Page 6 of 10
Florence, Italy
All wrapped in bones of setting sun, all dust and stone and moribund, I paid 25 cents to light a little white candle
There is a good chance that someone (possibly even you) may have seen some of these pictures and may have read about some of these destinations this slideshow so far and were just not all that into it. Maybe it was that weird hive thing at the expo or that aqueduct which looked like it was falling apart or whatever the hell that Zaha Hadid building in the fog was supposed to be. And while that is understandable and (to a point) it's even expected, we stand together right here, right now, facing one important and unmistakable truth. Everyone loves Florence.
The slideshow continues and comes right back to somewhere good for a change. Florence is where the Renaissance started and (to a point) is a place that still seems in the middle of it. The center of the city is dominated by Filippo Brunelleschi's Duomo’s dome, the first real dome built in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire and one that still looks good all these centuries later.
When visiting Florence and the Duomo, you are faced with two immediate choices. You know you want to climb something, so you can either climb the Duomo and stand between the twin domes, appreciating the full ambition of the Renaissance. Or you can go right next door and climb Giotto's bell tower, which might not have the history of the dome but does have a killer view of it. I have been to Florence before and have climbed both. This time I chose the bell tower, the killer view trumped being once again in between the dome(s).
I have dreamt of this picture.
The last time that I stood atop the bell tower was way back in 2000, literally before some people on the current slideshow list were even born. Back then I had a camera, a rare Canon APS SLR, a format that had some real advantages (light to carry, the ability to switch film cartridges for different ISO speeds midway through a roll) but all of the disadvantages of a film camera (expensive post trip developing costs). Another disadvantage was that I needed to bring actual film with me and APS film was hard to get in the US (other than at B&H) and was even harder to get in Europe. Before traveling, I would have to estimate how many pictures I thought I would take and then be prepared to stay within that range. The threshold for taking a picture was far higher. Was this picture worth it? Is there a better view right up there or should I take it now? Do I really want to use up everything now and run out of film later? All real concerns from a far more innocent time.
Now 15 years later, we may not have solved global warming or world peace or given everyone the jetpacks we were promised, but we at least have commercially available high quality digital cameras and 128 GB SDXC cards. Now there is no cost consequence to every single snap and an almost unlimited amount of pictures is available. I'll take a picture a few times if there are people moving in front of it (I don't mind the people blocking the view as long as they are in a decent composition) or take multiple photos of the same view to stitch together into a larger panorama. Like this image of the Duomo from atop the bell tower, too big for a standard camera but not too big for your imagination.
All of this brings us back to 2000. Even then I tried to do a panorama of this very view, burning up three shots on a trip that probably had less than 400 pictures total. Now I almost take 400 pictures every day I travel. Back then I took the physical prints, taped them together (in my best David Hockney ripoff... er... tribute), scanned it in and sent it out in all of its totally fractured glory ("Yeah you can go there if you want, though it fades too soon," 2000). Today that very camera sits on a shelf with all of its fellow dead technology like my super thick but light first generation iPod, my super thick but light first generation iPhone, my original Motorola StarTac with its broken antenna (phones used to have antennas), whatever a Sony MiniDisc player thought it was and with all matters of digital cameras that seemed like good ideas at the time. One day I am sure that my beloved Sony RX-100 M4 will end up there too. And hopefully by then I'll get my damn jetpack.
In guidebooks, the inside of the dome and the Duomo does not nearly get enough love as its outside (I'm talking to you Rick Steves). But I personally enjoy the calm contrast, the shallower painted dome and a cathedral where all matters of geometry were tried out in the floor patterns and where they were still figuring out the ideas of the Renaissance and what exactly all of that meant.
There is more to Florence (or Firenze, as obnoxious non Italian speakers like to call it). There are all sorts of museums with all sorts of classic paintings and sculptures. There is this great viewpoint on the other side of the Arno River where you can walk up a hill just to look back and see where you came from. There are fantastic streets to walk, palaces to see, sculptures and fountains to enjoy and damn good gelato to eat. Maybe this is why everyone loves Florence.
This is the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall. Out front the giant replica of Michelangelo's David stands naked for all to see (it was where the original stood for centuries), but just inside the building is a wonderful little hall with a courtyard view right up to the building's own signature tower. It’s like you’re standing inside Florence’s own James Turrell skyspace, except that it was built centuries before anyone had ever even heard of James Turrell.
One of the real advantages of the Sony RX-100 M4 is its ability to take some great pictures in low light conditions. In fact, I now find that I have to wait for it to get even darker since the camera will lighten up dusk skies to look like daytime (thanks Sony). But even with the best camera ever, you still need to have a really great night sky for a good picture. And a great view doesn't hurt either.
This is the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio, on a perfect night, just before the darkness overtook all. One last visual reminder that everyone loves Florence.
