The statue of David is one of the most well-known symbols of Florence. Michelangelo Buonarroti started sculpting the 14-foot statue in 1501 at the age of 26. As a fellow 26-year-old, it is nearly impossible for me to imagine myself taking on a project like this. The original statue was made from a single block of marble that was previously discarded by two other sculptors, but Michelangelo accepted the challenge. He completed the statue in 1504 and it stood in the Piazza della Signoria for 400 years; its current home is in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. It is fascinating to me that the marble rejected by other sculptors was used to create one of the most recognizable figures from the Renaissance.
While walking through the streets of Florence, I encountered an interesting sight. Agroup of construction workers were working with a crane to place what seemed to be a fake tree trunk in the middle of Piazza della Signoria. It seemed to be something important as there were police and reporters around the construction site.
The streets and buildings of Florence bear a weight of centuries of history. The wind delivers the echo of love and passion, first and last meeting. Street are soaked in declarations of love and heartbreaks. However, you wouldn’t notice it until you know the story of those places. A building is just a building however beautiful, until you find out that it hosted Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of all time.
That’s how I decided I want to explore and understand Florence, through exploring the story of Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari, a woman carved into human history.
Dante met Beatrice when he was only nine years old, when his father took him to the Portinari house, which today is Palazzo Portinari Salviati on via del Corso 6. On that day, during the May Day festivities, Dante fell in love once and for all.
He describes that meeting in his autobiographical work of prose and poems dedicated to Beatrice called Vita Nuova. The title can be translated as “new life” or “life’s springtime.”
This is how he describes their first meeting:
“Behold, a deity stronger than I; who coming, shall rule over me,” Dante writes.
He unexpectedly met her only nine years later, accompanied by two older women on the Lungarno, along the river. Lost for words, Dante ran away when she greeted him.
After that Dante and Beatrice had only two other brief meetings, one in the church of Santa Margherita dei Cerchi and the other at the wedding feast.
Dante’s love was idealistic and unattainable; it is possible she never even knew of his feelings. However, that didn’t stop Dante from loving her and express that love in all of his works including the Divine Comedy, where Beatrice is not only a character but the one who guides the poet through Paradise.
Even though Beatrice was his true love, they both married others and Beatrice died three years after her marriage at the age of 24.
Dante loved Beatrice from afar, and that’s how I explored Florence, studying at FUA-AUF at a distance through the Iconic Florence remote learning program. The physical distance didn’t prevent me from admiring and respecting the streets and buildings of Florence, just like how Dante experienced with Beatrice who become his great source of literary inspiration.
While doing my daily commute to my classes in Florence there was a certain building that caught my attention. It was in the shape of a tall cube and had niches with different statues in its outer walls. I found it interesting how this building was in the middle of a shopping area and it had the appearance of being much older than the surrounding buildings. I decided to learn more about this interesting building which I discovered to be the church and museum of Orsanmichele.
“Interpretation is the revenge of the intellectual upon art.” Susan Sontag
On November 6th, 2019, Antonia Comi displayed her artwork at Florence University of the Arts (FUA), an American University in Florence, Italy. As a novice art writer, I chose to attend this show blind, hoping to simply see the walls of paintings and drawings without being influenced by too much information on the artist and the intentions behind her artwork.
Looking through a window in your apartment in Florence provides a beautiful view, and can lead towards a new mindset. If you look closely, you might see more than you expect.
A comfort zone is a situation where one feels safe or at ease, it means settling for something we already known. It is so easy to slip into the safely of routine, but living away from home encourages you to bring change into your life – in more ways than just admiring a different scenery.
1. Don’t limit yourself to just one grocery store!
It can be tempting to fall into a routine of going to the most conveniently located grocery store. We want to encourage you to push your boundaries! By experimenting with different grocery stores, you will be able to see a fresh selection of goods every day. We recommend you check out the Mercato Centrale. In the mornings, the bottom half of the Mercato serves as a local produce market – stop by for a wide array of meats, cheeses, and local delicacies. By trying out new stores you will be able to find new foods, which we think makes grocery shopping more fun!
2. Experiment with Italian recipes & take cooking classes!
Just because you might not be able to buy all the meals you hear about ready-made, doesn’t mean you cannot cook them yourself! We suggest you push yourself out of your comfort zone and try to prepare a local Florentine dish! Since you are in Italy, it is easy to acquire all of the right ingredients for the perfect homemade dish. If you are feeling adventurous, you can sign up for a cooking class to do with friends. We recommend you check out the experiences section of Airbnb, where there are a lot of cooking classes offered for an affordable price. You can check out these experiences here. Once you learn how to make the dishes they teach you, you will have that skill for life!
3. If you are feeling homesick, cook one of your favorite meals from home!
As unbelievable as it sounds, you might get sick of pasta! On those rare occasions, we suggest that you try to recreate one of your favorite dishes from home. One night, we were really missing the mexican food that is readily available at home. As a result, we decided to host a “Taco Tuesday” night where we prepared some of our favorite mexican dishes.
4. Treat yourself to a restaurant every now and then!
Although we love cooking, you should absolutely make the most of your time in Florence to try out all of the delicious restaurants. As a student, you can get various discounts around the city. We also suggest you look up a menu online, to make sure the offerings are within your price range. You can also grab inexpensive bites to eat such as pizza or paninis, which are still a nice change!
Hopefully these tips and tricks help keep you and your stomach satisfied as you enjoy your time in Florence!
Being from Louisiana, I know a thing or two about water and rising water at that. Being that I am a Hurricane Katrina survivor, I would like to say that I am very aware and cautious when it comes to water and its potential effects.
