We would be heading to the Galleria degli Uffizi this morning and I let them know that I was passing them off to a local licensed guide as required for national historic sites (like the Colosseum, Pompeii, etc.) Whew – it saves my voice!
When I came to Italy the first time this was the biggest day of the tour for me. Uffizi Day! Uffizi Day! I could have led my own parade. If I come here with my friends I always call the day we have the ticket reservation “Uffizi Day.” One morning when I here a couple of weeks ago going to the Italian school I asked my classmates if they had gone to see the museum yet. The German couple in my grammar section, Werner and Kristina told me they had reservations the next afternoon. “Oh boy, it's Uffizi Day for you!” Yes, I get excited for other people. I'm a dork, okay? Werner in complete seriousness, leaned over and asked me “How exactly must this be celebrated? My Uffizi Day?” By going and enjoying it, of course. And a coffee on the roof overlooking the piazza, marveling at the Palazzo Vecchio behind you and the Duomo in the near distance.
Just call me Renaissance Nerdgirl.
I could spend all day long just in the Botticelli Room with “La Primavera” and “Birth of Venus” (Or “Uma on Half Shell” as I like to call it) but what I like most about this museum is that the rooms are arranged in chronological order. The progression of the history of art is spelled out and readily understood by even the least knowledgeable person. From Byzantine to Medieval to Gothic to Renaissance and Baroque. Rooms of religious paintings and crosses with two dimensional, flat figures in static poses eventually give way to dabblings in perspective scenes created with mathematical equations for foreshortening and the illusion of depth, then rounded lifelike figures with shading, shadow and light. Color mixing progressed, technique progressed, detail progressed as one era passed into another.
It seems my excitement was infectious looking around the room after my talk. Unless they added extra caffeine into the coffee. Doubtful. I also passed out copies of their guidebook to the Uffizi. We have our own publication for all our tours. It's rather comprehensive. I'm sure other companies use it too and have their logo slapped on the cover as well, but it's a great keepsake from a tour. I still have mine from my tour a decade ago. The Uffizi doesn't have signage in any language other than Italian and even then it doesn't have explanation, just artist, title, year and materials, so any guide is a must have.
We made our way over and met our guide, Barbara San Pietro for our 8:30 entrance. They tour with her for 90 minutes for the highlights of the museum and then they are on their own to spend as much time (or as little) as they like. I am in the cafe on the rooftop two hours after our entrance if anyone wants me to take their photos from 10:30 to 11:00. This is my job. I open water bottles on the bus for older folks and assist in photo ops. And talk and stuff.
But they have the rest of the day completely open to them. Which means I am completely open as well. What to do after the museum – or should I just sit in here all day? It's a lovely day, no rain in sight in the region. And it hit me... I want to take a bus to Siena. I have photos to take of Sienna the dog in Siena the city. The stuffed animal pictures! It's an hour on the public bus, and I can make my way around town and be back by dinner. It's not on our group tour itinerary and at times I go there with private tours so it's all work-related, right? (Expense account.) Gotta find the good shopping spots and places to eat, right? (Expense account.) All in the name of research. Expense account!
I was planning on getting out of the city on the bus at 11:20, so I'd have to hustle after leaving the Uffizi and my ducklings. My two Indiana ladies were the first ones up at the cafe and they asked about the surrounding towns that would be good for a day trip. Well look at them! Venturing out of the city. How things have changed in a week. I told them that within an hour by train or bus are Arezzo, Siena, Lucca, Pisa and all are worth a few hours of their time, well except Pisa. The Tower and Baptistery are about an hour's worth and the rest isn't very interesting. Plus, they really need reservations if they are going there. I asked if they had brought a guidebook with them? Yes, one has Rick Steves and the other has Fodors. I told them they are all set, both books have comprehensive self-guiding tours for the daytripper for any of those towns, but they should get on their way soon so they could catch an intercity bus or a train and make the most of their day.
Of course they said “Let's do Siena!” I hadn't said a word about my plans for the day. That made me laugh out loud and I told them I was going to there. They were welcome to come along with me, but I wasn't going to be doing any official tour guiding. I don't want the other clients thinking they are getting special treatment now. I'm going for photo ops, “un giro della citta” - a lap around town, and lunch somewhere in the middle. I'll hit the high points: the Campo, the synagogue, the Duomo / Cathedral and the Sanctuary of St. Catherine. But I'm leaving straight from here – not going back to the hotel first, did they have their books? Yep. Okay, fifteen minutes more to see of anyone needs a photo or help with maps or plans and I'm out of here.
Duties over, we made the fifteen minute walk to the train station. The bus station is adjacent. We purchased our tickets round trip and climbed aboard. The scenery is the beautiful landscape one expects whilst wending their way through Tuscany. Pop around a corner and there is a farmhouse on a hill with rows of farmland crops spreading out in all directions. Cypress trees standing as sentinels. The sun was out on a warm autumn day. It was like a golden hued postcard at every turn. Fifty-five minutes later we disembarked at Piazza Gramschi to begin our walk in this lovely town of red bricks.
All around town are poles with small bronzed statues of the she-wolf suckling the babies, just as in Rome, to symbolize their Roman beginnings. While these are Romulus and Remus, same as in Rome, it is because Siena was founded by Senio, the son of Remus.
Florence and Siena throughout history have battled for dominance over one another. Siena had a golden heyday after a “capture the flag” skirmish (literally, they took Florence's flag away from them even though the Sienese were outnumbered 2-to-1, thanks to an undercover agent who attacked the Florentines from behind the lines. Sneaky.) Ultimately Florence has won out, but for a short period of time Siena dominated the banking and trade routes, just before the de'Medici family came into power in Florence. From the mid-1200s to mid-1300s everything came through Siena rather than Florence on the way to Rome. They had a population of over 60,000 – more than Paris at the time. The Plague swept through the city in 1348 and they lost 40% of their population. Siena never recovered. Wars with Florence were brought to an end when they were conquered at last in the 1550s, when they gave up their city-state status and were annexed into the duchy of Firenze. On the plus side, because the city didn't grow larger, a visit here is encapsulated in medieval times. They still have all the iron rings on the sides of buildings where you tie your horses up to, usually in the form of the animal mascot of the contrade.
One story I find fascinating about the two cities' rivalry: the once was a statue of Venus in the Campo. After the Plague hit in 1348, the monks decided it was the pagan statue's fault and blamed Venus for bringing on the deaths. The people in the city destroyed the statue, broke it into small pieces and carried it to Florence, burying the pieces outside the walls of the city, hoping they would soon be suffering the same fate as the Sienese citizens. I assure you, they already were.
Siena is widely known for their Palio races every summer. There are 17 neighborhoods in the city, known as “contrade” and each has an animal mascot, from snake and goose to elephant and giraffe to unicorn and wolf. Every year ten contrade are selected in a drawing to race. The horses can only be all black or all white, as they are symbolizing the colors of the city, just like their flag, the city seal, and the cathedral. These days professional riders are brought in to race the horses, they are not local boys. It's dangerous ground, and people have died even as recently as a few years ago.
The Campo is irregularly shaped – like a Chinese fan fully extended. The horses race around the three times in about one minute. There are over 100,000 people in the square, lining the inside and outside of the track. The crush is incredible, I would imagine. Two of the turns are acute angles and are lined with mattresses for safety. More often than not, the horses and riders take spills. The rules state that the horse needs to cross, not the rider. It has happened a lot where the horse makes it to the end without a rider on its back, not surprising considering they are riding bareback. The winning contrade gets bragging rights until the race next year. Huge celebrations happen in the city before, during and after Il Palio, and one neighborhood will sport their bandiera di contrade- their flags – from all corners of their zone in the city. And the commemorative plaques go up as well.
Beforehand the horses and the riders are brought to the Duomo for a blessing. They open the giant center-front doors and walk the horses right in. It's considered good luck if the horse leave droppings behind.
We traipsed around for a few hours and headed back. I found a charming restaurant to bring clients to and it's one of those semi-underground caverous places with hearty food and communal dining. Perfect for a cold day. I picked up some ricciarelli cookies (almond flavor, powdered sugar, how can you go wrong with that?) for the way home.
We arrived back right around 7:30 and made tracks for the hotel. I went around the corner and found a giant bowl of ribollita soup with my name on it and chowed down. A good day!
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