Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series about Mary Collins’ recent trip to Florence and the hill towns of Tuscany.
I’ve just returned from a two-week Elderhostel trip to Italy, visiting Florence and several other areas in Tuscany. Elderhostel, an educational and travel program for people 55 and older, sponsors trips across America and internationally.
Most Elderhostel travelers enjoy themselves so much that they are already planning their next trip before the current one is over. On this trip there were 35 of us from all over the United States. The focus of the program was Italian Renaissance art, between the 14th and 16th centuries.
We stayed in a lovely, small family-owned hotel in Montecatini, which is about 20 miles outside Florence. This is a town of about 20,000 with almost 200 hotels. Florence is so crowded and expensive that generally tourists stay in places like Montecatini, which has convenient train service into the city, unless there is a strike.
Montecatini is also a spa town, dating from the Roman days, where you can take the “waters.”
Our days were filled with “food and thought.” In this article, I’m going to share some of the highlights of both.
On our first full day in Florence, we visited San Lorenzo, a church dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici, the family that dominated Renaissance Florence. We also toured the Duomo, with its famous dome, which can be seen from almost any location in the city.
Some of us also, went to the Accademia Museum to view Michelangelo’s famous statue of “David”. Unfortunately, with so much automobile pollution, many of Florence’s sculptures have been replaced with reproductions and the originals can now only be seen in museums.
Three of us had agreed to meet for lunch but got separated in the museum store. I prowled the narrow street, avoiding bicycles, motorcycles, cars and other pedestrians, all of us trying to share the same small space, until one of our group came to find me.
We had beer and pizza at a sidewalk cafA?© within sight of the Duomo-What could be better?
The next day, we visited Siena, an ancient Tuscan hill town, which is famous for the “Palio” a horse race, run around the “Campo” – the city’s main square.
Imagine a space several acres in size that slopes downward at a considerable angle and is enclosed by public buildings and private villas.
The horse race spectators gather in the middle of the square, or, if they are lucky enough to know someone, on the balcony of a villa, to watch. This is a no-holds barred race, which the horse most often wins, not the rider, who may well have been left far behind by the end.
It was here that we had our second eating adventure. Seated in the square, eating very tasty mushroom crepes, we were “entertained” by a self-appointed jester, who snuck up behind people to tickle their necks with a feather, sprayed pigeons with a squirt gun and made himself generally a nuisance.
The other, unintended entertainment was provided by students from the University of Siena. On this one weekend of the year the students are permitted to wreak havoc in the city with loud music, decorated cars and various street entertainment. Trying to get a photo of one of the students in his medieval robes, I was almost run down.
A highlight of Siena was its cathedral, part Romanesque, part Gothic and very baroque. It is magnificent with its black and white striped marble exterior and interior, intricately carved marble decor and wonderful mosaic floors.
In a side chapel rests the head and death mask of Saint Catherine of Siena. I loved the sheer, gaudy splendor of the place, but others felt claustrophobic and couldn’t wait to get outside again.
Another very special day was spent in the town of Vinci, where Leonardo da Vinci was born. We toured a museum that houses models of many of his engineering experiments, such as scuba diving equipment, a helicopter and a bicycle.
For lunch we went to the Villa Rosipigliosi for an elegant meal, featuring a flaming pork roast (traditionally this would have been boar) and all the wine we could drink.
Lunch was followed by a piano concert of Liszt’s music. Liszt, though not Italian, lived much of his life in Tuscany. Imagine listening to this beautiful and dramatic music being played in the domed reception hall of the villa just for us!
– Mary Collins is a resident of Gorham and a regular contributor to the newspapers of Current Publishing
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