The Joy of Living!

"Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy's premier mountain resort is exclusively positioned in the breathtaking UNESCO World Natural Heritage Dolomites, one of the most beautiful and unique alpine regions in the world. A 'Best of the Alps' resort and a symbol of style, fashion and the Italian way of life, Cortina is the perfect destination for those who seek a truly special holiday experience where natural beauty, culture, tradition, art, food and wine fuse together in pure joie de vivre."

Joie de vivre, indeed! Somewhat reminiscent of Whistler BC, Cortina - with its spectacular mountains, superb cuisine and Funivia per Cielo (gondola-to-the heavens) - is a beautiful place to spend a few days living the good life of skiing. But unlike Whistler, the town is authentic (my hotel is right across the square from a centuries-old church complete with clanging bell tower) and not quite as cosmopolitan; meaning that the skiers are mostly Italianos...and a few foreigners like me.

The weather continues cold and wet which fortunately means snow here. Unfortunately that also means foggy on top...with occasional sun breaks - so the best plan is to stay low and only skitter up to the top when you see a sunny moment or two. I have had two great days of skiing here: one on traditional alpino skis (boo!) and the other on a pair of my beloved telemark skis. Yes! Do not let them tell you otherwise: there is a little shop of righteous hipsters here that rents "scis tele" and I was very glad to find them. (Apparently I have forgotten how to ski with my heels attached to a ski!)

The Funivia!

Here comes the fog...

But all "fun-ivia" must end and I head down the hill today via bus, train, train and bus back to Aviano. Quick-hit memories: stunning train ride up the valley; scary gondola rides; corduroy runs in the mornings; NO snowboarders, NO play parks; blessed sunbreaks; vino rosso with lunch overlooking fog/limestone peaks/fog/valley views/fog...

And only ONE fur coat sighting! Apparently even the rich and famous know better these days.

NEWS FLASH! A quick stroll on the street outside my hotel this afternoon proved me wrong about the above fur coat comment. Although you have to admit that those guilty of wearing 'critter coats' appear more like skier wannabes.

While the younger après-ski crowd seem to be more into Lycra stretchy pants, down jackets and "boots made for pushing il bambini around town".

 

Chow...Italiano-style

Some folks have inquired about the type of food we've been experiencing here in Italia. After all, it is famous for it's superb cuisine; whether it's a four-course meal (antipasti, primi, secondi & dolce) or pizza on-the-fly. Admittedly I have been less concerned about the gastronomic repasts - especially since most Italians don't even start thinking about dinner until 19:30 or so! I mostly have a cappuccino 

or two :-) for breakfast and/or grab a slice of pizza or panini sandwich for lunch on my way to some museum or hike. Occasionally Cindy and I have enjoyed a delicious evening meal, but mostly we've been making salads in the apartment or filling up on happy hour bruschetta.

Some favorite memories: a 'menu touristico' four-course lunch on a lovely little canal in Venice one sunny day (bread, olives and basalmic vinegar/pasta carbonara/sautéed sea bass/tiramisu with strawberry topping); ravioli stuffed with pumpkin filling at a local restaurant called Casa Bianca; the best pizza ever at a small hole-the-wall in the nearby village of Polcenigo; and countless deli sandwiches hauled along on our many lunchtime hikes.

Pasta Carbonara

Recently though, we have been branching out (meaning we're a little tired of pasta, et. al.) and having Middle Eastern "kee-babs" and even Chinese food! Such decadence, eh? There ARE quite a few opportunities for burgers at McDonald's but we've thankfully been staying away from those. I do however, wish I could find a Popeye's every now and then.

In closing, the food here is 'squisito' (exquisite), If a bit short on the fresh greens and salads. That could be because it's still winter; cold rain today, snow in the mountains. But everywhere you look you see a small backyard garden waiting for the growing season. One thing that Cindy and I have noticed - that's far different from the U.S. - there are NO obese people here whatsoever! Everyone seems quite fit and height/weight proportionate for their ages. I guess that's what bicycling well into your 80s does for you, si?

Chiao, arrivederci and buon appetito!

La Galleria degli Uffizi

One of the greatest collections of Italian paintings anywhere is said to be here in the Uffizi. It features famous works by (in chronological order) Giotto, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Rubens, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian and Caravaggio. And these are just the highlights! In between are plenty of lesser known works well deserving of one's time, but difficult to fully appreciate knowing another masterpiece is just around the corner. It's said that most folks spend only a couple of hours in the entire museum; understandable since the breadth and depth of the various works is so overwhelming. 

The Uffizi courtyard

The gallery entrance

The collection starts with glitzy 2 dimensional 'Madonna and child' Gothic altar pieces from the Middle Ages - early Renaissance studies in progressively better and better attempts at perspective and realism. 

Duccio - nice try

Cimabue - better

Giotto - the master!

It then moves on to fleshy works by Botticelli, an incomplete work by Leonardo and stops at Praxiteles' statue entitled, Venus de' Medici - considered the epitome of female beauty in Elizabethan times.

Botticelli's "Primavera"

"Adoration of the Magi"

"Venus de' Medici"

The Elizabethan ideal of female beauty

And just when you can't take anymore, it winds up with a mind-numbing blast of Michelangelo and the rest.

Michelangelo's 'Holy Family'

Raphael's self-portrait

Titian's "Venus di Urbino"

I was lucky to have started early - beating the tour crowds - and well into the museum before I experienced what is called, "Uffizi feetsies" and was required to go in search of a bench and a reviving cappuccino è pasticceria. 

Those who have been here, know the sheer sensory overload one can feel. Those who haven't are in for an art history unlike any other. But I also discovered that it's very important to pace myself; more like running a marathon than a sprint. There is so much to absorb, learn, sit with...I was lucky I lasted five hours and even then I had to skip the last few exhibits - I had finally reached 'beauty burnout' and needed to get some fresh air, a bit to eat and yes! another cappuccino or two. Of course by this time it was afternoon and it's considered tacky to most Italians to order a cappuccino - better to switch to espresso or a frothy macchiato...or even better, a spritz!

 

Michelangelo's David

Some have written that when you look into the eyes of David, you are "looking into the eyes of Renaissance Man". All well and good, but the only way you'll be able to do that is if you bring a twenty-foot ladder; David is actually seventeen feet tall and stands atop a six-foot pedestal. 

Originally intended to adorn the roofline of the Duomo, the city fathers later decided to place him - along with Hercules & Cacus - more prominently at the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio. Today he stands in the Accademia museum in a Renaissance style dome designed just for him...and the flocks of tourists ogling him! 

Started in 1501 by a twenty-something Michelangelo, David was carved from one solid (though to other artists, flawed) block of Carrara marble and took three years to complete. This 'goliath-sized' statue is arguably the quintessential statement of the power of man and was immediately adopted by the citizenry as the symbol of Florence. Based on the Bible story Davis vs. Goliath, this is obviously no timid shepherd boy but a fully grown man, confident and armed only with a sling and the god-given armor of his body. Art Historians write David is the ultimate symbol of the divine victory of Humanism over the ignorant and evil excesses of the Dark Ages.

Sitting at the foot of David, I did feel a kind of emotional energy emanating out of the stone. It was hard to tell from his stance or his expression just what he might have been thinking. Confidence? Anxiety? A mixed bag of fight or flight? Perhaps only Michelangelo could have told us, but from everything I've read about him that was unlikely. Regarded by most at that time as the ugliest man alive, it's ironic that he could create the epitome of human beauty in David. 

David was a common and inspirational theme back in those days. There are at least two other famous/controversial versions - one by Donatello (1440) and the other by Verrocchio (1475). Both show David as a true boy. Both show him with the head of Goliath at his feet. Donatello's controversial version (naked with funny hat) was the first nude male statue created since Roman times and stood in the Medici's private garden where a 13-year-old Michelangelo had the chance to study it. 

Verrocchio's was commissioned by Lorenzo da Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent) and popular legend has it that a young Leonardo da Vinci was the model.

The lifelike and sometimes moody realism of all three of these statues set the creative benchmark for many artists that followed. 

History lesson

Florence is the home of the Renaissance and by some folks' reckoning, the beginning of the modern world. It's packed full of major tourist sites like the Duomo (cathedral), the Piazza della Signoria (civic center), the Uffizi and Academia museums, the Ponte Vecchio (literally, old bridge) and more churches, palaces and gardens than you can shake a stick at.

To summarize from a few different books I've been reading, the Florentines were well aware that they were siting on the rubble of the long vanquished Roman Empire. In the 1300's - thanks to it's vibrant cloth and banking industry - the long-awaited climb out of the dark ages began. The rebirth of civilization started as the Medieval crusaders returned from the middle east laden down with booty - including ancient books on art, philosophy and government. 

These were revelatory and fired the populace's imagination. No longer were people content with belief through faith alone. There arose a fierce city-state pride that began a slow but inexorable conflict with the ideologues at the Vatican. The advent of scientific thought (the idea that life was understandable if only examined deeply enough) gave rise to a new appreciation of mankind being an direct creation of God. A creation that allowed - for the first time in many centuries - a direct connection with Spirit. A connection no longer needing a go-between such as a priest or shaman. This was the beginning of humanism and was evidenced in the return to the worship of the human body in all it's glory. Sans clothing of course...why be ashamed of God's handiwork - this was the thinking of Leonardo and Michelangelo, et. al.

The rise of the Medici as wealthy merchant princes paved the way for a glorious flowering of civic works and public art patronage. Combined with a veritable who's who of artistic superstars (Giotto, Da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo, Dante, Gallileo, Raphael, Botticelli, Machiavelli) the city of Florence rose to great heights of architecture, art and political thought. It set the standard both economic and scientific, the rest of Europe imitated for centuries after. It began the process from which we've gleaned much if not all current ideas about what is good, noble and beautiful.

I could go on and on but this isn't a history blog so I will leave you with this: walking the streets and pondering these thoughts gives me a deeper understanding of where we come from, where we are at and perhaps where we may be going in the years ahead. For now though, I think it's time for another cappuccino! Buon appetitto!

Climbing Brunelleschi's Dome

One of the more popular tourist activities to do while in Florence is to climb the 462 steps up to the top of the Duomo's dome. First though, you must line up for your turn, pay your nine euros and then endure the upward huff and puff through centuries of others' sweat and strain until you achieve the top. Some say it is the best view of Firenze and I think you will find it hard to disagree: