We visited the Medici-Riccardi Palace this morning. The palace was started in 1444 and took nearly 15 years to complete. It was home to the powerful Medici family, including Lorenzo the Magnificent, for over 100 years. The wealthy Riccardi family bought it and remodeled it in the 1600's. Today it is owned by the city and is a museum and administration offices. The best part is the Chapel of the Magi fresco but we are not allowed to take photos in the chapel. You might like to Google it in images for look yourself. Just as we came out we saw about a dozen Fiats racing by and blowing their horns - they went around the block a couple of times and all the other traffic moved over for them - always something interesting going on! After another walkabout, we spent a quiet afternoon at the residence and Patrizia cooked a pasta dish that we ate out in the courtyard. We're off to Venice tomorrow - stay tuned!
I HAVE SET UP A NEW PHOTOBLOG SITE FOR THE 2014 TOURS. YOU CAN STILL SEE PHOTOS FROM 2008 TO 2013 HERE. TO VIEW THE LATEST TOURS GO TO: WWW.INTUSCANYWITHPATRIZIA.BLOGSPOT.COM
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta! - April 27
Today's highlight was our class at InTavola cooking school. We had a great time with our chef, Fabrizio, as he taught us how to make three different pastas and three sauces. The real treat came afterwards when we ate it all up down in their wine cellar. The cooking class is always a big hit and not to be missed on Patrizia's tour! On our way over - we had to cross the Arno - we stopped by the Santo Spirito church to see a beautiful wood sculpted crucifix by Michelangelo. He created it in 1494 when he was only 18 years old (he lived to be 89 and was still painting in Rome). It was a little rainy today but it didn't hold us back!