From the mouth of the Arno to Pisa, Florence and Siena

Rub the boar's snout to ensure that you return to Florence

On the recommendation of Anne and Gordon aboard Sarah Grace, we ‘sailed’ (a Mediterranean term for motoring into a headwind) from Elba into the mouth of the Arno River. Here, besides the big new Marina di Pisa complex, there are small marinas and jetties for a couple of miles along the river bank. Marinanova is a quaint and pleasant little spot where the two friendly marina dogs race to greet you before you see the “Please do not Feed the Dogs” sign. Paolo, who owns and runs Marinanova, has a PhD in Economics but he enjoys the simple life sleeping on his boat and keeping company with the local fishermen. Nets are strung all along the river bank and there seems to be plenty to catch, but thinking of the major cities, towns and farmlands upriver, we weren’t that keen on a seafood dinner. A regular bus service runs along the main road behind the marina so it’s easy to travel to the local town, or into Pisa or, with a couple of bus/train changes, to Florence and Siena. So that’s what we did.

Marinanova

Tai the Marina dog

Fishing huts and nets on the Arno

The first excursion was about ten kilometres to the city of Pisa to see the Field of Miracles and the famous Leaning Tower. No matter how many times you’ve seen it in photos or films, seeing the actual tower listing at that angle is a surreal experience. Galileo conducted his canon ball experiment here (whether it was an actual demonstration or a ‘thought experiment’ is still debated, though it’s fun to imagine him up there!) He thus proved conclusively that Wil E Coyote couldn’t possibly have been crushed by the ACME anvil that he pushed over a cliff to catch the Roadrunner (the theory does have some other minor applications.) A stroll across the bridge and through the lamplit town, and dinner at Osteria I Santi, was a lovely way to finish the evening.

The Tower

Detail - the Leaning tower

We managed to resist taking the 'holding up the tower' shot

Our next, more ambitious effort was a round trip to Florence for three days, the same in Siena, then back to Pisa. I feel quite inadequate to describe either of these wonderful cities, but I hope the photographs will provide some sense of their uniqueness.

My first glimpse of Florence was a day trip with our mates Jenny and Robbie, who spent ten days with us in Rome – but I want to leave that story for their Guest Blog. Terry and I booked into a nice little ground floor apartment, within easy striking distance of the Duomo, which of course is a spectacular must-see. Built from white, grey-green and pink marble from the outposts of the Empire, it is one of those buildings that proclaim, “We are the centre of the world” which, in the sixteenth century, Florence was. Inside, it is surprisingly plain: light and space provide the sense of awe rather than the usual spectacular decoration. Florence is the city of the Renaissance, a testament to what happens when great wealth, new ideas, enlightened leadership (the Medicis, of course) and genius in several fields (art, literature, architecture, science…) coincide and enhance each other.

The Duomo, Florence

So, it was off to Santa Croce, where several of the great figures of the time (and later times) are buried, to pay tribute. Besides the great Galileo himself, the scientists Fermi, Marconi and Barsanti (co-inventor of the internal combustion engine); artists like Ghiberti and the great Michelangelo; writers like Dante and Machiavelli, amongst many other notables in different fields, are buried here. Michelangelo created a beautiful Pieta for his own tomb, but sadly it is elsewhere and he is left with a fussy, ostentatious edifice which I doubt he would have appreciated.

Galileo

Michelangelo

Dante

Fortunately I had been to the Uffizi with Jenny and Robbie – there was no getting in this time around with the holiday crowds in full force. It’s a strange phenomenon that only the really major tourist attractions are ever crowded – perhaps this is because of the itineraries of cruise lines and tour buses? Pompeii will have a hundred thousand tourists, while Ostia Antica has ten! In Florence, places like the Bargello (sculpture museum) and the Pitti Palace (home of a rival family to the Medicis, housing a great art collection) were not at all crowded, making it easy to stroll around and really look at things properly. Donatello’s sculptures, beautiful paintings by Rafael, Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio – what a feast!

Donatello's rather camp David

Living large Renaissance-style in the Pitti Palazzo

Amazing detail from an inlaid stone table

Rafael Madonna and Child

Titian's beautiful repentent Magdalene

Rubens bringing dynamic movement to Florentine art

And speaking of feasts, we enjoyed several including this Florentine bistecca at Rubaconte Ristorante -  simple but sensational.

Florence is one of those inexhaustible cities to which you could return again and again, and it would still reveals more layers, more treasures. I hope we can return some day. And now, to do justice to the equally beautiful, but quite different city of Siena, I think I will save it for the next blog.

Sun sets on Marinanova