Loooooong time, no pictures...

I have, obviously, not posted in quite a while (a few months, to be exact), and for that, I am sorry. I have no other excuse except the busyness of the term. However, in that time, I've gotten visitors from around the world, literally, so hello, salve, witaj, guten tag, goedendag, ni hao, bonjour, shalom, ciao, hola, dia duit, etc. I hope to upload the rest of the Italy pictures over break, but for now, here's a few of the beautiful leaves in the Shenandoah Valley.

Apologies...

I am in the midst of packing/moving/driving/unpacking and getting ready for classes so I won't have a new post until at least this weeked - sorry in advance, and hopefully once this year gets underway I'll have a bit more free time!

Firenze!

I am finally in Florence, and all I can say is that it is completely surreal and absolutely wonderful. I took a taxi from the train station and so went right by the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio and it was all I could do to keep from telling the driver to stop! From my apartment, I can see the Palazzo Vecchio and I’m literally on the doorstep of the Uffizi, which makes me incredibly happy. I plan to go walk around later to take everything in and bask in the fact that I am in really in Florence. In the morning, I’m going to make my first trip to the Uffizi (I got an Amici degli Uffizi card, so I can go anytime I want, as many times as I want - very, very dangerous).

Also, thank you all again for all the emails/Facebook/text messages - your advice, encouragement, and well wishes mean so much!

The Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dei Lanzi

Orsanmichele! Unfortunately the interior was closed due to ongoing restoration.

Quattro Coronati

Saint Mark

St. George - my favorite

Doubting Thomas

Il Duomo!

The Campanile

The Baptistery

Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise"

Cantoria by Luca della Robbia, another of my favorites.

The iconic dome

Santa Croce

Dante - somehow I don't think he'd be too happy about this statue.

Gelato count: 7

Spoleto

I spent today in Spoleto, another Umbrian hill town south of Assisi. It was oppressively hot today, so I waited until later in the afternoon to sightsee. The town was mostly empty, so I got to see the frescoes by Fra Fillippo Lippi in the Duomo undisturbed. Storms had been building all afternoon and rain finally came pouring down while I was inside the Cathedral, creating a break in the temperature. After it stopped raining, I walked further uphill to the Ponte delle Torri, a striking medieval bridge built over a Roman aqueduct. From that vantage point, I had fabulous views over Spoleto and the valley as well as the bridge and Rocca, a late medieval fortress. There was a fairly strong breeze which actually made it feel chilly - such a nice change after feeling like I’ve been living in a furnace! While I enjoyed Spoleto and found it very pretty, there was less to see than I had hoped as the museums were already closed for August.

The Palazzo Comunale

The Duomo

The Duomo - S. Maria Assunta

Rose window with telemones

Thirteenth-century mosaic depicting Christ enthroned

Apse frescoes, completed in part by Filippo Lippi, whose tomb is in the Cathedral

Detail of the Coronation of the Virgin

Altar in one of the side chapels with a frescoed front depicting Christ as the Vir Dolorum (Man of Sorrows)

View of Spoleto from above on the walk to the Ponte delle Torri

The fourteenth-century Rocca Albornoziana which was used as a jail in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The scenic Ponte delle Torri, definitely of medieval construction, but which may or may not be built over Roman foundations.

View of the hills and storm clouds around Spoleto from the Ponte delle Torri

Assisi, Part Two

Bella Assisi, nothing I write and none of the pictures I’ve taken can convey just how wonderful this town is, especially in the evening when it’s peaceful and there’s a beautiful Umbrian sunset framing the Basilica. St. Francis’ greeting, Pax et Bonum, peace and all good, I think articulates the character of Assisi best of all. As I write this, I am sitting on the terrace of the convent and the nuns have just begun their evening prayers (I guess this would be compline?).

Today I braved the hills, inclines, and undulating terrain of the town to see most of the major sites, starting with the Duomo, dedicated to Saint Rufino (Rufus?), who brought Christianity to Assisi in the third century. On the way there, I passed the Temple of Minerva, a beautifully preserved first century Roman temple, now converted into a church.

Temple of Minerva in the Piazza del Comune

The Duomo has a very pretty exterior with an intricately carved door and pretty rose window, below which are three carved figures who appear to be holding up the church. The inside is plain and holds in the font in which St. Francis, St. Clare, and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II were baptized.

Cathedral of San Rufino

The rose window, "supported" by three telemones

Romanesque lunette over the main door with Christ, Mary, and San Rufino on the left

It was obvious that today was going to be another hot day, so I decided to make the trek up to the Rocca Maggiore, a medieval fortress which overlooks Assisi and the valley below. The walk took about half an hour, almost all uphill, though nothing too steep and the views were well worth the climb.

Rocca Maggiore from the Cathedral

Street which follows the outline of the Roman amphitheatre

Rocca Maggiore

View of Assisi and Santa Chiara from Rocca Maggiore

The Basilica from above

Gorgeous scenery

The walk back down to Assisi was all downhill, so within ten minutes, I found myself back in town at the Basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Clare), one of Francis’ followers who founded the Poor Clares, the female branch of the Franciscans. Clare’s church is basically a miniature copy of the Francis’ basilica across town, with the addition of buttresses along the walls of the nave to prevent the collapse of the building due to a poor foundation. The interior of the church has remained mostly unadorned, in contrast to San Francesco. What I found most startling is that Clare’s body is on display in the crypt below, laid out in a glass coffin for all to see. Now, I understand the whole saint/relic thing, and can appreciate it even if I don’t agree with it. But really, an entire body?

The Church of St. Clare

Buttresses supporting the church

After that semi-traumatizing event, I came back to the hotel for a few hours since everything shuts at mid-day to avoid the heat. Later in the afternoon, I visited the Pinacoteca, which has some very nice medieval paintings, including two crucifixion scenes, both from the Confraternity of Santa Maria del Vescovato, about which I know absolutely nothing, but hope to find out more.

Crucifixion from Santa Maria del Vescovato

Fragment of a fresco depicting the Crucifixion, also from S. Maria del Vescovato

I spent the rest of the afternoon back at the Basilica of San Francesco taking in the frescoes again. In the Upper Basilica, each of the frescoed scenes is divided by painted pillars and molding, done with perspective in mind so there’s a tromp l’oeil effect and it looks like they’re three-dimensional instead of flat on a wall. There’s also a set of beautiful wooden choir stalls which also utilize tromp l’oeil, this time with wood so that the backs of the stalls appear to have doors or shelves for books. As beautiful as the church is, though, I can’t help but think that St. Francis would be appalled at the opulence spilled out in his name.

Gelato count: 6