Una Bella Giornata

Ciao,

This morning I decided to get up early to seize the day. I woke up about 8:30 (haha I guess it wasn't that early) and join my friends Breanne and Grace for breakfast at Cafe Lib. I got my favorite pastry of all time which is has the bread similar to a Palmier but filled with a ricotta custard of some sort. It is so good! As we the three of us were eating breakfast, more and more people kept joining our table. It was such a delight because we all just sat around and visited. We talked about things we find beautiful in life. Mine being old couples. With that comment the conversation transformed into cute, fun parents stories on how they met. It was just a pleasant way to start the morning. I have really grown to love Firenze and I love the fact that we have the opportunity to be able to have breakfast at a cafe together and talk about almost anything on our minds. It was fun.

So an hour and a half later Breanne, Grace and I finally left Cafe Lib. It was a a beautiful rainy day. We began our mission in finding Breanne's church she was suppose to photograph for Religion class. It was right by the Arno River. It was a pleasant walk down to the river. We took the route down by the train station to pass Santa Maria Novella, which is where Massacio's Trinity was. I had never seen the front of Santa Maria Novella and when we got there, I found it to be beautiful. There was a pretty grassy field infront. The Facade comsisted of multicolor marbles ranging from white, green and red. The rainy day just seemed to make all those colors even more vibrant.

After stopping and marveling at the church, we continued our way to Bre's church. We finally arrived and we came to find that it was closed. So instead we crossed over to the bridge and had a small photo shoot. For some reasons the colors of the bridge and all the buildings with the grassy hills in the distant had a beautiful, vibrant contrast. It was a perfect scene for pictures. At one point Bre put her camera on self-timer. For some reason the self-timer was not really working. As usual. Luckily a man was passing by and he offered to take our photo. In exchange for our photo we took a picture of him with his camera. Because of this we began talking with him and we found out that he was from South America. He was in the military, stationed in Rome and her was on leave for the day and decided to visit Firenze. It was really cool being able to speak with someone from the same side of the Hemisphere that we are from. He was really nice. I think its those keys moments in life when you make those small, short friendships that are most fun. It is just so interesting to hear about someone's life for a brief moment in time.

After our conversation with the fellow "American", South American, we continued our way to another church. Basilica di Spirito. This church was the church in which Michelangelo studied human anatomy. It was there that one of the priest allowed him to do so. As a thank you gift, Michelangelo carved a wooden Crucifixion for the chruch. We found the church which was located in a cute and quaint piazza. We then entered the church, which was beautiful and found our way to the Cricifix. The Crucifix was breathtaking. Michelangelo carved the Crucifix when he was 18 years old. You could tell it was a work of Michelangelo's because of the way of the human anatomy. Very Percise with the movements and measurments. The bosy was idealized yet you could see the strain and tension of the twisting in the body produce from the pain in his feet and hands. While there was the tension in his body, his face was so peaceful and serene. It was so peaceful in death. He did a really beautiful job.

Leaving the Basillica di Spirito we headed back to Santa Maria Novella. We took our time on our way there so we could just walk down random streets of Firenze and see the city. We arrived to Santa Maria Novella and to get to the entrance of the church, you have to walk through the cloisters. These cloister we so peaceful and serene. I just love how churches have a designated area where one can walk and meditate with God. I feel like in America we often at times to forget to meditate with God and get caught up in our busy lives, but these cloisters almost willingly force you to meditate upon God. it was very beautiful with a luch green grassy courtyard and trees with moss.

Once inside the church, your eyes are immediately drawn to Masaccio's Trinity. It was so amazing to see. I loved seeing it in person 1) because I have studied about this work of art for the past two years and 2) you can see so many more details in person than in a book. I learned to appreciate this work of art more by seeing it in person. One thing I noticed was the hands of God, the Father. They were underneath the cross-bar on the cross. It was almost as if he was lifting up his Son, but also offering up his son for the salvation of humanity. Another thing I noticed was the expression of God's face. You could see the pain, the sorrow, and sadness in his face at the fact that he has to give up His one and only Son. But you also see the knowledgein his exspression that he has to give up his one and only son for the salvation of humanity. It was such a beautiful painting showing the emotions of the Father giving his only son to die a horrible death.

This was such a perfect day. It was a day filled of good conversation, pleasant walks and great sightseeing.