Even the tax documents are gorgeous here!

Il buon governo-1474 Ambrogio Lorenzetti

On Wednesday we visited the Archivio di Stato in Siena to view the biccherne or tax documents of the city. Thrilling as this may NOT seem, I think it should be on the Siena Top 10 list. The collection is housed just beside the Campo (Archivio), and houses all of the double city's tax, hospital, birth, baptism and death records dating back into the 13th century. Our objective was to view the covers of tax records from the  financial offices of the Biccherna  and Gabella, and expense accounts from Ospedale de Sta. Maria della Scala.

Early records were kept by French monks in double-entry account books that showed all city revenues and expenses. Sometime in the 13th century they began the practice of binding records between heavy wooden panels with egg tempera paintings. The paintings evolved-starting with pictures of office activities (the earliest we saw was of Brother Hugo sitting at the government tax table with accounting books, bags of money and the seals of the city's nobility in front of him. The city started commissioning some of its great artists to paint the covers with themes of important events in the city's history the year of each bound accounting record. One of my favorites is above- Il Buon Governo presumed to be by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (he did the Good Government frescoes blogged about early herein).

In it, we see the allegorical figure of Good Government sitting at a throne with the wolf that nursed Siena's legendary founders (Senius was the son of Remus, legend is that he and his brother Aschius were also raisedd by wolves after Remus was killed by Romulus at the founding of Rome). Presumably Good Government is overseeing city expenditures and assuring that fairness prevail.

You can trace the history of the city just from the covers of these records (who among us can say this even about our small personal financial files!). During plague years or times of strife, the covers depicted pleas to the Virgin Mary. It says a lot about a city's character that even during hard times they sought to elevate their people with beautiful images.

Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed. I used reproducible images here. You may want to see others by google image searching for them. Here is a nice write up with some of the most wonderful images: Sienese Biccherne

Assisi and San Francesco

"e quanto le sue pecore reomote e vagabunde più da esso vanno, più tornano a l'ovil di latte vòte."

"and the farther his roaming sheep wander from him, the more they return empty of milk to the sheepfold." Paradiso 11: 127-129

St. Francis

 Assisi has both the color and perfume of an olive grove. It is stunning in its beauty and in the contrast between stretches of fertile valleys and abrupt hills. On top of the hills are the towns of this Umbrian region. We passed through the large city of Perugia (famous for candies and for Italian language study programs) and arrived at Assisi at about 9 a.m. The first thing one sees on the approach is a large Cathedral jutting out from squat buildings in the outside town of Santa Maria de l'Angeli. The Cathedral is built literally around the Porziuncola-the small chapel at which St. Francis first prayed and ministered to the poor. In the distance is the sprawling complex of San Francesco-a lower and upper church and large Franciscan monastery that has grown enormously since Francis's death in 1226.

This post will be added to when I get time as it was a momentous field trip. We had an amazing lecture on the frescoes of the Upper Basilica on the life of St. Frances, and I was able to visit the Lower Basilica, St. Francis's tomb, St. Clare's church and tomb and many other sites here. For now, I want to record two impressions: first the natural beauty. The town and countryside just envelope you-the pink stones unique to the buildings hugs the sunlight firmly to it and gives back just enough to light the narrow streets and warm you. It is  a phenomenal place. Second, I was struck by the contrast between the grandeur of the Franciscan institution that grew up around Francis's teachings, and his message of simplicity and hard work.

Dante's words above express this contradiction. As Francis's message expanded, so too did the institutional grandeur of the order. Many resisted but it is a very difficult balance. I will leave you of some images of the day and a promise to expand this post.

Approach to Basilica di San Francesco

The architectural feat alone is almost excessive-the building springs out of the hillside and hovers over one end.

The motto of Franciscans: Pax et  Bonum (peace and moral good)-I found this tile in Italian on a house front.

St. Francis's tomb was a very moving place-a simple tomb with a vault leading down from the lower Basilica. The tiny chapel was lit by candles.

Where one fattens well

"Io fui de li gani de la santa greggia che Domenico mena per cammino u'ben s'impingua se non si vaneggia." 

"I was among the lambs of the holy flock that Dominic leads by a path where one fattens well if one does not wander."

 -Paradiso, Canto 10:94-96

Cured Meats (Prosciutti) at Consorzio Agrario di Siena

 Dante uses the metaphor above (one who fattens well), repeatedly in the Cantos we are studying now (Cantos 10-14), echoing the words of Beatrice to resist the folly of running away from a good meal (or at least that's what I think she means in Canto 5:82-84). Food and feeding are certainly mentioned a lot in this Canticle and it is no wonder. Dante is Italian, after all!

Last night I joined the other lambs to eat at one of the most wonderful restaurants I have been in. Osteria del Gatto is located near the Porta di San Marco about 15 minutes walk from my apartment. The menu changes every night and features all local foods prepared by the proprietor's mother. I shared an appetizer, primo piatto and secondo piatto  with my housemate. In fact, we all shared each other's dishes-not sure if this is the right thing to do at such a restaurant but we couldn't help ourselves. Here is a run down of the food for you foodies: the antipasto was a huge hunk of cured pecorino cheese and a fig compote-I love figs but this was something entirely beyond love. Primi piatti  are usually the pasta course-there was a lot to choose from but we finally settled on gnocchi with smoked scamurza  cheese (made like mozzarella and provolone by stretching the curds) and basil -which the waiter translated as basilica -certainly a holy meal. The main course was a Fiorentino  which is an insanely huge T-bone steak best shared by 3-5 people. We had three sharing it  and I was over stuffed. The photo shows it mid-demolition.

I returned home around 10 pm with two hours of reading ahead of me-and right outside my window I could see the bell tower of San Domenico winking at me.

 

Reaching for the bread of angels

"O voi che siete in piccioletta barca, desiderosi d'ascoltar, seguiti dietro al mio legno, che cnatando varca:tornate a riveder li vostri liti, non vi mettete in pelago, chè forse, perdend me, rimarreste smarriti"

 "O you who in little barks, desirous of listening, have followed after my ship that sails onward singing: turn back to see your shores again, do not put out on the deep sea, for perhaps, losing me, you would be lost" -Paradiso 2:1-6

Detail from illuminated manuscript in Duomo library, Siena

I am going to push on with the journey despite Dante's warnings in Canto 2 of the perils therein.  Lately I have been thinking about the power of discussion. One of my blog readers reminded me of a favorite guide on this topic: Jurgen Habermas About Habermas. Habermas was writing at a time when words really mattered (post WWII Germany), and in a place where the stakes were pretty high (not unlike Dante in 14th century Italy).

Truth, to paraphrase Habermas, is what we would arrive at if we had access to information and an equal say in unrestricted dialogue.* As I struggle through Paradiso  (and no this is not a contradiction !), I wonder what discussions he imagined his words prompting. Certainly he meant for readers to be informed and to take our own journeys to knowledge-but how he meant early readers to act on his  words interests me. In his Epistle 13 (directed at his patron Can Grande and noted in our text), Dante says that he wants readers to take a journey from misery to happiness. He means this in a very broad sense. We are to pay attention as we read to notions of justice, Ben Comune  (good government), and virtue. But the deeply personal nature of the poem points to our individual accountability as well. We are to learn to read and learn, and to teach.

 I have a feeling I will be leaving my 6 weeks of intensely reading Dante prepared to intensely read Dante. Perhaps this is what Dante means by stretching ourselves to get " the bread of angels, which one lives on here though never sated by it".

* I am indebted to Rick Wilson and Howard Cell for discussion summaries on Habermas.

San Gimignano

Just 40  km Northwest of Siena is the medieval town of San Gimignano. It is an easy bus ride from Siena-with the added bonus of stopping in the hill towns of Monteriggioni, Poggibonsi and Colle de V. d'Elsa. If you are traveling in Tuscany, you must go here!


The town's striking towers announce both its presence and history from a long way off.  There are currently only 14 full towers left of the between 70-76 that were built in the 13th century. Partly these towers were used to spot outside invaders and prepare defenses, but by Dante's time they were being used as internal panopticons by feuding families.

Reading the Commedia, one is always conscious of Dante's life outside of the persona of celebrated poet. He was involved in military campaigns including the Battle of Campaldino near Arezzo  1289, and that same year at Caprona near Pisa. This last battle finds its way into the Commedia (purg. 5: 91-129)

Dante's entrance into politics coincides with a period of intense factionalism (not that any of us know what THAT is like today). F  City records show that he was elected to a two month term in June,1300 to serve as one of the  7 priors (members chosen from the local city guilds)  that comprised the governing body of Florence.

Just before this, Dante was sent to San Gimignano as an ambassador of the Florentine Republic and the Palazzo del Comune  (or del Popolo)-the city government building, has named it's council chamber Sala di Dante in his honor (and as a tourist draw). In this room is an enormous fresco  of the Maestà  done in 1317 by Sienese master Lippo Memmi. Lippo was the brother-in-law of Simone Martini by whose Maestà  in Siena  he was influenced.Memmi's Maestà

The kneeling figure in the center is Nello de Mino Tolomei who was podestà at the time (an office similar to mayor), and a major patron who commissioned the work. 

At the Collegiata di San Gimignano (a Cathedral before but now an educational church as there is no bishop), are spectacular frescoes by Lippo Memmi -scenes of the New Testament done between 1333 and 1341; Bartolo di Fredi -scenes of the Old Testament done in 1367; Benozzo Gozzoli-St. Sebastian and honorary back drops for the lovely wooden statues of Gabriel and Mary during the annunciation. The frescoes cover every wall in the Collegiata and give you a sense of what was lost due to decrees that declared churches should be standardized in decorations. (About which, more later)


Benozzo Gozzoli also has frescoes in the church of San Agostino which portray the life of St. Augustine. They are spectacular. Many of Gozzoli's works have characteristic quirks like little dogs, tufts of plants and piles of stones on the ground, and extremely realistic people whose personalities fairly jump off the wall. We were not allowed to take photos but here is a link to a wonderful interactive site that allows you to tour the narrative frescoes: Benoozzo Gozzoli's Frescoes

I climbed the Torre Grossa off the Palazzo Comunale after our session, and was rewarded by the indescribable beauty of this region. It seemed another narrative like those told in the four frescoes we viewed-a narrative best told in images.


The final reward was gelato (of course!) but this time at the World Champion gelateria. The gelatos are made by hand with local ingredients and are another narrative of place, community, love and tradition that I unfortunately cannot convey on this page. I had two scoops: one was local saffron and toasted pine nuts, and the other was chocolate and whole hazel nuts. The first was called Crema de Sta. Fina recipe for Crema de Sta. Fina after the local Saint who was struck down in paralysis for 5 years and never complained of this travail. When she finally died, yellow pansies rained down at her burial from the town's towers. I can't vouch for this particular miracle, but the combination of the frescoes, the countryside and the gelato are miracle enough for me.

God talk

Following in the wake of the poet.

Paradiso starts out fast and furious-and our discussions today followed suit. Like a stern athletic trainer, Dante expects us to keep up with his increasingly layered and systemized way of talking about justice, spiritual salvation and God. It was breathtaking and exhausting-just like running a race.

"Nel ciel che più de la sua luce prende fu' io, e vidi cose che ridire nè sa nè può chi di là sù discende, perchè appressando sè al suo disire nostro intelletto si profonda tanto che dietro la memoria non può ire." Paradiso 1: 4-9

"In the heaven that receives most of his light have I been, and I have seen things that one who comes down from there cannot remember and cannot utter, for as it draws neear to its desire, our intellect goes so deep that the memory cannot follow it."

"Oh good Apollo, for this last labor make me such a vessel of your power as you require to bestow the beloved laurel"
Paradiso 1: 12-14

I struggled with the task of staying alert as I read-it requires constant vigilance. Dante-poet advises us that the journey in this singing boat will entail not just reading but internalizing and analyzing. It reminded me in so many ways of learning and teaching in general. Foremost in the challenges is the theological language that Dante uses here. It has been a long time since I studied my church history. I know that Dante's earlier readers would have had instant recall for many of the controversies and doctrines upon which he draws to lay out his own vision of righteousness.

In stark contrast to the increasing rigor needed to read and digest the poem is the ease of daily life here. At home Rick is faced with taking care of my farm animals and the house maintenance that I usually spend much of my day on. Here I am responsible for feeding myself, getting dressed, and trying to use a new language. Gratitude is a central emotion, and with it comes a sense of wanting to bring back what I have seen. I wonder if this sentiment (though certainly tempered by different experiences) is in any way what Dante must have felt as he was writing. His love for his city and community and feelings of obligation to his art are so palpable.

Reading the layers

This week we start Paradiso. As readers of this blog know, I am reading the Durling and Martinez editions of the Commedia and each volume runs to almost 1000 pages including notes and commentary. Rick's visit coincided on the schedule with the end of Purgatorio  and the arrival in Paradiso in a real sense-he brought the third volume with him!

the climb

Each of the cantiche of the Commedia has its own geography and rules and understanding this is a challenge. Taken together, the multi-layered world is even more complex. I love the fact that we have been seeing multi-layered stories everywhere we go in the visual representations of medieval understanding of both physical and spiritual worlds.

The Florence Baptistery (see July 12th post) is perhaps the most striking of these for me. I got the chance to see the mosaics again with Rick and consider how these images would have struck Dante and his 14th century readers. First, a bit about the structure of the building itself. The earliest records date construction to around 897 c.e. when marble pilasters taken from the Roman Forum were added, as well as Roman Sarcophagi for use by prominent Florentine families (see history of the Baptistery).

The octagonal shape is one used in baptisteries from early Christian times-6 days of creation, one day of rest and the 8th day of regeneration (represented in the baptism itself). The present day baptistery was largely completed in 1059. (It is hard for me to even get my head around buildings older than a couple hundred years...).

The mosaic ceiling is for me the most exciting part of this building. Started in 1225 and completed by Venetian masters (and most probably some Sienese masters like Cimabue) by the 14th century, the mosaics are read in layers  in the same way that one reads the Commedia. 

Above is a short video shot by Linda Vannoni this past week.(the video is about 2 minutes long so allow it to load) In it you can see three huge secions above the altar-a large Christ and the Angels of Judgement on either side of him, and on his right hand the rewards of those saved, on the left the evil doers punished and damned.

The other layers can be read from top tier to bottom and from right to left. The top has the Choirs of Angels and Thrones (Powers, Virtues, Dominations), then the stories from the Book of Genesis, stories of the life of Joseph, Mary, and Christ and  finally the lower tier as described above (the Last Judgement).

Love, kindled by virtue

"Amore, acceso de virtù, sempre altro accese, pur che la fiamma sua paresse fòre"

"Love, kindled by virtue, always kindles other love, as long as its flame appears externally."

-Virgil to Dante in Purgatorio Canto 22:10-12

St. Catherine Struck down by Love
Basilica di Provenzano, Siena

 External appearances of love (aka generosity of spirit) made several appearances today. The first was in our class dealing with Cantos 24-28. We had  been asked to separate out two quotes, a visual image and a question on each of these cantos. As we worked in groups on our assigned canto, it was clear that the details we picked out helped us focus on broader questions. A good poet does this with his readers-words and images stand out for a reason and point to the universal themes he wishes us to explore. To experience this, read through a Canto tonight and just highlight one tercet (three lines of the poem) that stand out for you for whatever reason. Think about why you chose these three lines-and then grab a copy of the Commedia  with notes ( I really like Mark Musa's comments but we are using Durling and Martinez  in the seminar). See what comes up. It is the mark of a powerful poet that the most minute details express a larger picture.

This seems to apply to other experiences as well. This afternoon Rick and I took a walk to the Basilica di Provenzano. We had had a great meal at Il Cavaliere Errante on my first night in Siena just in front of this church, and I took Rick on Sunday (his first full day in Siena). As fortune would have it, the church in front was open and we peeked in. It was stunning as churches seem to be everywhere you look. More importantly, however (and more to the point of the quote above), Sorella Gina (Perugina) was there. She was diminutive and welcoming, like a fairy godmother, and sensed our awkwardness immediately. "Entra, benvenuti" she exclaimed-pausing in her knitting (something with bright pink yarn) to usher us to the front of the magnificent church. She encouraged us to take pictures. With my broken Italian I was able to say that we appreciated her welcome and the beauty of the church. "Well" she said practically " since I have given you permission and the Virgin welcomes everyone, you may as well take pictures of everything here" . And Rick did.

Cow eating trees-a universal theme and External Flame

 Generosity has been an oft kindled theme during my time here in Siena. Not only the generosity of our NEH directors whisking us from one dream-destination to another, but in the daily interactions with people around us. Sorella  Gina was one such example. Another occurred as we were on our way from lunch (yummy porchetta panini - NOTE to sis: please learn how to make porchetta!) to the Pinoteca  (city art gallery) when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Goats! Unmistakably goat like movement! We hoofed our way down to where the goats were (a little field not far outside the city) and  there I was able to talk to the man obviously in charge (he was occupied in trying to keep the goats from eating the peach trees nearby). We had a terribly stunted, strained conversation whose stutters and stops deterred neither of us. From him I learned that he makes cheese using the dried rennet from his own kids, and he learned from me that you can use nettles as rennet. It was glorious and foolish and a tiny flicker of a flame to kindle others.

Florence

Rick and I joined our group for the final trip to Florence at 7 a.m. On the schedule were Sta. Croce, the Museo dell' Opera (works of the Duomo or Cathedral), and a look at the Baptistery doors. The weather was unbelievably cool and lent an air of ease to the trip that was absent the first two times that we visited. We walked more briskly but were less rushed somehow.

Luca della Robia-dancing cymbalers

Amongst the treasures of the city, the most rewarding sight for me was seeing Rick get to stand in Sta. Croce where many of his heroes are now buried or have stood themselves. I took pictures of him next to Machiavelli's tomb and didn't quite capture the moment but here is one:

At about 2 pm we had finished a full day. We went off to explore-ate a wonderful simple lunch at Gusto Leo pizzaria, climbed the Torre of the Duomo, went to the Baptistery (my second time and it is still totally magical), and got the requisite late afternoon gelato.

One sculpture that really stays with me was the Mary Magdalene by Donatello. It is such a moving image-it shows her in the wilderness mourning and emaciated after fasting from grief. I love art but am not normally so struck by it. This small wooden statue is so atypical of any of the many lovely ones I've seen ... no words for it.

Double Dante and Date

Charlie, Sarah, Nikki and Catherine coffee up for Dante

Today was a double Dante day-we had a 3 hour morning session and a 3 hour afternoon session on some pretty intense parts of Purgatorio  (Cantos 19-28), and were also finishing up previous Cantos. The weekend helped but I think all of us were feeling the strain of unraveling Dante's thick skeins of words.

There is a tension that comes from wanting to go through the process that Dante clearly outlines for readers (delving into metaphors and language and following threads to the end in discussion) and the task of knowing more about the poem (from those who have followed the threads previously). It was tough to balance. I think that Dante wants readers to enter the poem on a personal level, and to engage a community of learners to explore further. It is one of the many things our seminar seems to get right. Still, I wish there were more time to discover things on my own in the poem, or through discussing it rather than relying on notes or expert lectures. 

Rick's first day in Siena-finding an old friend

Having first Linda and now Rick here in Siena gives me other chances to explore. Rick is already more familiar with many of the city's attractions than I. He climbed the Torre on Sunday and hit the Civic museum, Duomo, Baptistery, the Crypta, the Museo delle Opera (works of the Duomo) and climbed the Facciatone today. Puts me to shame! 

Tomorrow will be a chance for us to do our first big trip outside of Siena together-Firenze. I am excited to go to the Baptistery there on our own, and to have Rick experience the onsite classes at Sta. Croce, and the Museo delle Opera (works of the Duomo). As he himself has said, he is the Dante scholar in the family-I know these sites will resonate for him profoundly and I just can't wait!

Luca Signorelli and Orvieto

Friday we entered the walled city of Orvieto, built atop vulcanic tufa and 1,050 feet above the plain below. It is a city that has seen continuous habitation since probably the Bronze and Iron ages. Etruscans called it Velzna (or Volsinii) and it was a central religious area as well as strategic military stronghold. Romans defeated and displace the Etruscans in 265 b.c.e. and built a port there for commerce. One of the main items of trade was the wonderful white wine- Orvieto Classico.

Orvieto in the distance

Orvieto is an easy train ride (with one switch) from most cities in the area and frankly, if I had to choose between doing two days in Florence or two days here, it would be a real problem. I think I would come down on the side of Orvieto!

Our Dante related tour started with a visit to St. Domenico where the famous sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio did the wall tomb for Cardinal Guillaume de Braye. de Braye was of the archdiocese of Sens, France and died in Orvieto. He had stipulated that he wanted to be buried in a significant church so they buried him (in 1282) in Orvieto. He broke ranks in 1277 when in a papal election he voted for Nicholas III (Orsini-whom Dante puts in the 3rd bolgia of the 9th circle of hell reserved for Simoniacs-those who sold sacred objects or offices of the church). In any case, De Braye was clearly reconciled with France upon burial as his tomb is decorated with fleur de lis and the tomb was permitted by Charles de Valois.

My favorite part about this tomb was the Virgin. She is clearly detachable from her infant Jesus so I asked of art historian Christie Fengler Stephany whether she was a separate statue. In fact, Arnolfo di Cambio recycled a Roman statue of Juno, shaved the back of the statue to sit against the wall, and  christianized the whole thing with a bolted on Baby Jesus. Partial to Juno, I couldn't help but approve.

Juno and the Christ Child

Our next visit was by far the most awe-inspiring thus far. In the past three weeks I have stood for 10 minutes almost alone in front of Botticelli's  Spring, seen the Sistine Chapel and the Pietà, entered the Holy of Holies and oogled Duccio's Maestà.  All of these prepared me perhaps to take in the daring frescoes of Luca Signorelli in the Duomo of Orvieto. They are spectacular.

Signorelli clearly channeled Dante-he paints a portrait of him in two places ( in the crowd scene in the most controversial and memorable of the frescoes, the Antichrist, and in a portrait panel). The frescoes are a clear story about the role of art in instruction and morality. They are absolutely stunning. Here are some good links to explore them further: Signorelli Frescoes-Savanarola and Signorelli images-text questionable.

I have much more to learn about these before writing anything but I wanted to post the links for others to explore. Ron Herzman wrote an excellent article in 1999 for Studies in Iconography which I was lucky enough to borrow and am half way through. It is a wonderful treatment of the 11 frescoes representing eleven scenes from Purgatorio.  In it, Herzman argues that Signorelli chose these 11 images based on what they say about the role of the artist in society.

The outside of the Duomo where the frescoes are housed is equally fantastic. Four pilasters by Lorenzo Maitani depict Genesis, the story of Jesse, Jesus's Life and the Last Judgement. Naturally, I love the devils.

Deanna, Jeff, Kitty, Linda

Elderberries!

looking up the protective walls

The lovely Umbrian countryside outside Orvieto. 

After our full morning, Linda and I were starving. We headed to a wonderful restaurant just opposite the Duomo with Jeff and Deanna Moore from Oregon. We ordered some Liquid Gold (Orvieto Classico Superior-D.O.C.) and sandwhiches with eggplant, pecorino docce (fresh as opposed to aged pecorino), pesto and prosciuto. Yum! After lunch we had a fantastic hike around the outside walls on a cobllestone path that runs 4.5 km. I was covetous of the elderberries that hung like small grape bunches. Above are images from the end of our day.

We had one more stop, Bolsena. This was a complete surprise announced on the bus. Just  southwest of Orvieto, Bolsena is the community to which the Etruscans fled after the Roman take over of Orvieto. It has an enormous lake that greeted us shining and inviting as we twisted into town on our bus, and the church of Sta. Cristina. At Sta. Cristina many of us (myself included) had our first tour of the multi-storied catacombs. It was just beyond words! Sta. Cristina is the site of the miracle that inspired the construction of the Duomo in Orvieto to which Tomas Aquinas was a witness. Here is a summary of the miracle celebrated. In 1263, a Bohemian priest, Peter of Prague, skeptical about the fact of transubstantiation (the fact that the eucharist is the actual body of christ), was celebrating mass. As he raised the host (communion wafer), it began dripping blood. The altar cloth that was stained is preserved in the Duomo to this day.

My miracles seem to involve much less skepticism though perhaps as much wonderf. It is very hard to imagine that I am here on this journey, that my best and most beloved friend Linda was here the whole week with me, and that my husband is now here for the next week to share it with me. I doubt anyone will build a Duomo to this miracle, so I'll do my best to construct it in the book of my memory and here online.

Pier Pattinaio

Pier Pattinaio is mentioned in Purgatorio Canto 13 127 as the humble comb-seller whose prayers lessened the  haughty noble woman's Sapia penance. He was a tertiary of the Franciscan order revered for his humility, honesty and works. In 1328 the Nine (the priors of the Sienese senate) put up government funds for an annual feast in his honor. His body is entombed in the beautiful church of San Francesco (St. Francis) that Linda and I walked to this afternoon. The church can be seen in this photo just left of center. It is an enormous building built in 1228-1255 with the shape of an Egyptian cross.

Many fanciful stories about Pier/Pietro/Piero were scattered over the web. Here is a link to a book about the Italian communes 1125-1325 with some fun ones:Italian Religious Communes. My favorite confusion is whether he sold decorative combs (as implied in the book above) or combs for wool carding as cited by Durling and Martinez in our text.

Inside the church, all was still. Some of the same painters whose works I have come to love (the Laurenzeti brothers for example) were on the walls. Somehow the environment helped me get a grasp on the disciplined penance of the souls in Dante's purgatory.

Truffles

It is late as I write this but I am awake enough to savor my day. The moon is waxing maybe two days away from full. (I haven't checked a lunar calendar or, for that matter any calendar in a while!). Morning class tackled through Canto 7 of Purgatorio before the break and we were energized by the first class presentation (Cantos 10-13). Great discussion and really fun time just getting into the poem.

Linda and I made huge sandwiches for lunch at home, and then rushed back for our 2 pm class led by Christie Fengler Stephany. We learned about the process of egg tempera painting and then saw some of the most glorious examples of this in person. Here is a good link about the painting we discussed at the Museo dell Opera in Siena-the article is great as are the images but the real thing just knocks you down. Duccio's Maestà in Siena

from Wikipedia-Duccio's Maestà

The in-museum class was fantastic. Afterwards we enjoyed the amazing museum-drawings of all the pavimenti (floor tiles) from the Duomo were a huge plus. We made our way to one of the biggest attractions-a walk out on the facciatone or large facade of the unfinished addition to the Duomo. Visitors line up to climb a wonderful spiral stairway up to what would have been the front of a large central nave. The planned addition had a tragic end when Siena was hit by the Black Death56,000 of its citizens to the disease (about 70% of the population). Unable to complete the original hugely ambitious design, city leaders simply left the enormous facade as it was.
Here are some images taken on top:

il Campo-seen from atop the Facciatone

Just when you thought things couldn't get better, there were truffles. Linda and I ate out at a wonderful restaurante (Il Guidariccio) off of Via Dupres. Both of us ordered fresh mushroom pasta-and it was magnificent. We capped a perfect day with an hour long walk around the city with the moon shining brightly. But it is late now and I have one more Canto to finish-pull up a chair and see if you can find a copy of Purgatorio on your shelves, and read Canto 18 with me. The truffles will have to remain a dream for another day.

Florence with Linda

"quando s'ode cosa o vede che tegna forte a sè l'anima volta, vassene 'l tempo e l'uom non se n'avvede"

"when we hear or see something that holds the soul strongly turned to it, time passes and we do not notice its passage." -Purgatorio Canto 4:7-9

Battistero-1225-early 1300

Our second visit to "Dante-ville" (aka Florence) was hot. The temperatures rose steeply all day and culminated in a 100 degree baking heat that climbed up from the cobble stones and undulated in from the sides of the buildings. We sought refuge in the cool churches to discuss some of late medieval art and drink in  visual links to Dante.

First stop was Sta. Maria Novella, a Dominican church that houses the Trinità of Massacio and, more impressively situated, the amazing cross by Giotto. But the highlight for me was the painting to the left of the main altar which depicted Inferno, Purgatorio  and  Paradiso  so vividly that I felt as though I were reading the poem itself. The images are by Nardio di Cione (1357) and certainly inspired by the poem. We were not allowed to photograph the interior but here is a link with some excellent information and images: Nardo di Cione-Last Judgement

We took a tour of streets nearby and paused at the intersection of Via del Inferno and Via del Purgatorio  for the obligatory group shot:

For me there were two highlights to this trip-being able to share the sights with Linda, and the beautiful baptistry in front of the Duomo. The mosaics in this last class stop were done between 1225 and the early 1300s by skilled Venetian mosaic artists working from the designs of Coppo di Marcovaldo. The Christ figure in the photo at top is 26 feet tall. It is an enormous dome and each band centers on one story from scripture: the life of Jesus, the life of John the Baptist, corresponding stories from the Old testament, and the acts of the Apostles. Like the Commedia, the dome leads you to want to read more! The stories just draw you in so fully.

Time did flow quickly inside both wonderful places, but as we stepped outside we were keenly aware of the world. The heat and crowds were unbearable. Not having made reservations online in time, I wasn't able to go see the David statue with Linda. The lines were enormous and even people with tickets had a half hour wait in the hot sun.

On the side streets of Florence

We opted for simpler sights-which were equally fun. It seems that when you are with a like-minded friend your eyes open wider and, cheesy as this sounds, so does your heart. Despite the oppressive heat, Florence was beautiful to me this second visit.  

Linda makes sure I am still following-I tended to get a little ga-ga at the buildings

We went to the Ponte Vecchio and I searched for the padlocks which lovers leave. The tradition is to lock the padlock on the side of the bridge and throw the key into the Arno river to symbolize everlasting love. Last time we went, the locks must have all been removed to make way for more (apparently there is a limit to " everlasting" in the material world).

The locks were there!

 We caught the 3:40 bus to Siena and it felt like coming home. The city was sleeping out the hottest time of the day and we quickly followed suit.

Living Poetry

I was lucky enough to grow up just a few miles southwest of where Robert Frost did some of his most memorable writing. As a result, I grew up thinking that poems were things that lived right alongside the people and things that inspired them. (In the annals of best-summer-jobs-ever was my stint with the Youth Conservation Corps as a 16 year old where I got to spend three days with my work crew tidying up the paths of the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail in Ripton, VT).

Here in Siena I am reminded of the living nature of poetry. Dante's almost 700 year old poem pulses through the very stones of the city. As a Florentine, Dante felt his city's rivalry with Siena and makes some derisory remarks that echo this. But he also mentions Siena in the favorable light of some  prominent politicians, artists and church figures. All around the city are stones with these portions of the Commedia etched into them-I have so far found just three. Below is one of that we touched on in our readings today:

"remember me: I am Pia; Siena made me, Maremma unmade me." The speaker is a woman about whom little is known now but presumably early readers recognized her story even from the brief line above. Early commentators and legend say that she was a woman who died by her husband's hand, possibly for infidelity. Her name suggests compassion and, in her exchange with Dante, she pleads for him to remember her to the living after he has: " returned to the world and are rested from the long journey". I love the shift in language here-she first insists that he rest and then worries about her name being set to right in the land of the living.

I love these subtle touches in Dante's language which speak to me even when the deeper allusions to Ovid, Vergil and Augustine befuddle me (I am working on those!). They are the same subtleties which hum through this city.

Reading in the cool of Fontebranda

On another note-I have scarcely had time to process the trip to Rome. I will make a best effort at this in the near future. Suffice it to say that I have seen the Holy of Holies (Sancta Sanctorum of San Giovanni in Laterano) and many things beyond quick glossing here. Against the backdrop of an overwhelming abundance of history, art and  general beauty, my best friend Linda arrived for a week long visit. Tomorrow we head to Florence to see more of " Danteville".

Though my readings are just now getting me out of the Ante-Purgatory-province of the indolent folks who didn't quite get around to doing what they were supposed to, I am certainly not feeling any slothful tendencies.

In Absentia

This weekend we will be visiting Rome to see Dante-related landmarks there. In my absence, I am posting this cute little guy-not sure what mythical beast he is but he forms part of a column base in the Duomo in Siena. If you know what he is, let me know. (his somewhat confused expression suggests that he's not too sure himself about the whole identity thing).

Art and War

Could this be a flagpole from the Battle of Monteperti?

The Battle of Monteperti is something I've been hearing a lot about lately. Fought just 8 miles from here on September 4, 1260, it involved factions of the Florentine Guelfs and Sienese Ghibbelines. I am not going to go into a lot of detail on these guys as, especially by Dante's time, it is a tangled mess of alliances and rivalries. The condensed version is that a lot of political maneuvering was done all over Europe around power brokers among the Holy Roman Emperors and the ever-more ambitious popes. Suffice it to say that Dante was a Guelf and as such had a dog in the fight even though it precedes his birth by 5 years.

This afternoon we visited the magnificent Duomo or Cathedral of Siena. Naturally, the first thing that caught my eye was this humble looking, though VERY tall, pair of wooden poles propped up against the inside pillars. Bill Stephany relates that he asked a guard about them one day and was told that they were either a) the mast from the ships at the Battle of Lepanto (Cervantes was in that one!), or b) the flagpoles from the Battle of Monteperti. Sounds a bit far fetched that people in either case would have these long skinny poles dragging about but it turns out that the Monteperti theory actually holds some water.

In any case, Canto 32 has a really great moment with Florentine Bocca degli Abati, a famous traitor in the battle. Dante (the pilgrim AND the poet in his writing) literally attacks Bocca. There is never any doubt about the severity with which Dante treats those who betray kin, community and country.

Why do we travel

St. Jerome in the Capella della Madonna del Voto by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Travel is on my mind lately-not least because of the Commedia and its tale of an epic journey. Today we read the diptych Cantos 26 and 27 about the physical voyage of Ulysses (Dante came up with his own version of Homer's Odyssey) and the "spiritual" journey made by Guido de Montefeltro. Both are placed in the 8th bolgia of the 9th circle of Hell-a place reserved for those who counsel fraud.

These two Cantos just came alive in discussion today. It is interesting as much of what Dante condemns in these two travelers was underscored by experiencing the inverse. Both characters travel for personal gain and out of an individual desire for knowledge. Dante's Ulysses says " neither the sweetness of a son, nor compassion for my old father, nor the love owed to Penelope, which should have made her glad, could conquer within me the ardor that I had to gain experience of the world" (remember that this is WAY different from Homer's guy who is fiercely motivated to get back to his family). 

Guido is likewise driven by personal gain- a spot inside the gates of Heaven."I was a man of arms, and then I was a Franciscan, believing so girt, to make amends"  he says with the air of one whose deal fell through. (Both Guido and Dante's Ulysses souls are in hell for counseling others to do fraud as part of their self-centered journeys). Neither repents of the duties shirked or people injured along the way. 

It kind of reminds me of those climbers in Jon Krakauer's account of the 1997 Everest disaster. Dante's journey is just the opposite. He can't sidestep the hardships to get to the good stuff, he relies on and is grateful for the help of others, and he shares what he's learning on the way. It strikes me that reading this poem is a similar journey. It involves personal preparation and struggle, but is also dependent on others. 

After our 3 hour reading discussion, we went to the Duomo-the main cathedral-in Siena. The entire experience was just spectacular. I especially loved two 15th century statues done by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The one above, St. Jerome, is in the Capella della Madonna del Voto. Two Dante themes here-St. Jerome (347-420 c.e), who traveled quite a bit himself, is best known for translating the Bible into Latin. And the Capella is dedicated to the Madonna del Voto whose miraculous protection the Sienese credit for their victory against huge odds in the Battle of Monteperti- but that story will have to be taken up another day. A glass of wine and Purgatorio call me!

Geryon and Malebranche-Fraud and Devils

Still propelled by the wonders of yesterday's trip to Firenze, we plunged into a double session today (10 Cantos). We were rewarded by some of my favorite characters-Geryon and the Malebranche.

Geryon is a triple hybrid creature modeled on Classical mythical beasts and  combining the "face of a just man" (faccia d'uom giusto) with hairy paws, a heavily patterned torso and scorpion's tail. His appearance at the end of Canto 16  is one of my favorite moments in this Canticle. He is a perfect monster-and as he ferries Dante and Virgil on his back to the lower reaches of hell, I followed absolutely.

In Dante's view, fraud-using words or manipulation to betray self, neighbor, community or God, is a most serious sin and Geryon's impact in the poem is akin to that of shrieking music in a Hitchcock film-you perk up and pay attention. Something is happening.


Action and emotion escalate up through Canto 19 where we hear some of Dante's harshest words against the simoniacs-those who sell sacred or spiritual offices or objects.

I have often heard that the Commedia is a poem that leads the reader to more reading. The Cantos dealing with the lower reaches of hell especially cry out for me to re-read Ovid (Metamorphoses) and Vergil (Aeneid), and dig into my church history readings from St. John's EFM class. The scathing criticisms leveled at the church and government officials hold so much power and resonate so keenly with modern day ethical crises that it is impossible to ignore the magnitude of Dante's achievement in the poem.

And just as I was waning after the tiresome trek through so much corruption, along come the malebranche (Evil claws)- the traditional devils iconic in medieval writings and depictions. They are like a terrifying comic interlude. Bill Stephany describes them as "Police Academy meets A Clockwork Orange"-love that!

After 6 hours of deeply engaging reading, all of us were ready to head off to the enoteca  (wine collection) at the Fortezza Medici near my apartment. Here they have installed an exhibit of the wines of Italy in the cavernous cellar that used to be the armory, and a well-stocked wine bar above. We were able to purchase bottles of wine and take them above to sit in the park with them. My favorite was the 2006 Talosa (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano).If you can find a bottle, open it with friends and raise a glass to Dante's creatures in all their splendor-and may we never find occasion to meet them face to face!

Cimabue for breakfast, Giotto for Lunch and Botticelli for tea

 Mark Twain would have done just fine had he hung around with me for my first trip to Firenze (Florence). Twain famously wrote in his Altas travel letters (which later became the book Innocents Abroad) that he did not want Michelangelo for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. My first sight of Florence's swarming abundance of art was tinged by a Twain-like irony.

At 8:30 a.m. we walked into the Piazza de la Republica (1895) whose huge arches were masked by the temporary stage being set up for a Hard Rock cafe concert by the 1980s rock group Simple Minds. Just above the towering stage was the Piazza's  grandiose prose proclaiming: "L'antico centro della città da secolare squallore a vita nuova restituto." (The old city center restored from secular squallor). But any hint of Twain's cynicism vanished in the next few minutes as we arrived in the Piazza della Signoria and caught our first sight of the huge Medici palazzo and the "office buildings" contructed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for  Cosimo de' Medici. This is the Uffizi. Outside the museum is a sculpture gallery with beautiful copies of some of the most iconic statues in the world. It was tempting just to take photos of them-simulacra that they were.

La Fontana de Neptuno by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1560-75)

We were a large group (15 participants, our directors Bill Stephany and Ron Herzman plus our art history specialist Christie Fengler-Stephany, and  Lynn Kennison and her husband Wes, and family members of many participants). The guards were nervous at our number, but very accommodating. Pictures are not allowed in the gallery itself but here is one of two wonderful dog statues flanking the entrance to the first room.

The first room we entered (Room 2) houses three huge altarpieces from the late 13th century. Cimabue (c.1280) Santa Trinita Maestà  has the most Byzantine traces of the three. The Rucellai Madonna by Duccio (1319), a Sienese, is elegant and more stylized and finally the  Ognizzanti Maestà by Giotto (1310)  shows a Madonna and angels with clear person traits-gestures, emotion and a realistic physical presence. All three of these altar pieces were made during Dante's time and reflect a very radical shift in the way art, artists and people understood religion. The same shift is visible in Dante's works.

The works were overwhelming-but a solid pleasure remains. As my roommate Catherine noted, the salient figures were the women. From Boticcelli's  Primavera  and  Birth of Venus, to da Vinci's Annunciation, the most striking figures were these powerful, breathtakingly beautiful women.

We spent about two hours in the museum but did not get to even half of the rooms. A big surprise was being able to walk through the Corridorio Vasariano that Cosimo had built across the Arno to avoid having to mingle with the people. It was studded with long, unobstructed views of the Arno and Ponte Vecchio, and filled with majestic paintings.

The views from the corridor were stunning. Here is the Ponte Vecchio -you can see that corridor running on the right side of the photo and across the top of the bridge.

Paintings line the Corridorio Vasariano

On the walk, I paused to take photographs here of the wide Arno beneath  us and some of the scores of paintings lining the wall.

The pictures provide a small idea of the grandeur and scale-but it was truly overwhelming. One can only wonder where Aristotle's idea of the golden mean was in all of this.

Happily, I discovered that goats were portrayed positively in several master works. Below is one particular painting- I believe this is by Benedetto Luti (1666-1724) though we were rushed and my notes are as scattered as were my thoughts at this time.

Outside was the poured concrete faux grotto that the Medici family constructed to have a cool space in summer. The dripping structure was reminiscent of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Spain.

Naturally, I loved the inclusion of a whole flock of concrete sheep, and the lovely goats painted on the dome as if high on the slopes of a hill.

It was time to forage for some food of our own. We walked the short distance across the Ponte Vecchio to il due fratelli (the two brothers) panini  shop and bought amazing sandwiches on the best bread that I have had so far. We split into smaller groups and explored the piazza by the Duomo  and walked to the Academia were Michelangelo's 17 foot high David  is housed. Unfortunately the museum was closed on Mondays so we will have to wait another day-perhaps we'll arrive there at tea time and toast Mr. Twain then.