The Pitti Mosaici…….

Italian teacher Giuseppe was still sick today so we combined the classes this morning.  The other class joined us around our large table and we had an enjoyable session.

The Italian Life section called for a trip to the Pitti Mosaici workshop and showroom across from the Pitti Palace.  Our instructors and Eleanor, the store manager, accompanied us there.  We enter passing deep shelving filled with large chunks of marble and semi-precious stones.

When Eleanora spritzes water on one dull purplish block it immediately becomes apparent that it is lapis lazuli.  There are numerous examples of marble in colors ranging from red to yellow, green, black and other mottled examples.  Richly green malachite occupies an entire section.

There are only three artisans, artiginali, at work.  The owner, who is a master, is in California.  Gabrielle is busy tracing leaf patterns cut from adhesive paper traced from the master design.  He apprenticed to the shop at age 15 and is now in his forties.

He is working on a new commission taken from a photograph of a table in the Uffizi Gallery.  This will be made from black Belgian marble that is without veining and polishes to an ebony finish.  The pattern is a very intricate representation of fruit and flowers and will be around forty-eight inches in diameter.

This is a high resolution color photograph

Rather than a mosaic, it will be done in inlay where each finished piece is dropped into a corresponding space cut from the marble.  Now….does this sound expensive yet?

After we watch another artisan cut a serrated edge on one of the future leaves with an iron filament stretched across a hoop, we head to the showroom to view some finished pieces.

The landscapes and still lifes are incredibly intricate and nuanced.  To be able to capture in stone filmy clouds on a blue sky so delicately is hard to imagine.  There are tables of all sizes and shapes, portraits and numerous scenes of Florence and the surrounding countryside.

Table tops

Common Florentine Scene

It is all very expensive…but I guess that is all relative.  Eleanor says that there is little interest among the young to learn this art.  So eventually, there will be fewer and fewer artisans and the already sky-high prices will only climb. 

One beautiful still life of seashells is 47, 000 Euro.  The dining tables are upwards of 30,000 Euro.

Next stop is lunch at Ristorante Pitti down the block.  We actually have a simple meal today, Insalata mista con pollo a la griglia followed by grilled vegetables.

The Art and Architecture guys are headed into the Pitti Palace for a guided tour followed by a jaunt to the Boboli Gardens.  We have been blessed with very temperate weather for Firenze in June.  Today is our first really hot day.  Rigmor and I are very happy that we are free to stay in the shade.

In recrossing the Ponte Vecchio we see a visually impaired man tapping his way across while African purse vendors hustle to remove their wares before they are tramped upon.  I wish him well….I can think of no worse place to be.  The white cane is probably just another suggestion to the Italian motorist.

We have begun to think about packing for our return so we are spending part of this afternoon doing a bit of staging.  Tonight five of us are going to Ristorante Garga for a last hurrah, as we are busy with a jazz concert in Fiesole tomorrow and a farewell group dinner on Thursday.

Friday is the feast of John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, and we will have a small reception that evening before we head to the roof to see the fireworks.

Then the next morning we will all scatter……………..