Santa Maria Novella and the Basilica of Santa Trinita

 Of course we visited some many churches to marvel at the array of masterpieces they contain, here are some highlights.

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Ghirlandaio in the basilica of Santa Trinita.

Below, Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Crucifix by Giotto (first half of the 1390s)

Pieta and saints  Agnolo Gaddi (1375-90)

Then there was the the chapel decorated by the painter that I adore,  Ghirlandaio. He and his  studio helpers created magnificent frescoes in the Capella Maggiore They are scenes from the life of Mary on the left, and scenes from the life of John the Baptist on the right.

Then there was the magnificent Cappella Filippo Strozzi with works by Filippino Lippi (1489-1502)

An absolute joy to spend time looking at these works.

Basilica of Santa Croce

There are so any wonderful works of art in this building, it is difficult to appreciate everything.

The highlight for me was The Last Supper (1546) by Vasari. It had been very damaged in the 1966 floods, and was returned to the basilica in 2016 - fifty years afterwards due to massive efforts and financing by a range of organisations.

 Lots of tombs in this Basilica. I would love to hear the conversations between the ghosts that may roam around after closing time.

First, the tomb of Galileo below, plonked in the middle of an existing fresco

 Tomb of Michelangelo

Monument to Dante - despite him being buried in Ravenna, 

Santa Croce tried desperately to acquire the body, 

and it seems that this monument could quickly be turned into a sepulchre

Tomb of Machiavelli (below)

Tomb of Rossini

Palazzo Stozzi - contemporary art

 After our fill of Renaissance culture we returned to Palazzo Strozzi for an exhibition entitled  Reaching for the Stars, which showcases Italian contemporary artists along with international ones.

The works of Italian artists were in this room - all of them were interesting, most commenting on the role of women, climate change,  questions about identity.

The work below by Maurizio Cattelan, Lullaby (1994) really struck me. It is a canvas sack full of rubble collected from the attack on the  Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea (the contemporary art pavilion) in Milan in 1993.

 A Cosa Nostra attack using a car bomb killed 5 people and damaged the building. The building and the deaths of the people are wrapped up in this bag used for demolition materials.

 

There were many international artists as well, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Shirin Neshat, Damien Hirst and others

There was a good representation of female artists! 

I was intrigued by the work of  Lynette Lynette Yiadom-Boakye'. Her works are invented characters: both men and women, they are always Black and painted with quick brushstrokes in light, bright colors. She addresses the near absence of black subjects in western art. I found these paintings very powerful and evocative.

Several piazzas Monday 22nd May (morning)

 We started off on an organised walking tour that started at Piazza della Repubblica, and went on to the Piazza della Signoria Palazzo Vecchio. The guide stopped for us to get a coffee and a sandwich, and we decided to do the rest on our own. There had not been enough time to really take in the sights.

Below, in the Palazzo Vecchio

This poor lion looks as though he has been constipated for centuries

Gorgeous decorations in the Palazzo Veccchio

Travelled to Florence from Rome on Sunday

Glorious countryside, so green, so lush

And arrived at our apartment (below) 

we are on the first floor so the window above the door is where we are living.

We are next door to Piazza Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno area, which is away from the very touristy area, but  it is still pretty busy

 

Lots of mouthwatering sights at the Testaccio market

Saturday morning we started with a coffee and some cake at the Testaccio  market and then went around the market stalls drooling and watching the Romans get into some serious food shopping

It must be zucchini flower season

We bought dinner here - mixed vegetables, some chicory and crumbed chicken

Delicious!!!!

Purple and green - such complimentary colours