Today I had the chance to visit the Palazzo Blu in Pisa, a palace I’ve wanted to visit for more than 2 years. Anything you want to know about it can be found here: https://palazzoblu.it/?lang=en

This beautiful blue-stuccoed palazzo is the site of many attractive cultural activities in Pisa, including concerts, opera, and lectures. I think it would be lovely to enjoy a concert within its storied walls.

It was an excellent thing to do on this hot day, because as I discovered to my great surprise, the building has air conditioning! This is quite unusual even today in Italy cultural institutions. In general, I’ve learned, Italians don’t like or trust a/c. Crazy sauce!

The next 2 pictures give you a sense of the ceiling in this room.

There was a small room devoted to an original 12th century painted altarpiece and a 20th century copy of the same. They were displayed side by side and it was very interesting juxtaposition.

Here’s the original:

Below is the copy: Are your eyes trained enough to detect the difference in quality?

I took a bunch of details of the original, because it was gorgeous and unlike at the Uffizi in Florence, you can really get up close and personal and enjoy the details of this work.

I love that the Christ child wears a piece of coral tied around his neck. Babies (especially in the Naples area today) would often be protected from evil by this magical piece of mineral.

I love the bird the bay is feeding with what looks like a green grape.

This is a very well dressed Christ child! Damask trimmed with gold leaf!

Now a detail of the copy. The thing that caught my eye is that the bird in this work is held by a string tied around its neck. I didn’t see that in the original, so I went back and had a look. The paint is effaced on the earlier work except for the areas at either end of the string. If you go back and look at the details, you’ll see what I mean.

I’ll be posting more on the Palazzo Blu soon. Hope you liked it and learned something new! Ciaoooo!