Arezzo has been the biggest surprise for me at our stay in this region so far. It is such a beautifully ancient city, filled with architectural treasures. One of them, the church San Francesco, was build in the 13th century and contains Piero della Francesca's Legend of the true cross(1452-66),one of Italy's greatest fresco cycles.
The frescoes, now visible again after long restoration, show how the cross was found near Jerusalem by the Empress Helena. Her son, the Emperor Constantine, adopted the cross as his battle emblem. He also granted the Christian faith official recognition through the Edict of Milan, signed in 313. All is so beautifully executed, I could have sat for hours and slowly take it all in. Of course this was impossible, since there was so much else to see and we moved on after an hour.
Arezzo is one of the wealthiest cities in Tuscany, filled with antique stores and markets.
Jewellry making is a large part of the local industry and gorgeous pieces are displayed in many stores!
One can walk throughs many beautiful piazzas, one of the most impressive ones being the Piazza Grande. Truly medival in it's design, many buildings date back to the 13th century.
We dined under the handsome arcade designed by Vasari in 1573. The old Palazzo della Faternita dei Laici, right next to it, is decorated with a gorgeous relief of the Virgin by Bernardo Rossellino in 1434. One can get so absolutely absorbed into history.
Wherever you look, the city is filled with breathtaking beauty and is alive and full of acitvity. We so enjoyed our time there.
The movie 'Life is Beautiful' was filmed here. I will want to see it one more time now, seeing it under a new aspect...I loved the movie and now even more!
We will visit one more time, the city deserves a second time to stroll through it's small streets and to enjoy many more details.
Now we are back to the house in the mountains, where the weather is always different then in the valley below! Today we went up into storm clouds and now it's raining...
We are cozy inside, listening to Vivaldi and the wind outside and I get an early feeling what autumn must feel like out here!
I keep on writing my blog, this is a great way for me to preserve my memories and all my impressions are still fresh and unaltered by the passing time.
Thank you all for commenting I am so grateful for your loyal followship, soon it will be time to return home and I will catch up with all your news as well!
CIAO!
Victoria
Pictures by V.Zlotkowski, images from Piero della Francesco's frescoes via google image.
What a wonderful experience! You certainly are having the time of your life!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us with you.
ReplyDeleteChow!
BarBG
Can you please show me plates of food. I love Italy for the architecture and the beauty but truthfully, I adore the Italian cuisine!
ReplyDeletepve
You must be having a lovely time!!
ReplyDeleteyour photos really show arezzo in all of its beauty. what a day we had there! i remember sitting on those stairs, walking the streets, buying some little gifts for everyone, a new shirt which i've been wearing constantly ever since.. and... and... and..
ReplyDeletei'd love to go with you once more. and i'd love to spend another day at that enormous pool behind that house of yours - up in the hills, with that breathtaking view into the valley.
lisa and her mum are shopping now. i'm home with anne lina and sina. my god, travelling and then coming back afterwards - it's always such a drastic changeover. it can be almost like a journey between two worlds. time and time again i find it hard to believe how many entirely different and yet equally beautiful places are to be found on this little planet of ours...