The booty from my recent walk in the countryside outside Florence.All arranged and ready to be enjoyed!
Flower arranging 101
Sweet memories of my mother’s mother
Grandma, I made your incredible cinnamon rolls today and I thought so lovingly of you and your amazing baking abilities. Love you forever,!
Yes, Italians definitely speak with their hands!
As demonstrated by my bus driver the other day. Of course he was speaking on the phone while driving.
The man behind Rome’s graffiti
Palazzo Ducale, Mantua
More beauty from the amazing Palazzo Ducale.
A November day in Florence, 2020, Part 2
Florence, from the Rose Garden, last Monday afternoon. Spectacular day!
The autumn berries were splendid!
In the video above, I captured the beautiful lavender/blue color of the still blooming plumbago that I love so much in Italy!
It was an excellent day to enjoy living in Florence! Grazie mille to my lucky stars!
A November day in Florence, 2020, Part 1
What a beautiful Monday in Florence this week! Especially for November! Piazzale Michelangelo was calling my name.
The view above is my absolute favorite vista of Florence. I love the line of the 12th century walls that once encircled the entire city.
Such a pretty terrace from which to view the city and environs.
The short-cut gate was open, allowing me to enter the Rose Garden from above. I love it when this happens!
True to its name, many roses were still blooming in the garden.
The first fountain, entering from the upper east side of the garden, was in full glory, although the koi were not showing off.
But, the koi were enjoying the November sun in the next fountain:
So many lovely flowers still in bloom.
The 3rd fountain in the garden:
Walking outside Florence during the COVID-19 autumn
This week in Florence, the weather has been lovely. It was sunny Monday and Tuesday, but became increasingly moody by Wednesday.
One of the few remaining pleasures, thanks to Covid, is the freedom to walk all around the commune. I’m taking full advantage of it while it lasts. Here are pictures from my walk yesterday, Wednesday, with Patrizia.
It was a cool but comfortable afternoon, which felt a bit mysterious and suggestively intense with the foggy atmosphere. I love this weather.
Unfortunately, COVID is getting worse and we in Tuscany are now in an orange zone, just shy of the hated red zone.
Despite the virus situation, here are my pictures of the glorious countryside just outside the Northern edge of Florence proper.
Who was Rinaldo Carnielo?
There is a big, handsome palazzo on the Piazza Savonarola in the eastern quartiere of Florence.
I have passed by it many times when I take a bus to the Oltrarno section of the city, starting at my home, near Piazza della Libertà. It attracted my attention because it seems to be an almost art nouveau interpretation of Italian palazzo building style one sees around the city. With the addition of a little Chinese architectural flair? Strange!
A closer inspection reveals that the building was built by or to honor Rinaldo Carnielo. But who was he?
A quick look at Wikipedia tells me “Rinaldo Carnielo (1853 – 1910) was an Italian sculptor known for his macabre sensibility.”
He was born way up north in Italy, above Venice, to a middle class family. After studying in Padua, he moved to Florence to study at the Academy of the Fine Arts under Aristodemo Costoli. He struggled to make a living from his art, but was encouraged by Giovanni Dupre’. Carnielo’s “Dying Mozart” was exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1878.
Although the sculpture was generally well received, some critics were, then, as they often are now, merciless. Even Duprè labeled it a “puny beast.” Nevertheless, commissioners granting prizes from the Italian government found high merit in the sculpture and this success led to many private commissions and financial success.
Among his major works are Tenax Vitae (tough life), a struggle between the skeletal persona of death and a living young man.
Another important work is Dio non posso pregare (God, I cannot pray). It seems to be a Capuchin imploring death as a boon from God.
sealmaiden: “ Rinaldo Carnielo – Italian sculptor, 1853-1910 Angel, 19th century Museo Rinaldo Carnielo, Florence, Tuscany, Italy plaster, wood ”
This success led to many private commissions and financial success. Among his major works are Tenax Vitae, a struggle between skeletal death and a young man,[6]and A capuchin imploring death as a boon from God (Dio non posso pregare). Some works have organic chimeric figures. He continued to make large and small works in bronze. He became Professore corrispondente dell’Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and died in that city.[7]
get back, lauretta! 
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