Secret Gardens
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2007
1
16
23
Trip End
Dec 16, 2007
Florence,
Italy
Friday, September 21, 2007
The main axis is dotted with fountains and is a pretty steep climb, but you wouldn't know until you went to the side of the properties towards the exhibitions, then looked up the straight-shot hill they have going to the top of the main axis. What a hike, let me tell you. The exhibition that we went into was a recreation of the Babylonian Gardens and Pompeii. Unfortunately I was only able to take two pictures inside the exhibit before the burly security woman yelled at me and told me "No Photo!" (there was no sign saying this, but I listened anyways). I got a ton of pictures of the light going through the trees and what not (such a photography nerd). I plan on going back and taking my time to take some pictures and sketch some.
For Arch Context we all piled onto a coach bus and went to Certosa del Galluzzo (right next to Pazzi Palace). This castle looking building is where the Hermiters (monks) lived in solitude. They were only allowed to speak at meals, and really someone was reading scripture to them at dinner so they couldn't talk much during it. Sunday dinners were when they could talk the most. There was another hall filled with beautiful stained glass that they where permitted to speak in on certain occasions.
There were four courtyards, two were paved and two that were beautiful. The one was smaller than the other, but we saw people coming up and down stairs in suites and dresses. Later in one of the paved courtyards we luckily came in at the right time because we saw the Bride and her Father walking into the church. She was probably pissed, 25 students at her wedding location. Then we saw some ridiculous women dressed in MAJOR slutgoth clothes! They looked at us like "I will set you ablaze right now..." hahaha!
The quarters for the monks (we saw a vacant one) were so small and lonely. They even had a cubby in the wall where two small doors accessing it (one from the outside and one from the inside) but they were off center of each other by a door length so the resident monk would reach around the corner and get his food without seeing the other monk. I don't know how they do it. I need interaction (as you all know....sometimes too much haha).
There were a few rooms with paintings and sculptures everywhere. Several portraits of the Evangelists, and carvings from quartz and stone, so cool. The sculptures were amazing, the paintings were twice my size! So then we went into the major courtyard and sketched, a monk came out and clapped at us several times (apparently we missed the memo that clapping means to scurry away).
As we were getting off the bus, Franco (our professor) invited us out for "juice and sparkling water." But I think everyone took him literally, minus Erin and I. So we met him at the Irish pub in the Santa Maria Novella square. We were waiting for him and then we see him roll up on his vespa, tooooo funny. So he ordered a beer a head of us, and then Erin had a water, and I ordered a so-co and cranberry, but as her and I went to pay Franco interupted and paid for them all while we were reaching in our wallets. So, we sat there and talked to him at the same bar he would sit at having a beer and writing/designing his thesis project when he was in college. John and Andy met up with us later and we talked about sooo much about architecture, firms, Franco's experiences and friends he's going to con into coming to class for a "surprise" lecture (as in, they don't know they're lecturing).
Well thats all for my trips! They were relatively short and hard to take notes during since we were always on the move! We're going out tonight so I'll probably have some stories from then!
Ciao!
