Day 4

Buongiorno!

We all woke up at 8am this morning in order to be at the Baptistery by 9. That was a mistake. All 6 of us were running late, so we got there about 10 minutes after 9. First we sat on a bench looking at the Baptistery and Il Duomo while Dr. Zaho told us a general history of the city and the Tuscan area itself. We all took lots of notes. We then got up and stood in front of the south doors, designed by Andrea Pisano, completed in 1336. The doors are massive - probably 15' tall. There are 28 bronze panels surrounded by a bronze frame. The subject is scenes of the life of John the Baptist, because he is the patron saint of Florence. The scenes are depicted in a Gothic quatrefoil shape; they are condensed into this awkward shape in a masterful way to show the scenes simply and in a way that is easily readable. The north doors, by Ghiberti, were completed in 1425 in a style made to reflect that of Pisano's south doors. The subject of these are New Testament. All of the squares on each of the doors has been created in relief; there is one panel on the north doors depicting the annunciation of the Virgin Mary where the angel's right arm is in full relief. If you're fingers were small enough, you could reach up and pinch the arm. I don't know if that makes sense without a picture, but I swear it's amazing and very impressive. The east doors are the most impressive and important of the Baptistery. Their importance is in the fact that they face the cathedral; they mark the threshold from a life of sin to that of rebirth. These are also by Ghiberti, begun right after the north doors were finished and completed in 1452. The subject of these is Old Testament and there are just 10 very large bronze panels that depict 3 scenes in each panel (except the last one). The sculptural reliefs are simply amazing. The continuous narratives are so clear and descriptive. There is such a great atmospheric perspective in them too (things in the distance are barely risen from the bronze while things close are in almost completely three dimensional. Simply amazing and awe-inspiring.

After speaking about the doors for about 2 hours, we finally entered the Baptistery through the south side. It was stunning. Breathtaking. The ceiling is done entirely in glass mosaic, with glittering gold tiles dominating the entire thing. At the center of the west side (right above the baptism area) is a 21' tall mosaic of Christ in a Last Judgement scene, sending the damned to Hell and the saved to Heaven. This whole scen only takes up one third of the dome; the rest is a series of scenes separated into different layers. The uppermost layer is a decorative ring around the lantern. Under that is the angels and their orders (there are 9, I forget them though). Next is stories from the Book of Genesis; this includes scenes from the life of Adam and Eve, Noah, and others. Under that row is stories of Joseph, Virgin Mary's husband. Next is stories from Mary and Christ, including the annunciation, the birth, the crucifixion, the deposition, and others in between. The lowest and final row of mosaics depicts stories of St. John the Baptist. These mosaics were done in medieval times by the most talented artists and workmen. That's definitely my favorite thing that we've seen so far.

After we left the Baptistery, Dr. Zaho called an old friend to let him know we were ready for lunch at his very popular and busy restaurant. It was noon and he told us to come by at 2, so we all walked around the city and explored a bit. We went into an art shop that sold everything an artist would need - pens, pencils, pastels, canvases, etc. It was very neat and tidy and very intimidating. We then crossed the street to look around a wonderful vintage shop. They had a lot of beautiful things, but the average price tag in there was probably 200 euro so I left empty handed. After that all the girls went on our way to the area that Mario's is (Geoff went off on his own to do boy things, I suppose). We walked down one street - Via dei Gihori - and loved everything on it. So many cute shops. Jewelry, clothes, and cute housewares. We ended up in a gelato shop that Zaho had never seen before. The interior was entirely frescoed, including the curved ceiling. It had to be from the 17th or 18th century. It was incredible. And the gelato was to die for! The owner generously gave all 12 of us ladies a sample of whatever we wanted. It worked in his favor, because we all came back after lunch.

Once we left that place, I said to Katia, "So when are we going to see where Pinocchio was made?" as a joke. Not 2 minutes later we turned down another street where Dr. Zaho stopped and pointed at a plaque above a door. It said that this place was where the "father of Pinocchio", Carlo Collodi, had lived and essentially created Pinocchio. I was freaked out but also excited at my newfound psychic ability. I did something else psychic later in the day, but I forget what it was. I guess forgetting things is just part of my gift, oh well. Another weird thing that happened in the next few minutes was that I spotted a Little Prince book in a window (it was in Italian, obviously), and the cover was the image of the Little Prince being carried away by the flock of birds, though the boy was obscured by another book and all you could see was the birds. Earlier in the day, in front of the east doors, I had seen the same birds peeking out of a man's shirt collar a was a bit weirded out because I had always wanted that as a tattoo, and here I was in Florence, looking at a part of a stranger's Little Prince tattoo on his neck. It was just strange because both times I saw the same exact part of the same image. Weird things, man.

After those coincidences occurred, Geoff found us and we headed for Mario's. As we approached the front of the restaurant, there was a crowd of people gathered at the entrance waiting to get in. Dr. Zaho just walked in, grabbed the owner, and he led us through the over-crowded restaurant, to the back and down a stairwell to the basement. We got lots of dirty looks on the way there, but that's where we ate. I got ribollita; it's a minestrone soup that's been thickened by white beans. It. Was. So. Good. Like, maybe one of the best, most delicious things I've ever eaten. Ever. I also had a side of french fries that were delicious and some bread to mop up the soup with. It was wonderful. I love food.

After Mario's we went on our way to return to the gelato shop from before. It was delicious! And the place was crowded the whole time, with one guy working, but he was so happy to serve everyone. After that, Geoff, Katia, and I made our way back to the apartment. On our way we stopped at the bakery around the corner to pick up some cookies for the dinner party we were going to later. We got a mix of all these freshly made cookies then headed home to hang out and get ready for the party.

We were set to meet Zaho at the Baptistery at 6:20; since we were late this morning, we did our best and made it there 10 minutes early. We all looked real cute in dresses and skirts and, in Geoff's case, pants and a button-up shirt. The other girls were late so we went up into the apartment at about 6:35. This apartment is literally steps away from the piazza with the Baptistery and Il Duomo. It's ridiculous. We took awesome pictures from the windows and ate delicious appetizers made by the hostess, a caterer chef from Atlanta. Some of her and her husband's friends also came by, one of which was a young American woman living in Florence to go to leather-crafting school. So cool! I drank Prosecco with orange juice and some red mixer. It was tasty. Then the 12 of us students walked Dr. Zaho home, walked to my door where Geoff, Emily, and I went in, and the rest went to a bar nearby.

And here I am now, ready for bed and finishing up this post. We get to sleep in tomorrow! So excited.

Good night!