Florence Journal

St. James Christmas Gala

Is this Friday! Sorry for the late notice. We went last year and had a great time.

You can find ticket info and even buy them online on the St. James website.

Giotto Crucifix restored

Funny what you find on Google news - this story about the purported Giotto crucifix of Ognissanti is news to me:

"The Ognissanti Crucifix, believed to be the work of early Renaissance artist Giotto, was presented to the press after undergoing an extensive restoration, in a lab in Florence, Italy.

The crucifix, which normally hangs in Florence’s Ognissanti church, had been attributed to “a relative of Giotto” until just over a year ago when researchers questioned the attribution after a cleaning of the paintwork."

Florence Museum, Monument & Church Hours & Prices

Here is one of the most important documents you will ever see if you are visiting Florence. I found it buried on one of the official government websites a while ago and it has been languishing on my desktop half forgotten about. It may not be completely up to date, but it is pretty accurate, and lists tons of stuff, with hours and prices.

Download Florence Museum Hours (PDF)

News about Orsanmichele

Couple of news items posted today on Orsanmichele.net - windows are being replaced, which should improve the views from the museum, and the tabernacle of St. John is being restored.

Please take a minute to visit and bookmark our Florence Calendar of Events for things to do in Florence, we recently updated it. You can also submit events from the page (below the calendar), etc. if you have anything of interest coming up in Florence.

72 Hour SALE at LUISAVIAROMA

Sorry for the light posting - normal schedule should resume soon. Here is a big sale from Florence's top high fashion boutique:

Photos from Slow Art Florence

Here is an album of photos from the Slow Art event at Santa Croce yesterday:

Slow Art Day this Saturday

There are still spots available for the Slow Art Day on Saturday, April 17th - more info and sign up here: http://slowartflorence2010.eventbrite.com/ We're definitely attending - hope to see you there.

Scoppio del Carro, Easter Sunday in Florence

One more photo from yesterday - here is the cart just as the dove has hit and the fireworks have started:

Il Brindellone

An overcast day today for the explosion of the cart - here is the Brindellone from inside the Duomo:

Video later - unless I eat too much lamb and drink too much wine :)

The Explosion of the Cart, or "scoppio del carro"

Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, is the fantastic medieval ceremony of the Exploding Cart of St. John, know as the "brindellone", or also the "scoppio del carro" here in Florence. This ceremony started sometime during the crusades, and the original cart was said to be lit by a flint brought back from Jerusalem by members of the Pazzi family. You can't describe this well enough in words, and even the videos below don't really do it justice. There is just something so fantastic, loud, and yet sort of pointless to it - it is pure spectacle. The "cart" is some semi-ancient construction (it is supposed to be 500 years plus old, but it is made of wood and basically set on fire once a year, so I am sure restoration has taken place) that gets led into the piazza in front of the duomo by two white oxen, and is covered in various fireworks and other exploding devices. It is lit by a fake dove on a wire that comes shooting out of the church doors at some point of the mass. I have witnessed it several times from the piazza, but tomorrow we plan on getting to the church early and getting a seat with a view to see it from inside. The mass starts at 11 AM, the cart usually gets lit around noon.

Here is a YouTube video of this event, there are many videos of this to watch on YouTube: