Passeggiata,along,the,Arno,Mar travel,insurance Passeggiata along the Arno

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By Mary Murfin BayleyEverywhere in Italy the hours of passeggiata are a daily pleasure, when people spill into the streets to walk, shop, gossip and show themselves off before dinner. Florence, though, has one of the most beautiful frameworks for the passeggiata in the whole country, the sidewalks on both sides of the Arno. Sometime between the hours of 4 and 8, depending on the season, everyone who can get out of the house or leave their shop or business, flocks to the side of the river, to the streets called lungarni, (translates simply as “along the arno”) where the late afternoon sun glints off  the windows and casts the rippling facades of the building onto the heavy reflective surface of the river. The gorgeous afternoon light and shadows, the pinks and oranges of the sky along the low hills, and the palest blue overhead turn the walk into a time of intensely shared enjoyment, like a public fireworks display, but these fireworks muted and slow changing.Men and women walk along arm in arm, or pause in the middle of the bridges to look up river towards the Ponte Vecchio or down river to the distant snowy Appenines, or stop and lean out over the balustrades trying to catch a picture. We have all seen photographs of the river in this light, the beautifully named bridges, Ponte Trinita, Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Carraia, each one framing the reflection of the other, the variations of color in the strips of water between them, the V- shaped ripples caused by the currents rushing against the bridges arched supports. However photographs and paintings, pretty as they might be, cannot catch the sensation of being part of this communal passeggiata. It is in the sound of the rushing water, the cheerful, affectionate voices calling to each other, the teasing of the young men and squeals of kids, the roar of the motorcycles. It is in the fresh shaking of air from the waterfalls, the smell of the mud, and the sense of moving through beauty as much as looking at it that makes this passeggiata such a delight. Whenever I am in Florence and the weather is good I feel very restless and agitated during these hours if I am forced to stay inside. I’ll find any excuse to set my work aside or hustle visitors and houseguests down to the river. Even when it has been rainy or gray all day there can be a sudden, surprising shift of light at this hour as the sun sinks below the clouds and leans against the city. If you have a limited time in Florence you can make this passeggiata part of your sightseeing. Here’s how: Let’s say it is an hour or two before sunset. You have already been to see the Uffizi and Michelangelo’s David and the Palazzo Pitti.  Now it is time to enjoy the passeggiata. Start yours with a quick stop to see one of the most unusual and beautiful frescoes in Florence. A work which visitors sometimes miss on a short stay.At the end of the Ponte Vecchio on the other side of the river Arno from the Uffizi (Oltrarno) there is a little church called Santa Felicita, felicitously named. It is a lovely little baroque church, usually free of tourists. Take a moment and a deep breath to enjoy the incense, the quiet, the high windows. Then turn to where a real delight lurks is the small chapel on your right as you’ve entered, the Capponi chapel. Feed a Euro into the machine by the grill and the lights will come on and reveal the incredible mannerist frescoes of the Deposition by Pontormo. The light machine also gives you access to an audio recording describing the fresco in several language but I wouldn’t bother. Just stand there and enjoy, amazed, those the intense, sherbert and icecream colors, the wild and crazy line of this style, which took the high rennaisance into the delightful eccentricities and excess known as mannerism. The mourning figures have a strange dreaminess, packed as they are in a wildly serpentine composition of bodies wear bright pastel colored tunics that resemble ballet leotards. They don’t seem to be paying attention to the central figure but gaze out, almost as if surprised at their own extremely rendered beauty. On the right next to the window is Pontormo’s Annunziata, with the gentle looking madonna turning towards us. Just glimpsing her makes your stay in Florence worth while.Don’t stay too long, gazing, though, because you don’t want to miss the afternoon light. Now  step out of the little church and turn left along the narrow street known as Borgo San Jacopo. Stroll to the end of this street and then turn right and walk the half blcok down to the river (don’t forget to notice the wonderful little fountain at the end of this street.Aha. You come out, the light is even more beautiful, and as it fades the sky turns an intense blue. Passeggiata accompli.From here to get back to the UNA Hotel you cross back and stroll along, enjoying the park that lines the river. Plenty of time for a glass of sparkling Prosecco, before dinner.Cross Ponte Trinita, taking in the view upriver and down, starting to come into its full beauty. On the other side walk half a block down and turn left into the church of Santa Trinita. The frescoe. Step back out, glancing across the street. There, the building that is now Ferragamo, is the same building that the little boy was shown falling out of.Now walk along the river to Ognissanti. The river is in full beauty right now. Don’t forget to notice how the light shines through the cupola of the church of San Frediano di Cestello. Go into the Cenacolo of Oginissanti and look at the Ghirlandaio.