and so the cathedral at Florence is Gothic, not Romanesque, begun only in 1296 and essentially completed in 1436 with its most distinguishing feature, the great dome by Filippo Brunelleschi. This is the symbol of Florence, seen everywhere, in every scene of the city. The octagonal dome was the largest in the world prior to modern construction techniques, and is still the largest brick construction, as well as the first free-standing dome since antiquity. It involves an interior dome inside the exterior shell. Brunelleschi invented some of the machinery needed for the construction. The whole is topped by an octagonal lantern. Bryce and Damon took the tour which allowed them to pass between the interior and exterior structures and emerge at the lantern for more great views of the city.
Inside the cathedral one is impressed with a feeling of open space. This reflects the influence of the mendicant orders, the Franciscans and Dominicans, who emphasized preaching to the congregation, as contrasted with the focus on the altar and the sacramental work of the priests in earlier, Romanesque structures. One interesting work is a depiction of Dante in front of his vision of the mountain of Purgatory, on the left, and a panorama of Florence, on the right. Interestingly, the panorama of Florence shows Brunelleschi’s dome, which was not completed until a century after the death of Dante. Also of interest is the funerary monument to Sir John Hawkwood, the English soldier of fortune who, during a lull in the Hundred Years War in France, made his way into Italy, and became one of the leading condottiere of his day. This is the work of Paolo Uccello. Once in the cathedral, but now located in the museum of the Opera del Duomo, are the choir galleries by Luca della Robbia and Donatello.
As at Pisa, the entire complex is composed of three structures. In addition to the cathedral itself, there are the baptistry and the bell tower. The baptistry in Florence is older than the cathedral, being more or less contemporary to its cousin in Pisa. An octagonal structure, it stands in front of the cathedral. Of great artistic significance are the three sets of bronze doors, the south doors by Andrea Pisano, and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. It is the east doors which were called by Michelangelo worthy to be the doors to Paradise, a name by which they have since been called. The south doors depict scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, the north doors scenes from the life of Christ, with the magnificent east doors depicting stories from the Old Testament. All doors are cast in bronze, another major achievement of Renaissance art.
The campanile, or bell tower, is quite different than that in Pisa. It is a square tower, designed by the artist Giotto, reaching a height of just under 278 feet. Like its companion farther down the Arno, it has a ring of seven bells. The tower was begun in 1334 and completed in 1359, after a hiatus caused by the outbreak of the Black Death (bubonic plague) in 1348. The top is reached by a flight of 414 steps, offering a wonderful view of the Florentine city. That called for more picture taking.
After lunch, Bryce and Damon repaired to the Uffizi, the major museum in Florence. Originally designed in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari (1511-74), who was also a painter and art historian, it was intended as the offices for the officials of the city and the newly created Grand Duchy of Tuscany, hence the name – uffizi means ‘offices.’ The building consists of two parallel structures with a narrow courtyard between them, looking out toward the Arno. The art collected there was initially the collection of the Medici Grand Dukes, but from 1765 has been open to the public on a regular basis, and passed into public ownership. The Uffizi is one of the most visited places in Florence, and so Bryce had tickets purchased well in advance. Otherwise, lines could last up to five hours.
The collection at the Uffizi is unrivaled as far as Renaissance works is concerned. Included are the Annunciation by Leonardo, the Battle of San Romano by Uccello, the Portrait of Pope Leo X and His Nephews, Cardinals Giulio dei Medici and Luigi di Rossi by Raphael, the Portrait of Duke Federigo da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca, and many more. Of especial interest were two large works by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), the Primavera (1482), and the Birth of Venus (1486). These works, falling during the period when Florence was dominated by Lorenzo the Magnificent, represent in many ways the height of the Florentine Renaissance. They contain the same calm display of balance and proportion as found in the Pazzi Chapel a generation earlier, but more obviously linked to the classicism of the Renaissance. The Primavera, or Rite of Spring, for example, is an illustration of lines from the Roman poet Horace about (guess what) the arrival of spring (duh!). Vasari praised these two works as exemplifying grace, while the later art critic John Ruskin praised the beauty of their linear rhythms. In the Primavera one can trace an undulating rhythm from the arms and hands of one figure to the next all across the painting. There is a lot of uncertainty about Botticelli’s private life. He is said to have held an intense but platonic and unrequited love for the model for the Venus in his painting in the Uffizi. There is also a record of an accusation that he was homosexual, but then that was an accusation often thrown about by one’s enemies, leaving the modern scholar uncertain. In the mid 1490s, Botticelli came under the influence of the radical Dominican friar Savonarola, after which Vasari says he ceased painting. Savonarola, Bryce said, always reminded him of the TV evangelists of our own day, full of emotion, and condemning all physical pleasure as evil. It is at least possible that Botticelli was gay, but the influence of Savonarola resulted in a heavy burden of guilt, which brought his creative career to a close. He seems not to have recovered even after Savonarola was condemned and executed in 1498.
By the time they left the Uffizi, it was late afternoon. They spent some additional time wandering among the shops and street vendors. Damon wanted a copy of the David to take back with him, but some of the offerings in the tourist shops were very badly done, not reflecting at all the beautiful proportions of the original. Bryce bought some silk scarves for his mother and sister. They then visited the Piazza della Signoria, the original site of the David, where a copy now stands. In addition, there was the Neptune fountain, and, under the Loggia dei Lanzi, was the statue of Perseus dating to 1554 by Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). In Greek mythology, the Medusa was a fearsome creature, in female form, but with snakes for hair, and with the power to turn anyone who looked into her eyes into stone. In order to escape that fate, the hero Perseus cut off her head without looking at her. The statue shows him standing on the corpse, holding the severed head aloft, but averting his eyes. Even as Bryce and Damon watched, two boys executed a pantomime. One lay on the floor of the loggia next to the statue with his head covered by his shirt. The other stood over him in the pose of Perseus, holding a melon carved to resemble a face and with vines attached to represent the snakes. Several people, including both Bryce and Damon, quickly snapped pictures before an officer came to chase the boys away. The backdrop for all these monuments was the Palazzo Vecchio, or town hall of Florence, where the Signoria sat. The term “signoria” refers to the town council, the governing body of Florence during the medieval and Renaissance periods. Nine members were chosen from the guilds for terms of two months, and during their terms of office had to reside at the Palazzo Vecchio itself. Begun in 1299, the Palazzo Vecchio, formerly called the Palazzo della Signoria, has an interesting clock tower which contains two small prison cells located high above the city. At one time, Cosimo dei Medici, founder of the family’s political power, was incarcerated there, while later Savonarola, whose preaching led to a temporary loss of power by the Medici, shared that experience before his execution.
By the time the adventurers had completed their shopping and tour of the Piazza della Signoria, it was time for the evening meal. Again, they decided to dine at their hotel, enjoying the marvelous ambiance of the formal dining room as well as the excellent service and menu. Afterwards, they again retired to the roof terrace for talk and some wine.
Their last morning in Florence began with squawks from Bryce’s travel alarm, which called him to the fitness center entirely too early as far as Damon was concerned. After breakfast, they made an arrangement with the management to leave their luggage at the hotel even though they checked out, as Bryce had them scheduled to visit the Pitti Palace across the Arno before departing for Siena.
The Pitti Palace is a forbidding structure located across the Arno from the center of Florence. It was begun in 1458 by Luca Pitti, a wealthy banker and supporter of Cosimo dei Medici, in a style which was already slightly out of date, but which has endured. The family later encountered hard times, and in 1549 sold the palazzo to Leonora da Toledo, wife of Cosimo dei Medici who became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569. It was used initially by the Medici mostly to house visitors and host official functions, but under the next generation, Grand Duke Francis and his consort, Archduchess Joanna of Austria, the family took up residence there, and the palazzo began to acquire the vast collection which it now houses. Most of the interior rooms are decorated in seventeenth and eighteenth century style. The major art collection of Renaissance works, called the Palatine Collection, is still displayed as it would have been when the private collection of the Medici family. Pietro da Cortona, who painted many of the works in the collection in the palazzo and designed some of the rooms, was the inspiration for Charles Le Brun, who performed the same function for Louis XIV at Versailles.
Behind the palazzo stretch the Boboli Gardens, which were laid out for Leonora da Toledo in the mid sixteenth century. They include many classical elements, including an amphitheater where classical and contemporary plays were performed, an Egyptian obelisk, grottos, temples, etc. A daughter of Grand Duke Francis, Marie dei Medici, married Henry IV of France, and was inspired by memories of the Boboli Gardens to have the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris laid out. Both the palazzo and the gardens have been extended and altered since the sixteenth century. When the Medici died out, they were succeeded by the Habsburgs, who were interrupted briefly by Napoleon Bonaparte (no surprise there as he seems to have conquered half of Europe, which, in fact, he did). Then in 1860 the Habsburgs were replaced by King Victor Emmanuel II in the process of uniting Italy. His grandson, Victor Emmanuel III, presented the palace and the gardens, along with the art collection, to the nation in 1919.
After enjoying a quick tour of the palazzo and a more leisurely one of the Boboli, Bryce and Damon had lunch nearby, and then returned to the area where their car was housed. Picking up the car for the last time from that location, and noting still another soccer match in progress, they returned to the Grand Hotel Cavour to redeem their luggage, and then said a reluctant farewell to Florence.
Siena
Located only about an hour south by the Raccordo Autostrada (express highway) RA3 lay the town of Siena. Siena preserves many medieval and Renaissance traditions which have died out elsewhere. Among them one of the more interesting is a horse race called the Palio, which is run twice annually, on 2 July and 16 August. The foundations for these events go back to the middle ages, but the modern rules were worked out in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The race takes place in the Piazza del Campo, or large town square, where the track is covered with packed dirt. There are seventeen companies based in the neighborhoods of the city, called contrade, which were originally the units of the town militia. Ten of the companies each year enter a champion in the race. Competition was limited to ten in the eighteenth century as a result of too many injuries in the crowded race. The seven who were not included last year plus three more chosen by lot are the competitors. The riders race their steeds around the campo three times, riding bareback, and dressed in colorful costumes. The prize is a banner of the Virgin, and the two races are held in her honor. The July race is called the Provenzano, held on the Feast of the Visitation, while the August race is the Assunta, held the day after the Feast of the Assumption, as that day is already too crowded with activities. Thousands of people come from all over for the races, which are a major attraction in Siena.
“July 2, huh?” Damon commented. “Seems like we are always late for the big attractions.”
“Yeah. I was originally planning to leave earlier, but with Curtis’s wedding and everything, and my mom worrying about holiday traffic, the schedule got changed. But don’t worry. This won’t be our only trip to Europe, Boyfriend,” Bryce reassured him.
Even so, there were still plenty of souvenirs, including banners of the various contrade, available from street vendors and shops. There were also items decorated with the emblem of the town, a she-wolf sucking twins. This refers to the legend that Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus, twin brother of Romulus, the founder of Rome. That legend probably dates to the Renaissance, when everyone wanted a Roman origin for everything. Historically, the area was inhabited by a people called the Etruscans, who with their irrigation works began the process of creating that civilized landscape noted by Bruce and Damon as they crossed the Apennines on their way from Bologna to Florence. An independent city republic during the medieval and Renaissance periods, Siena was annexed to the Florentine state of the Medici under Grand Duke Cosimo I.
Bryce led Damon to the Church of St. Dominic, a thirteenth century basilica which houses relics of the most famous citizen of Siena, St. Catherine (1347-1380), a Dominican nun. Born the daughter of a cloth dyer and a mother who reportedly had two dozen children, Catherine survived in her first year the Black Death which wiped out a huge portion of the Sienese population. When Catherine was 16 her sister Bonaventura died, and her father wanted her to marry Bonaventura’s widower, a rough and unpleasant man. She went on a fast, now-a-days called a hunger strike, until her father relented. Still, her family opposed her wish to join the Dominican order. After an illness, however, she was permitted to join the Third Order, which allowed her to wear the order’s black and white habit, but to live at home with her family. At home, Catherine was accustomed to give away food and clothing to the poor, which irked her family considerably. Catherine also had many visions of Jesus which sustained her despite the constant opposition of her family to her chosen career as a religious.
Catherine wrote many letters, over 300 of which have survived, in which she attempted to influence her contemporaries to reform the Church and establish peace. She traveled to Avignon, where the popes had been living since 1307, to convince Gregory XI to return to Rome, in which she succeeded, but he died within a year. Urban VI, who followed in 1378, was a man of violent temper, admonished many times by Catherine for his outbursts. His temper led to the declaration by his cardinals that his election was invalid, and the scandal called the Great Western Schism, during which the Church saw first two, then three, claimants to the papal throne dividing the allegiance of the faithful, and, of course, doing nothing about reform. Catherine died, supporting Urban, but highly critical of his methods. Although she dictated most of her letters, Catherine is noted by the General of the Dominicans, Raymond of Capua, as capable of reading both Italian and Latin. After her death, most of Catherine was buried in Rome, where she had gone to encourage Pope Urban, but her head was cut off and returned to Siena, where it is preserved in a reliquary in the Church of St. Dominic. Near the basilica is the home of the family of the saint, which has been turned into a shrine and chapel.
“I don’t know, Bryce,” Damon commented. “I still find this practice of you Catholics of keeping parts of people in your churches more than a little bizarre.”
“You’re not alone in that, Damon. A lot of people feel the same way. Most non-Catholics think it’s superstitious at best. I admit, I am not personally fond of the practice. I certainly have no problem with the veneration of the saints, and the preservation of their relics in appropriate shrines, but the bits and pieces, like Catherine’s head, and their exposure to public veneration, are not among my favorite devotional practices. Still, this seems to resonate with a large segment of the people, and if it contributes to their spiritual life, I certainly would not forbid it, even if it is not for me. The only thing I would object to is the extreme practices, where people seem to think the relics have magical powers separate from the activity of God himself. That really is getting into the superstitious.”
“I see this is another example of where you make fine distinctions,” Damon responded.
“Truth is often found balancing on the point of a needle,” Bryce commented.
“That’s clever. Who said that?” Damon asked.
“I did. Just now,” Bryce answered.
Damon hit him.
Next to the Sanctuary of St. Catherine is a restaurant called La Chiacchiera, which offers excellent Tuscan cuisine. There, the guys ate their evening meal, enjoying their camaraderie and the atmosphere. Afterwards, they went to the Piazza del Campo, where they indulged in Italian ice cream at a place called, appropriately enough, Il Gelato.
After that, they drove to their hotel for the night, a purely utilitarian place like the Mercure hotels in France, located outside the town. It is called the Hotel degli Ulivi on the Via Lombardi. They spent the night, and the next morning departed Tuscany for the Umbrian town of Assisi.