The Market & Trash

The Central Market (Mercato Centrale)
Here's a sign on the wall when we enter the Mercato.  In fact this sign can be seen all over Florence, and from what we've been told, is now the law of all of Italy.

Italy has passed a law that states no one may smoke in a public place including restaurants.  We have not seen this law broken much to our pleasure.  The way a lot of restaurants get around the law is to have an outdoor area even in the winter, that is enclosed with plastic when cold and open air when the temperature allows.  Now if you have ever been to Italy, you know that this is a big change.  All of Italy used to be one big chimney of cigarette smoke.  Now you see people on the streets smoking, but no one in buildings lights up.

Now back to shopping at the Mercato Centrale, our favorite place to shop.  If you live in an area that has a major vendors' market like Boston, Cleveland, New York or any other major city in America, then you can understand the makings of the Mercato Centrale.  It is a bunch of vendors indoors in a huge warehouse.  Everyone has a specialty.  There are meats and cheeses, sweets, even just pasta.
Below is one specialty that we hope never to visit, but very popular in Florence.  It's the left-over parts of the animal such as tripe, intestines, all that good stuff......

It's hard for us to believe that this guy makes a living selling this stuff, but he does and it's a good one.

This is even more difficult for us to believe.  Above is a Tripperia and all this guy sells is tripe!  Now that's really specialized.

But there are other places that we do like in the mercato such as

DOLCI!!!!!!!!!!

This vendor also sells breads and some candies.  She's a favorite.  Thank goodness there is a lot of walking to be done in Florence or we would have to be rolled back to American.

We also shop at a little grocery store down the street for everyday type stuff.  They have a deli and some produce when we don't get to the supermercato.  Italian cooks very often shop everyday for fresh produce.  But the mercato closes everyday at 2 (14:00 Italian time) except on weekends.  One day we glanced in the frozen section in this little store and saw this box of pizza.  I suspect they think that Americans eat one kind of pizza and this is it.  

But today we did get to the mercato and, while there, bought a couple of sandwiches and decided to go outside on such a beautiful day and eat while sitting on some great big concrete planters that doubled as benches.  As we looked up we were reminded that Italians have come to love their automatic washing machines, but never saw the need for dryers.  

So we ate our sandwiches and listened to the music played by the strolling musicians at the different restaurants until there were too many pigeons eying our food and too many gypsies begging for money.

What Happens to Our Trash?
I'm sure you were wondering this all the time you were reading our blog.  Well, now you'll find out!  (OK, it was a slow day.)   There are all kinds of workers running around Florence (mostly at night) picking up trash and keeping the streets clean.  They do an amazing job, considering the hordes of messy tourists that come through each day.  A lot of businesses just put or leave their trash out on the curb and it magically disappears.  However, Maria Chiara, our landlady, said we were to take our garbage and recycling to some of the many colored bins that are located around the city, every couple of blocks.  The closest to us are at Mercato Centrale and are of three types as shown below: Blue is for cans, glass, and plastic, all together.  As far as I can tell, all kinds of plastic go in.  There isn't any label saying "only #1 or #2" like at home. Yellow is for paper and cardboard.  You can see one man dutifully dumping his in.

 

Grey bins are for everything else: "Rifiuti non Differenziati", regular trash. 

Also I got a neat photo (at least for garbage lovers) of a small garbage truck filling up a larger truck right in the middle of a busy street.

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On Thursday we plan on going to Fiesole outside of Florence with its Roman ruins.  It's also where the rich go in the summer to escape the heat because it's up higher in the hills.

Capelle Medicee (Medici Chapel)

Last week we went to the Capelle Medicee one afternoon after school.  The spelling puzzles me, since everywhere else it's "Medici" but this may be an archaic spelling that has persisted.  It's attached to the Basilica San Lorenzo, which we described in an earlier post, but has a separate entrance now, so, of course, a separate admission fee can be charged.  It was worth it; it's quite spectacular. Designed by Michelangelo to be the resting place for many of the royal Medici family,  no expense was spared.  Four Michelangelo statues grace some of the sepulchers there.  No photos were allowed, so I only got a few shots (you read right!  Theresa was my lookout and everyone else seemed to feel free to take pictures as the guards looked the other way.), but they indicate the grandeur.  Marble and other beautiful stone (called "pietra dura" here) covered every square inch (or centimeter) in ornate patterns.

The relatively unassuming exterior of the Medici Chapel.

The very impressive interior. They were having a temporary exhibition of paintings done around 1600 in honor of the assassination of  French king Henry IV who was in tight with the Medici's (since he married not one, but two Medici's).

The stunning ceiling, with scenes from the Old and New Testaments

 the in-laid floor which actually got completed in the 1960s

And the Pietra Dura altar panels. This photo doesn't do justice to

them.

As you have probably guessed by now, the Medicis' pretty much ran Firenze for many years.  When the family was downsized to only one woman with no heirs, she left the family fortune and artwork to the city.  I suspect anyone who has ever been here is very grateful to that woman. 

Festa dell'Annunciazione

March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation (when the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she's going to give birth to Jesus) and while it's not an important day for Protestants, it's a big deal for Catholic countries.  In fact, for many years it marked the beginning of the new calendar year presumably because of its significance in the life of Jesus.  So it's referred to locally (at least on the tourist info) as "Capodanno" or New Years.  It wasn't until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, late in England - 1750's - that the day was changed (back, as the Romans had used) to January 1. Of course, with Florence being a Catholic (and tourist) town, this day is a big deal.  Any excuse for a festival!  I went out to see what went on that afternoon.

There was a procession of men and women in Renaissance-type costumes that wound its way from Piazza Repubblica to Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, about 1/4 mile away.  They had:

Flags

Trumpets

Three women, this one with flowers

A dour-looking dude with THE BOOK (I suppose, a Bible) who actually had a very nice smile

And lots of people watching

Despite all the apparent formality it was quite informal.  As they wound through the narrow streets people and acquaintances wandered in and out and chatted with the paraders. 

As they entered the Piazza della S.S Annunziata I got some video that captures the effect pretty well.

The piazza was filled with vendors selling typical festival trinkets.  At least half of the stalls were selling "brigidini", a kind of sweet, licorice-flavored chip that were made on the spot from batter.  The vendor proudly told me they could only be found in Toscano, not in Italy.

brigidini displayed on the wonderful picture created by Luna

When the parade reached the church every one (including the bystanders) filed in and filled an anteroom (cloister) with old frescos on the walls.  Some of the paraders went into the church proper, so I followed, and it was a "Who" concert waiting to happen!  We were all jammed cheek by jowl in the back of the church around a chapel where mass was being celebrated.  The church was quite ornate but dark inside; I didn't get photos since it didnt seem appropriate, but I'm sure you can find some on the net by Googling "Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, Firenze". I didn't stay until the end, but was told that the parade would reassemble and march back to where it started after the mass.

A Visit to a Friend in Milan

Last weekend we took a train trip to Milan to visit a friend who, some years ago when she was a senior in high school, spent a year with us as an exchange student.  We have corresponded over the years, visited her and her family, and she invited us to come visit when we were in Italy.

Milan is about 185 miles from Florence by train and on the "Frecciarossa" (Red Arrow) high speed train it took us only 1 hr 45 minutes, for an average speed of about 105 mph, including one stop along the way in Bologna, so the normal cruising speed was even higher.  Most of the first leg through the mountains to Bologna was through tunnels, but the longer second leg was on the flat Po valley.  The train was quite crowded and we couldn't get seats together even though we had reserved them several days in advance.  Still beats driving.  Maybe someday, America...


Laura actually lives in a suburb of Milan near Monza, where the famous auto races take place.  Since most of the buildings are relatively recent, last 25 years or so, it has a distinctly different look to it than central Florence.  There are actually some vacant lots!  She lives in a lovely apartment in a newly developed area with her adorable seven-year-old daughter Luna.  Here Luna is giving us a present of her choosing.....giant coffee cups.  Almost every coffee cup in Italian looks diminutive by American standards.  We now use Luna's cups almost daily.  Above is Ione, Laura's wonderful mother, Laura who looks like she did when she lived with us in 1989, Theresa, who doesn't look like she did in 1989, and Luna.

Mauro, Laura's older brother, also spent the day with us and a wonderful day it was.  Laura and her mother cooked us a typical Milanese meal.  What a treat!  The Bolzonis' also gave Theresa a cookbook with fabulous recipes.  The book is written in Italian but, by the looks of the pictures, we'll be wanting to understand and use it in no time.

They also gave us three CDs of music from the North, South and Middle of Italy.  Mauro assured us that the best is Northern Italian music. 

Laura's father is very ill and has been for 3 years.  It was a special treat to see her mother as Ione cares for her own aging mother and is often at the nursing home where Gianni is.  We loved every minute we spent with our wonderful family in Milano, but missed Gianni Bolzoni's presence. 

Laura and her mother, Ione.

Laura and Mauro took us to Monza.  Here we are in front of Monza's Duomo.  There has been a church here since about 600AD, though the current one dates from around 1300-1500.  One of the chapels is supposed to contain one of the nails used at the Crucifixion, and there are some relics from around 600.  It is spectacular both inside and out.  Duomo is another word for cathedral and there are many throughout Italy.  This one had every wall surface painted with the most beautiful artwork. Since there were services going on (Sat evening) we couldn't do photos.

The facade of Monza's Duomo

Maura, Laura and Luna.  Luna absolutely adores her Zio (uncle) Mauro.

Italian homes are, on the average, smaller than American homes and there is a shortage of housing.  Every space is well-planned.  Here is Laura's "shoe rack".  It's next to another one that is closed.  Her apartment had many modular features such as the compact kitchen below.  The long vertical cabinet is actually the refrigerator.  Most of the pieces can be moved if she moves.  The coffee maker on the counter is quite a piece of machinery!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the courtyard at Laura's condo.  Italians love their greenery and window and balcony gardens always make an appearance.

Laura works at Roche Pharmaceuticals as a quality control auditor.   Ken was thrilled to see the row after row of solar panels over the parking lot that help generate electricity for the large plant.  By his count there are about 1000 solar electric panels there, a multi-million euro (or dollar) investment.

One of Luna's favorite dishes......mussels.  We went to a restaurant in Monza...absolutely fabulous!  They were noted for their antipasti bar and their desserts.  You didn't just order one dessert........

You ordered desserts!  The waiter would bring over a selection of at least 5 and a huge dish of candies for children. Notice that our group dug into the chocolate desserts and left the vanilla ones for those less discriminating.   This array of treats also included liqueurs of Italy.  We were one happy (and full!) group when we left.

Notte Tricolore (Tricolor Night)

This year is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy (1861).  It's ironic that their unification happened the same year as the US's dis-unification.  So this year they decided to celebrate Italian Unity Day (its a brand  new holiday).  Now, if you know anything about Italy, it's not really all that unified, so the name "Italian Unity" is pretty much an oxymoron.  The different regions of Italy speak different dialects, particularly in the unindustrialized south, and have had different historical trajectories, so unity is much more nebulous than in the States.  But after much controversy, it was decided to celebrate this year.

One things that has been surprising about Unity Day is the large number of Italian flags that are being displayed.  There's even one hanging from our courtyard.

In past visits to Italy it's been rare to find a flag; Tre tried to buy a little one for Dan some years ago and there were none to be had.

The official day of celebration chosen was today, March 17.  So today there's no school.  Stores were supposed to be closed, too, but most seem to have ignored that.  We're getting a much needed rest today after participating in last night's Notte Tricolore (Night of 3 Colors) festivities.  Most museums were open free in the evening (and so were mobbed) and everybody was out on the streets and piazze to celebrate and listen to music or watch different groups parade by.

After dinner last night we walked down to the Piazza della Signoria, probably the most well-known piazza in Florence, where the Palazzo Vechhio is and the giant statues of Neptune and David and more.

Palazzo Vecchio at night with tricolor lighting (hard to see)

Neptune fountain in P. della Signoria at night

There under the Loggia, amid Roman and Renaissance statues the "Philharmonic Orchestra of Giaocchino Rossini" - actually a concert band by our definition - played music from the Risorgimento, the period of cultural resurgence that accompanied the unification of Italy in the mid 1800's.

Band under the Loggia amid statuary

They were a top-notch band and while the weather wasn't the greatest - chilly and threat of showers - the spirits and the music were great and we listened for quite a while.  Of course, the high point of the concert was Verdi's "Va, Pensiero" from his opera "Nabucco". This is a kind of unofficial national anthem for at least the northern part of Italy.  I recorded a part of it on the movie below.  It was quite stately and moving, and you could hear an undercurrent of people singing to it.

 We asked one man how he knew all the words to the song and did he learn it in school.  He told us that if he loved his homeland, he felt he had to be able to sing "Va, Pensiero".  "I love this land.  I know the song."

There were also marching groups playing jazz, American pop songs, and drums.  One group was dressed in renaissance costumes with a flag twirling contingent.  In Florence we think that as many tights are sold to men as to women thanks to dressing up in medieval dress.

Here's  video of the same group:

We treated ourselves to some gelato and walked back to another musical event, this time indoors and sitting down (thank heavens!).  We entered the Palazzo Bastogi which is along the street next to ours, went up to the "first" floor (European numbering starts one above ground floor) and were ushered into a fabulous salon with an enormous chandelier and painted walls and ceiling. I didn't think photos were appropriate, but you can see a few interiors at:

http://www.consiglio.regione.toscana.it/istituzione/palazzi/Palazzo/bastogi.asp

since it's now the home of the Tuscan Regional Tourist Council.  The second, third, and fourth photos on the site are from this room when music wasn't being played. The music turned out to be quite modern and challenging and again, superbly performed by a group of 7 performers: soprano, violin, cello, clarinet, flute, percussion, and piano.  Something we had never seen before.......the soprano, a lovely young woman, was having to sing a very difficult and dissonant piece nowhere in the key of the musicians.  She held a tuning fork up to her ear before she started each part of her solo.  She often had to sing long stretches unaccompanied and with great emotion which she did extremely well.

There were many other kinds of music at other venues around the city - rock, classical guitar, chorus, swing, and given the proximity to St Patty's Day, Irish.  These went on until all hours (we didn't!) and there were fireworks at 12:30 AM.  It was quite a bash and I'm sure we'll have to be prepared to try to describe our experiences in Italian class tomorrow.  But today we rest.

 Not all purses are created equal.  There is a store on our block that has these furry purses in the window and they are truly butt ugly. (Much worse than this picture looks!) All of them look like something that would crawl away if you put it down.  Just goes to prove that even in beautiful Florence there is something that quite doesn't cut it. 

San Lorenzo

On Tuesday we walked to the Church of San Lorenzo not far from us.  No pictures could be taken inside the church.  The massive paintings were exquisite and the works of  Donatello very much in evidence.  Almost every painting was from the Renaissance except one we especially liked from the 1900s.  It was the only modern one in the bunch and depicted St. Joseph teaching Jesus the child about carpentry.  In the background was the slight image of a cross.  It's by Pietro Annigoni.who was born in 1910.

 

No, we didn't break the rule of "NO PHOTOS!"  The picture above and the next two are post cards that we photographed.  

 

The altar in this church was all inlaid marble.  While the picture doesn't due it justice, you can still see some of the detail of this incredible piece of art.

Below is the aisle that goes down the center of San Lorenzo.  It's surprisingly bright inside,much moreso than the Duomo, and much more decorated with art.  This is because San Lorenzo was the home church of the Medici's and they wanted to be sure everyone knew it!  The church was rebuilt under the direction of Brunelleschi (more famous for the Duomo's dome) in the 1400's and Michelangelo did several projects here later.

 

 There are all sorts of works done by Donatello such as carvings above doorways and two large boxes that are now used as pulpits.  Since Donatello died before he told them what they were for, no one has a clue as to how he wanted them used.  They could have been tombs, choir stalls, who knows what.  The guard told us that it was Donatello's wish to sleep for the rest of eternity.  From the looks of it, he got his wish.  Cosmo di Medici, probably the most famous benefactor of Florentine art, is buried in an important looking gravesite in the transept of the church while Donatello is in the basement of what is now the Tesoro di San Lorenzo (Treasures of St. Laurence.) next door to the church in a very unassuming gravesite.  The Tesoro housed all sorts of supposed relics of saints.  If you've never seen one, they are usually large gilded and silver pieces often a foot or two high that  have a tiny piece of bone embedded in it.  If all the relics were real artifacts of the particular saint, the saint would have to be about 10 feet tall and made mostly of bone. 

The courtyard (cloisters) of the Tesoro had a lovely bitter orange tree with lots of fruit and a beautiful view of the Duomo and bell tower. 

Oddly, the outside of San Lorenzo never received a finished facade so it has a rather humble ragged stone exterior that conceals the beauty inside.  There is also the very famous Medici Chapel attached to San Lorenzo where many of the Medici are buried in elegant tombs, but it has a separate entrance fee (of course!) and we didn't have time to go there that day.

 

 

 

Some observations on electricity in Florence  - 

For a while we thought we were giving up electricity for Lent!  The apartment is quite underpowered by American standards, and while it has a reasonable number of electrical sockets scattered around, it apparently wasn't intended that more than about 2 of them be used at one time. This is especially true for the high powered devices - the stove top and the hot water heater (both electrical).  We had several nights of darkness at the moment of cooking dinner and other unpleasant shocks (literally) until the landlady, Maria Chiara, explained to us that we had to turn off the hot water heater while we were using the stove.  Since then, things have been much better.  I must say, to her credit, she has really been trying hard to keep us happy and electrified.  She's had electricians out here three times since we've been here.  I was talking to another American woman who claimed it took at least three weeks for anything to happen here!  And the task of electrifying a centuries-old stone and tile building must not be an easy one.  I am surprised that the wires are all buried in the walls and not just running along the floors or ceilings. 

Nevertheless we do have some questionable feats of wiring, such as the bathroom ceiling fixture:

  Here the wires themselves are the hanging support for the lamp!

The other interesting electrical feature is that there are two types of sockets in Italy:

 

The first is for regular. lower powered devices (lamps, TV,computer) while the second is for higher powered stuff - washing machine (yes, we have one - it's quite a machine!), iron, toaster, pot heater for tea, etc.

Of course, Italian (like all European) power is different than the US - twice the voltage and slightly lower frequency - but the only appliance we brought with us is the laptop and its adapter is built to handle that (so far!) so that hasn't been an issue for us.

Ahhh.....a day at the market.  Outside in a plastic tent are most of the fruit and veggie vendors.  As we mentioned before, the produce is exceptionally fresh and things like oranges and clementines often still have tree leaves attached.  The customer never handles the produce.  You tell the vendor what you want and how much and they take from the bunch of stuff that's there.  The customer has the right to say, "Not that, but that." and point, but even this isn't usually done. 

Here's a typical meat counter inside the Supermarcato.  So far we haven't given you a picture of the two most famous Florentine dishes....Tripe and a 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) rib eye steak.  The latter is huge.  The 2" thick steak  not really cooked, but seared on either side, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt.  It is raw in the middle and usually eaten by one person although it can be ordered for 2.  Nothing is ordered with it.  Lamperdotto is very popular right now.  It's tripe that comes from the fourth stomach of the cow and is dark like a lamprey eel.  (Who knew a lamprey eel was dark?) Since tripe is chewy, the cook usually slices it several times and puts it in a soup bowl with some of its juices.  Believe it or not, we have not ordered either of these delicacies. 

Meat cases are quite different from American meat counters.  I haven't seen lamb or goat yet, but there are mounds of tripe sitting there for the taking.  On Saturday we saw someone buy what we think is a goose neck and head.  There are also a lot of rabbits that bite the dust here.  As in the picture, you can always find some variety of Italian sausage.  The fish counters seem to have the varieties we have in the states.  Shrimp have their heads and you can have them cleaned for you if you want.  Of course there is eel, squid and octopus.  We'll try and get a picture for you.

On Saturday we took a bus sightseeing trip around Florence.  At 22E each it was quite a rip-off.  But we did get to stop at Pitti Palace, one of the homes of the DeMedici's. 

Palazzo Pitti

It was enormous and rather grim and is now a museum.  Since we only had a little over an hour and a half to spend there, we saw some of the art works from around the 17th century.  After going up 8 enormous flights of stairs to the Costume Gallery, we were surprised to see that it was mostly haute couture fashion most of it from the 1950s to 1970s.  There were some bits and pieces from the DeMedicis', (their burial outfits, as a result of a major restoration) but precious little.  Since their clothing was from the 1500s, we guess this was no surprise.  Some of the later fashions were a bit ridiculous and some very elegant.  We saw Pucci, Scapparelli and loads of others.  No pictures were allowed, so we can't show you what we saw inside the palace.  The palace has a beautiful garden, but we didn't get out there, so that will have to wait for another day (hopefully a more cheery one).

Here Ken is outside the palace with one of the many lions on the facade, all with different expressions on their faces.  One even looked confused.  We even have a sculptured lion on the way up to our apartment.  We pat Leo daily in the hopes that he will keep our electricity flowing. 

Leo, our stairway guardian