Florence, Photographed

A short-but-sweet visual treat and—oh yes! A poll!

Taken near the U.S. Consulate General. All photos mine.

Cari amici,

A brief letter today, just to share some photos I took in Florence last week, because I’m racing around preparing to travel again. I’m going to two ancestral towns, one in Campania and one in Lazio. In Gioia Sannitica, where I’ve been before, I’ll visit my cousin and her family and hopefully meet some of the (now very elderly) children born to my maternal bisnonno (great-grandfather) after he returned to Italy. He divorced my grandmother in the U.S. (way back in 1917!), but of course the divorce wasn’t recognized in Italy, so he couldn’t remarry here. He did find love again, though, and eight children were the result. I didn’t know about them until fairly recently, and I hope they can tell me some family stories. In the other town, Sonnino, I’ll be searching the church archives, trying to trace my maternal grandfather’s ancestors.

More on all that later, probably. For now I’ll leave you with a few photos of bella Firenze and her treasures. I went there to renew my U.S. passport at the Consulate General, and paired that with an afternoon of art immersion at Palazzo Pitti, which I hadn’t been to for many years.

Firenze was absurdly hot for mid-October, and very crowded. I heard a few other languages over the course of the day, but, as always, it was shocking how much English was spoken. In bars and at the Palazzo Pitti, workers seemed surprised when I spoke Italian to them, as if they’re programmed to hear English. More and more, it seems like English is the default in the historical center (the more outlying areas, which you don’t have to go far to find, aren’t like that). I hope Perugia’s tourism never gets to the point where English permeates the city.

Interestingly, I noticed that I understood the Italian I heard that day (from people who live and/or work in Firenze or nearby; in particular, two women seated next to me on the train) more easily than much of what I hear in Perugia. Wouldn’t you think my ear would be more tuned to the accent I hear on a daily basis? But maybe it was just chance, and the Italian speakers I heard that day happened to enunciate particularly well. I’m curious to see whether my observation holds true the next time I’m in Firenze—or, in fact, anywhere outside of Umbria.

Now, on to the photos.

Door in Isolotto, door in Oltrarno, chapel in Pitti Palace, "Judith" by Artemesia Gentileschi, "La Velata" by Raffaello, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Vecchio, Duomo (because I HAVE to photograph it every time I go there)

Surprise! Portrait of either Alan Rickman (my first thought) or Carson in Downton Abbey. Cast your vote in the poll below!

Me on the train home.

Alla prossima,

Cheryl

© 2023 Cheryl A. Ossola

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