Edgbaston High School trip to Florence February 2013

A Magical Experience in Florence

Published: 01 Mar 2013

On the Wednesday before half-term, 36 staff and girls headed off to Florence, a journey that took us to some of the most celebrated places in the history of Renaissance Art.

As ever we were very fortunate with the weather. All of our visits since 2008 have taken place during crisp, cold, but bright, weather which has almost begun to feel like an entitlement. We are sure that one day our luck will run out but for this occasion we were able to see cathedrals, piazzas and street vistas in a clear bright light against unblemished blue skies. Gathering on the steps of great churches was made a simple pleasure by the warm sun on backs or faces.

Having arrived at Pisa airport, we made a brief stop at the Piazza de Miracoli, in order to admire the baptistry, the duomo and the world famous leaning tower. There wasn't time to climb to the top of the tower but the party enjoyed lunch in a variety of pavement cafes and afterwards explored the duomo, Pisa's cathedral, which has a beautiful gilded ceiling and an interesting fourteenth century font by Giovanni Pisano. Our coach then carried us to Florence through a stark and wintry Tuscan landscape. The vineyards and the bare hills still bore traces of recent snow where the pale sun could not reach.

Our hotel in Florence was opposite the main station, ideally placed for exploring the historic centre. It was clean, comfortable and provided with wifi so that girls need not face the hardship of exile from Facebook during their time in the city.

We dined in two local restaurants during our stay. The first of these, within a few minutes walk for the hotel, was excellent in every respect but the second, a short distance from the Uffizi gallery was generally preferred by the girls. Menu and decor may have been contributed to this judgement but the group of handsome young men waiting upon us was perhaps the deciding factor. They were certainly very patient with our various dietary requirements. Mrs Harris is not only a vegetarian but also abhors tomatoes. This is clearly unheard of in Italy. Having explained all this to one of the waiters he looked at us blankly for a few moments whilst he attempted to assimilate the information. He then went off to confer with his colleagues and the chefs. I caught his eye as he looked back from the huddle.

"We are thinking," he said.

Eventually Mrs Harris was provided with a very tasty meal of peppers and courgettes whilst the rest of us dined on chicken and pasta.

I can never quite get over the sheer scale of Florence's duomo. Hemmed in by buildings in places it rises above them all, its magnificent dome is visible from almost everywhere in the city. The girls were certainly awestruck too and my impression was that they were hugely impressed by the array of wonderful buildings and works of art we were privileged to see. They proved to be a wonderfully receptive audience when listening to the stories behind each painting or learning about the techniques and working practices employed by Renaissance artists.

Saturday, our last full day, took us by coach to Siena, with its stunning black and white cathedral, like the world's biggest humbug and its maze of winding streets leading down to its dramatic shell shaped piazza. This, the venue for the world famous "Palio" race during the summer months, was blissfully calm on a February afternoon. It was hard to imagine ten thousand spectators crammed in there on a stifling August day, ten horses racing pell mell around the perimeter, amidst a riot of colour, flags and medieval pageantry.

San Gimignano, our final port of call, is as fascinating to me now as it was on my first visit to this region, its walls and towers rising starkly amongst the tidy vineyards and the soft green hills. These towers, crow haunted on a quiet winter's day look out over medieval streets that have hardly changed over five hundred years, a tumble of terracotta pan-tiled roofs, cascading picturesquely down the hillsides to car parks almost deserted at this time of year but impossibly hectic in high summer. There were once more than seventy towers, a kind of medieval New York, each built by clans and families whose rivalry, when not expressed in blood feuds and open warfare, found expression instead in a desire to outstrip their neighbours and to overtop their dwellings. The highest of the towers was once seventy metres tall and is fifty even today. Surprisingly spacious inside, the visitor is required to surmount two hundred and thirty six steps to reach the top. I know - I climbed them, in supervision of a party of girls who wanted to enjoy the amazing views from the top. Having made my way down to the bottom I found there were more girls keen to make the ascent. For a second time I climbed to the top, gasping and panting rather more than the first.

It was, all things considered, a most successful visit. The weather was excellent, the girls admirably enthusiastic and engaged with the teaching, the hotel impressively convenient and the restaurants of a high quality. One thing that sticks out in my mind is all the girls singing the school song on the steps outside the Uffizi one night, a real treat for the locals! All the ingredients were in place for us to enjoy ourselves tremendously on this visit and my impression is that the girls carried away memories of Florence and of Tuscany that will last them for a lifetime.

Many thanks to Miss Richards, Mrs Harris and Mrs Mooney, my staff colleagues on the visit, and to Miss Richards for the photos included with this report.

Mr Dukes, Head of Art