Thursday, 6 October, 2022 – Elias posted a lot of pictures yesterday. I want to be able to identify them so I think I am going to parcel them out, as I find information about them. I spent a little time today looking up the location of Elias’s pictures from October 4th.
First, a link to the Airbnb where he is staying in Rome. I think this is the building where the apartment is, at Via Francesco Ladelci 9. I don’t know if he is paying $45 per night – my guess is no – but I am glad he is going to have a room to himself, with some quiet and clean surroundings. Quiet and clean are possibly not as important to Elias as they are to me. I recognize this possibility. After 72 days away from his own space, however, I am guessing he may appreciate those qualities more than he might under other circumstances. Quiet and clean aside, I do know that his feet are going to hang off the bed, but at least he will be the only person in the room.
The first three pictures are of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore or, as it is called now, the Florence Cathedral. I had no idea it was the third largest cathedral in the world! Not that I am tracking cathedral sizes…. What really struck me was that construction started in the 13th century and was not completed until the 15th century. Is that a sign of determination or lack of motivation? 200 years to complete just seems like a remarkably long time to build anything.
The fourth picture looks like a prosciutto and arugula sandwich, maybe? The last two pictures feature the Palazzo Vecchio, I think. Wikipedia helpfully calls it the Florence Town Hall, making it sound sort of quaint and provincial. This site has a good overview with a little history. The first version of it was built in the early 1300s and still houses governmental offices! I am going to take a wild guess and say it gets a little drafty in the winter. I really admire resisting the urge to tear down the old to make room for fancy new digs, though.