We are leaving Florence today. Next stop… Venice. I had a couple of last thoughts and experiences about this beautiful city.
First, that’s a helluva wedding gift.
I’m always fascinated by stories of art thefts. Art fakes. Maybe it’s the reporter/art lover in me. I love a good story… especially when it has a happy ending.
Such is the case of the painting called the Vase of Flowers. Today, it sits behind glass and well protected in the Pitti Palace Museum in Florence.
Here’s the story from the BBC. The work was done by Dutch Master Jan van Huysum in 1824. It was displayed in Florence until World War Two.
Fearing the worst, the Italians boxed it up and shipped it to a safe place away from the Nazis. A German soldier found it anyway, took it and gave it to his bride as a wedding gift.
Like I said, a helluva wedding gift.
It took years of talks and negotiations. Finally, in 2019, 75 years later, the Vase of Flowers was returned. A happy ending.
A lot of brain power.
At the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, some of the greatest minds in the history of the world are buried. Ready for this? Galileo. Michelangelo. Dante. Machiavelli. (da Vinci is recognized here too. He’s buried in France.)
Those are just the big names. Many, many more. Even Marconi is buried here. (He holds a special place in my heart and wallet. Marconi invented the radio.)
Now, on one of those super fast trains to Venice. Can’t wait to see it. The last leg of our trip.
Venice has a lot to prove to me. Florence was incredible. A lottery win and I’m there forever.
Just missed you. We are in Florence today. We just came from Venice and on to Rome next. The opposite of your trip. Dante’s tomb is here but not his body. He is in Ravenna. Big squabble about it for hundreds of years. Have fun