I fall in love with Florence at least once a year. I have and will always love this city and all it has given me, but I am struck by Cupid’s arrow annually in a way that makes me stop in my tracks (and text my mother - true story). ⚜️💜⚜️ PS, No, I still haven’t forgiven the Medici for adding their 🔴 all over Siena, but still…#sheholdsagrudge #florence #firstlove #studyabroadchangedmylife #renaissancecity #youcanhavetwoloves #sienaitalytours

(Same text, more pictures!!) If you have a friend named Joseph or Josephina, then wish them “Buon onomastico”, or “happy namesake day”! It’s also Father’s Day in Italy, since Joseph was married to the Virgin Mary and raised Christ as his own. 😇 Joseph is also the patron saint of carpenters. 🪵🔨 In Siena, the Oratorio (church) della Contrada dell’Onda is dedicated to St Joseph. If you’re in town, be sure to go to Via Dupré and enjoy some street food and market stalls selling i carri in the colours of the 17 Contrade. These little cars have pinecones for wheels, and you’ll see children (and everyone!) giggling as they push them along the city streets. 📸 I’ve added some pictures from the Onda for you! 🐬🤍🩵 In Florence, head to Piazza Santa Croce where a parade will begin, then head back to explore the special market there. Piazza Santa Maria Novella will also feature market stalls selling local treats and other Florentine products (including scarves from Torre d’Arte, my favourite!). For more info on St Joe, check out this video I made a few years ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DhqC5OAAtE)! Images (clockwise from top left) featuring St Joseph, plus my favourite Joe (my dad!): Simone Martini, Christ Returning to His Parents, 1342; yours truly with father Joseph and sister Sarah (from just a few years ago!); Federico Barocci, Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1570; carri for sale in the Contrada dell’Onda; Guido Reni, St Joseph and the Christ Child, ca. 1638-40 (I LOVE this one!!); Georges de la Tour, Joseph the Carpenter, 1642. #sangiuseppe #stjoseph #festadelpapà #italianfathersday #contradacapitanadellonda #sienaitalytours

It doesn’t matter when you read this post - I’m probably still full from these 2 days in Parma! There’s a reason Reggio-Emilia is considered to be the best food region in this fine country 🧀🍷 But you know me - had to get some art in there as well! (I’m sorry I didn’t take more pix of food…I don’t have that kind of patience because I always want to EAT right away!!). Also had the incredible surprise of seeing Nico, a brilliant Rick Steves’ colleague, at breakfast. What are the odds?! #parma #cattedralediparma #battisterodiparma #antelami #correggio #ammonites #ricksteveseurope #mylowcountries #imstillfull #reggioemilia #iloveitaly #ilovefood #sienaitalytours

Time is running out - you only have until St Joseph’s Day (19 March, also Italian Father’s Day) to get your hands on some Fritelle di Savelli! These fried (in EVOO, ovviamente) rice balls have a hint of orange and a taste of history, as the Savelli family has been making these Carnevale treats since 1946. Head over to the little hut in the Piazza del Campo, take a number, and practice saying “Ne vorrei cinque, per favore” until it’s your turn. It’s well worth the wait and the €1.25 you’ll pay for 5 of these sugar-coated delicacies (of course you can always get more!). #siena #piazzadelcampo #fritelledisavelli #carnevale #sienaitalytours

After over a year of waiting, Orsanmichele has finally reopened its doors! Located in the very heart of Florence in between the religious and political hearts of the city (Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Signoria, respectively), this 13th-c granary was transformed into a church, with external niches on all four sides featuring marble and bronze statues of the various guilds’ patron saints. Inside, Orcagna’s magnificent 14th-century architectonic tabernacle surrounds a glorious painting of the Madonna and Child by Bernardo Daddi, and upstairs the original statues proudly stand, some with silver eyes, a few with traces of gilding, one with a meticulously carved gap in his front teeth. The statues range from the 14th to 16th centuries and feature in many an art history textbook, with good reason. Those of you who studied the Renaissance will recall that Ghiberti’s St. John the Baptist is considered to be the first over life-sized bronze cast since antiquity, and that Michelangelo remarked that Donatello’s St Mark seemed like a good chap indeed. Bathed in golden light on a glorious winter afternoon, these works radiated a spirit of civic pride and competition, devotion and artistic excellence. #orsanmichele #florence #firenze #renaissanceart #sienaitalytours

The fine for jumping into an Italian fountain is about €400, but sometimes you are invited in and even manage to stay dry! What a privilege to learn about the restoration of Siena’s Fonte Gaia from the inside with the restoration team. You can see that Tito Sarrocchi’s 19th-century copy was in need of some TLC, and by February, she’ll be good as new! Of course, this isn’t the original Fonte Gaia (Fountain of Joy) in the Campo. One of Siena’s greatest sculptors (and friend of the more famous Florentine, Donatello) was Jacopo della Quercia, and he completed this project in 1419. Unfortunately, the marble used was from the Montagnola and therefore not as durable as the more famous Carrara marble, so that by the mid-19th century the sculptures had lost much of their former luster (you can see them in Santa Maria della Scala now though!). The Montagnola marble is very brittle, and Jacopo would have covered any imperfections with paint (traces of which are still visible), but the Carrara copy would have been gleaming white. The restorers are working with 3D scans, lasers, and some good old-fashioned elbow grease to rid the Carrara marble of the calcium deposits from a century and a half of Siena’s hard water, plus Mother Nature’s wrath, and oh so many pigeons’, ahem, “gifts”. No one wanted to leave the restoration site, but when we came out, that brilliant Siena-blue evening sky awaited us (that’s not an official classification of blue, but if you’ve been to Siena, you know exactly what colour it is). #fontegaia #titosarrocchi #jacopodellaquercia #siena #piazzadelcampo #sienaitalytours

Happy New Year to you all! 🥳🥂 What a marvellous Christmas with my family in Massachusetts 🥰 Now it’s back to Italia as soon a new semester begins. It is always with excitement and sadness that I return home. And yes, it is a confusing statement, for I have two homes, the one I’ve chosen and the one my family lovingly created. This constant state of coming and going, the hellos and the goodbyes, the joy and the sorrow…this is life, and it’s glorious, and devastating, and I am grateful for it all. I never would have guessed that this would have been my path, but I suppose I have always made it a point to take the road less travelled by, and it truly has made all the difference. Thank you for being a integral part of this journey. 🙏

It’s always a treat to visit a Contrada museum (all 17 boast beautiful collections in unique spaces), and tonight was no exception. I came for a specific reason though, as the Contrada della Torre has just inaugurated an exhibition on the braccialetti (street lamps), featuring a pair from each Contrada (but with a few more from the Torre, ovviamente). What a thrill to see one I had painted too! I particularly enjoyed the braccialetti with animals, but perhaps my favourite part was the collection of hand-carved miniature lamps. This exhibition is on until 17 January, so do pop in should you find yourselves in town! Hours: Monday-Friday 17:30-19, Saturday 16-19:30, and Sunday 10-13. #contradedisiena #braccialettidisiena #contradadellatorre #siena #sienaitalytours

Just a preview of what I’ve been up to. Do you recognize this famous bedroom?! 🎨And yes, I got a bit teary eyed after this photo was taken - what a privilege to be in here!! #wheredidannago #sienaitalytours

Where did the Sienese get their water? From the bottini! But what are the bottini? They are a series of underground channels that collect groundwater and water from aquifers that then empty out into fountains throughout the city. About 15.5 miles of tunnels are dedicated to this vital service, and exploring them is a rare treat. The Contrada della Lupa and the Associazione la Diana organized visits for us to see the bottino of Fontenuova (the “new” fountain - in 1303 it was indeed new!). What a privilege to finally see what lies beneath our beloved monument! Even better, there was a geologist with us, although I still do not understand how there was once a beach here millions of years ago (but I plan on finally taking a geology course with him at the university next year!). For now, please enjoy some images from this rather magical place, and appreciate the ingenuity of the Sienese, who used these bottini as their principal water supply from the 11th through the 19th centuries. The waters were still used in the 20th century as people would do their laundry here (I am so very grateful for my washing machine), and during WWII, partisans would run messages to and from the city. #bottinidisiena #bottini #associazioneladianasiena #cittasotterranea #fontenuova #siena #sienaitalytours

Should you be in Siena before 8 January, be sure to visit the Pinacoteca to see Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s newly restored Crucifix, back in the spotlight after many years. It dates to ca. 1328-30 and was in the Carmelite church for which, incidentally, Ambrogio’s brother Pietro painted a magnificent altarpiece (most of which also resides in our Pinacoteca). But fear not! After 8 January the Crucifix will go upstairs to join the other 17 crucifixes in the museum’s collection. This temporary location allows us to get up close and personal with the 14th-century master, still years away from his most incredible works. There is a tangible (but please, don’t touch!) pathos that this Christus moriens exudes. The naturalism in the body of the dying Christ allows us to feel his suffering, his closed eyes and slightly parted lips force us to imagine one last pained breath, and the meticulous details of the wood grain brings the scene entirely into our world. Now note the current state of this Crucifixion and compare it to the photo with the red background from the incredible exhibition dedicated to Ambrogio in 2017-18. The restoration was masterful, but all that was done is 100% reversible. I shouldn’t think we’ll want to reverse anything, though, as everything was done with the utmost care and respect, allowing us to imagine ourselves back in the 14th century, in the Carmelite church of Siena, contemplating an unimaginable sacrifice. The true power of art is to bring us closer to understanding that which words can never hope to express; in front of this work, words do indeed escape me. #ambrogiolorenzetti #pinacotecadisiena #pinacotecanazionaledisiena #trecentoitaliano #thepowerofart #ohdearthathashtaglooksfunny #siena #sienaitalytours

What a lovely surprise today to encounter Zio Frac, the glorious horse that won for the Nobile Contrada dell’Oca on 16 August 2023! 🪿 He is back in town for the Oca celebrations, which will culminate in the Cena della Vittoria tomorrow evening (where he will of course be the guest of honour). But the parties won’t actually stop here, oh no 😅 The Ocaioli will have themed festivities each evening through 14 October! It’s hard work being victorious 🐴🥂🪿 (Zio Frac means “Uncle Tailcoat”, but he looks elegant just as he is 🎩 At 8 years old, he’s run 4 Palio races and won 2…who knows what 2024 will bring?!) #paliodisiena #nobilecontradadelloca #ziofrac #siena

Art History 101: The Trinity by Masaccio, ca. 1426-28, Santa Maria Novella, Florence. If you’ve ever taken a Western art course, this painting will have come up in the discussion about one-point perspective, as it is widely seen as the first to incorporate Brunelleschi’s principles to represent 3D space accurately on a 2D plane. It has suffered quite a bit of damage over the centuries, first being covered up during 16th-century renovations (but sneakily protected by Giorgio Vasari). It was rediscovered in the 19th century and subsequently moved to the counter façade of the church (yes, frescoes can be removed!). When the bottom part of the fresco (featuring a skeleton and a helpful reminder that we will eventually end up like it) was discovered in 1952, the Trinity was moved back to its original location. Add to this some varying temperatures in the wall (behind this is a cloister) so that parts of the plaster have lifted, plus the fact that it’s almost 600 years old, and well, today intervention is needed. What I LOVE about recent restoration projects is that they often allow the public to see how work is progressing, so, of course, I did! For just €1.50 more (it costs €7 to enter the church), you can admire this masterpiece from a privileged vantage point, and the small fee helps fund this important work. I went twice 🥰 PS, I never noticed the male donor’s bent ear under his headdress! And it seems that John the Evangelist’s tunic (the sleeve of his right arm is just visible) has an ornate pattern to it. Plus the Holy Spirit’s beak really looks more like a duck’s than a dove’s (or is that just me?). Such details truly cannot be appreciated until you are up closer and personal with a work. In my next life, I shall be a restorer 🤓 #florence #santamarianovella #artrestoration #masaccio #masacciotrinity #renaissanceart #sienaitalytours

The beautiful 18th-century Synagogue of Siena was damaged during the earthquake we had in February of this year. Estimated cost of repair is €320,000, but funds are in short supply. I have just made a donation, and perhaps you can too. As Rosh Hashanah begins and we wish those of the Jewish faith a good new year, we might also reflect on the importance of preserving the Jewish heritage of Siena, which dates back to at least the 13th century. Please visit this page here for more information on the Jewish communities of Tuscany, and to donate: https://www.firenzebraica.it/donazioni-e-pagamenti/emergency-siena/?lang=en * Photos: Interior and exterior of the Synagogue (begun in 1756), in Vicolo delle Scotte in the Contrada della Torre, Siena. * Plaque above: In commemoration of the 14 Sienese people killed in the Holocaust. * Plaque below: This commemorates a particularly horrific episode in the history of the city, when fanatics of the “Viva Maria” group invaded the ghetto to murder 13 Sienese Jewish people, as they perceived them to be supporters of the French (who were occupying Italy at the time). * Bonus pictures: In July 2021 there was a wonderful concert to celebrate the reopening of the Synagogue to visitors. On the keyboard is the Rabbi of Florence and Siena, Gadi Piperno (fun fact: the autocorrect on my phone always wants to change my name ‘Piperato’ to ‘Piperno’!), on the flute is Enrico Fink, President of the Jewish Communities of Florence and Siena, and joining them for an incredibly moving song in Arabic is Emad, member of the Contrada della Chiocciola. I can’t remember the violinist’s name, but she too was incredible! #sinagogadisiena #siena #firenzebraica #sienaebraica #jewishsiena #sienaitalytours