It is easy to be seduced by Florence, especially if one relies on appearances. We are lucky that some Christians, then as now, can be such hypocrites, so that they found ways to wriggle round clear bans on things like usury - the basis of the fortunes of rich families like the Medicis. They also found ways to eliminate sincere Christians who wanted to take the Gospels' attack on the vanities of this world - or of the newly fashionable ancient world - too seriously.
Thus a lot of the masterpieces which tourists now flock to admire were funded by usurers wanting to buy redemption, the equivalent today of art bought from profits which clever tax lawyers now find ways of keeping from the tax man - i.e. from the rest of us. Famous works of art were also saved from destruction (most of them) by deciding that Savonarola, a sincere Christian, was in fact a heretic and so, in the spirit of Christian justice and mercy, burning him.
How many tourists now imagine his gruesome death - as they sip their coffee and admire the view in the Piazza della Signoria ?
Savonarola stood for the spiritual ideals and asceticism of the Baptist, Christ, and
S. Paul; Lorenzo [de Medici], in his eyes, made only for sensuality and decadence.
...
In 1492 Lorenzo died, sending for Savonarola on his death-bed
Lorenzo dead and Piero his son so incapable, Savonarola came to his
own. He had long foreseen a revolution following on the death of
Lorenzo, and in one of his most powerful sermons he had suggested
that the "Flagellum Dei" to punish the wicked Florentines might be
a foreign invader. When therefore in 1493 the French king Charles
VIII arrived in Italy with his army, Savonarola was recognized not
only as a teacher but as a prophet; and when the Medici had been
again banished and Charles, having asked too much, had retreated
from Florence, the Republic was remodelled with Savonarola virtually
controlling its Great Council. For a year or two his power was supreme.
This was the period of the Piagnoni, or Weepers. The citizens adopted
sober attire; a spirit as of England under the Puritans prevailed;
and Savonarola's eloquence so far carried away not only the populace
but many persons of genius that a bonfire was lighted in the middle
of the Piazza della Signoria in which costly dresses, jewels, false
hair and studies from the nude were destroyed.
Of course, it couldn't last - too many rich and powerful "Christians" were opposed to taking the Scriptures THAT seriously, including the Godfather of the time:
Savonarola, meanwhile, was not only chastising and reforming Florence,
but with fatal audacity was attacking with even less mincing of words
the licentiousness of the Pope.
...
Events helped the pontiff. A pro-Medici conspiracy excited the
populace; a second bonfire of vanities led to rioting, for the
Florentines were beginning to tire of virtue ... Everything just then was against him, for Charles VIII, with whom he had an understanding and of whom the Pope was afraid, chose that moment to die.
... He was imprisoned in a tiny cell in the tower for many days, and under constant torture ... evidence naturally was forthcoming; and sentence of death was passed...
The execution was on May 23rd, 1498. A gallows was erected in the Piazza della Signoria on the spot now marked by the bronze tablet. Beneath the gallows was a bonfire.
...
The Bishop replied hastily: "I separate thee from the Church militant and triumphant". "Militant," replied Savonarola, "not triumphant, for that rests not with you." The monks were first hanged and then burned.
The larger picture of the execution which hangs in Savonarola's
cell, although interesting and up to a point credible, is of course
not right. The square must have been crowded: in fact we know it
was.
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/0/7/6/10769/10769.htm
All Christians of course.
The first day we went to the nearby Pitti Palace - it was built by Pitti, a banker wanting to outdo the Medicis. One was supposed to feel awed and intimidated by the entrance, like the rest of the huge building (M is on the right). I detest the repressive power such places represent, M. prefers to focus on the nice decoration and art.
Pitti had always been one of the most authoritarian and antidemocratic members of Cosimo's [de Medici] coterie... he personally had called the 1458 parliament that put an end to republican opposition ... as an extremely wealthy banker in the process of completing a palazzo that was intended to surpass any in town, Luca had no intention of bending the knee to anyone now Cosimo was gone.
Medici Money, Tim Parks, p.155
Ironically it was bought by the Medici family in 1539.
The impressive interior, with classical statues displaying the patron's cultured taste:
Me and a bit of macho classicism:
The statue echoes the grim, violent reality of life in Italy during the Renaissance, which is vividly portrayed in the autobiography of Cellini - you would have been well advised NOT to take him to court - even if you were to win your case:
He even writes in a complacent way of how he contemplated his murders before carrying them out. He writes of his time in Paris:
When certain decisions of the court were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause had been unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defense to a great dagger I carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping fine weapons. The first man I attacked was a plaintiff who had sued me; and one evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so severely, taking care, however, not to kill him, that I deprived him of the use of both his legs. Then I sought out the other fellow who had brought the suit, and used him also such wise that he dropped it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benvenuto_Cellini
Very vivid, too, is the impression we receive of the social life of the sixteenth century; of its violence and licentiousness, of its zeal for fine craftsmanship, of its abounding vitality, its versatility and its idealism. For Cellini himself is an epitome of that century. This man who tells here the story of his life was a murderer and a braggart, insolent, sensual, inordinately proud and passionate; but he was also a worker in gold and silver, rejoicing in delicate chasing and subtle modelling of precious surfaces; a sculptor and a musician; and, as all who read his book must testify, a great master of narrative.
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/7clln10h.htm
The shadow of Cellini's Perseus in Piazza Signoria:
His name still has commercial value today:
Bloody power struggles
Palazzo Vecchio/Signoria where Cosimo Medici was once held prisoner for two weeks while his rival, Albizzi, argued for his execution - because exile didn't work with bankers as it did with the aristocracy, who were dependent on their land - money is easily moved. Cosimo 's money had made him many friends in many places, he was released.
It looks very nice now in the winter sun, it looked very different after the Pazzi plot against the Medicis in April 1478, which involved the assassination of Guiliano Medici, but Lorenzo - "the Magnificent" - escaped:
Revenge is rapid and brutal. Archbishop Salviati, Francesco Pazzi, and scores of others, many innocent, are strung from the windows of the Palazzo della Signoria, or in some cases are simply tossed to their death from the highest floors.
Michaelangelo's David: Art and propaganda
The very famous David by Michelangelo, despite being originally commissioned in 1501 for a different destination, was immediately "taken" by the Florentine supporters of the Republic, with the aim of celebrating the victory (a temporary one) against the Medici family. The biblical hero, was intended to represent the Republic, and the Medici family was the giant Goliath, to the Republic's David.
http://www.tuscanjourney.org/art-history-in-tuscany/michelangelo-s-david/
But the Medicis returned to power. The Inscription put up on the Palazzo Vecchio by Cosimo Medici says: "Jesus, king of kings and lord of lords" - however, in Florence, the Medicis ruled again.
Art and sexuality
In the evening we had a meal near the Ponte Vecchio. On the wall on the left is Bacchus by Carravaggio, painted when sodomy was a crime, sometimes punishable by death, as it still is in some countries:
The Renaissance, inspired by the rediscovery of the philosophy and art of the Classical period, was also a new dawn for homoerotic expression. A male's desire for another male was primarily constructed as an adult's desire for an adolescent, beardless youth. Consequently, pederastic aesthetics influenced art and literature throughout Europe.
Among the luminaries of the time who praised or depicted romantic liaisons with youths were Théophile de Viau, Marsilio Ficino, Benvenuto Cellini, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo.
...
At the same time, the Catholic Church, working through the Inquisition courts as well as through the civil judiciary, used every means at its disposal to fight what it considered to be the "corruption of sodomy". Men were fined or jailed; boys were flogged. The harshest punishments, such as burning at the stake, were usually reserved for crimes committed against the very young, or by violence. Not infrequently this was an internecine struggle, as those pursued were often enough men of the cloth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty_in_the_Renaissance
The Golden View wine bar, with view across the Arno with tower of the Palazzo della Signoria. It was great to be able to get a table by the window during this relatively quiet period:
On the Ponte Vecchio the tourists come and go, dreaming of Michelangelo (with apologies to T.S.Eliot):
Or, in M's case, some jewelry:
Michelangelo said Ghiberti's doors for the Baptistry could be the gates of heaven:
Some people faint at the beauty of Santa Croce (allegedly)
The French writer Stendhal was so dazzled by the beauty of Chiesa di Santa Croce that he was unable to walk. This condition is now known as the Stendhal syndrome and Florentine doctors treat dozens of cases a year.-
Stendhal syndrome
haven't they seen a beautiful woman? - no comparison:
My favourite place, Michelangelo's house, because intimate and uncrowded - but then we'd had to pass through an area with leather shops and bought some jackets, so we only got there just before closing time:
Mike and me:
In Cellini's Autobiography he says he spoke to one of Michelangelo's fellow students, Piero Torrigiano, who told him that it was he who had punched Michelangelo and broken his nose for what was apparently routine taunting of the others by Michelangelo, e.g. his comment on Ammannati's Neptune fountain in the Piazza della Signoria:
"What a nice piece of marble you've ruined"
He took Grand Duke Cosimo I as model for Neptune's face. When the work on the ungainly sea god was finished, Michelangelo scoffed at Ammanati that he had ruined a beautiful piece of marble. In fact, the piece was so universally disliked (even to this day) that the saying was: "Ammanati, Ammanato, che bell' marmo hai rovinato!" Translated: Ammanati, Ammanato, what a nice piece of marble you've ruined! Ammanati continued working on this fountain for another ten years, adding, in a mannerist style, around the perimeter suave bronze reclining river gods, laughing satyrs and marble sea horses emerging from the water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Ammannati
Siena
We also visited Siena. After an interminable wait, not helped by noisy Italian kids, we were storming out of a restaurant just as, of course, the waitress came out of the kitchen with our food, very apologetically. Then we spent too long in the cathedral for my liking - I felt that if I saw another fat cherub or pious madonna I'd scream - but M likes it all:
The Piazza del Campo, where the Palio horse race is held:
Power, money and football insults
On September 4, 1260 The Senese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeated the Florentine Guelphs in the Battle of Montaperti.
... the Florentine army launched several fruitless attacks against the Senese army during the day, then when the Senese army countered with their own offensive, traitors within the Florentine army killed the standard bearer and in the resulting chaos, the Florentine army broke up and fled the battle field. Almost half the Florentine army (some 15,000 men) were killed as a result. So crushing was the defeat that even today if the two cities meet in any sporting event, the Senese supporters are likely to exhort their Florentine counterparts to "Remember Montaperti!"...
But the Florentines had the last laugh, and Medici money was involved again:
The Sienese government entrusted its defence to Piero Strozzi. When the latter was defeated at the Battle of Marciano (August 1554), any hope of relief was lost. After 18 months of resistance, it surrendered to Florence on April 17, 1555, marking the end of the Republic of Siena. The new Spanish King Philip, owing huge sums to the Medici, ceded it (apart a series of coastal fortress annexed to the State of Presidi) to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena
Goodbye to the Arno and Florence, so lovely to look at, but with a history so full of oppression by the "suffocating" Church and aristocracy:
... having finally infiltrated to the highest levels the institution that had been the source of so much of their wealth , the Medici returned to Florence on the back of Vatican power and overturned the Republic. In 1529, they were officially recognized as dukes and ready to serve the Counter-Reformation in that long war of retrenchment that would keep an imitation of the older world - complete with those two complicit conundrums, the divine right of princes and the temporal power of the Church - in suffocating place for more than three hundred years.
Parks, p.246
