Italy - Slow Day 2025-06-10

 

This lovely statue is in a turnabout in between our and Dave and Kim's neighborhoods

After all the excitement, contract extensions and bonuses (yesterday's anniversary), it was time to slow down just a little.  It's our last day with Dave and Kim so we decided to meet and explore the Galileo Museum. It's small, but mighty. It's also handy to have someone who has knowledge of science to help further explain some of the items in this museum. JR and I have been to this museum before, but I always see something new or an old favorite from a different angle.

We arrived at the museum an hour before close for pausa. We decided to go anyway as we felt like you could see everything, not necessarily in depth, but be able to enjoy your particular favorite areas. 

After the whirlwind tour, we decided a sit down with snackies sounded like a good idea. We also wanted to show Dave and Kim the Biblioteca delle Oblate. What tops enjoying Italy, our friends, an aperitivo (or two) and a stunning view of the Duomo? Well, nothing really. Our time with Dave and Kim, getting to know them IRL and share common interests was amazing and we are so grateful they took time to come play with us in one of our favorite places. This will not be the last in person 'meating'. 

On our walk home, we passed by a church we had not yet seen. AND it is Episcopal; a rarity here. As with all the churches, it's stunning but we sadly couldn't check out the inside. Here's some history of this church which was all new info to me (Stacey).

The city of Florence did not permit the presence of non-Catholic churches until after the exile of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold II of Lorraine, in 1849 on the heels of the 1848 uprisings. The Tuscan parliament then passed legislation permitting churches of other denominations. Around 1850 a handful of American Episcopalians began to meet as a church. St. James became an official parish in 1867.

Our church was the last work of an English architect prominent in the Gothic Revival movement of the late nineteenth century. The land was purchased in 1907 for $12,822. Church construction, the organ, and other furnishings totaled $66,556. More than half of the total funds were contributed by Edward Francis Searles. J. Pierpont Morgan donated $10,000 after church representatives approached him, encouraged by his generosity to the Episcopal Church in Rome and his purchase of land for the Episcopal church of St. Paul’s Within the Walls. After examining the architect’s plans, Morgan found the building plans “inadequate” and requested more elaborate plans. When these were produced, so was his gift.

The church closed during World War II and suffered no heavy damage. It reopened in 1947 in an era when the American community in Florence included Bernard Berenson, Sinclair Lewis, and the M.I.T. inventor Philip Baldwin.

On November 3 and 4, 1966, the Arno River flooded its banks and rose to a height of twelve feet in and around many of Florence’s most important museums and monuments, wreaking devastating damage. Water and fuel oil flooded the undercroft and reached the windowsills of the rectory. St. James parishioners wrote to their friends in America for help. In three months, the parish raised $425,000 for relief. The vestry, in cooperation with the British government, created an agency to support each request, providing a weekly grant of $35 per family.

And of course, street art: