Italy

The walls of Settignano.

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Telemaco Signorini (1835 – 1901) was an Italian artist who belonged to the group known as the Macchiaioli.  He painted this lovely, impressionistic painting of his daughter Fanny in 1885.

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The walls running through Settignano look exactly the same today.  I love the everyday, slice-of-life aspect of this painting, which puts me immediately in Settignano, then or today.

The historical quartieri of Florence.

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In 1343 Florence was subdivided into 4 quartieri, after the expulsion of the Duke of Athens and at the same time as the building of the city’s surrounding walls.

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Each quartieri was named for the major house of worship in its district: Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, San Giovanni, and Santo Spirito.  Each district has its own color: SMN is red; Santa Croce is blue; San Giovanni is green; and Santo Spirito is white.

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From the 15th century on, a rugged game of calcio was played between the quartieri in the Piazza de Santa Croce.  It is believed that this game, the forerunner of both rugby and soccer, originated in this Piazza.  Calcio is outside of my area of interest, so I’ll leave it at that!