Rio-Antirio Bridge

We drove over the Rio-Antirio Bridge on February 11th 2008 on our way from Nafplion to Delphi during our Greece trip. A little late to blog about it, but we wanted to show a picture of it. It is a gorgeous bridge. There are old fortresses on either side of the bridge. We stopped on the southern side at the Fortress of Rion which offers a nice view of the bridge. It was free to get in. (Not sure about the fort on the northern side.) The picture attached to this post is from that fortress. It cost us 12 Euros to cross over in a car.

Chiesa Santi Apostoli

The church of Santi Apostoli is opens on Piazza del Limbo located just west of the Ponte Vecchio on the north side of the river. The brochure from the Archdiocese of Florence says it dates back to the 11th century – the great period of Florentine Romanesque. For me the church is interesting because it is simple, off the beaten track, and suggests a possible location that Brunelleschi drew his inspiration for his signature design in the Ospedali degli Innocenti, Santo Spirito, and San Lorenzo – the rounded arches ending on columns. At least, I can’t imagine how Brunelleschi would not know about the church and would not have looked at it (ditto on San Miniato). Vasari in is Lives of the Artists says as much – but then again, he didn’t quite always get it straight.

Horror Vacui and the Accademia del Cimento

It started when I was reviewing the lives of Ferdinando II and his brother (Cardinal) Leopoldo de’ Medici. I then stumbled onto something called the Accademia del Cimento which was a scientific academy founded by Galileo’s students to promote Galilean methods. The Accademia ran for about ten years between 1657 and 1667. The two Medici brothers help found the Accademia and its members met in the Pitti Palace.

One of the theories that the Academy addressed was that of horror vacui – the idea that nature abhors a vacuum. The theory had been kicking around since Aristotle and was finally disproved in an elegantly simple experiment by Evangelista Torricelli (1608 – 1647) - a prominent member of the Accademia. (You can find a nice explanation here. Click "Pneumatics" and then "Barometric Experiment". Make sure you navigate through the Flash pages to get the nice British man explaining the experiment.)

There is a lot of very interesting information at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science web site. Just type “vacui” or “torricelli” or “cimento” in the search box and start exploring. I’m embarrassed to say, we have not yet gone to this museum. It’s on the list. We’d heard that some of the exhibits were closed during some restoration so we’ve been putting it off.

I’ve heard some refer disparagingly to the Baroque style as a form of horror vacui – fear of leaving any space undecorated.

Dawn of the Renaissance Course

I just started the four week course Dawn of the Renaissance at the British Institute in Florence. I have already taken the four week course The High Italian Renaissance and the two week course The Medici: Power and Art of a Renaissance Dynasty. I think there will be some overlap of what I’ve learned already but I will use it to review and go deeper. For every two hours of class or tour, it takes me as long, if not longer, to retype the notes, add images, and add my own interesting tidbits. Along the way, there are thousands of little-side-streets-of-trivia to get lost in. For example, today I was reviewing some notes on the Medici and ended up on the Wikipedia page for Horror vacui. How did that happen? See this post.

Here is a sample program for The High Renaissance course that has past. Note, times and places probably change every time the course is offered (several times a year) so only use this to get an idea of the pacing.

Via del Canneto Sounds

The sound of church bells that waifs over the street. The muted sound of opera practice: a teacher playing piano scales and a student following in voice. The click-clack of a pair of heels. The banter of a mother and child on their way to or from school. The swoosh of the neighbors broom (she is dressed in a smart black and white wool dress with yellow rubber gloves ). The sound of the mailman shoving letters through the slot. The sound of an electric scooter – which has a more pleasing sound compared to a gas-powered scooter. The raising and lowering of tiny garage doors – highly prized on this narrow alley/street. The sound of the dog (who watches from one of the little “bridges” across the alley) as he barks to alert the alley that another dog is approaching. People are not of interest to him. The chatter between the man who cleans the street and a man leaning out the window. The sound of the baby in the tiny courtyard across from our house and the mother saying “amore – attento!” The cooing of a dove that is on vacation from the city center. The chirping of a sparrow building a nest somewhere under an eave. The giggling of lovers slowly strolling up to where Via del Canneto meets Costa Scarpuccia and where they can sit in the tiniest of parks (one bench in an indentation in the street) and makeout for two hours. The sound of rooster (yes), again where Canneto meets Scarpuccia; behind a sliver of a garden that isn’t visible. The bone-jarring slam of a door (the woman in the yellow gloves again).

Would the Real Leonardo Please Stand

I came across this short TED talk (watch it) on the true face of Leonardo da Vinci by Siegfried Woldhek. It was fascinating to me because it seems so simple, yet elegant. I’m sure there will be some controversy. Basically, Woldhek combed through all the images of Leonard and discarded ones that didn’t fit the bill: not a profile, not male, not detailed enough, and too ugly or was a caricature - because Leonardo was always described as beautiful. What’s more is that Woldhek connects the remaining portraits to a statue of David by Verrocchio that some believe is a model of Leonardo. Leonardo could have been the model because Verrochio was his teacher. Here is Woldhek’s post on the identification. The images he connects are in order:

- Andrea del Verrocchio’s David, started in 1473-5, Leonardo age 13-15
- Portrait of a Musican, created in 1485, Leonardo age 33
- Vitruvian Man, created in 1490, Leonardo age 38
- Self Portrait Sketch, created in 1513, Leonardo age 63