Travels in Tuscany--Arezzo (Part 1 of 2)

A benefit of living in Florence is the ease of visiting wonderful towns nearby.  One of the those towns is Arezzo, south of Florence in Tuscany.  We recently visited Arezzo and wandered throughout the town. 

Arezzo has been inhabited for thousands of years.  There were early peoples, Etruscans, Romans and so on. 

Today, Arezzo is a large modern town, with a well-preserved medieval core and some Renaissance and post-Renaissance architecture.

When we first arrived, the cloaked gent pictured below was the first to greet us.  He is Guido of Arezzo and has an important claim to fame. About 1,000 years ago, he devised the system of musical notation still in use today. Who knew?

After meeting Guido, we next found the Church of Saints Michael and Adriano.  Since about the 600's, a church has occupied the location.  The church pictured below dates from the 1300's.  The church is plain inside and out with stone walls.  Inside, it is decorated with works of art that are well-lit.  The overall effect was quite dramatic.

As we rambled around Arezzo, we saw signs, like the one pictured below.  It turns out that the 1997 Italian film La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful) was filmed in Arezzo.  So, signs are posted around the town where the film was shot.  The film was a success in Italy, the U.S. and elsewhere.  Roberto Benigni, the protagonist, won the Academy Award for Best Actor that year.  Benigni is considered a national treasure in Italy.

The sign pictured above was located in Arezzo's Piazza Grande, the main square of the town, where scenes in the film were shot. The square is bordered by medieval buildings.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a café on the square.  The atmosphere was wonderful. 

On the building above are flags and coats of arms representing the four quarters of the town.  Twice each year, the town hosts a jousting event in the Piazza Grande. Known as the Giostra del Saracino (the Saracen Joust), the event features costumed horse riders with lances who race toward a target and hope to score a perfect 5.  The winning team takes home the lancia d'oro (the golden spear).  We watched the latest joust on television and enjoyed the pageantry, the intense emotion and the skill needed to hit the target dead center while bouncing atop a galloping horse.  You can see a short video of the event by clicking here.

From the main square, we ventured to the Prato, a large park in the ancient heart of the city.  There, we made a few discoveries.  One discovery was learning that 14th century poet Petrarch was from Arezzo.  A very large monument in the park is dedicated to Petrarch (pictured below).  The modern Italian language is based, in part, on Petrarch's writings. 

Petrarca by Alessandro Lazzerini (1928)

The back of the Petrarch monument. Apparently, on "the lower sides and at the back of the stand, allegories of triumphs are represented; the poet's coronation alludes to the Triumph of Fame; the image of a Virgin alludes to that of the Divinity".  Other symbols allude to the Triumph of Love and Chastity as well as the Triumph of Death.

We also discovered a large fortress from the early 1500's.  Known as the Fortezza Medicea, the fortress occupies one of the most ancient portions of Arezzo, where the Etruscan settlement was located.

Our final discovery in the park was a complete surprise.  The Amateur Society of Italian Hounds was holding its second annual dog show. We stopped by to watch the judging of the dogs.

Banner of the S.A.B.I., the Società Amatori Bracco Italiano (the Amateur Society of Italian Hounds)

The painted ceramic vase above appears to be the best in show trophy.  A scene of Arezzo's Piazza Grande is painted on the side.  Italians know trophies. 

Our next stop was Arezzo's Duomo, the Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Donato (the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Donato).  The church is constructed on the site of an earlier church.  Construction begin in 1278 and lasted about 230 years. The architectural style is Gothic. 

A sacred column in the church

The effigy of Pope GregoryX

A side altar

Close up of the central panel of the side altar

The funeral monument of Bishop of Arezo, Guido Tarlati (1330)

The main altar:  the large marble Ark of San Donato appears in the background.  San Donato was Bishop of Arezzo and was martyred in 363.

Reverse side of the Ark of San Donato, which holds relics of San Donato

The Duomo of Arezzo, like many churches we have seen in Italy, has a mixture of architecture and decoration from different eras, spanning many centuries.  Arezzo's Duomo is especially interesting because it has 21st century objects in prominent locations.  On the altar are three modern pieces, including the bishop's marble chair, the altar and the lectern.  The works from 2012 are by Giuliano Vangi.

The new altar (pictured below) is a large marble slab supported by a winged angle.  According to one description, the altar "is made of bronze-nickel silver sculpture with gold trim, depicting a sinuous angel holding the white marble counter."

The lectern is pictured below: "The central void, which evokes the tomb left free from the Risen Christ, is flanked by a Warning Angel and the Tree of Life. On one of the inner hips, however, one can see a bas-relief depicting Dead Jesus."

The Duomo has a very large chapel on the side, the Chapel of the Madonna del Conforto. The chapel is a fairly recent addition (completed in 1817) that was built in the ancient Gothic style. 

The chapel's altar houses an glazed ceramic image of the Madonna (pictured below).  In 1796, during a series of intense earthquakes, the face of the image miraculously changed from black to white.  The earthquakes ended.  

Madonna del Conforto

The chapel is home to beautiful glazed terracotta works by Andrea della Robbia. 

Maria Assunta in Cielo by Andrea della Robbia (late 15th century)

Trinità tra i Santi Bernardino e Donato by Andrea della Robbia (late 15th century)

Madonna col Bambino fra i Santi Donato, Maddalena, Apollonia e Bernardino da Siena by Andrea della Robbia (late 15th century)

Madonna col Bambino fra i Santi Bartolomeo e Bernardino by Andrea della Robbia (late 15th century)

Near the Duomo are the medieval Communal Palace and the Palazzo del Popolo (pictured below).

Next Up:  Our tour of Arezzo continues. 

P.S.  Along the way, Susan made a new friend.  Susan spent much of her childhood on a small cattle farm in North Carolina.  Her siblings will say, however, this is the first time Susan ever got this close to a cow.   

Susan actually patted the cow's head (click here).  Perhaps Susan thought it was a real cow?

Next Up:  More of our visit to Arezzo.