25 Blog Post September 27, 2024 “Transfiguration”

How can a block of pure, hard stone become a great work of art? How can a staircase become a portal to a new perspective on the city of Florence? When does a usually empty piazza (plaza) come alive? Transfiguration is a big word, I know, and we use it to refer to Jesus becoming glorified to his disciples, but in ordinary terms, to be transfigured is to be changed. Today was a day to learn about change.

First we visited Michelangelo's statue of David in the Accademie Gallery of Florence, which is literally in our backyard. We just had to walk around the corner to meet our tour guide. All our pre-arranged tours allow us to skip the lines, and this is a very good thing. The Accademie Museum only allows TEN PEOPLE every half hour to enter the gallery because it is relatively small. Our entire group was able to enter without getting on the huge line that is characteristic of every museum or church we have visited.

I bet most of us have seen photos or copies of David, so can I admit something? I had no idea that this David was the Biblical, Goliath-conquering David until today! I have never noticed the fabric sling for the stone or the stone in David’s hand. Talk about embarrassing. Alistair could not stop laughing. So an entire statue became transformed from a work of art that depicts a nearly perfect human being into the story of the beautiful boy shepherd that we read about in the Old Testament. Isn’t it funny when something you thought you knew your whole life becomes something else totally different?

But the Accademie also had five additional works of Michaelangelo that I had never seen because they are unfinished, imperfect works referred to as ‘The Prisoners”. They are blocks of marble where the figures seem to be almost fighting their way out of the stone, but they are not complete in any way, which was most interesting to me because you can see chisel marks, cuts in the stone and other marks of the master. Michaelangelo famously said that “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” In other words, the stone is transfigured before he even began his work. His job was to discover, or uncover, the figures in the stone. I love that idea, which is completely foreign to me. A stone is a stone in my mind. Imagine if we were able to see what Michaelangelo was able to see, or DaVinci or any great artist. Perhaps that’s how God works with us—trying to help us uncover the masterpiece he has created in each one of us, or helping us see masterpieces that are already present in other people or places.

We also spent a brief period of time fighting our way across the most famous bridge in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio, which was originally built in 966, which means it is more than 1,000 years old. While the history is fascinating to me, the bridge is a merchant-based bridge and it is completely enclosed, which is problematic when there are thousands of people crowded together, pushing against each other. Originally, the bridge was used for shops like butchers and fish mongers, and in the early 1990’s was providing some studio space for artists, but now the bridge is called Jewelry Row because all the shops have been rented by expensive, high-end jewelers—Rolex was one recognizable name, and there are many local Florentine families who own businesses selling jewelry represented there as well. I’m surprised they didn’t charge a fee to go on the bridge (all the public toilets charge money for access, so fees are pretty common here.)

After that, we had a lovely iced coffee and a delicious dish of cold, sweet risotto with coconut cream, mango and blueberries. I will be making this at home when I get back!! And then we were ready for another adventure. We had spotted some stairs that went up…where? We didn’t know. So we thought—let’s go up those stairs!! Those stairs led to a whole bunch of windy, hilly streets that were completely off the beaten track, so we kept climbing and climbing, and as we got closer to what seemed to be the top, a lovely woman with bright red, cat-eye glasses, a beautiful dress covered in flower patterns, and a distinctly English accent heard us wondering out loud whether to continue, and she said “Keep going! The view at the top is fantastic and it’s free! There’s also a lovely café where you can sit to admire the view.” We thanked her and soldiered on.

That’s an intentional pun because it turns out that at the top of that hill was Fort Belvedere which gave us a 360 degree view of Florence and the surrounding countryside and mountains.

When we walked up the final staircase into the open vista of Florence that was spread out like a tapestry before us, I started to dance with happiness. In fact, I said to our server in the café “Questo sarebbe un ottimo posto per una festa danzante,” which means, “This would be a great place for a dance party!” She laughed and agreed. We spent time admiring the scenery, and then had a lovely afternoon tea break (ummm…sangria and charcuterie/formaggie break….) and there was virtually no one there so we could stay as long as we liked, far above the madding crowds. We watched far away rainstorms form over local mountain ranges and saw the peeking sun make the earthtone colors of the city buildings in the valley pop into relief. Fort Belvedere was the greatest discovery in Florence for us so far. A mystery staircase that became a discovery and then a personal memory which transformed this day, and our time, in Florence.

Eventually it was time to head back to our sanctuary hotel, which is still so comforting, but while we were gone, the entire piazza in front of the hotel had been transformed as well. It was now the scene of a local university informational fair and celebration called “Bright Night” for people of all ages and it was noisy and full of children’s laughter and science demos. People lounged on the steps of the loggia where our hotel is located, and Alistair and I spent time touring the displays put on by students about Green Energy, Robotics, DNA, the anatomy of a volcano—all sorts of things that transformed our quiet piazza into exactly what it was made to be—a market space for people to gather and share information, a place to celebrate and meet together, a place to learn and spend leisure time. Yes, it’s a little bit like the Charles Jenner Park in Johnstown where we so often gather, so this was also a nice connection with home.

Today was a day of change and transformation, of transfiguration, as we saw Michelangelo, the City of Florence and even our own piazza in completely different perspectives. This might be one way of understanding what nourishment means. Sometimes we are waiting to be nourished by what we do not yet know, and when we discover it, it becomes a part of us. Will I ever see the statue of David the same way again, or any of Michelangelo's statues? I will not. Will I hold onto the view of Florence from the top of Fort Belvedere and let go of the crowds and crush of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge? I will happily do so. Was I glad to be part of a piazza gathering the way they have been happening for centuries? Of course I was.

I am humbled by the way God is working in my life. I am humbled by the privilege of looking over the entire river valley of Florence and seeing it spread out before me in such beauty. I am absolutely nourished by the unexpected, by the new perspectives and by the surprises that God has prepared for us.

What unexpected beauty or perspective is nourishing your soul?
Blessings of the unexpected,
ML+