Donde Esta La Biblioteca? Otra Vez

Even with the relaxed Italian notion of a ‘schedule,’ Lucca is only around an hour from Firenze by train. This refuge from the history-hysteria of Florence bathed us with peace and quiet. Lucca is surrounded by massive walls separating busy traffic from bike territory. Just like in Copenhagen, everyone rides bikes around Lucca: old, young, business, or casual.

Our not-so-long list of achievements from drowsy little Lucca includes strolling, me finishing Guns Germs and Steel, Lauren finishing Life of Pi, both eating some wierd Luccian pastry, and very nearly going for a run. One day we took a quick trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower. After a couple minutes of taking photos I realized that if you could position your body the right way, and if the camera was low enough, the perspective would create a shocking visual effect causing the subject to look like a giant who is either pushing the tower over, trying to hold it up, or hugging it. It was a breakthrough in tourist culture and the revolutionary idea spread like wildfire.

The Italian name for Florence is way cooler to say than our nerdy English version. Firenze (pronunciation above) has the same ‘stuck in Epcot Center’ crowd found in Siena along with a large population of study abroad kids sprinkled on top. What it lacks in charm, it makes for with art. Surrounding Brunelleschi’s famous dome-within-a-dome, the architectural marvel that kicked off the Renaissance, is an all-star cast of high Renaissance* masterpieces by all four Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael.)

Lauren planned ahead and got us reservations to the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia, so we skipped the unbelievably long lines and saw works like Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. When faced with so much art coming at you from all directions, it’s hard not to become numb to the extraordinary significance of what you’re looking at. After the 50th Virgin Mary and baby Jesus fresco, they started to remind me of characters in a 16th century Geiko commercial.

In order to counteract the effects of this kind of over exposure, Lauren and I read parts of the scholarly “A Very Short Introduction to Renaissance Art” we picked up in Edinburgh. That gave us a good lens through which to view all of the altarpieces, easel paintings and sculptures we came across in these two important museums. Being able to focus on the subtleties helped keep things as entertaining as they should be, Christ after Christ after Christ.

One tidbit that I found especially interesting was that before art was revered for its aesthetic qualities and creative expression, it was first and foremost a tool used for religious goals. Big shots would go to an artistic guild looking to commission a painting of their favorite biblical tale (usually somehow including themselves.) The interesting part is that they didn’t buy these huge, elaborate works of art because they would look great in their brand new living room, but rather to put up in a church and pay for a priest to hold mass in front of them for years after their death – thus ensuring the salvation of their souls. That’s why until the high Renaissance* the emphasis was on finding a craftsman who could get the job done instead of a creative and original artist. Superstars like Michelangelo changed all that by shifting the attention towards the artists’ themselves.

Florence and the worldwide humanist revolution it brought to bear is to thank for much of our modern way of life. If it wasn’t for the upheaval of the Renaissance I probably would’ve spent the last four years banging rocks together instead of reading Plato, Socrates, and Chalmers. It was cool to visit a town that has had so much influence on the world. Near the end of our time, however, we were ready to say goodbye to the vegetarian restaurant we ate at each night and escape the crowds towards a town that claims far less global significance – Lucca.

*a note about the difference between plain old “Renaissance” and “high Renaissance.”

I’ve gathered that it is somewhat like the distinction between a “teenager” and a “high school teenager.” At thirteen you’re technically a teenager, but far from the beard shavin’, pickup drivin’, party animal teenagers of the senior class. Similarly, “Renaissance” could describe the early stuff that hasn’t shed the gawky glasses and braces of the Middle Ages, while “high Renaissance” can only mean Leonardo and the other Homecoming kings who drove the cheerleaders crazy and smoked pot behind the bleachers.

My apologies to anyone who actually knows stuff about art and is probably vomiting right now.

Siena’s beauty is easiest to appreciate late at night after the endless herds of tour groups have had their way with the tiny mid-evil town. One night we went out with two Swiss girls, Laura and Nathalie, who we ... [Continue reading this entry]

Federico, the freelance photographer we hung out with during the White Night, lives on a small Tuscan island called Isola D’Elba. When we told Diana about our plans to relax for a few days on the beach at Capri ... [Continue reading this entry]

You know you are close to the Vatican museum, home of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, when you see the giant line of ‘pilgrims’ wrapping around about a quarter of the tiny Catholic nation. We passed the time by doing a ... [Continue reading this entry]

How do you even begin to talk about Rome? It's the most astonishing environment I've ever been thrown into. Modern civilization seems out of place, like a middle-schooler hanging out at a bingo hall. Although the city ... [Continue reading this entry]

The guy sitting next to Lauren and I on the plane bound for Rome pulled out his laptop and a cloud of dust puffed from his keyboard. He was an Australian soldier anxiously awaiting his two weeks of Roman ... [Continue reading this entry]

Copenhagen is Scandinavia after being hit with 10,000 volts of Danish attitude. The endless graffiti, easy rider bikes, Vikings, hip-hop clothes, squatting psychedelic villages, and little mermaids all crash together in a chaotic cultural pile-up that you just can’t ... [Continue reading this entry]

After 22 days of traveling, we realized we really didn’t need a decent amount of the stuff we brought, and decided to streamline our bags a little. We packed up a box, shipped it home, and my back has ... [Continue reading this entry]

One little island away from Old Town is the site of the Modern Museet – Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art. We got to see a lot of art that had been covered in previous classes as well as some ... [Continue reading this entry]