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Celebrating the 500th Birthday of David in FlorenceBy Lucy Komisar“Happy Birthday, David!” The most riotous time I had in Italy was at Michelangelo’s David 500th birthday party. Well, not exactly a party, an exhibit at the Academy Gallery (Galleria dell’Accademia) in Florence. Hmm? Isn’t David just a piece of white marble, beautiful, yes, but riotous?
The “art historians” drink a lot of wine, pouring from a bottle on a convenient table. They also drown in clichés. At the end, the female critic gasps as David morphs into an older, nude man, while the male critic’s statue turns into a nude black woman. We were going to watch just a few minutes of the videos, which together last 68 minutes and are in Italian with English subtitles, but we couldn’t leave. There are also artistic commentaries on the statue by Georg Baselitz, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis and Thomas Struth. What an enormously inventive idea of director Franca Falletti and curator Bruno Corà to provoke this “historic encounter between the contemporary and the classical,” as they describe the exhibit.
Our bedroom had a high wood-beamed ceiling, walls covered with silk and a large painting that looked as if it ought to hang in a gallery. Red fabric covered the head board. The desk was a beautiful dark-wood antique. We could have our coffee or wine on the balcony. It was a perfectly place to relax after a day of seeing the Duomo, walking in the gardens of the Pitti Palace, and discovering the marvelous David commentary exhibit.
The Tenuta di Ricavo is a member of the Romantik Hotels & Restaurants International, an association started in 1972 that unites 181 family-owned and run hotels in 12 European countries. Member hotels must be places of history and tradition and offer charm, fine restaurants and wine cellars, warmth, hospitality and “Romantik flair.” Tenuta di Ricavo wins on all counts. The best guidebooks: “Italy,” Eyewitness Travel Guides. The focus is on the sites, with detailed guides and visitors’ information, even layouts of the most important places. Extensive hotel and restaurant guide. Good local and general regional maps. DK publishing, $30. http://www.dk.com.
Palazzo Pubblico Enoteca (wine center) in the Fortezza Medicea Getting there: Florence is an express stop on Italian trains, and slower trains go to Siena. Or you can travel between Florence and Siena by bus. To get to Tenuta di Ricavo, you’ll need a car. We had a railpass from RailEurope. Traveling in Italy, you often need a seat reservation in addition to your ticket or pass. If you don’t have it before boarding, you will be charged a penalty when paying for the seat on the train. With RailEurope, you can get the seat reservation online when you buy your pass or even after you are in Europe from any internet café or hotel connection. That’s a real timesaver – no extra trips to the station or waiting in lines. There are many railpass options available, for one, two, three or more countries. Go to RailEurope's web site (or call a reservation agent) to decide whether your trip is best done with point-to-point tickets or a pass or combination of the two. Passes are sold only to non-European residents. http://www.RailEurope.com or 888-382-7245. Photos by Lucy Komisar |
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I’m
talking about Robert Morris’ “The Birthday Boy,” an hysterical send-up of two
leftwing art historians, each in a separate video talking about “The David.” The
American Morris did them in 2003-4. His satire has the art critics (played by
actors), typically veering into discussions of international politics, feminism,
all the hot-button issues. Or didn’t you think an art historian discussing “The
David” could bring in an attack on George Bush?
We
were still giggling as we walked back to The Regency, a gray stone boutique
hotel on a green Piazza D’Azeglio in Florence. A series of connected villas, it
was constructed for high government officials and ministers of the State and
then was residence of a diplomat. You feel as if you are the guest in a fine
private home.
The
Regency exudes intimate elegance. It is furnished with the owner’s family
antiques. Round tables with yellow damask skirts are set in a small dining room
with a big window overlooking the garden of the interior courtyard. An interior
dining room is wood-paneled, with cabinets of fine china, all softly lit with
candelabra. Sitting rooms have original 19th-century art. Crystal chandeliers
and potted palms add to the ambience. Classical music plays unobtrusively in the
public rooms.
If
you go to Florence, it’s an easy visit to Siena, an hour away. This is the site
of the famous Palio, the costumed “medieval” bareback horse race that occurs
July 2 and August 16 in the round central “campo.” This small walled village is
ideal for wandering narrow streets. Then you can chose one of the cafés that
surround the campo to sit, have a glass of wine, watch passers-by, and gaze at
the Palazzo Pubblico, the 1342 Gothic town hall, and wonder who will climb more
than 500 steps to scale the 335-foot bell tower, the second highest medieval
tower in Italy. (It wasn’t us!) More serious wine drinkers will enjoy the
Enoteca in the 16th century Fortezza Medicea (Medici Fortress), where they can
sample Italy’s wines by the glass.
Near
Siena, we stayed at the Tenuta di Ricavo, which means literally the holding, or
estate, of Ricavo. It is run by Cristina and Alessandro Lobrano, who met in
Zurich where she was in hotel school and he was a graphic artist. The property
is a medieval village bought by her grandparents after World War II. Now it is a
charming hotel in the midst of a woods between Siena and Florence, and a perfect
place from which to explore the smaller Chianti villages. Cristina mapped out
our routes.
The
stones of the main villa and cottages are covered with ivy, the old manor house
still has a metal boot cleaner at the door, and the old stables, with an iron
ring outside to hold the horses, is now a living room. The rooms have wood beams
and fireplaces and great rustic elegance. There’s a view of the Tuscan hills
and, for refreshing dips after touring, two swimming pools. Alessandro has
become the very artistic chef of the hotel restaurant, La Pecora Nera (black
sheep). I had memorable lamb chops seasoned with the wild fennel that grows on
the property. Breakfast is taken on the terrace.
Hotel
Regency
Tenuta
di Ricavo
Academy
Gallery