Author: marymom

Here I am on the Ponte Vecchio doing the traditional pose with the Arno River behind me.

At the church of Santa Maria del Carmine is the Branchacci Chapel. During the 17th century the church burned down but the chapel with its 15th century frescoes survived. We viewed the frescoes painted by Masolino, Masaccio and Lippi. They are really amazing. Leonardo da Vinci said that he attributes the Renaissance to Giotto and Masaccio. The Masaccio figures are so lifelike and emotive next to even Masolino’s. The colors are still brilliant and the frescoes depict the life of St. Peter.

After finishing our visit to the Branchacci Chapel it was almost 3 PM and time for a little lunch. I first ate at the Osteria Santo Spiritu when we came here for the Oracle Users Group Conference in 1994. Every time we come here, it’s kind of a touchstone. Last time we were here the newest owners were celebrating their 10th anniversary of the restuarant. In November they will be open for 15 years. We always have the rigatoni with ricotta salata, a dry cheese. We also had some borlotti beans and a salad of celery, nuts and gorgonzola. It was all good.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed the Duomo which has to be one of the most beautiful churches ever. The cathedral was begun in 1296 and the interior is quite austere. It was completed in 1436 with the magnificent Brunelleschi dome and was renovatd in the 19th century with a Gothic Revival facade. It never fails to impress. Along with the bell tower and the baptistry, the square is unforgettable.

After battling our way around Naples, we were on our way to Florence. One of the things we were going to do along the way was to stop at a restaurant in Chiusi that I had read about in Food & Wine. About 15 minutes away, I asked John when we needed to return the car. He said if we returned it by 3 PM then we would just have a week rental otherwise we would have to pay for an extra day. Apparently he had told me this some time in the past and I had forgotten. So no restaurant in Chiusi just a horrible sandwich at an Autogrill. We got the car back in time.

The picture shows John doing what he does best, checking the internet for all the questions we write down every day and drinking wine. We have a sweet little set up here at the Residence Hilda. There’s a kitchenette and a sitting room as well as bedroom and bathroom. I am going to make scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow. Yum.

And speaking of yum, it’s on to the next post.

The concierge suggested we try Aquacotta, a neighborhood restaurant that was more for locals. (This would be true if their neighborhood was aswim with Americans and Japanese.) When we got there, we got the usual English menu. John dazzled the waitperson with his Italian and we got an Italian menu. But there was no crostini di fegato! So we just asked and voila, they had it. We have often noticed that Italians have a lot to chat about with their waitperson before they order. I guess they are suggesting things that they would like to eat. The menu is just a guideline.

Anyway, in addition to the chicken livers we had some really yummy ribollita and then I had eggplant parmesan and John had rabbit involtini. This came with the best little crispy potatoes ever. They were sauted in olive oil and flavored with rosemary. Then we had some cantucci and vin santo (me) and grappa (John) for dessert. Then we stumbled back to Residence Hilda.

Since John wanted to go up Mt. Vesuvius which I didn’t want to do and I wanted to go to the Isle of Capri which I am assuming he didn’t want to do since my suggestion fell into a black hole, we went to Herculaneum and Ravello. Herculaneum was also a victim of Mt. Vesuvius. The people were victims of a pyroclastic flow instead of hot ash like Pompeii. Some escaped. Pliny the Younger writes a moving account of his escape. He is, in his letter, still waiting to hear if his uncle has survived. (He didn’t.)

So once again we are walking among ghosts. Their houses are beautifully decorated with paintings and business is thriving in the streets. This site is better preserved than Pompeii and if you have time to see only one or the other, I would chose Herculaneum.

This fruit basket painting was in a hallway of a house in Herculaneum.

Actually this was a room in a society for the verneration of Augustus but maybe they ate in their too.

After finishing at Herculaneum we drove up and over the mountains on a twisty, narrow road to Ravello. We had lunch at a restaurant that George recommended called Cumpa Cosimo. The proprietress of the restaurant was very nice and gave us lots of free stuff such as an extra plate of pasta for John, a salad, glasses of limoncello and a dessert. The food was good and Ravello is an attractive town.