Arezzo, 2017

We decamped November 5th and drove to Arezzo, a town and art history center we last visited in 2011. Except for the new things we saw--Vasari's house, the Santa Maria della Pieve church--I can hardly improve on the pix I (sometimes clandestinely) took in 2011. They are at http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/05/arezzo-art.html and at http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/05/arezzo.html, and warrant close attention. (There will be a quiz later). Just as it seemed in 2011, Arezzo is a bit off the larger tourist route; pretty much Italian tourists and those there for the weekly antiques market. It is nonetheless a beautiful Medieval/Renaissance old town, with much art and art history.

A rainy Sunday morning rain somewhat slowed the antiques market

Vicki buying Girl Scout cookies; we headed first to Vasari's
house (next post) before going to the Chiesa di San Francesco
and Piero della Francesca's Legend of the True Cross

Looking into Francesca's masterpiece; I think my pix from
2011 are good enough, despite the "NO FOTOS!" policy; on
this day one could just linger and take pix at leisure; besides,
the Legend of the True Cross doesn't lend itself to a blow-by-
blow account; or any coherent or credible rendering at all; but
it's beautiful

There were so many flags available that day...why couldn't
he have chosen the white goose ("in hoc signes...")?

Teething Jesus; the14th century church  is
covered in old frescoes, many still recognizable

Another view of the Francesca frescoes, with an
ancient Franciscan crucifix

Less well known bit of the Legend story

Covered offering plates

City Hall

Inside the cathedral, with the Divine Illumination Machine
(DIM) on (see 2011 post)

Petrarch's house (now the public library, as I recall)

Live or Memorex?

Renaissance style; gotta have a mural to adorn your covered
staircase

The 12th century Chiesa Santa Maria della Pieve; Vasari called
it the church with 100 holes

In its crypt

Adoration bas-relief in nave

Another bas-relief

Outside

 

Later, at the Medieval Museum, Gerini's
Man of Sorrows (note the guy sticking his
tongue out at J)

And, lastly, a huge Vasari Banquet, maybe 30 feet wide, but,
alas, no title I could find

Florence Cathedral, 2017

We've visited Florence's cathedral as many times as we've visited Florence. But we keep going back. This time we just wandered around the area, walked through the 700 year old building, and gazed up at the Vasari frescoes inside the dome. Previous and more informative posts include:

http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/florence-duomo.html

http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/baptistry.html

http://roadeveron.blogspot.it/2013/10/ascent-of-duomo-cupola.html

http://roadeveron.blogspot.it/2013/10/descent-from-duomo-cupola-and-more.html

Giotto's Campomile and Brunelleschi's Dome

The Baptistry

Not as good as Siena, but pretty good

And thus ended our visit to Florence, 2017

Romano Foundation

Our tickets to Brancacci Chapel included admission to the Salvatore Romano Foundation, adjacent to the Spiritu Sanctu church. We had never heard of the Romano Foundation, but it was on the way, and free, and we were curious and in need of some amusement and.... Romano was an antiques dealer; how he came by this hall, not far from ground zero Florence, must be an interesting story. Also the connection with Santa Maria del Carmine. In any case, there were a number of 12th and later century items well worth a look.

Salvatore still there, overseeing things

Madonna and Bambino; no, St. Christopher
and Bambino

Brancacci, 2017

We visited the Brancacci Chapel in 2011 and 2013, and my posts then, http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/brancacci-chapel.html and http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/brancacci-chapel-2013-and-uffizi.html, convey most of the story. Especially, 2011. As in the previous post, I'll just do a few new/improved items and assume you'll look at 2011 and 2013 for the whole story.

It's all part of the Santa Maria del Carmine complex

Inside the great old church, Baroquen in the 17th century

Some wonderful trompe loeil high up

Pano of the great chapel frescoes, 15th

Masaccio

Masolino

Masolino, Massacio, Brunelleschi (ignore the guy looking at you)

First meeting of Jocks for Jesus

Maslino left for a gig in Hungary, Masaccio died very young, and it was left,
years later, to Filippino Lippi to finish the chapel; Filippino was the son of
Filippo Lippi, Botticelli's teacher, and Botticelli took on Filoppino as a student;
looking at you is Filoppino's portrait of his teacher

The chapel and its historic work cause you to forget it's all part of a functioning
church, just a side-chapel...