Far From The Maddening Crowd

 During our visit in Florence, Italy, there were huge crowds everywhere from the long line ups at the Accademia Gallery, the Duomo and to the Uffizi Gallery. My best advise is to purchase advance tickets to the Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery in order to avoid the long line ups. Fed up with the huge crowds, all taking photos of the majestic Duomo, we walked towards Via Tornabuoni to do some luxury goods shopping and sightseeing. Via Tornabuoni is the headquarters of major Italian luxury goods like Gucci and Ferragamo. The Palazzo Ferragamo is located here and if you have the time, visit their museum in the palazzo if you prefer not to shop. This area in Florence provided some relief from the huge, maddening crowds in the historical centre of Florence. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Weekend In Florence

 Florence, Italy is one of my favourite European cities. I love it because it has everything from the religious, art, culture, culinary, lots of vino, fashion, leather, shoes and shopping in a compact city. Florence is easy to explore and discover as it is a walking city. It is a one and a half hour travel from Rome via the speed train then take the bus to either the famous Duomo or start the day with a visit to the Accademia Gallery to see the majestic David by Michelangelo plus his unfinished work, the Prisoners.  Florence is also an Art City as one can discover art all over the city from the artworks in the cathedrals like the Duomo and the Santa Croce to the famous Uffizi Gallery. There are also many statues on display at my favourite Piazza della Signoria. Florence is also a city of leather as there are many leather shops all around the city that we even smelled the leather as we walked along its narrow streets. Before my trip, I read Dan Brown's  Inferno which was set in Florence. In the action, mystery and thrilling book, Dan Brown wrote so many secrets and stories about the city of Florence. I learnt about the Vasari corridor, Boboli Gardens, the art works of Italian painter Vasari and secrets about the Medici family. I can't wait for the movie to come out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gelato Tour In Rome

During my vacation my Rome I promised to myself that I will try different flavours of gelato instead of just eating my favourite flavours of pistachio and cappuccino. People have asked me which are the gelato places that I visited? I don't really remember because I just bought these gelato when I felt like it. Luckily, during that time in Rome, it was so hot so eating gelato almost everyday was a necessity  rather than a guilty pleasure. The different flavours that I tried were pistachio, cappuccino, cioccolato, fragola, limone, banana and hazelnut. The hazelnut flavour was recommended to me by one of my instagram friends as one of the best flavours to try. See, what the Instagram and the power of social media now have in our world. This summer is a heat wave that having an ice cream is such a rewarding pleasure to beat the summer heat. Believe it or not, last Sunday was even National Ice Cream Day! 

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In Search Of Caravaggio In Rome

 One may not know, that there are many Churches around Rome where one can view  many masterpieces completed by the Italian masters of art for free. Only caveat, is that it involves lots of walking, just like a treasure hunt, lots of research and a map to discover all of these masterpieces. When I was in Rome, I decided to search for Caravaggio's painting all around the Eternal City as much as I can. I plotted my course in an efficient way in one day. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is one of my favourite artists. Commonly known as Caravaggio is the name of his hometown, Caravaggio, a small town near Milan. He was born in 29 September 1571 and died on 18 July 1610. He lived a very controversial life filled with lots of painting of these masterpieces, notorious for brawlings, committed a crime, was exiled in Malta then was allegedly murdered through lead poisoning. But he definitely left the world with his masterpieces which he painted using the chiaroscuro style of painting which is contrasting dark, even black areas of deep shadow with planes of colourful light. This style of painting showed his painting with dramatic effects highlighting the faces, the clothing and shapes of his subjects. The best part is that most of his masterpieces are displayed in churches around Rome for free. Here are some places that I managed to visit and discovered Caravaggio's great paintings. 

 

 

At the Santa Maria del Popolo, Caravaggio's painting depicting the Crucifixion of St. Peter. 

The Conversion of Saint Paul depicted the saint when he fell from his horse on his way to Damascus and became blind. 

 

 The dome of Santa Maria del Popolo. 

Inside the San Luigi dei Francesi which is the French National Church in Rome, near the Piazza Navona. This church is dedicated to the Saint King Louis IX of France.

 

The ceiling, the main altar and the organ. 

 

Caravaggio painted St, Matthew and the Angel. 

 

The Calling of St Matthew depicted here when St Matthew a known tax collector was chosen by Jesus to be his disciple. 

 The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. 

Entrance to the Galleria Borghese are based on timed ticketing and can be purchased on-line. 

 

Caravaggio's David with the Head of Goliath shows here a perfect example of his chiaroscuro style of painting - dark background with his subjects painted in light using different paint colours.  

 

Caravaggio's Self Portrait (left) and St. John The Baptist (right).

 

St. Jerome

 

Madonna of the Serpent. 

Another place in Rome worthy to see Caravaggio paintings for free is at the Basilica Sant' Agostino (Madonna del Loreto) and for an entrance fee at the Capitoline Museum, Palazzo Barberini and the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. 

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