Where? There, where the sun is setting in golden red behind the hills covered with vine grapes and old and mighty villas in the brown coats of bricks. There where the culture, nature and culinary go hand in hand and with the smell of freshly pressed olive oil that gently cuddles the hand. There, where the relaxed and rich are dancing in an elegant hug, to their very own beat. Where? To Toscana!
The world famous leaning tower
Who doesn’t know of Pisa? There’s no tourist book including Italy that doesn’t include the photo of the world famous leaning tower (Campanile). But this is not the only famous feature Pisa has! On the contrary – Pisa is a beautiful medieval city, which achieved a great growth as a sea merchant country. There are tourists running around as ants in the anthill and the most fascinating is the Romanic architecture (from the 11th – 13th century), which reached astounding levels were, as in no other city. The Piazza dei Miracoli (the square of miracles) offered me the joy of beauty, which borders between reality and fantasy. We saw the most important monuments at the square: Duomo (the cathedral), the already mentioned leaning tower Campanile and he Battisteri (the christening chapel). All marble buildings are contributing to the unique style and charm the visitors with their exterior. The warm spring weather, the warm sun rays and the cloudless sky were the perfect setting for the morning laze in the grass, while admiring the Romanic marbles of marble. I also went inside to the christening chapel and the cathedral, which are interesting, but the marble exterior far surpasses the interior.
The most beautiful city in the world
The afternoon was reserved for the visit of Lucca. If you want a description of it in a nut shell, I can just say: the most beautiful city! It’s known as one of the calmest cities of Italy and for me I must say, it is the most beautiful city of them all. The cyclists contribute to the relaxed atmosphere, as they are the main means of transport on the streets, that’s why the city got a fitting nickname – the city of bicycles. The bicycles, medieval large houses built closely together and the right angled streets meeting one another that give every tourist a sense of mystery. The most beautiful part is the old city centre, which is shaped as a circle. The mysterious marrow streets lead to the massive entrance, inviting you to explore the main square. The main square and at the same time the focus point of Lucca is where the beginning and end meet, where narrow collides with wide and mystery chases the reality. In the middle of the square a man feels like in the centre of the world, as the houses are all around and built so closely together. It was getting late in the afternoon and the sun started setting behind the houses. The bicycles, tables, stools, cafes, many shops, libraries, office stores and pasta started inviting in, from the ground level of the buildings they were in. But the extra flavour is there due to the natural earthy colours covering the buildings. There is a rule in Italy that all houses must have their outside in the shades of earthy colours. The combination of yellow-orange-brown gives us the feeling of being natural. In one of the grocery stores I even found, among the various sizes, shapes and colour of pasta, the longest spaghetti in the world, or at least that I’ve ever seen. Half a meter long hollow pasta one centimetre thick. We tried them one week later, after I’ve returned home and were faced with a real challenge – finding a large enough pot to boil them in. They were very tasty and something completely different than our spaghetti. The taste was different, but marvellous.
Timeless Florence
Judging by the artistic side we could easily say that Florence is the richest city in the world. The art buffs would lose a week or two in a blink of an eye there! Personally I’ve dedicated two days to exploring the gems of Florence, but so many art works await my next visit I really did not have enough time for. The biggest art treasure (not just due to its size, but also artistic value) is the Santa Maria dei Fiore (Duomo) with its famous Brunelleschi dome. I’ve made my way up the dark and damp halls all the way to the top, by climbing the 463 steps. It was well worth it, as just under the top of the dome I admired the work of the artist Brunelleschi, made in the 15th century. The walk on the inside of the dome was impressive but scary, for if you look down you realize you are 100 meters above the people trying to pray, but are interrupted by your curiosity. But you cannot stop wondering, how such a structure was built six centuries ago, for at the time it surely surpassed the technological capabilities of the era, especially since it was built without the use of the outside scaffolding. From the outside you can see the whole city of Florence. The view is glorious. It’s similar to the view you get from the Eiffel tower, but with less stairs to walk and stronger wind that messes the hair and pictures.
Some minutes later as I returned to the ground, I was really happy I made it down. Opposite the church is the octangular christening chapel (Babtisterium), patted by green and white marble. It’s known for its mosaics on the inside and its bronze door on the outside. The most impressive are the eastern door, designed by Ghiberti. Michelangelo named them the gates to heaven, due to their great artistic value.
The cradle of renaissance
I saw the statue of David at the Academia, which is among his most famous and also probably the most famous statue of the renaissance. I’ve expected to see a large object, but as I saw it, I was amazed at how huge it was. The arms were disproportionate to the rest of the body – they were too big. The eyes were really interesting. Instead of fear towards the enemy they were giving out a hearty message. Seeing the details on real examples amazes me over and over again, reminding me the art should be seen live, for no photo can tickle the feelings as the original can and there’s a set of feelings and details you simply see on your own that would be missed otherwise.
After two hours of waiting in cue in front of the Galerio degli Uffizi, one of the Europe’s biggest art galleries, I got lucky and made it to the door. It was Saturday and early in the morning, but the crowd was there. The legendary Uffizi stands as the testament that the renaissance was born in Florence. In Uffiziju you can see the glorious paintings of European art (works by Rafael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, da Vinci…). It was worth to wait as the collection if endless.
And don’t worry, the city is not only about museums and galleries. It’s enough to walk along the old part of the city, which offers the architectural sites wherever you look. In the marketplace of Florence you will even find the statue of a pig. “scratch it!” The people have this mith, claiming that if you scratch the pig by the nose you will returnto the city. Me to, wish to be able to return here.
One of the city symbols of the Florence is also the old bridge crossing the river Arna (Ponte Vecchio). The bridge used to be a very busy market place in medieval times. At first the butchers and fishmongers opened their shops on the bridge. The river was handy for dropping the waste in. It was not until the Medici family decided they dislike the stench that the butchers and fishmongers were prohibited and instead they brought in jewellers.
