,
Meandering
along the cobblestoned pathways of medieval Firenze is akin to jumping feet
first into a picturesque art history book, enabling you to traverse (and
perhaps even converse) with the artistic geniuses of yesteryear. Even if
you haven’t a clue as to who Michelangelo, Botticelli, Dante or Machiavelli are,
you will be besotted and mesmerized by the sheer magnificence of the incredible
artwork that is virtually plastered all over this gem of a city. Every nook and cranny is either ornately
carved or painstakingly handcrafted by long gone artisans, their creative
energies visually seeping out of any and all buildings that your eye happens to
gaze upon. Whether it be architect Filippo
Bruneschelli’s masterpiece - the gilded dome and marble panelled cathedral in
centrally located Piazza del Duomo - or a generations old family run trattoria,
one cannot help being overcome with an achingly poignant sense that you are
surrounded by the stuff that history books are made of. It was this powerful yet intangible feeling
that accompanied me on my promenades whilst in the birthplace of the
renaissance. Having studied medieval
history, it felt as if the pages of my beloved books had miraculously sprung to
life, gifting me the opportunity of a glimpse into an era that I had not been
born into, but one which I had now become an integral part of.
Ambling
across dusty and ancient Ponte Vecchio, with its multitude of jewellery shops,
food stuffs and tacky souvenir vendors, I pondered what it would have been like
to be a medieval Florentine woman bartering for sustenance to feed her
family. Consumed by managing daily
household tasks and grueling physical chores, was she oblivious to the
stirrings and rumblings of emerging renaissance and humanist thinkers such as
Francis Bacon, Erasmus and Copernicus,
whose achievements helped alter man’s perception of the world?
Gazing across
the Arno River on a star-lit night, I wondered whether that Florentine woman
would have possibly been as wonder-struck by the twinkling stars as was the
astronomer, Galileo, who perhaps was standing on the same bridge as her,
transfixed by the yet to be discovered distant galaxies.
Had she any
idea that DaVinci was about to portrait the Mona Lisa, or that Michelangelo’s “David” was on the cusp of emerging from
a slab of yet formless marble? Had she
any inkling that the cobblestoned pathways on which she trod would one day be
trampled by masses of humanity – from tourists to students to historians to
stragglers – all eager to immerse themselves in the creative soul of Florence,
hopeful that they too might be blessed with even a glimmer of the artistic
genius that inspired the great renaissance thinkers?
Or am I just
getting way ahead of myself once again, lost in my thoughts, almost forgetting
to appreciate the here and now, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty, wonder
and architecture of magnificent Firenze?
Come leap
into history and discover the renaissance in Florence with me….
Next week –
What adventures lie ahead? Stay
tuned!!
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