Today I want to recall one of the most memorable nights I have ever spent in Florence: dinner at Lucca's house. Lucca is Alex' sales partner and a born and bred Italian. He was born in Torino, but has live in Florene for many years and owns his tiny little apartment at No. 10 Via Giuseppe Verdi. As our last nights were upon us, Lucca insisted we come for dinner, as it was an unseasonable cool night. "This is important," he said.
As we walked to the apartment with our friend Fabbio in arm, Alex said he needed to give me a little warning about the place we were going. "It's very small." "OK," I think. I wasn't really that concerned. We have been living in a small studio this whole time with a bathroom that is about 3X5 feet. No, I am not kidding. As were reached the door to the building, Alex finally added: "And there is no elevator." The fact that there was no elevator wasn't extremely shocking or disconcerting to me. Maybe if I had known he lived on the absolute top floor, I would have cringed a little, but we went forth.
I have always had this weird habit of counting stairs. No matter where I am or how many times I have climbed a set of stairs, I count as I go. And so we began. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine....one landing down. It continued this way until we reached his door step: the 98th step.
As we walked in, the first thing I noticed was the amazing smell filling the place. Sage and rosemary! Parsley and thyme did not make an appearance on this night. The second thing I noticed was the kitchen. THE KITCHEN! I am sorry, what is this? This is a quarter of a closet, not a kitchen. It was smaller than our bathroom, which we have established is ridiculously small. All I could think about was my mom preparing Thanksgiving dinner and how it seems we never have enough kitchen space. How could a person possibly live with such a small kitchen? And then, there it was. I caught a glimpse out of the tiny square window in the tiny rectangle of a kitchen and that was the moment I realized I was in Paradiso - Heaven.
I quickly turned to my right and entered what was the bedroom/dining room/living room all in one. On my right was a huge window with a glorious view of the Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence's Duomo. Duomo means head, or cap and refers to the main church in an Italian city. Many people believe it is called the Duomo because of the huge dome built by Brunelleschi. However, this is false. A dome is called a Cuppola. It's the Duomo because it is the main church in Florence.
To my left, above the dining table was an even more amazing view: that of the Basilica Santa Croce and further up, Piazzale Michelangelo and even San Miniato al Monte (my favorite attraction in Florence).
Ahead, there was another huge window, but some super rich and powerful person had fought with the city to build his building higher and eventually won, much to the chagrin of his neighbors. If he had not made his house taller, Lucca also would have had a view of Fiesole, a cute little hill town just above Florence. The rich person, however, does have a pool on the top level and you could just make out a statue of Batman. So, you know, Batman....Fiesole...pretty much the same in awesomeness......
To make matters more magical, the sun was on it's fiery descent from the sky, painting everything gold and pink. It was as if we were in a tiny museum and the window's were masterpieces of this gorgeous city.
Alex' apartment offers a wonderful location, but we are smooshed down into the city. No view, other than what is across the street from us. This was like being released into the sky above Florence and seeing it from inside the city, yet outside the city. To be frank, these pictures do no justice to the glory. I turned to Lucca and I said, "Lucca, if you ever sell this place, talk to us first." It was a moment that I realized I could quite possibly sacrifice space and material goods altogether just to sit upon this heavenly cloud every day of my life.
As the sky grew dark, we sat for dinner. But first I had to run to the loo on the other end of the house. Usually I don't share potty talk, but it's relevant, I promise. Surprisingly, the bathroom was an adequate size and I fantasized for a minute about showering in a shower where I could actually bend over to pick up my soap, rather than shimmy down our skinny walled-in shower. But as I sat, I saw one more masterpiece.....another window; another view. This time is was the golden tower of Palazzo Vecchio. From this one apartment, one could see all the most fabulous parts of Florence. It was simply amazing.
Now don't think you are getting away from this without any food discussion. I mentioned the house smelled wonderful and there was good reason We began with a pasta dish that was more like a soup of capellini, small white beans, sage, rosemary and salt. My tummy had been off all day and Lucca knew this, so he prepared this healing soup just for me. It was delicious and cradled my belly in warm, salty nourishment. He announced that our meal tonight would be vegetarian in order to help cleanse and make us feel whole. He bought organic veggies from the Sant'Ambrosio market and after our soup we enjoyed some delicious cheeses, salad, tomatoes, onions and carrots. It was one of the best meals I have had in Florence....maybe because all of it together was so perfect with the friends and setting. All I know is that I felt whole, loved and at peace.
Being a visitor is like visiting an onion. If you go to a city like Florence for three days, you are on the outer skin. You have plenty of time in three days to see all the big sights and eat amazing food. The city is small enough to do this and see a lot. A week, maybe more of a second layer trip. You get to know your way around better and may even have a favorite spot you visit more than once. A month - 3- 4 layers. You maybe make friends and start to visit the outlying areas and find hidden treasures. After several months, you get to go deep. This even includes the domestic layer where you may spend some of your days cleaning the house and doing laundry, like you are at home. Hey, laundry has to be done. I felt like this night was a deep layer. I never would have met Lucca without having met Alex. I never would have seen this place and been able to enjoy or comprehend the beauty and significance of this visit. All the little details were so simple, yet so special. Novantotto scale al Paradiso! Ninety-eight steps I will happily climb again and again. I mentioned Lucca said it was a cool night and so we had to come that night. Living in Paradise in Florence in summer can also be like living in hell. It's hot and heat rises. 98 Steps to the Inferno doesn't have as good a ring to it, right?
Enjoy your view,
ZM
