IL MECENATE -- LUCCA, ITALY -- PART 2

LOCALLY SOURCED, DIVINELY PREPARED CUISINE

IN THE FINEST LUCCHESE TRADITION

Dapples of shadows and light played off the ochre of walls, the indigo of an awning, the vermillion of window box geraniums.

 

But tourists (as opposed to travelers – fodder for a future blog posting) were also in full bloom.

And restaurants catering to tourists were plentiful as well.

Finding a gem off the beaten path would be a challenge.

Fortunately, our guide led us through some tranquil residential streets to Il Mecenate, a restaurant specializing in frutti di mare.

In Italian, il mecenate means “the patron,” and indeed, it is all about you, the one sitting at the table.

 

We felt as though we’d been invited to dine with long-lost cousins at their country house in the rolling hills of Toscano. 

 

IL MECENATE REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- SEPTEMBER 15

IL MECENATE -- LUCCA, ITALY -- PART 1

LOCALLY SOURCED, DIVINELY PREPARED CUISINE

IN THE FINEST LUCCHESE TRADITION

By Heidi Johnson-Wright

Travel brings many pleasures, perhaps the best of those being a treasured experience one did not expect.

During a fortnight spent in Tuscany, we took a day trip to Lucca, a delightful little town just a short train ride from Florence.

 

Upon arrival, we took a cab into the old heart of the town, still encircled by a centuries’ old, amazingly well-preserved stone wall.

We met up with a guide, who took us on a walking tour of various cathedrals, piazzas and landmarks.

After several overcast days in Florence, we were entranced by the sunlight bathing everything in a golden glow. 

IL MECENATE REVIEW CONTINUES

TOMORROW -- SEPTEMBER 14

FLORENCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- PART 8

THE MOST VIVID PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING EVER PUBLISHED ON THE RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND

The greatest blown up image of the book comes from Filippino Lippi's Madonna with Saints altarpiece from Santo Spirito.

On one page, the full painting is printed with the Madonna, child and saints taking up the vast majority of the image -- with some ancient buildings and Tuscan hills in the background.

The entire facing pace is dedicated to an enlarged full detail of only the background scenery seen in a small portion of the full painting.

All of a sudden, Florence itself comes alive with Lippi's depiction of the San Frediano gate and other buildings as they appeared in 15th century Firenze.

Better still, about a dozen depictions of daily life in late 1400s Florence come to life in the detail shot -- including a father hugging his daughter good bye and a pair of dogs growling at each other in the street.

Such treats await every turn of the page in H.F. Ullmann's brilliant Florence Art and Architecture.

There are many different versions and updated editions -- in several languages -- of Florence Art and Architecture.

The hardcover book retails for as little as $30.

For more details, consult:

www.ullmann-publishing.com/en/homepage

FLORENCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- PART 7

THE MOST VIVID PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING EVER PUBLISHED ON THE RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND

The deliciously ghastly "Last Judgment" mosaic decoration on the vault of the Baptistery of St. John gives one reason to venture beyond the famed bronze doors -- south done by Andrea Pisano and the north and east by Lorenzo Ghiberti, whose magnificent east pair of doors were dubbed by Michelangelo as "the Gates of Paradise."

The enlarged detail of Christ's face and bleeding torso, from Giotto's Crucifix in the church of Santa Maria Novella gives much more insight into the human-like depiction of Christ than one could ever see while gazing at the crucifix from inside the old church.

The detail of Andrea Orcagna's Triumph of Death portrays the imperfect townspeople's faces more vividly than one sees when visiting the detached fresco in the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce.

www.ullmann-publishing.com/en/homepage

FLORENCE Art and Architecture review 

continues tomorrow -- September 12

FLORENCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- PART 6

THE MOST VIVID PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING EVER PUBLISHED ON THE RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND

If you are thirsting for the stories behind art and architecture in the cradle of the Renaissance, read the excellent essays by the dream team of art critics assembled for this book.

You will learn a great deal about the painted, sculpted, frescoed and otherwise ornamented Florence -- much of it by the patronage or force of will of the Medici family.

And though Florence will always be known for the Renaissance, the Art and Architecture publication sets the scene by first exploring Medieval Florence and Gothic styles leading up to the Renaissance.

The book triumphs most when its large format allows the armchair art historian to enter a magical world of heighten knowledge through detail shots.

www.ullmann-publishing.com/en/homepage

FLORENCE Art and Architecture review 

continues tomorrow -- September 11

FLORENCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- PART 5

THE MOST VIVID PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING EVER PUBLISHED ON THE RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND

"The Idea of Florence still fascinates the world, because no city in Europe is the showcase of art more than Florence," Paolucci writes. 

"Nowhere else does the voice of a glorious past appear so visible and still so eloquent. It is not possible to look at Florence with the eyes of an archeologist; you do not walk the streets of a dead city."

Florence Art and Architecture can be enjoyed on many levels.

If you are feeling purely visual, thumb through the many facing pages that represent a single piece of art displayed in nearly poster-sized 12x20 format.

If you are feeling curious, but not super engaged, gaze at the art of Donatello, Giotto, Cimabue, Bronzino, Vasari, Pisano, Ghiberti, Della Robia, Da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Masaccio, Lippi, Michelozzo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Brunelleschi while reading only the detailed photo captions.

 www.ullmann-publishing.com/en/homepage

FLORENCE Art and Architecture review 

continues tomorrow -- September 10

FLORENCE ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- PART 4

THE MOST VIVID PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING EVER PUBLISHED ON THE RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND

The book's more than 500 high quality photos are almost exclusively taken from the world-famous Alinari photographic studio.

Founded in Florence in 1852, Fratelli Alinari is the oldest firm in the world working in the field of photography.

The birth of photography and the story of Alinari go hand in hand in their development and growth and the firm owns more than four million classic images.

The Alinari touch and Ullmann's dedication to fine quality print stock shows in haunting architectural images of 

Brunelleschi's dome on the Duomo, Michelangelo's Medici chapels in San Lorenzo and dozens of other images of piazzas, cathedrals and sculptures.

www.ullmann-publishing.com/en/homepage

FLORENCE Art and Architecture review 

continues tomorrow -- September 9