Florence

Pitti Palace or Pitti about the ceilings

I shouldn’t be so rude. The ceilings were amazing, each one more amazing than the last however I’m not really a fancy ceiling person. Yes, there is a pattern here – plain and possibly dull but never boring.

Perhaps the ceilings were the precursor to the mirrored ceilings of the 1970s (not that I’ve ever HAD a mirrored ceiling, you understand). Anyway, they are ornate and ostentatious and fresco painters from 3 centuries contributed to the decor of the public rooms and living quarters.

Despite not really liking them I kept taking photos of them and really appreciated the skill and workmanship that went into their creation.

I could go on but I won’t. Best to leave the table wanting more, as Dad used to say.

Speaking of Dad, here he is or a very good likeness. It’s a bit blurry because the painting was difficult to get to.

We first went into the rooms containing Modern Art and, I have to admit, I was expecting an Italian version of Campbell’s soup tins or maybe a banana on the wall but I was pleasantly surprised to see art from the 19th century and early 20th century. Not a soup tin in sight.

Even a favourite artist of mine, John Singer Sergeant, featured although not prominently. This painting (“Reconnoitring”) was tucked into a corner and easy to miss which is surprising as he was born in Florence in 1856 and produced many watercolours of the Boboli Gardens which are adjacent to the palace. None of these watercolours were on display….sigh…..

Next was the Museum of Costume and Fashion. Somehow we ended up in a small room with low lighting which, to me, was possibly the most fascinating of all. The photo above is the burial outfit belonging to Garzia de Medici, 7th son of Cosimo de Medici and Eleanor di Toledo who were the Duke and Duchess of Florence at that time. Garzia contracted malaria and died in 1562 or did he… some stories claim he accidentally stabbed his brother and Cosimo then killed him. His body was buried beneath the Basilica de San Lorenzo and was exhumed, along with his brother (the stabbing victim🤷🏻‍♀️) and his parents, in 1948. Isn’t it amazing that his clothing survived and in such fantastic condition, as can be seen by the above photo. His parent’s burial clothes were not so lucky. Apparently the people who exhumed the bodies in 1948 were not that interested in the garments, possibly the only remaining royal outfits from the 16th century. I tried to find out where they were stored but all I could find out was that the Costume and Fashion Gallery received them as a bundle of rags in 1983. They are the finest remaining examples of Italian royal 16th century dress, all thanks to the many years of tireless work by the textile conservators.

This next bit is about the costumes and fashion from the 18th century to today so if you don’t like looking at dresses, scroll down.

By now we were fairly tired but we really wanted to see the Royal Apartments so we went to the lift to get to the upper floor. An “incident” occurred and I was not in any way responsible.

A tour guide (hereafter referred to as THAT woman) pushed in front of Glenys and threw her arm out, barring our way, saying “scusi, scusi….Italian words, Italian words…” then something about one of her party was late and so we couldn’t get on the lift as it only held 6 people and we would have made it 7.

“I’m disabled” cried Glenys, waving her stick around.

“Tough shit “ I said, “we were here first”.

Plenty of walking stick waving, harsh glares and stupid twat statements erupted in the lift foyer.

Security man arrived and realised it was THAT woman (I could tell he’d dealt with her before). He wedged himself between the old lady waving stick + annoyed lady with the Go Ahead And Make Me face and THAT woman to ensure no blood was spilled.

THAT woman and her group got on the lift before us (power of numbers won).

Glenys said “you could get on that lift and I’ll get the next one”

At this stage I still thought they were Italian and I proclaimed, loudly, in English, “I’m not getting on the lift with THAT woman!”

They all laughed.

It was an American tour group with an Italian guide.

We arrived at the Royal Apartments and were taken through by a lovely member of staff. Unfortunately THAT woman didn’t go through at the same time. I say unfortunately as I was planning multiple photo bombing situations.

We probably should have viewed the Royal Apartments on another day as the excessive lavishness and all over GOLD look was doing my head in.

However, it was an interesting day. We were happy to get back to the hotel for an early night.

Tomorrow is rest day.

C