Pepe

Everyone, meet our neighbor Pepe.

Pepe, meet everyone.

Pepe is our feline friend that lives next door.  Pepe, a sure-footed feline, sometimes visits us by climbing from one terrace to the next.  Visits often happen when we put wash out to dry under the Tuscan sun. 

Pepe, which is short for Giuseppe, is a friendly, curious sort.  He likes to be around people and he likes to explore.  He recently inspected our entire apartment.  Perhaps he was looking for a stray mouse (topo in Italian) or a bowl of anchovies. 

We are not sure whether Pepe prowls the neighborhood at night.  Just in case, we have nicknamed him Pepe Le Pew. 

Since one of us is not really a cat person (or dog person, for that matter), we have concluded that, like having a friend with a boat, it is better to have a neighbor with a cat. 

By the way, Pepe is a very photogenic gatto.  Here are some photos. 

Pepe pleading for entry

Pepe perching on our terrace

Pepe prowling our apartment

P.S.  Don't you think Pepe looks a lot like his namesake?

Street Art: Florence #17

Street art in Florence is ever changing.  Even when the artist is the same, the art is new and different. 

During recent ambling around Florence, we have spotted new works by artist Exit/Enter.  They are pictured below.  Enjoy.

                                                                       
If you like Exit Enter's artwork, you can see more on Facebook.

Shopping in Florence #1

If you like shopping for clothing, shoes and accessories, then you will like Florence.

Florence has a long tradition in fashion.  It is the home of Ferragamo, Gucci and Pucci.

Who doesn't need shoes with a furry heel?

Florence is especially known for quality shoes for women and men.  In shops all over Florence, you can find stylish shoes made in Italy.  The shoes are well made and are typically all leather, including the soles. 

The prices can't be beat.  In Florence, a pair of Italian made leather shoes will cost a fraction of what the same shoes cost in the U.S.  (The mark up from Italy to the U.S. is about 500%.)  Plus, if you are lucky enough to be visiting Florence during the sale season, forget about it. 

If you know Susan, then you know two important things about her:  Susan loves a bargain and she loves shoes. So, Susan is drawn to quality shoes on sale, like a bear to honey, like Italians to soccer, like Greg to pizza.  In fact, Susan learned the Italian word for sale ("saldi") before learning how to say good morning ("buon giorno").

Susan's favorite word in Italian

Since arriving in Florence, there has been much shoe shopping and some shoe purchasing.  Two purchases are pictured below.     

If you visit us in Florence, Susan will be happy to take you shopping for shoes and anything else you desire.  Susan's sister Sally visited earlier this year and found not one but three pairs of high quality, all leather shoes.  Of course, they were on sale.

Florence Skyline #2

The other day, we walked to a place in Florence that we had never visited.  Our reward was a great view.  We wanted to share it with you. 

What is Ferragosto?

Recently, we returned to Florence after a trip.  We arrived in the afternoon and were surprised by what we saw.  Instead of a crowded train station and streets thronging with cars, scooters and people, we found a Florence that was sleeping.  There were people, mostly foreign tourists, walking here and there, but not the typical great volume of people.  The usually-crowded bus to our neighborhood was nearly empty.  In our neighborhood, almost every shop is shuttered until September. 

What was going on?

Then, Susan remembered Ferragosto, which loosely translates to August holidays.  Ferraagosto (pronounced fair-a-ghost-o) is the time in late Summer when Italians escape the heat of Florence to enjoy the seaside  Instead of baking in Florence, Florentines bake on beaches on the Italy's western coast along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Here in Florence, the city is like a ghost town with empty streets and closed shops. 

A normally busy street in Florence, empty during mid-August

Via Laura, our street, deserted during Ferragosto

Ferragosto is not new.  It is a long-standing tradition.  One reason is that many Italians, like other Europeans, have long enjoyed many days of paid vacation.  Italians have 30 paid vacation days and holidays (U.S. workers average half that and some U.S. workers have no paid time off).  With so much time off, many Italians opt for long vacations with family.

Vacationing in August is a good idea.  The weather in Florence, Rome and other Italian cities is unpleasant.  In Florence during August, the average high temperature has been 95°F, with the temperature reaching 106°F one day.  Geography contributes to the unpleasant weather in Florence. The town is located in a valley surrounded by hills that form a bowl.  So, heat descends on Florence and is trapped by the hills which block any wind. 

Air conditioning might be the answer but electricity is very expensive.  So, many Florentines do not have air conditioners or do not use them often. 

Rather than broiling in Florence, Florentines get out of town--to the beach, to the lakes in the north, to ancestral homes in the hills or to islands such as Elba and Sardinia.

When did Ferragosto start?  That's hard to say.  Ferragosto can be traced to the late 1920's when the Fascist government advocated mid-August vacations for the working class.  Train travel was subsidized to encourage workers to take short vacations at the seaside or in the hills, like wealthy Italians were already doing.

Ferragosto can also be traced to the Feast of the Assumption on August 15.  The centuries-old church holiday and feast allowed Italians time off from work during one of the hottest months of the year.

Ferragosto can, however, be traced even further back in time.  One version of ancient history tells us that Ferragosto was a Roman holiday decreed by, you guessed it, Emperor Caesar Augustus in 18 B.C.  The holiday was the feriae augusti, or the festival of Emperor August, when laborers enjoyed a brief respite after the harvest. 

Statue of Caesar Augustus:  "Friends, Romans, countrymen, head to the hills!"

We have honored the ancient tradition of Ferragosto.  On a recent day, we enjoyed a long drive with friends in the cool hills near Florence followed by a long dinner al fresco at a county inn.  By the end of the evening, sweaters were a must.  (More about the wonderful dinner in a future blog post.)

We hope your Ferragosto has been pleasant and cool. 

P.S.  Our Florence apartment has air conditioning that works extremely well.  Thank heavens.  We are dreading the electricity bill. 

Street Art: Florence #16

Still more road signs in Florence modified by street artist Clet Abraham.

The Italian version of "Don't cry over spilt milk"

Artists in Italy

While touring Sicily earlier this year, we met two very talented professional artists, Bob and Mary Lou Alberetti. 

Bob and Mary Lou are Americans and both have an Italian heritage.  They teach art in the U.S. and exhibit their work in a cooperative gallery in Chelsea in NYC.  They have also lived, worked and taught art in Italy, including in Florence. 

Bob and Mary Lou are warm and gracious and they were kind enough to show us recent examples of their work.  Bob's style might be classified as abstract expressionist, while Mary Lou's work might be classified as abstract mixed media.  We very much like their artwork.  Below are some photos. 

Gateway by Robert Alberetti (2016) (oil on canvas)

The Burren by Robert Alberetti (2016) (oil on canvas).  Greg especially likes this painting because it captures the essence of the barren landscape in southwest Ireland called the Burren.  If you have ever hiked across the Burren, the imagery in the painting will seem familiar. 

Painting by Robert Alberetti

Crosscurrents by Mary Lou Alberetti (2016) (mixed media)

La Vieja by Mary Lou Alberetti (2016) (mixed media)

Crucera by Mary Lou Alberetti (2016) (ceramic relief)

To see more art, click here for Bob and here for Mary Lou. 

We hope to see future exhibitions of their work. 

P.S.  Below is a photo of Bob and Mary Lou.

P.S.  Today's post is a milestone, #600.  Hard to believe.

August 24

On August 24 in 79 A.D., Mt, Vesuvius in southern Italy began erupting. 

Mt. Vesuvius today

By the next day, the towns surrounding Mt. Vesuvius, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, were destroyed and buried. 

To see an animation of the destruction of Pompeii, click here.

We wish you a volcano-free day, today and everyday. 

Churches: The Oratorio of San Pierino

Located at the end of our street is an unassuming building, the Oratorio of San Pierino.  The building is small and the façade is plain, except for two glazed terracotta emblems, one adorning the wall and the other decorating the doorway. 

The sign in front of the building explains that the building was once the home of the Confraternity of St. Peter the Great.  A confraternity is a religious brotherhood of lay men committed to performing charitable works in anonymity.  The brothers often wear cloaks and hoods to hide their identities.   

The Annunciation

The plain exterior belies the ornate interior, which is decorated with frescoes from the late 1500's.  The frescoes depict religious subjects, the most interesting of which are the martyrdoms of various saints, including St. Peter.  The depictions are interesting because the images are realistic and the faces look so pained.

The Martyrdom of St. Peter by Bernardino Poccetti (1586)

In this instance, you can't judge a book by its cover. 

Street Art: Florence #15

A new form of street art recently appeared in Florence. 

Instead of unsanctioned works painted on buildings by anonymous artists, the new form is "artwork" sponsored by the city of Florence. 

As part of a campaign to change public behavior, the city has stenciled advisories on sidewalks around the city.  An example is pictured below.  The image appears on the sidewalk at the entrance to our favorite park.  It warns dog owners to leash their dogs or risk a hefty fine. 

Other images address other topics.  One work of sidewalk art in English warned tourists not to buy goods from street vendors or risk a fine. 

While the images are not typical street art, they are a creative attempt to address persistent everyday issues.

Of course, we are not optimistic the warnings will have a significant effect.  While visiting our favorite park, we saw unleashed dogs running through the park. 

After all, this is Italy, not Germany. 

P.S.  Below are photos of other sidewalk reminders about keeping Florence clean (una citta piu pulita) and not buying from illegal street vendors.

History in Florence

Florence has a rich history--from the early history of the Etruscans and Romans to the modern history of Italy.  Wherever we ramble in Florence, we can find history.

The other day, we took a walk to our favorite park near our apartment.  During our walk , we noticed a monument that escaped our notice on previous visits.

The monument is a memorial to three Florentine partisans active during WWII.  Sadly, the three were captured and tortured to death.  The memorial plaque (with a rough translation) appears below.

On June 7, 1944 in the nearby house before the last battle of our liberation, Enrico Bocci, lawyer, Italo Piccagli, captain, and Luigi Morandi, student, armed only with constant faith were surprised by Nazi-fascists.  After resisting capture and despite suffering inhumane torture, their courage gave life to ideals of justice and freedom until the last--awarded the gold medal for military valor for civil peace among peoples.

One of the partisans, Luigi Morandi was a 24 year old student and former soldier in the Italian army.  In the house near the park, he operated a secret radio that transmitted intelligence to the Allies as their army moved northward toward Florence to liberate all of Italy.  The intelligence included information about German defensive positions in the nearby Apennine mountains, rail traffic and the movement of troops and supplies.  After operating for months, the radio transmissions were eventually detected, leading to the capture of Morandi and fellow partisans.  Although tortured for days, the captives apparently did not reveal anything.

For his actions, Luigi Morandi was awarded Italy's Gold Medal for Military Valor.  The citation roughly translated reads:

He devoted his daily and untiring activity to one of the most delicate sectors of clandestine life, transmitting important news to the allies by radio.  Though he was constantly hunted by the enemy who was trying, by all means, to seize the information about his military activity and to identify his source, he remained steadfast in his place of combat to fulfill the task he had among the most serious and toughest difficulties. Surprised by the SS Germans while transmitting secret messages, he managed with cool blood to destroy the ciphers and alert the receiving station.  He then fired at the enemies until after he had killed three and was repeatedly hit.  He was overwhelmed but saved the service which he himself had organized with his heroic sacrifice.
- Florence, June 7, 1944.

The memorial is located in the park directly across the street from the building where the partisans operated the clandestine radio.

Piazza Massimo D'Azeglio, 12

Luigi Morandi, and many other partisans, lived by the partisan motto soffrire, morire, ma non tradire (suffer, die, but do not betray).

Street Art: Florence #14

In Florence, most shops when closed are safeguard by metal gates.  Most gates are plain and not appealing to the eye. 

Fortunately, a handful of gates are painted by local artists.  So, when businesses are closed, more street art appears.

Below are some of the artistic gates we have seen while wandering around Florence.

The handful of painted gates in Florence remind us of the 100 Gates project in NYC's Lower East Side neighborhood (http://www.100gates.nyc/).   Perhaps Florence will embrace the concept and beautify more gates in Florence.