‘Splendors of Florentine Art’

Charles and Martha Grove

The Splendors of Florentine Art course of study was offered for the

first time by Coastline Community College in June 2003. It presented

39 eager art students the opportunity to study the art and

architecture of the Renaissance masters in Florence and Tuscany. Our

group ranged in age from 19 to 78 years.

Glorious Italian Renaissance art fed our minds and souls for 30

wonderful days. Our classmates became our family. Friendships formed

quickly, age differences disappeared. We lived, learned and traveled

together sharing our discoveries in Florence, Venice, Ravenna,

Assisi, Pienza, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Voltera and Todi.

From the largest world-famous museums and cathedrals to the smallest

village churches, we marveled at the masterpieces of frescos,

mosaics, intarsia, sculpture, painting and architecture.

We lived in groups of two to six people in apartments spread

throughout Florence. We were the only Americans in our building,

which was older than the United States. In the evenings, we were

serenaded by the music of Italian life around us. We lived on the

fourth floor with no elevator, no air conditioning and sporadic water

pressure. The street noise was very loud and the narrow streets and

tall buildings did not allow for much breeze during the

record-breaking June heat, but the view from our kitchen balcony was

spectacular. It was a view into another world with tile roofs,

balconies, laundry hanging out of windows, cypress and magnolia

trees, flowers, wooden shutters and stucco walls of orange, yellow

and peach.

We experienced a sense of awe and disbelief as the significance of

the history of our new residence began to sink in, and we explored

the streets of worn stones that echoed the trampling feet and voices

that were centuries old.

Florence is a Renaissance town, fed and nurtured by the

unpredictable Arno River. The wealth that grew from the textile

industry, which was dependent upon the Arno, gave birth to the

Renaissance in Florence. Many incredible geniuses were part of the

history of Florence -- Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Cimabui,

Giotti, Botticelli, Verrocchio, Raphael, Ghirlandaio, Masaccio,

Donatello, Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. One can read about their

accomplishments and look at pictures, but viewing the beauty of their

masterpieces in the environment for which they were created is a most

moving and spiritual experience. The various architectural features,

proportions and materials of the cathedrals added to the effect of

the paintings and frescos.

At the geographical and spiritual heart of the city are the

Baptistery and the Duomo or Cathedral of Florence. The Baptistery is

a late 11th-century building named for John the Baptist where all the

children of Florence were baptized. The citizens of Florence are

extremely civically proud. This octagonal zebra-striped structure is

considered to be one of the most exquisite works of the Florentine

Proto Renaissance.

The Duomo of Florence, named Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of

the Flowers, built in the 14th century, is the world’s fourth-largest

Christian Church. It stood open to the elements without a roof for

almost 60 years until Felippo Brunelleschi engineered and built the

city’s most dominant architectural feature. Florentines never want to

live outside the shadow of this famous dome.

Florence is best seen on foot, with a good pair of shoes, a map, a

camera and some knowledge of the language. The Italian people that we

met were extremely gracious and patient with our attempts to

communicate in their language. A “buon giorno” or “buona sera” never

failed to get a smile and a reply. Our favorite memories are of

shopkeepers, waiters, neighbors and taxi drivers. We loved shopping

for the wonderful fresh produce in the central market or the small

neighborhood shops. But don’t touch the vegetables. That is a no-no.

We made our own bruschetta, cooked pasta and sampled Vin Santo

with our apartment mates, Susan and Hal Sheakley. We quickly became

familiar with the little streets that curved and changed names at

almost every block. We walked everywhere and made frequent gelato

stops to rest our weary feet.

Our hours in the classroom passed too quickly as we soaked in the

volume of knowledge provided to us by our learned teachers Lynn

Torrini and Jane Bauman. They traveled with us throughout the

beautiful Umbrian and Tuscan countryside to the walled hilltop towns

and guided us to master works seldom seen by the casual tourist. We

studied art history and learned about the techniques employed to

create the art we viewed. Studio days found us painting with egg

tempera made with real egg yolk and designing our own mosaic with

semi-precious stone.

On San Giovanni day, all of Florence turned out to celebrate its

patron saint with a parade and calcio game. This is one of the

biggest feast days in Florence. Calcio games have been held here

since the 1500s, and we were privileged to participate in this

wonderful historic event. Before the game was a magnificent

procession with costumes from the 1200s. Drums, trumpets, horses, red

and white flags, and the white cow which would go to the winning

team.

A calcio game is like a gladiator game without the lions. There

are many men on the field at one time, with few rules and a lot of

sweat, dirt and some blood. The teams of muscular young men are from

separate sections of Florence, and there is great rivalry and

cheering.

We learned together and lived together, but each one of us came

home with our own unique experience and memories. We came home with

journals, rolls of film and inspiration for our own art creations. We

came home changed by the beauty we had been privileged to see in

person.

“Beauty is momentary in the mind, but in the flesh immortal.”

-- WALLACE STEVENS

* CHARLES AND MARTHA GROVE are from Costa Mesa.

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