Yes, of course I realize that this is Sarah's birthday. I will talk more about that in another posting. Right now I would like to talk about what Sarah and I did before the birthday festivities. First of all, like I had all week, I woke up extra early (around 6 am without an alarm clock, can you imagine?) to watch some Olympic excitement. It seemed like the only time that good sporting events were on without being constantly interrupted by the panels of "experts" that just wanted to talk for hours about some Italian judo competitor who didn't make it to the medal round, was early in the morning.
Around 10:30am, after watching the U.S. men's teams win the indoor volleyball and basketball gold medals, Sarah and I began the arduous 0.05 mile trek to the Palazzo Vecchio which serves as Florence's town hall.
It was begun in 1299 and has changed names over the years as the leadership of Florence has changed. First it was the Palazzo della Signoria (it's in the Piazza della Signoria) after the Signoria which was the ruling body of the Florentine Republic. It was also called the Palazzo del Popolo (people), Palazzo del Priori (the priori were the nine members of the Signoria), and Palazzo Ducale (for the Duke of Florence after the fall of the Republic). Finally, after the Medici dukes moved into the Palazzo Pitti across the Arno, it became known as the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace).
This is the main chamber called the Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred), which was built under the direction of Savonarola who sent the Medici into exile and was later excommunicated and executed in the Piazza Signoria.
The walls of the Salone are covered by huge frescoes of Florentine victories over Siena and Pisa. One of them, seen above, is said to be covering up an unfinished work by Leonardo da Vinci called The Battle of Anghiari. One of Sarah's professors, Dr. Rab Hatfield, and an Italian expert in high-technology art analysis, Maurizio Seracini, are working to prove that it is under the fresco. Obviously no one wants to remove the late 16th century frescoes unless they know for sure what is under them. Professor Hatfield wrote a book called Finding Leonardo that makes a case for recovering Leonardo's painting.
Sarah looks up at one of the lavishly decorated rooms.
The Studiolo of Francesco I (named for Francesco I de'Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany) is covered by 34 paintings.
I believe that this was the chapel of Eleanora of Toledo who was the wife of Cosimo I de'Medici, making her the Duchess of Tuscany.
This shield in the corner shows Eleanora's coat of arms, including the balls of the Medici family that can be seen all over Tuscany.
This is Cosimo il Vecchio (the Elder), not to be confused with Cosimo Primo (the First). He was the first of the Medici political dynasty. Cosimo I de'Medici (1519-1574) was the first Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cosimo il Vecchio's father Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici (1360-1429) was the first to enter banking on his own and be influential in Florentine politics. But it was Cosimo il Vecchio (1389-1464) that became the unofficial head of the Florentine Republic.
This is The Hall of Geographical Maps. It was also called the Wardrobe and was where the Medici kept their precious belongings.
The 53 maps on the walls (like this one of Italy) were painted by a Dominican monk and show the knowledge of geography in the 16th century. The huge globe in the center of the room was ruined by too many restoration attempts.
This is where giant elephants live and play.
This is a medieval bathroom.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
This stairway is guarded by a vicious saramonster that lives in a hole in the ceiling.
1 comment:
The house of geological maps? Why not just refer to it as Ed Hall?
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