Once I got clear of the street merchants selling all manner of gear Firenze turned out to be beautiful. The
Palazzo Vecchio and it's adjoining piazza del Signoria form a special place.
Tonight the moon was full, a wonderful acoustic guitar player was caressing the evening and the grand buildings and statues of this 'cradle of the renaissance' were lit up beautifully. There was a magical moment tonight that is already hard to capture and I expect soon to be hard to remember. The spirit of the place was alive and while it wasn't necessarily gentle or benevolent, exciting or invigorating, it was palpable. It didn't grab you and say "feel me, experience this!" The moment was there if you decided you wanted to be still long enough for it to all come together and emerge to be experienced.
The music occasionally muffled and then soaring as it danced with the crowd noise, the moon, easily lost amidst all the other structures and sights, sliding through cloud drifts to gently illuminate the city. Rambling streets that forced the buildings to gather together like people standing and talking in a crowded room. The never before seen and yet uncomfortably familiar shadow of one of the David replicas standing in front of the Palazzo. Tall statues, taller buildings and upward facing lights. A large crowd of people that steadily move into the absent foreground given enough time in one place to observe all of the other factors that are waiting for you.
I sat on the stone ledge of a magnificent colonnade for long enough for this magical scene to become accustomed to me and swim up out of the depths. Showing itself as a fleeting whole to only briefly be glimpsed and appreciated. Once I noticed it I realised that of course it had been there all along. The living spirit of a place, delicate and precious that I suspect has been robustly here for an age.
It was a beautiful first night in Firenze and I'm very thankful to be here.
Tonight the moon was full, a wonderful acoustic guitar player was caressing the evening and the grand buildings and statues of this 'cradle of the renaissance' were lit up beautifully. There was a magical moment tonight that is already hard to capture and I expect soon to be hard to remember. The spirit of the place was alive and while it wasn't necessarily gentle or benevolent, exciting or invigorating, it was palpable. It didn't grab you and say "feel me, experience this!" The moment was there if you decided you wanted to be still long enough for it to all come together and emerge to be experienced.
The music occasionally muffled and then soaring as it danced with the crowd noise, the moon, easily lost amidst all the other structures and sights, sliding through cloud drifts to gently illuminate the city. Rambling streets that forced the buildings to gather together like people standing and talking in a crowded room. The never before seen and yet uncomfortably familiar shadow of one of the David replicas standing in front of the Palazzo. Tall statues, taller buildings and upward facing lights. A large crowd of people that steadily move into the absent foreground given enough time in one place to observe all of the other factors that are waiting for you.
I sat on the stone ledge of a magnificent colonnade for long enough for this magical scene to become accustomed to me and swim up out of the depths. Showing itself as a fleeting whole to only briefly be glimpsed and appreciated. Once I noticed it I realised that of course it had been there all along. The living spirit of a place, delicate and precious that I suspect has been robustly here for an age.
It was a beautiful first night in Firenze and I'm very thankful to be here.
How precious to be in a life space where the poetry can rise to the surface.
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