Morganti Piazza Santo Spirito 3r

This is a little shop in Piazza Santo Spirito, close to the church steps. It specializes in dried grains, rices, and beans – sold in bulk. We’ve gone in several times and have always been happy. This time, we wanted to get some barley “orzo” and the guy working there was funny because he was telling us (in Italian) that it was slippery “scivoloso” to him and he didn’t like them. I thought he said gross “schifoso” and he said, yes, that too. A new word of the day.

Child Sprezzatura

Today I was in the Uffizi on a tour with the British Institute and remembered these portraits of young Medici who also display some sprezzatura. These portraits are all in Room 18 of the Uffizi which is called “The Tribune” and was built by Grand Duke Ferdinand I, one of the sons of Cosimo I. The room held the special items in the Medici art collection which naturally changed as tastes changed. Unfortunately, it is a poorly lit room and the way you have to go through it doesn’t make it conducive to viewing art. It’s a shame because there are some interesting paintings in it. There are quite a few by Agnolo Bronzino who was the court painter for Cosimo I. Here are two that Bronzino painted that are in the Tribune room: Portrait of Bia de’Medici 1542 and Portrait of Francesco I de’ Medici 1551.

Baby, You’ve Got Some Sprezzatura – Renaissance Portraits

The term “sprezzatura” was coined by Castiglione Baldassare in his famous work The Book of the Courtier in 1528. The book is structured around four evenings in the court of Urbino. Each evening a different character talks on a different aspect of being a courtier. Sprezzatura is mentioned in the third evening (on the behavior of courtier women) as a quality that a good courtier should have. Sprezzatura roughly translates to: “a certain nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless.” [ref]

The Renaissance portraits of the late 1400s and early 1500s by Leonardo and Raphael, for example, show sprezzatura-in-spades. Take for example, the two portraits above; Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa 1502-1519 and Raphael’s Portrait of Maddelena Doni 1506. Note how the sitter really doesn’t look at you, but past you and looks almost bored. That’s sprezzatura. The Mona Lisa and Maddalena Doni have it. Do you? By the way, the strange body shapes for women - no shoulders, long necks, and barrel-shaped bodies - were a Renaissance ideal for female beauty. Portraits started off being side profiles, then front-on, and finally to a slight turn to give portraits more dimension and movement. Shown below are examples of each type.

Piero della Francesca’s Battista Sforza and husband Piero della Francesca’s Federico da Montefeltro 1472. In the earlier, side profile portrait style it's hard to tell if sprezzatura is there.


Ghirlandio’s Portrait of Giovanna Tornabouni 1488 and Raphael’s Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga 1504 (daughter-in-law of Federico da Montefeltro and a character in The Book of the Courtier).


Leonardo da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci 1475 and Raphael’s Portrait of Angelo Doni 1506 (Maddalena's - shown above - husband; at least he looks at you).

Pietraforte and Pietre Serena of Florence

 

The book on Florence street names sent me down a tangent researching the two types of stone you see commonly around Florence: pietraforte and pietra serena. Translated, the first is “strong rock” and the second “serene rock” – probably for its grayish color which lends a serene aspect where ever it is used. 

Both are types of sandstone. Pietraforte is often used outside because it is strong and resistant to the elements. Pietra serena is mostly used for architectural details outside and inside. There are exceptions of course, like the Uffizi uses quite a bit of pietra serena, structurally, outside. Pietraforte has a very characteristic, honey-brown color that works well in early morning or late afternoon light (when the sun is at an angle). 

The most famous examples of buildings and structures using this stone are the Pitti Palace, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and Ponte Trinità to name a few. In Renaissance times, pietraforte came from a quarry ("cava") where the Boboli Garden is today. Via della Cava took you to the quarry, one can assume. 

Pietra serena as mentioned is grayish. Examples outside include the Uffizi and in the pilasters of the loggia of Santissima Annuziata. In Renaissance times, pietra serena came from the Fiesole area. So pietra serena came from north of the Arno River and pietraforte from the south of the Arno. Today, this isn't true as new sources were discovered. Here is a technical paper that talks about these types of rock. Here is a tour (from a geological perspective) of Florence that talks about some of the building materials as well.

Street Names of Florence

I was curious about Florence street names so I checked this smallish book out of the British Library, Street-Names of Florence, by Mark Roberts. If you are so inclined, it provides endless hours of diversion as you read about a street name and then wander off (literally and figuratively) on tangents looking for this or that. Some interesting tidbits from the book:

- Via dei Leoni (near Piazza Signoria). Lions are one symbol of Florentine jurisdiction and there were indeed live lions kept in Florence in the 13th and 14th centuries. They were kept on or near this street.

- Via del Canneto (Oltrarno). “Canna” is a reed and “canneto” is a read break (or grove of reeds). We live on this street.

- Costa Scarpuccia (Oltrarno). Probably a diminutive of “scarpata” meaning slope. The street is very steep. The suffix “uccia” expresses smallness (a short street in this case - likely) or endearment (maybe people love to climb this street? – unlikely). This street is near where we live.

- Vicolo della Cava. This small street used to lead to a “cava” or quarry for the honey-colored building stone called “pietra forte” or strong stone, on the Boboli hillside. Access to the quarry was closed in the mid 16th century after Cosimo I and Eleonora bought the Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens were being laid out. (She bought the Pitti because she had the money.)

- Via delle Oche. The street of the geese. “Oca” is goose and “oche” is geese. The origin of the street name is uncertain. Two possibilities could be that it refers to geese ate on All Saints day or a family's coat of arms who lived there.

- Via dell'Olmo. Street of the elm; a big elm tree stood on this street.

- Via Madonna della Tosse. Mothers came to a location on this street to pray for their children who had whooping cough – hence then name "Madonna of the Cough". Eventually the church of the whooping cough came to be: La Chiesa della Madonna della Tosse. Finally, the book mentions that “borgo” means that the street was at one time outside the city walls. I had wondered why that was used in street names. Good, but which walls? There seem to be several old city walls.

Santuario di Vicoforte

We dropped by the Santuario di Vicoforte quickly today because it is a “must” see spot in the Cuneo area (yes, we were rushing to go eat as usual – lunch was waiting). After coming from Florence (with medieval and Renaissance everywhere) getting a dose of the Baroque was a jolt to the aesthetic sensibility. The inside of the cupola dome, said to be the largest elliptical cupola in Europe, is quite Baroque. It’s a monumental space. My main criticism is that the outside proportions of the building – the huge cupola in relation to the four towers – seems a bit awkward. Is it worth a stop if you are in the area? Definitely.

Residenza Pietrabruno

The Residenza Pietrabruna is a bed and breakfast in Serra Pamparato in the Cuneo province of Italy. We stayed for two nights while we were visiting family in the area. There are three rooms in the residenza and kitchen – that’s it. The rooms were in great shape and clean, and the breakfast hit the spot. The owner, Giovanna, was very friendly and we talked for some time about food and recipes (what else do you do in Italy). She gave us some farina saracena (buckwheat) to try back in Florence. The best way to get there from Niella Tanaro (where the main autostrada drops you) is to go through Roburent. Here is the exact location.

It took us about four hours to drive from Florence to Serra including a half hour break. A distance of about 350km. If you are into tunnels, this is the drive for you because Liguria, especially around Genova is nonstop tunnels and bridges. It would not be an exaggeration to say we went through 100+ tunnels on our way there. Some amazing engineering.

05/28/08
We stayed 4 nights again at PietraBruna and had a wonderful time again. This time we took 2 of the 3 rooms. The host Giovanna is a wonderful person and we spent time each morning chatting with her (in Italian and Piedmontese). We got to meet some of her family and learn more about the history of Serra-Pamparato. It turns out that Giovanna and her husband, Gianfranco, created the Ethnografic Museum (Museo Ethnografico) just a few doors down from the B&B. If you can, take a tour of it with Giovanna or Gianfranco.

Agretti

You can find these vegetables, called agretti, in local stores now in Florence. We saw them in stores but thought it was wheat grass. How unsophisticated we are! Then we heard someone talking about them and figured out what they were. We then tried them. To prepare them we first removed the red part which can be time consuming. Then we parboiled for 10 minutes, drained, sautéed in a little olive oil and garlic for a few minutes. They were then served with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. They have a fairly mild taste. Reminded me a little of spinach.

Agretti is also called “roscana” or “barba di frate” (monk’s beard) and sometimes misspelled (I think) “barba di fratte” (which would translate to thicket beard, which doesn’t make sense). Here’s a site on preparing this vegetable and one on ordering the seeds.