Week 11 - Caprarola, Bagnaia, Florence
Buongiorno, Friends, and Family!
This was another crazy busy week and also an extra exciting week because my parents were able to visit! I got to play tour guide and recited all that I had learned about Orvieto to my parents so they were able to get a similar experience that I had when I arrived. I may be sure they got to see all of the highlights of the city such as The Doumo and Orvieto Underground which I talked about in my first blog. Dad was fascinated by the amazing stonework of the Doumo but also by all the different styles around Orvieto. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to answer all of his questions that he had but I feel that he was definitely inspired by what he saw.
Aenya and I also made sure to show my parents some of our favorite restaurants around town. Mom was very concerned about getting to eat lasagna while in Italy but the restaurants we kept picking didn't ever have it on the menu while we were in Orvieto!
The restaurant "Grotto del Funaro" is a restaurant that is built underground in one of the Orvieto caves.
Aenya and I had to leave my parents for one afternoon while we went on a field trip to Caprarola and Bagnaia but my parents kept themselves busy by visiting Arezzo. (A town that Aenya and I haven't been to yet) On our field trip, we visited two more villas again with amazing stretching properties that flaunted wealth. The first villa we visited was Villa Farnese in Caprarola. This villa was also built in the Renaissance style around the 15th century and was built in a pentagon shape to be very defensive. The interior is completely decorated with frescoes and the detail is incredible. The villa is so large they actually split the building in two so one side of the villa could be used in the winter when the sun shined brighter and the other side was for the summer when it was more shaded.
In the interior of the Pentagon was a large central courtyard with a rainwater cistern in the center.
Walking up the grand staircase was mesmerizing and almost dizzying as we walked up the spiral staircase. It was simply impossible to capture all of the frescos in a single shot.
My favorite room in the villa was the map room that celebrated all of the explorers who traveled the world. Each wall had a detailed map of each of the continents and then one wall had the entire world pad which I pictured above. As you can see in this map even back in 1573 was fairly accurate. While everything is not entirely in proportion these are maps they created without satellites and without the internet which is incredible. Although you may notice that Australia hadn't yet been discovered.
The ceiling of the map room was decorated with different constellations and the different astrological symbols that go along with them.
Outside there was a huge garden that extended up a hill and had many sculptures and hedge patterns like the first picture shown.
The next villa we visited was in Bagnaia and was named Villa Lante. This was done a little later in the 16th century in the Mannerism style. Mannerism was the bridging art style between the Renaissance and Baroque. Mannerism reacted to Renaissance architecture by often exaggerating natural features and worrying less about perfect symmetry.
If you're interested in learning more about mannerism I'll include this link.
This villa had amazing fountains and beautiful hedge patterns. It's worth looking at the aerial view on Google Maps.
This weekend Aenya and I traveled to Florence with my parents which was great because it allowed us to be able to spend more time in Florence since the last time we were here we quickly left for Paris. On this trip, we visited the Academia Gallery where Michelangelo's David is located. Another fun fact is that this sculpture is also part of the Mannerism style.
Another room in the Acemdmia museum showcased hundreds of plaster sculptures that were used to practice the sculpture design before they were finally sculpted in marble. After they finished the plaster sculpture they would then take precise measurements that they copied when they carved in marble.
Another highlight of the day was going to get affogato. The dessert is vanilla gelato served with a shot of espresso. This is definitely something I will be recreating when I get back to the US.
That afternoon we took the long hike up the bell tower of the cathedral where we were treated with an amazing view of the dome and the sprawling city. One thing we discussed at the top was how all the houses in most Italian cities have terra cotta roofs. It seems like this is such a more sustainable roofing solution compared to the shingles we use back in the US that have to be replaced much more often.
My favorite meal I've had on this trip was the Florentine steak that Dad and I shared. The steak was absolutely massive and one of the unique things is that they serve the steak seared on the outside but very raw in the center. It was excellent but Dad and I both agreed we have had steaks this good if not better in Kansas.
Ponte Vecchio lit up at night. This bridge is well known for its gold jewelry stores that now decorate both sides of the bridge. But it also includes the secret passageway that the Medici family would use to get to and from their Palace.
The next day we visited the museum of the Florence Duomo which held many pieces of original art that decorated the Doumo. Now many of the original sculptures have been replaced to keep the Duomo looking its best and the originals are kept here or in storage. One of my favorite parts of this museum was seeing the original models that were used when designing the Duomo. They were all made of wood and clay and they made several different designs to be presented just like how I make several models before turning in my final project. It is really interesting that even though there are like 500 years between us the architecture design process is still very similar.
Underneath the Duomo were remains of the previous church that stood in its place. Under those remains there were remains of an earlier church and right next to that were ancient Roman ruins. History stacked on top of history!
The best part of being in Florence this weekend was that it was Easter weekend. On Saturday night we watched a parade take place in front of the Duomo where people were dressed up in traditional costumes. They were all marching to the beat of the drums and carried flags with symbols of the city. Pictured is the Lily (the symbol of Florence supposed to represent rebirth) dating back to the 11th century.
On Easter Sunday, Aenya and I watched The Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart"). This is how Florence has been celebrating Easter for over 500 hundred years. Four large Chianina (large white oxen) pull this cart into place in front of the Duomo. The cart is decorated with hundreds of fireworks and after the easter service is concluded in the Duomo, the priest lights a rocket in the shape of a dove that flies through the Duomo and into the cart lighting the fireworks. You may think this is completely strange and not the correct way to celebrate Easter, but I would ask you is hiding Easter eggs and eating chocolate bunnies any less weird than this celebration? I was so glad I got to experience this tradition and I would highly recommend watching this video so you can see it for yourself!
I hope you enjoyed this recap it was certainly a busy week to fit into one post!
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