David by Michelangelo Buonarroti

I cannot remember a time when I didn't want to see Michelangelo's David in person.  Some thirty or more years ago, one of my dearest New Trier friends, Dave Currie, took a trip to Italy with his wife Peggy.  "Just bring me a picture of David," I asked Dave (who was not only a teacher, but a professional photographer).  He took the picture for me.  I tacked the photograph to the bulletin board in my office...and dreamed.

David lives in Florence.  This morning we went to his house, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze.  We left early because there are always many visitors to The Accademia.  It was raining.  At first the sky was dark gray and the rain came down softly.  As we stood in line, the rain fell in earnest and had it not been for our museum passes (such a great planner, Pam), we would have been in line much longer than 20 minutes.  I was feeling anxious and wondering what it would be like when I finally saw David.

In the first room we entered there were several, mostly unfinished or roughly cut sculptures hewn by Michelangelo.  I looked first at one and then another.  I turned and looked down the length of the room and there he was...standing under a domed skylight.  Pam was at my side and slowly we walked forward toward the crowd around David's pedestal.  I don't know when I started to cry, but as I walked tears streamed down my face.  He is more beautiful than I ever imagined.

This is a giant among men.  He was carved and lovingly brought to life from a block of white marble by a man who loved men.  This man, Michelangelo, who intimately knew and revered the bodies of men crafted a living icon for the ages--David, the shepherd who slew Goliath

The story of David and Goliath is told in Book 1 Samuel. Saul and the Israelites are facing the Philistines near the Valley of Elah. Twice a day for 40 days, Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, comes out between the lines and challenges the Israelites to send out a champion of their own to decide the outcome in single combat. Only David, a young shepherd, accepts the challenge. Saul reluctantly agrees and offers his armor, which David declines since it is too large, taking only his sling and five stones from a brook. David and Goliath confront each other, Goliath with his armor and shield, David armed only with his rock, his sling, his faith in God and his courage. David hurls a stone from his sling with all his might and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead: Goliath falls on his face to the ground, and David then cuts off his head.  It is at this moment, David triumphant, standing above Goliath's severed head that most artists have chosen to represent David.

Michelangelo, for the first time ever, chooses to depict David before the battle. David is tense: Michelangelo catches him at the apex of his concentration. He stands relaxed, but alert, resting on a classical pose known as contrapposto. The figure stands with one leg holding its full weight and the other leg forward, causing the figure’s hips and shoulders to rest at opposing angles, giving a slight s-curve to the entire torso.

“For in it may be seen most beautiful contours of legs, with attachments of limbs and slender outlines of flanks that are divine; nor has there ever been seen a pose so easy, or any grace to equal that in this work, or feet, hands and head so well in accord, one member with another, in harmony, design, and excellence of artistry”.
 (Giorgio Vasari, from his “Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects”).

Yes, I have looked to many sources to put this David, my David of today in Florence before you.  And yes, this is the same David who became King of the Jews and is human ancester to Jesus of Nazareth.

So here is Michelangelo's David as we viewed him today.  Both Pam and I were entranced and tried to take in every detail of this magnificent work.

 My first view from across the room.

And a last look back as we left.

There were many other beautiful things we saw today, but I wanted to give my heart a chance to run with the awe we both have for Michelangelo and his David, our David--for the ages.

More later.  I hope you have enjoyed your time with David too.  Ciao.

Bonnie & Pam

Firenze...Blown Away, Unbelievable, Staggered

Well, here we are in Florence.  Here are a couple of pics from the last sunset we experienced in Vernazza.  People gather, as they do in Florida for this occasion. We thought that this sunset would be ordinary as the clouds on the horizon were not large or much in view, until the sun began to go down...here are two of the pics:

I never in my life thought to see a sunset such as this...let alone photograph it.  I hope you think it is as spectacular as we did.

At 9:00 a.m. we lugged our baggage down and up to the train station and made the 2.5 hour journey to Florence.  The countryside was beautiful...or what we could see of it.  We went through the area in Carrara where much outstanding marble has been quarried for centuries.  The mountains are gouged out, exposing faces of white rock.   Michaelangelo frequented this area as an adult, chosing blocks of marble to be shipped back to Florence.

Not a great shot off a fast train, but this gives you some idea.

Upon arrival in Florence we caught a cab from the train station, checked in to our hotel, and set off to find the prearranged rendevous point with our guide, Paola.  On the way we managed to get our Firenza card (three day admission to museums and points of interest) and find a cash machine that would finally accept our bank card.  Then we set off for a survey and orientation tour to the "must sees," which are literally around every corner--statuary, medieval and Renaissance churches, palaces, frescoes...and the architectural genius on display everywhere. I hardly knew where to point my camera or where to turn. 

  All I can say is that the Medici family was incredibly rich, supported a huge group of writers, philosophers, artisans and artists whose names are familiar all over the world--Brunelleschi, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei,and as their family motto declared, Semper--Forever.  I will leave you with some of the pictures and wee bit of the information we learned today.  About the duomo and its cathedral:  begun at the end of the 13th century by Arnolfo di Cambio.  The dome was added in the 15th century on a design of Filippo Brunelleschi.  The exterior is covered in a decorative mix of pink, white and green marble. 

Inside of the church.  Below marker on Donatello's grave.  He was a favorite of Cosimo Medici and was buried close to his friend and benefactor.

Medici crest...the use of white marble and grayish limestone was common in Medici chapels and cathedrals.

Here is the building and street in which Michangelo Buonarroti grew up, exposed to the artwork of others employed by the Medici family and other moneyed families in Florence.

 The last woman in the Medici line...Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, and the main reason why all of the Medici treasures were given to the city of Florence.

 A copy of Ghibertis Gates of Paradise.

Michaelangelo sarcophagus. He is buried with his family in the floor of the cathedral just to the left of this monument.

Tomb of Galileo Galilei...telescope in hand.

In this same church, there is a painting of Dante reading the Inferno to citizens who were eager to hear the story.  He too is immortalized here.

I will try to do better tomorrow.  In the mean time, buona sera!  Sleep well.  Ciao!  It is good to be connected again.

Cinque Terra

Several things stick in my mind about the trip from Padua to Vernazza:  

When we left Auner Hof, Gizelle was kind enough to direct us to a wine store in Balzano where we picked up three more bottles of vino...somehow 4 wine bottles made our larger duffle A LOT heavier.  Adding to the load were our hiking boots and poles now packed rather than in use.

We turned the Panda in at a Europe Car in La Spezia.  From here we would take the train to Cinque Terra, and the town of Vernazza.  The woman in the office was slow, crabby and unhelpful.  When we left, Pam asked directions to the train station.  The woman just waved her hand and said, "Down there.  You just walk and see the sign..."  So it turns out that the train station was farther than we thought and walking was not a great option.  

We got a lot of help from people on the street.  We were directed to the bus that would get us to the train station.  We boarded the bus.  When I staggered to the front to pay our fare, the driver either didn't understand me or didn't want to deal with me.  "Finish!" which I took to mean that paying was finished for the day, he was finished, or we were going to the end of the line.  In any case the bus ride was free.  We had quite a time trying to see the name of the stop we were looking for frequently asking fellow passengers if this was the train stop.  Finally, an old, disheveled man who had listened to our inquiries leaned over to Pam and said, "Two more stops and that is the train."  In two stops we looked at him and he nodded.  On the sidewalk, we asked a young black girl how to get to the train and in perfect, British accented English she told us..."Down there and the first right."

At the train we were in a crush of people.  We had to navigate down several flights of stairs and then up two flights of stairs to get to the right platform.  People pushed and shoved as I struggled to get the large, wine and boot heavy duffle to the platform.  Then the train came and as people were getting off, the incoming passengers just pushed and jammed into the doorway.  The duffle got caught.  I couldn't straighten it or lift it and I heard a woman behind me say, "Just push her."  When we got to the Vernazza station I was leary about getting off in the crush of passengers.  I managed to muscle the duffle part way down the stairs when a lovely young girl looked up at me, flashed a smile that lit the platform, reached up and took the duffle placing it on solid ground just as I reached same.

Most everyone in the world it seems has some English.  It is embarrassing because we both think of the many times foreign visitors to the US have not much help if their English is non existent or halting.  At any rate, we have a coffee maker in our apartment but hadn't a clue about how to use it.  So with coffee pot in hand, we went to the local coop grocery store and first asked, "What to put here?"  The person behind the counter (the store was about an aisle wide), pointed to a shelf behind us.  We reached and she said, "No.  No..." and pointed to another type of coffee all the while toting up grocery bills for the local elderly in the store.  We paid for our coffee and I said, "How?  How to make coffee?"  "Ahhh."  The cashier took the pot apart (it's a tiny espresso pot) and said, "Put water to here.  Coffee here.  Put on fire and then..." she paused searching for words, "The coffee will blow up."  And that's how we learned to make coffee.  It is quite good.

                                 

    

The crush of tourists even at this time of year is suffocating during the day.  The town is relatively calm from 7 a.m. until about 10, and then quiet again from about 6 pm (that would be 18:00 local time) on.  We try to be on our way somewhere by 9:30...and back in our apartment by 3 or 4 for rest time, then assemble at about 6 for the sunset gathering.  Here are a few scenes around our town of Vernazza...

From the harbor looking up toward the town.  One of two local churches is on the left, the other just faintly seen at the top left of the town.  Two churches.  Two sets of bells chiming the hours.

 Town square at night.  We have had dinner under the center yellow umbrellas.

  Looking up toward the train station just before sunset.

Sunset on our first evening in Vernazza...and on that we'll say, Ciao! for this posting.

From Vernazza...by Way of Florence!

       

A funny title, eh?  We are still in Vernazza...one of the Cinque Terras. Pam's iPhone has the only internet connection.  Our landlord gave us an outrageously long and complex password to his wifi spot down the street.  It took us 5 minutes to put the password into Pam's iPhone so it remains our only connected device.  We feel like spies as we go behind the green door to send and receive messages.  It is from behind the green door that Pam has posted to FaceBook, so most of you are not in the dark about where we are.  Last night, after dinner we went behind the green door so Pam could post.  It was black dark inside, so I lit the light on my iPhone for her to see.  Of course, it was this time that a young couple entered to get to the apartment upstairs.  They looked strangely at us as if we were theives or maybe, spies.  Life in a small coastal Italian village is full of fun and surprises.

        

Many of you know our friend Brian Tracy.  This is a Be Positive Tshirt we've worn and carried to Italy so that he could see himself in far away places.  Brian is being treated for a brain tumor.  At the same time he an his wife Kim and family are preparing for the November arrival of the little girl they call Brim at the moment.  Anyway, Hi Brian.  We are waiting for you, Brim.

So, I wanted to say a few more things about driving in Italy.  I've talked about driving up and down the one lane road to the Rifugio from which we hiked.  But driving in general?  I developed a philosophy quite early:  when you have someone in back of you...pull off the road and let them by.  If you are on a multilane highway, pull into another lane and let the fast guys barrel on. About 130 Kph is about as fast as I care to go.   It works well, my new philosophy.  Coming from Auner Hof to Padua was an experience.  The going was mostly two lanes, one in each direction, up and down, up and down, mountain after mountain.  That wouldn't be bad except that the guys coming up or going down the other way always seem to flow over into our lane.  Makes those tight turns tricky.  Also, coming down toward Balzano, we navigated through many tunnels.  There was construction which made everyone slow down.  Not bad.  We were behind a huge semi truck that had quite a time navigating turns.  The truck was so tall that the top of it almost hit the top of every tunnel.  Going around turns it had to take up both the coming and going lanes.  There was once when we watched our truck and another semi pass one another.  The manuver was done a foot at a time.  At one point the two trucks were so close you couldn't have put your hand inbetween.  They came through unscathed.

When we finally got into Balzano, we followed the directions given by the lady who was calling them from Google Maps on Pam's phone.  Turning down a small side street, we found traffic at a standstill.  Three cars ahead there was a balcony that hung over the roadway.  The lead car going in our direction was manuvering up onto the sidewalk, so close it was almost scraping its side on a huge stone wall,  The delivery truck coming the opposite way was attempting to swing around a balcony over hanging the left lane.  It was either make this work or rip the balcony from what appeared to be a nonsubstantial support structure.  Slowly, slowly the truck made it around the balcony, the lead car (a police vehicle) in our line moved back onto the street from the sidewalk, traffic moved, and the day was saved.

Here are a few pictures from Padua in case you didn't see Pam's FaceBook post (if you did see it, sorry for this repeat).

Gelatto!

One of the statues in a frescoed hallway off the entry to the free university of Padua.  Students started this university with the idea that when a professor lectured well, students would pay at the end of the lecture.  If they didn't like the lecture, no pay!  How's that for a merit system?

The most famous lecturer at the university was Galileo Galilei.  His first job was to lecuture in Mathematics.  He was so popular and so well liked that his classes (attended by hundreds of students) were moved to the largest hall and a special platform was built so that Galileo could be seen and heard.

          The large lecture hall holding a modern day conference.  The large plaques on the wall were family crests of lecturers/professors.  Those were surrounded by crests of prominent students of that professor.  Galileo would have lectured from a position under the large crest on the wall to the right.  Students would have ranged in front of him in red velvet covered seats.

Lecturn believed to have been used by Galileo Galilei.  It would have been covered in some kind of fabric.

When we were in Padua it was graduation day for the medical college.  After a 20 minute interrogation/defense by a committee of 15-20 professors, a graduate would emerge into the courtyard to the cheers of family and friends.  Women graduates are presented with a laurel wreath for the head and men, a wreath around the neck.  As the party leaves from the university gates a small combo plays and celebrants sing, "Doctorre!  Doctorre!"  Quite a scene.

The first woman to ever earn a doctorate in philosophy from the university in the 1600's.  She was from a very wealthy family and it is presumed the high social standing was reason to grant her admission.  Her excellent scholarship earned her a degree.

 

A Life of Ease at Auener Hof

Tomorrow we will be in the Panda, driving down the mountain toward Bolzano and eventually arriving in Padua.  At the university there, Galileo Galilei was awarded the chair of mathematics.  In the meantime, how do we pass the hours here at Auener Hof?  Here are a few pictures from dinner last evening...

 First course is vegetable cake: note the two butters on the stone in the background.  The dark one is butter that has been mixed with ash from burned birch.  The other is regular butter with a wonderful pepper on top.

Fourth course of turbot and some delicious version of pureed carrots.

Exquisite wine pairings accompanied each of the five courses of dinner, including this wine, which was a blend of riesling and chardonnay.  Amazing!

Dessert...Gala-applemousse with crispy buckwheat towers and raspberry mint sherbet!

BUT!  That's not all.  When one returns to Auener Hof, weary from driving or fatigued from hiking, one can avail oneself of the spa...which we did.  Check this out...

Ooh...relax on anatomically supportive lounges gazing at a garden...

Or enjoy a pine and herb steam sauna or a Finnish sauna.

After the sauna you might want to try the "Adventure Shower"  (We're not making this up).  Pam demonstrates.  The bucket is ice cold water...quite an adventure.  The rest of the shower is warm and lovely.

Upstairs, you can enjoy a roll in the aromatherapy hayloft...

               or relax in a wonderful swing with a view of the surrounding countryside...

and then there's a leisurely soak in a hot tub with a 300 degree view of the Dolomites.

Oh yes, we will miss this place when we return to the 2-star places, but now?  

Time to shower for dinner!  Ciao!

Stoanerne Mandln

Wanderung zu den Stoanernen Mandln

We may be staying in one of the most beautiful and peaceful hotels we've ever enjoyed.  This is the splurge place of our Italian trip.  After an incredible meal last night (the restaurant earned a Michelin star but more about that in the next installment) we set off to hike to the Stoanernen Mandln...the place of the Stone Men.

Of course the hike was again straight up a rough road.  This morning Pam was more than willing to go slow and rest often.  We passed bucolic scenes of alpine life...sheep in a meadow, cows grazing the wet grass, chalet style rifugios, and along the way made the acquaintance of four beautful palomino horses.  Better than I can tell here are the pieces of the legnd of the Stoanernen Mandln taken from several internet sites:

Auf 2.000 m Meereshöhe in den Sarntaler Alpen befindet sich ein sagenumwobener Platz mit den Stoanernen Mandln...Opps.  English, please!

     

From the legendary ridge of the alpine pasture on the Hohen Reisch plateau,,,the views are considered to be among the best of the Sarntal Alps: you look out over the whole world of the Dolomites, all the way to Marmolada Mountain and the king of South Tyrol’s mountains, Mount Ortler. Even when the weather isn’t good, this hike is unforgettably magical: it makes the Stoanernen Mandeln (stone men) seem especially mysterious. The 100 randomly constructed stone statues are sometimes overwhelmingly large. These stacked-up piles of stones await hikers at the outlook point like a troop of soldiers. 

In other parts of South Tyrol, stones such as these serve as orientation and indicate which way the mountain trails run. In other cases, they were simply built by shepherds to pass the time. Actually, these stone men at 2,003 metres in altitude would be considered to be simply the result of shepherds passing the time were it not for the rock engravings and flint tools found here, which indicate Stone Age and medieval activity.   It is said that witches danced and devils revelled here, at an elevation of 2,000 metres, for about 500 years: stories were told about rainmaking and the eating of children. A court document dating from 1540, which accused the “witch” Barbara Pacheco of meeting devils and other witches up there, seems to be the origin of this sketchy theory. Ancient markings in the crevices support the idea that the outlook point was a Celtic ritual site thousands of years ago. The ascent from Auener Hof Farm takes 1.5 hours, and is quite manageable for experienced hikers. 

So, we acquitted ourselves as experienced hikers and enjoyed a good hour by ourselves wandering among the stone men.  In several places, Christian crosses have been placed in or among the stones.  One more example of Christians coopting indigenous religion?  Or it may be that these ancient stones serve as a foundation to whatever religions happened along next.  In any event, I was moved enough to dance here. Whirling slowly among the stone towers, humming bits of "Lord of the Dance," I felt perfectly at home.

                                I danced in the morning when the world was young 

                                    I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun 

                                I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth 

                                                  At Bethlehem I had my birth 

                                           Dance, dance, wherever you may be 

                                             I am the lord of the dance, said he 

                                          And I lead you all, wherever you may be 

                                           And I lead you all in the dance, said he 

With Enya singing gently into the waning afternoon here at Auner Hof...we'll leave you with the images of our hike.

Das Ende!  Language in this part of Italy is a mix of Italian, German, and Ladin--on the trail we try our best!