Please find me on YouTube! www.youtube.com/@GetbackLauretta

After my fairly regular weekly bridge game in the Oltrarno of Florence, I like to cross the Ponte Santa Trinita and visit the basilica of the same name. It is one of my favorite churches in the city for a number of reasons. You will see some of them below.

In general, I like to make my posts as concise as possible and to deliver some kind of thoughtful information.

In this post today, I’m abandoning that goal and just sharing pictures I’ve accumulated over several visits. I still can’t believe my good fortune in being able to return again and again to my favorite places. I see something new on every visit.

The standout of this church for me is this set of 15th century frescoes by the painter Ghirlandaio. I adore his work. You might have heard about him if you know anything about the life of Michelangelo; the future painter of the Sistine Chapel ceiling was apprenticed with Ghirlandaio in the late 1480s and learned the technique of fresco painting from the older master.

Look at these contemporary portraits of Florentine citizens by Ghirlandaio in the Sassetti Chapel at Santa Trinita. Many of them are identifiable.

The same church also houses the Davanzati chapel which houses a significant sculpture attributed to another Quattrocento great, Donatello.

You can see the bust, flanked by painted angels, in the arched niche below.

It’s hard to get a good picture of it in this light.

The terracotta bust was restored in 2014 and information about that process is displayed in the chapel.

The next shot is a detail from the frescoes above the Donatello work.

In the Davanzati chapel is the funeral monument of Giuliano Davanzati. This is comprised of a Roman sarcophagus from the 3rd C AD, topped with a lid of a recumbent figure of the deceased, which has been attributed to the renowned Renaissance artist Bernardo Rossellino. It is said that the sculpture depicts a shepherd with lambs, interpreted in a somber, almost monastic manner.

Below is the ancient sarcophagus

The classical tomb and its incorporation of ancient elements reflect both the devotional and commemorative ambitions of the Davanzati family, and makes it one of the most distinctive private memorials within the basilica.

Also in this important chapel is the tempera painted altarpiece:

Above and below are pictures of The Crowned Virgin with 12 Saints by Bicci di Lorenzo (c. 1373-1452).

I’ll end this post with some of the informational documents that are displayed within the church.

Today is the day that I am finally reaching my goal of posting on my new YouTube channel. I’m joining the 21st century, better late than never. If this link doesn’t get you there, my new channel name is Get back Lauretta! which you can find here: www.youtube.com/@GetbackLauretta

My first vlog on Youtube shows scenes of Florence, both natural and man-made. I hope you will like it! I’m excited about the format: you can extend it to full screen for a much better viewing experience. It’s almost like being right here in Italy with me!

I plan to keep posting here as I love the format, but in time I’ll be moving primarily to YouTube. I sincerely hope you will join me there!

Buon ferragosto! Today is the Italian holiday officially kicking off the summer break, but most Italians are already on vacation!

Yikes! It’s hotter than Hades here again! I’m so looking forward to fall!

The only time I can enjoy being outside is first thing in the mornings. Even late in the evening is too hot to be pleasant for a walk. Today I wound up at the Sant’Ambrogio market, which is all but shut town for Ferragosto , the annual vacation month of August.

Figs are my favorite treat in August and September.

The Italian grapes are just now showing up in the market place. Previously they were imported and while good, they weren’t as good as these!

Inside the market building is almost deserted as well this month, but a couple of stalls are still open.

Walking home, I loved seeing this apple tree filled with fruit.

The pleasures of the season mixed with the heat! This is August in Florence!

There is even more to appreciate in Pisa at this fine museum about which I recently posted.

Looking forward to seeing Tender Art in the future!

https://www.theflorentine.net/2025/07/31/new-chopin-movie-shot-florence/

A quick trip to neighboring Pisa is always a treat for me. Many people think the only thing to see there is the famous tower, but that isn’t correct. Pisa was heavily damaged during the Second World War, but I am here to argue that the city is nevertheless a vital place and that even much remains that can take us back to its medieval past. See the bottom of this post for info about war destruction in Pisa and the city’s subsequent rebuilding.

This is an excellent museum:

I highly recommend visiting this fine museum for any serious art lovers.

The 20th century history of Pisa is as tragic as it was seen as essential by the Allies:

High above the earth, research and writing goes on in our world’s finest institutions. I feel lucky to be living in Florence where I can brush elbows with the excellent if heady work that is going on at the Kunsthistoriches Institut. I attend as many of their presentations as I can as well as those by the Medici Archive project. I recently came across this study, which is very interesting indeed for someone who cut their art historical teeth on 19th century American marble (and bronze) sculpture.

https://www.khi.fi.it/de/forschung/abteilung-wolf/the-aesthetics-of-marble.php

I don’t know about you, but in the summer heat of Italy, the best place in the middle of the afternoon, when Italians traditionally disappear from public life for their daily pausa, you will find me in my air conditioned apartment reading. And I am so grateful for the plethora of excellent books available online. What a great time to be alive!

Here are some of the best of the best of my recent reading.

A great read. Kept me in suspense to the last page. Bravo!

Fabulous writing, incredible story, all based on painful truths. Highly recommend.

A sprawling saga, well drawn, recommend! There are worse things than having an estranged adult child as you will read in this book.

Edith Wharton is one of my favorite authors and I had not read this book before. I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are all kinds of parent/child relationships in humankind. This is a short study of one type.

An easy, light read. Sweet and summery.

By the same author, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, an uplifting book that is as charming as it title suggests. Honestly.

A prequel to the same author’s book, Long Island, about which I posted 2 book posts back. Enjoyable, light read.

The Dressmakers of London. I was sucked in immediately and could not stop until I finished it.

And Then She Was Gone. Recommend!

Fabulous novel.

First Born Girls by Bernice L. McFadden. Liked it a lot.

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel. Tells a great story and educates the reader about the resistance in occupied France during WWII.

How does this view strike you?! It’s from a public library, a place I frequent frequently, in the heart of historic Firenze.

Here are 2 videos showing you a view of the lovely courtyard outside the entrance to the library complex.

The next 3 photos will tell you everything the Oblate wants you to know about itself.

Did you read above that the hospital, which is what the Oblate was founded as, was funded by Falco Portinari? Did that name ring a bell for you? He was the father of Beatrice, who was the muse for Dante’s Divine Comedy of course.

Portrait of Folco Portinari by Hans Memling, c. 1490

Below is just a quattrocento fresco depicting the Annunciation. You know, like you find in your average library anywhere in the world. Ha ha.

The Oblate has an excellent spaces for readers and researchers, as well as a fine little cafe for sustenance from all the hard thinking that goes on here. The open air loggia outside the cafe, where the views of the dome of the duomo are to be enjoyed, is without parallel in the city. Sigh. What a wonderful world!