It’s Grand Prix weekend at San Marino and big nephew Rory and three of our friends from England have come to squeeze into our tiny flat for the week. The weather is typically ‘April like,’ however one of the guys has bought me a ticket for the Grand Prix and I get to have my first taste of the local speciality, ‘Bistecca alla Fiorentina’ a 22llb T-bone steak! Apart from the weekend, we are mostly working, but they have hired a car and get to visit some cool places: Rome, Bologna, Siena, San Gimignano and the Ferrari factory at Maranello.
Poggio a Caiano
I’m reading a book at the moment about the Medici. The Medici were Florence’s most famous family dynasty who ruled over Tuscany between the 14th and 18th century. At one time they were probably the wealthiest family in Europe, their wealth coming from textiles and banking. Fortunately for us, they provided generous patronage to the arts and were a key to funding the Renaissance art movement. During this time, in addition to commissioning countless works of art which today have become famous masterpieces, they also had many country villas built around Tuscany.
Today we have decided to visit one of those villas, probably the most famous, the villa at Poggio a Caiano, which is a small town to the west of Florence. The villa is spectacular. Built for Lorenzo, called ‘the Magnificent,’ Medici, by the architect Giuliano da Sangallo, although the staircase was added later. We go inside too, where there are some wonderful Greek themed frescoes by Pontormo, Del Sarto and Fra Bartolomeo. The rooms are lavishly furnished, as this was also a county residence of King Vittorio Emanuele. There is also a small theatre and billiard room too. Outside, the gardens are pretty wild, the Limonaia is cool as are the huge Cedar trees. One can just imagine Florence’s first family, the Medici, spending some relaxing summers here...
Lucca
We drive on to Lucca, where we meet up with Rory and the guys. Lucca was one of our favourite cities from our holiday a few years ago. I follow my nose to the remnants of a food festival and we are treated to some free wine, homemade bread and cakes! We stroll through the elegant streets, past the pretty Romanesque Cathedral soaking up the atmosphere before heading back home, where some of the others have knocked up a big dinner for us!
To be continued...
(Original journal entry 17$/02)
No comments:
Post a Comment