Chapel of the Magi

 The Medici's

I have talked of the food in Florence, yes the food was a life changing experience for us, we ouu'd and ahh'd our way through every single meal.  The food was incredibly memorable, but you see the reason we traveled to Florence from the very beginning was because of the art.  Oh the art !!  I could write at least a dozen blog posts about the art in Florence.  After all it was the birth place of the Renaissance, that is, thanks to a man unknown to me until a few years ago.  Cosimo de Medici has been called the godfather of the Renaissance for good reason, he and his families contributions and patronage to countless artists in Europe created an industry of sorts that kept artists working and creating for over 3 generations.  Cosimo is alone responsible for Filippo Brunelleschi's dome, but that is a story for later. The list of artists given patronage by the Medici's include, Bernini, Michelangelo,  Sandro Botticelli and Donatello to name just a few.

               

        Cosimo de Medici                                                     

Of all the art of Florence, even above Michelangelo's David, my heart was stopped, no captured forever, by the frescoes  of Benozzo Gozzoli's Chapel of the Magi.  The Medici's power and wealth was vast and this chapel was created to show all who visited it that they were as close to God as one could come.  Commissioned by Piero de Medici, the chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi was the families private chapel for prayer and service.  The brilliant trick to these frescoes was that in the faces of the crowd proceeding with the magi and in fact the magi themselves are those of the Medici's and their most loyal friends.  Brilliant !!

There is no natural light in this small family chapel perhaps that explains the vivid colors that remain in the frescoes.  The queue begins in the courtyard of the palazzo and only 15 people are permitted in the room at time for a maximum of 10 minutes.  Blessed beyond words, on the day we were visiting the queue was none existent !  On our first trip through we were with 5 other people, when we exited and arrived back in the courtyard the docent told us we were welcome to see the chapel again if we liked.  Brian and I had a full 20 minutes  to ourselves in this magnificent room, except for the attendant in a small nook keeping an eye on us.  No pictures ! and as guests in this country we always followed the rules.  Our answer to not having any photos to cherish was to buy several books in the gift shop, support the Palazzo and take some treasures home.

There is endless speculation regarding who the faces belong to in these frescoes, names long lost, perhaps the favorite gardener or cook, or the occasional illegitimate son,   many have been identified beyond dispute including several of  the Medici's and the artist Gozzoli himself.  This was not an unusual practice for the artists of this era, Botticelli's image was added to several of his works and Raphael made it a major practice to honor outstanding figures of his time in his frescoes in the Vatican apartments (yet another wonderful tale to tell).

Can you find the corresponding faces in the fresco above ?

Cosimo de Medici (in the red cap)

Piero de Medici

Lorenzo de Medici

The artist himself Benozzo Gozzoli

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Dining with Florentines

 

The food in Tuscany for us was unsurpassed anywhere so far on the entire globe.  We are wondering if any of our future sojourns will prove us wrong, but we are very willing to continue the hard work and research such that it is.

Looking back on our recent trip to Italy conjures up so many delicious visual and olfactory memories.  While contemplating and  planning our next adventure Brian and I took the time to compare notes on our most memorable gastronomic moments in Florence.  We both agreed hands down, and simultaneously I might add, that the liver pate in the nearby deli over the Arno was TO DIE FOR.   Funnily enough we both shouted  out "olives !!!" at each other when we mentioned our next favorite food.

 Of course we cannot forget to mention our dinner with the Florentines where we were treated to the experience that is bistecca alla fiorentina, Florentine steak.  This lovely group of locals, one of which is related to my dear friend Heidi, met us at our hotel and walked us through Florence to their favorite restaurant.  Mind you this was a place that locals eat and one we never would have pulled out of our hats if left to our own devices.  The language barrier was a small challenge I had very little Italian and Paola Romanini and Monica Matteini were much more successful with their  English thank goodness.  Regardless of the small barrier, there was amazing food, fabulous wine and huge belly laughs throughout the night.

  The Tuscan porterhouse steak was better than any beef I have ever experienced, served pre-cut on a wooden platter, a delicious juicy piece of meat.  Our Italian friends were brilliant in their wine choices, saving us stumbling through the wine list, and Brian and I had the chance to taste our first grappa, a sweet warm liquorish tasting grape based brandy you dip biscotti into.   I cannot say enough about the warm and embracing welcome we felt from this lovely group of locals, after dinner they walked us all the way back to our hotel so that we would not get lost.  Along the way while passing through the Piazza della Repubblica we were given the chance to ensure our return to Florence.  Near the Loggia del Marcato Nuovo, know by locals as loggia del Porcellino we met il porcellino himself.  A bronze fountain of a boar dating 1634 sits adjacent to the market, it is said that by rubbing il porcellino's snout you will once again in your life time visit Florence.  By the appearance of the pigs nose Florence will be a very busy place for some time to come.  We happily gave the snout a hardy rub, and put a coin in his mouth to drop through the grate below for good luck.    Thanks Paola and Monica for a wonderful evening, you were both kind beyond words and Florence would not have been as memorable without our "dinner with Florentines."

Grazie ai nostri amici fiorentini, inviamo il nostro amore a tutti voi.

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