Art Overload in Florence and Rome

When the Tandem Spirits saw an article in the New York Times about an exhibit of works by Beato Angelico (also known as Far Angelico, but not to be confused with the liquor), we were intrigued. We discovered that there would be two exhibits, one that brought together works from all over the world in Palazzo Strozzi, the other connected with the Museo San Marco, the monastery where he lived from 1436 – 1445.

We made reservations to stay two nights in Florence the weekend after Virginia’s birthday. From Foligno, you first take the train in the opposite direction to the Rome Tiburtina station, then the fast train (Freccia Rossa) to Florence. When the trains are on time, which they were, it is a great way to travel.

Arriving in Florence and Lunch

Our hotel was the Hotel Torre Guelfa. It is located in the Acciauoli Palace and was built in 1341. Our room was clean and comfortable. We would stay there again.
We were able to check-in when we arrived. After getting settled, we set out to have lunch. We had seen some interesting places in Stanley Tucci’s recent show about Italy, and decided to see if della Lola had a table available. She does not take reservations for lunch. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio, walked past the Palazzo Pitti, and over to a nondescript neighborhood. We were in luck, although it is a small place, it was not full. Our lunch was excellent. We shared a rabbit terrine (like a meatloaf). Virginia had gnocchi in a miso sauce. James had braised beef tongue and we both had a matcha panna cotta for dessert.

Palazzo Strozzi and the Fra Angelico

After lunch we went to the exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi. Given the fact that Fra Angelico was a Dominican friar, you would correctly expect all of the work to be religious. His style and colors were remarkable with beautiful colors and expressive faces. Here are just a few:

That evening we went into Florence and enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights in town. We had dinner at la Galleria where we splurged on a perfectly cooked Fiorentina steak.

The Museo San Marco

On Saturday we walked through Florence to the Museo San Marco. We had been there once before, but we were looking forward to visiting again and seeing the incredible mosaics in the Monastery and the priests’ tiny bedrooms. The library had beautifully illuminated manuscripts.

The Mercato di San Lorenzo - Mercato Centrale

For lunch we went to the Mercato di San Lorenzo, also known as the Mercato Centrale. The ground floor is full of food stalls: fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meat, fish, poultry, bead, biscotti, baked goods, spices – all tempting you to bring home something delicious for lunch or dinner. If you take the escalator up to the next floor, there is a food court with a dizzying array of delicious choices. We opted for vegetarian burgers and soup at Il Vegetariano e Vegano.

For the afternoon, we had booked a visit to the Uffizi Gallery, but we had some time to wander around before the entry time on our tickets.

The Uffizi - Simply Overwhelming and Fantastic!

We had forgotten just how enormous the Uffizi is. There were a lot of people, but everyone was polite and it wasn’t difficult to find a good spot to admire the paintings we wanted to see. It is one of those places you can go back to again and again to focus on different artists or time periods.

We decided to have dinner a a restaurant next to the hotel, Mangiafoco Osteria / Tartuferia / Wine Bar. We had noticed it the night before, and it looked good. It was small and cozy, and the food was great.

Gauguin and Picasso at the Museo Storico della Fanteria

Sunday morning we took the Freccia Rossa high speed train to Rome. From there we took a taxi to the Museo Storico della Fanteria to see two small exhibits, Gauguin and Picasso. The Gauguin exhibit called: Gauguin: the Journal of Non Noa and Other Adventures, included woodcuts and pictures from his diary.

The Picasso exhibit had works from his experimental period when he was working in mediums other than canvas, such as engravings, drawings for costumes, and exhibition posters. There were also a number of photographs showing Picasso at home, in his studio or out and about.

We planned to have lunch at the Asian restaurant across the street from the museum, but it wasn’t open. We took a cab to the other side of town to find a place near Palazzo Bonaparte. We wandered over to Piazza San Ignazio and checked out the menu at Da Sabatino. We decided to go in, and we had a very good lunch. We both had pasta dishes.

Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau at Palazzo Bonaparte

Palazzo Bonaparte was exhibiting works by Alphonse Mucha who is best know for his Art Nouveau images of women. In fact, the exhibit is called Alphonse Mucha: A Triumph of Beauty and Seduction. In addition to his art, they had words from other artists, including Botticelli’s Venus.