Adventures in AndreaLand

So I’m no longer homeless. I’m managed to get myself a great big apt to myself which is part of a huge old Renaissance palazzo and it happens to be 5x my nyc studio. Every room has big windows that open up to a courtyard and rooftops and the building is filled with young noisy college kids that make it just a little less lonely. They’ve even invited me to go out with them, despite my elderly status… perhaps next time.

After getting settled in, I spent the past weekend exploring this unbelievable city that despite the noise of Vespas, american tourists and random love of neon, has managed to preserve the ambiance of its Renaissance past. If I put in my ipod (which I’ve only recently mustered the courage to use due to the aforementioned deadly vespas) and squint just right, walking down the very narrow and winding cobbled streets of terracotta walls, I can somewhat imagine that it hasn’t changed much in the past 500 years. Except also that I’m a female allowed to walk the streets unaccompanied by a chaperone with no laws forbidding it. 

I spent the entire weekend walking, exploring, thinking, trying to take it all in. I walked up to the Piazza Michaelangelo, (no whackers this time), with its stunning views overlooking the city and wrote some and tried to sketch it but there’s a reason I only study art and don’t try to create it myself… I visited the Boboli Gardens, acres and acres of lush trees and winding trails and hidden statues that have stood for centuries. Some areas were so quiet and isolated it felt like I was deep in a Renaissance forest all by myself, while other areas were exquisitly designed and beautifully manicured to perfection with ponds filled with goldfish and a promenade of cypress trees.

I started my work yesterday, mostly being toured around by the collections managers, through most of the 60 rooms, each one filled with paintings, sculptures and randomly assorted pieces from the medievil and renaissance periods, mixed together with pieces from the 19th cent pieces, sometimes in 18th cent frescoed rooms, along with birdcage ceiling fixtures, seashells and homemade decopage, in a stunning and overwhelming collection. I was given interesting facts about the former occupants and their personal history, but the villa itself seems to breathe the air of a former time and era when plays were put on in the lush green gardens and the statues were witness to the life of the priveliged. I was even allowed to sort thru a box of bric a brac with the archivist, finding Mr Actons old calling cards and reading glasses and vials of prescriptive juices.

But now I need to head on down the hill and find myself some pasta and good thick cheap wine.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2005 at 4:54 am and is filed under Current Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.