It was the mid of March and it had been nearly six months since we both moved to Munich. We had been desperately waiting for the sun to “spring” up but were only baffled to see snow and rain forecasts week in and week out. But the misery was about to end, for a weekend trip to Florence was just around the corner.
Ah, Italy! The only time the two of us had traveled to Italy earlier was to Venice in 2016 for the Venice Architecture Biennale; and guess what, as work-colleagues! It was in fact our first trip abroad and one that had tied us together forever. Seven years on and we return to Italy, now having tied the ‘official’ knot.
Benvenuto! – Touchdown at Firenze
To save time, we took an overnight Flixbus from Munich. Shiva had planned to extend his trip with some biking friends. So carrying a bike became easy with just a 9€ top-up on the Flixbus ticket. The bus dropped us at Villa Costanza, at the outer edge of the city. Not to sweat though, for a tramline that begins here can take you all the way to the city core, beside the railway station Santa Maria Novella. (For those who prefer mobile apps to book tickets, use Tabnet while in Italy; although be prepared for the interface being completely in Italian. Well, a grand welcome right?)
Firenze!! The city full of history, love, art, architecture, food and warmth… all that one imagines when it comes to Tuscany!
We were really excited upon entering the city for two reasons. One, the skyline of this UNESCO World heritage site with the old-school (rather ‘old is cool’) tile roofs takes your breath away. Secondly, we were to be greeted by one of the warmest couples we know, who happen to live right in the heart of Florence. How fortunate for us! The short bike-ride to our hosts through the historic lanes already prepped our senses for the days to come. (Note: Cycling however is not advisable here for its one bumpy ride on the centuries-old cobbles!)
Andiamo ragazzi! – Stepping outdoor as locals
Arguably one of the best cities to walk your way around, Florence was prepared to mesmerize us at each turn. Our dear friend and host Bernardo was highly enthusiastic to take us on a guided tour and we must admit we were in for what was to be a deep dive into art history. In hindsight, it’s a no-brainer how transformed and passionate he was towards Florence’s rich heritage for where he lives now is right across the former home of one Mr. MICHELANGELO. Hell yeah!
Living in the limits of the old city has its own charm. The moment we stepped out, we could already feel the transition, of reality to myth, for the spell was all around. From the facade elements, the arches spanning across the streets, the sheer size of paving stones, the ancient gutter systems or the in-built street-side seats attached to the plinths; each seemed untouched by time. It was also a welcome change to see a bit of chaos when it came to street traffic. It felt more like home (India) and rather contrasting to German orderliness.
First things first, we took off towards the glory of Florence, the Piazza (plaza in italian) del Duomo where the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore sits. As the street opened up to the plaza and the dome came into our field of vision we could notice our stride slacken and our heads tilt up. As architects it was only natural that we had studied about this particular structure but to physically stand beneath the world’s largest masonry dome took a while to gulp down.
Entry to all the major sites in the Piazza is ticketed and it’s recommended to get these sorted beforehand. You could get them online at the cathedral website or directly at the ticket office. We managed to purchase the ‘Brunelleschi pass’ for the next day and chose to continue on our stroll. Unsurprisingly, our eyes fell on a chocolate waterfall within a gelato store. Before we knew it all of us were grabbing our first vegan gelatos! Not a bad way to begin the day, was it? Although the gelatos at Venchi were great, we learnt that they weren’t local favorites. (Do try out authentic flavors at Vivoli and Dei Neri, especially the mother of Gelatos, Buontalenti. As Bernardo puts it, ”At least one Gelato a day when you visit Firenze!”)
Renaissance – Rinascimento – or “Re-birth”
With our sweet teeth attended to, we both became avid listeners, promptly following the footsteps of our guide, stopping at main points of interest. Soon we realized that Florence is probably the only city in the world where you will accidentally end up at the doorsteps of legends, also that perhaps it is no coincidence that a movement as big as the Renaissance had begun in this little town of great-minds. The master-poet Dante Alighieri’s residence wasn’t far. As we walked past his home (now a museum), we learnt that his work “The Divine Comedy” which he had then chosen to write in the local Tuscan dialect had paved the way for the modern Italian language as we know it. Travelling indeed is a great teacher!
Approaching the iconic Arnolfo tower, Shiva remarked “Ah, the Medicis!” Having watched the TV series Da Vinci’s Demons, it was easy to recognize this tower. Bernardo grinned, “Most of my knowledge also comes from TV shows, my friend.” The Palazzo Vechio to which the tower belongs, was originally the city hall of the Florentine republic, later on becoming home to the Medicis, a wealthy banking family who had eventually become the ruling monarchs. Their reign had lasted for three centuries! Over this period, they had commissioned the work of most top-notch artists of the time, leaving their mark all over Florence. As we brought our attention to the foreground, we noticed the infamous statue of David by Michelangelo at the entrance. “But in fact it is just a copy.”, he reminded us. “For the original, you gotta visit the Accademia Gallery. Not for free, you see… Florence however is an open air museum, there’s something to see each way you turn.”
As we observed the finer details of the sculptures on display at the open-arched gallery Loggia dei Lanzi, it became clear how the study of human anatomy had taken a new leap back then. We went on to spend a long while here as Bernardo went about narrating fascinating anecdotes. Here we both were, two trained ‘architects’, trying to comprehend art history from someone who is an engineer-turned MBA graduate. It was a defining moment for us as we came to grasps with what Florence does to someone once you spend time in its mystery-filled alleyways!
The 16th-century Sky-Walk
When the affluent Medicis moved to a bigger palace across the river Arno, they cooked up an ingenious plan for their daily commute to work. A sky-walk! Too rich to walk among their citizens, they chose to connect their new home, which was now a kilometer away with an overhead, private-access passage. Imagine walking right above the city, that too unnoticed! Named the Vasari corridor, this covered, aerial route is one-of-a-kind. Built in a record time of just five months, it begins by forming bridges that connect the top floors of multi-storey buildings, then moves along the river Arno supported on a huge arcade, eventually crossing the river via a footbridge by climbing over shops that line the bridge. No words can help describe its uniqueness. The fact that this once private passage will be open to the public soon is for sure, exciting!
The footbridge itself, namely Ponte Vecchio, is one of the classics in town. Hitler is known to have left this bridge alone when he retreated, while he mindlessly bombed every other bridge across the Arno. If you pass by here in daylight, the mildly green river and all the earthy tones of the bridge together cast a surrealistically warm canvas, almost like a highly processed photograph!
A distinctly Italian afternoon
Time seems to pass slowly when you are in Florence. At noon, we sat down at an outdoor table at Ristorante Borgo Antico, next to a brightly sunlit square. The sun on our cheeks and the relaxed atmosphere was letting our bodies very loose. When we heard that an Italian meal comprises seven distinct courses, we understood the time and value that’s given to food here. As vegans, it was suggested that we order Contorni, which is usually a platter of grilled veggies. Meals here however begin with an Aperitivo, where, typically a wine is served along with some olives and fresh bread, as appetizers. Also unique to Italy is that the bread is always unsalted. Along with bread, olive oil is provided by default. We observed closely as Bernardo poured a good amount of oil onto his dish and sprinkled salt and pepper over it. This became the dip for the unsalted bread. Bravo!
With a satisfying meal under our belts, it was now time for a Passeggiata (a leisurely walk). With all the time to kill, Italians love taking a walk (a long one!) after a long meal. It is common even amongst working professionals that two to three hours of midday is reserved for this form of ‘appreciation for life’. As we were wandering about at ease, picking up a gelato each, a miniature window at the gelateria caught our eye. The name above it read: “Wine window”. Bernardo filled us in, “You will find many of these in Florence. The aristocrats back then usually had an excess of wine in their cellars. As an act of goodwill, they would hand over some of these to passers-by who knocked on the window shutter. What’s even nicer is that these sprung back into use in Covid times functioning as no-contact shopping counters. Customers would place money in the window in return for their wine, panini etc.” There wasn’t a thing that our expert guide wouldn’t know about, we thought, ending our walk with a customary coffee as per his suggestion.
That evening, we found ourselves in deep thought and reflection. As we looked up in fantasy from beneath the streets, we could see that almost every visible ceiling was covered in frescoes probably made by one great artist or other. As we peeped into the large arched entrances to homes, we could picturize grand horse carriages passing through. As we momentarily blinked, we could imagine the street lit in incandescent light by fire torches placed on the wrought-iron holders all along the facades. Yes, we surely were drifting. As Bernardo dragged us into a wine store, we leapt out of our dream. We were at Bacco Nudo and he was ordering fresh, local produce of wine poured via taps in barrels, for a mere 3€ per bottle. Oh boy, he was fully gearing up for dinner.
A Climb-athon morning
It was our second day in Florence and we couldn’t hold our excitement as we got ready to visit the major sites in the Piazza del Duomo, particularly to climb the cathedral’s dome and stand on top of Florence! The previous night had been quite comforting as we were treated to a soothing and warm Risotto by Leticia (Bernardo’s wife). An interesting topic of discussion during dinner was that of Calcio Storico Fiorentino, a historic game that is still played annually at the Piazza Santa Croce, a square beside our hosts’ abode. The game, which is a mashup of soccer, rugby and wrestling has its roots in Florence and the square by the old church transforms into a sand-filled arena every summer. We passed by this plaza as we headed out of home and tried to visually superimpose a sports arena in its place. The basilica here, Santa Croce, is much older than the Santa Maria del Fiore and displays Gothic, early Renaissance as well as a neo-Gothic facade overlay which was done as late as the 19th century. More importantly, it is also the burial place of many heroes of the past including Galileo and Michelangelo.
Finding our way to the Duomo wasn’t hard without our tour-guide since all we needed was to look up and walk towards the towering dome. In fact catching a glimpse of the dome from various surrounding streets is by itself a wholesome experience. Arriving an hour before our scheduled visit-time for the Duomo, we decided to first climb the Giotto Bell tower. The square-in-plan tower, just a few meters shorter than the top of the Duomo, was highly exhilarating to ascend. It was interesting to observe how the stairs had been positioned. For the first two storeys, the stairs wrap around the four walls and are concealed within them. However, for the remaining three floors, since they are Loggias (open galleries), the stairs are sandwiched within a single corner pier, in the form of spirals. Only one person could climb at a time within the narrow spaces and while this was fun, it also demanded patience. As we neared the topmost terrace, the bell began to toll, reverberating through the entire structure, sending echoes within the stairwell. Looking at the red, clay-tiled dome from the topmost terrace was a gorgeous sight indeed until we realized we had one more arduous climb to go!
Brunelleschi’s Eggs-periment
Back down in the heat of the square, we scanned around for a quick drink. Being in Italy was a boon as the plaza was bustling with colorful carts selling fresh-fruit juices and smoothies, for it’s not so often that you spot these in Europe. Sipping on cold berry-smoothies renewed our reserves for the next big climb.
The greatest masonry dome in history has indeed a great story to tell. The cathedral construction had begun way back in 1293 but the very dome had remained unbuilt for more than a century. This was because nobody had devised an engineering solution for spanning such a large, irregular octagon, that too without the aid of a form-work.(Wood was a scarce resource then, in Tuscany) In 1418, when a competition was announced to invite ideas for the same, one man came up with a revolutionary idea. Legend has it that Filippo Brunelleschi, a mere goldsmith by training, with no former background in architecture, arrived at the competition with just an egg in hand. He challenged the commission that if anybody could make the egg stand on the table, he would reveal his big idea. But when nobody could, he simply broke the egg in half and placed one half over the other. This ingenious plan to combine two thin shells into one structure meant that a much lighter dome, one that could stand on its own weight was now conceivable. (Unlike other structures of that time, the building plan hadn’t accommodated any counterweights like buttresses to oppose the lateral push of a regular, heavy dome.) Not only did he win the project but oversaw the construction of this massive structure in a span of just 16 years. He proposed the use of brick as opposed to stone for its weight, availability and ease of lifting it all the way up. He also employed a novel method of brick laying that ensured self-reinforcement and prevented the falling of consecutive layers. It doesn’t end here, for even the machinery design for nearly everything concerning the construction goes to his credit.
A true marker of the Renaissance was laid for all future to behold, where one man’s vision transcended above all.
The batch-wise walk to the cupola terrace on top of the dome involved a similar climb within the walls as in the bell-tower, until we reached one of the two octagonal galleries on the inside, at the base of the dome. From here it turned into a rather adventurous route as we ascended the steeply curved surface from the gap within the two layers of the dome. Built in parallel with the original construction of the dome for the movement of workers and material, it was not an easily traversable section but extraordinarily unique, nonetheless. Naturally lit via circular openings in the outer shell, the journey to the top lets you live through the construction phases in quick transition. The strenuous effort fully paid off as we finally hopped out from within the brick mass and onto the open terrace. The view can speak for itself:
Panini-Vini-Celebrazioni
After summiting the two tallest buildings in Florence, it was a joy to be greeted again by our chicly dressed Brazilian hosts, Bernardo & Leticia. They had just the right proposal in mind for the moment; that of heading to Orizi Mariano, a cafe nearby. Stepping down from the street into this cozy little snack-bar, repurposed on an old wine cellar with vaulted roofs, it felt like we had entered a hidden world out of the blue. Run by an old and particularly charming couple, the place was ambience at its best with age-old wine collections in every corner and wine barrels remodeled as dining tables. Popular in town for its freshly prepared Panini (sandwiches) and Schiacciata (Tuscan flatbread), the owners made it even more of a joyful experience by helping us choose the right type of bread and filler combinations from what was on the menu.
A special way to light up your night
The whole afternoon was spent at the Opera del Duomo museum where we tried to get our head around hundreds of artworks and relics, also gathering further insights into the genius of Brunelleschi. With too much information to juggle, we called it a day and Leticia suggested that we do a short hike to a hill nearby, something that she usually reserves for the weekends. Atop this hill that lies just across the Arno, is the Piazzale Michelangelo, which offers a panoramic view of the city. Even though it was within walking distance, we were surprised how the landscape took a sudden shift as we approached the hill. Bernardo showed us how we had already crossed the old city wall and were now in the outer territory, the switch from cobbles to asphalt under our feet being the clear indicator. We were now climbing up from the valley and were treated to graceful olive farms, elegant cypresses and towering umbrella pines. It was also nice to see that half the city was heading up along with us, with some aperitivo (wine+snacks) in their tote bags.
Bernardo immediately did a quick scan to find a suitable spot for the four of us and then it was all about waiting for the big moment – Florence in full bloom! With the cool breeze across our faces and the aperitivo to keep us warm, we slowly let our gazes float across the picturesque skyline. When we thought that we had just missed out on the sunset, the city’s lights came on, one after the other, the last one being the lantern at the Cupola of the Duomo. From up here, the Basilica of Santa Croce could also be seen in its full might, with the warmly lit brick facades. It was indeed the perfect moment for a toast. We thanked our hosts (& friends) for a delightfully light-hearted yet deeply enriching weekend and let our mutual dreams pour out loud: that of the day in our fifties when we would sit down in our own villas on the flowing Tuscan hills seen beyond the Florentine skyline, sipping on our prized Italian coffees.
Barriers and Borders
Hi ! We’re Forum and Shiva, two intrepid souls united by our shared love for TRAVEL and SUSTAINABILITY. We met as architectural colleagues and we both spent some years exploring sustainable and socially responsible architecture. Our mutual fascination for vernacular architecture, traditional communities, and the curiosity to witness the natural world.. all led us to build this little nest: Barriers and Borders.
Our mission is simple – to bring you meaningful stories from the small or the big journeys that we make which could allow you to see the world differently. To let you join our journeys through our words.. to touch upon those little details that maybe get missed.. and above all to attempt to give back to the places we are privileged to visit in this lifetime.
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superb,girl.Keep it up.Hope I too will explore it in future.
You sure will Mom! We will travel to Florence together <3
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