Wander and Explore

One of the delightful aspects of our new life was to take the time to wander, observe, and explore. We are such “andiamo” people that we assumed that choosing moments to chill might be difficult. It wasn’t, however.

We fell into the rhythms of the city and enjoyed being a part of Florentine life. Sit in a park and watch Italians stroll the Arno River. Bring a sketch pad to a stone step and draw the medieval tower in front of us. Taste a new wine at a cafe and listen to the chatter of a foreign language. Learn how to purchase cream for our coffee. There were endless daily experiences.

Today, however, strolling past a giant poster of Leonardo da Vinci, we read about his Monte Ceceri experience. And realized that we had no idea what this was. Da Vinci is one of our favorite individuals. If we could have three people sit at our dinner table, he would be on that list of guests. We enjoyed his museum in Venice. We studied the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. We stared at his Last Supper in Milan. Reading about Clos Luce, we drove to Amboise, France to visit this gorgeous home of da Vinci and walk through his drawing studio. We even saw the four poster bed he died in. We have read about this botanist, artist, and architect and his numerous amazing inventions during his lengthy lifetime.

But what was this Monte Ceceri experience ? We were stumped. Time to do some research.

So today we were off to ride the bus up to Fiesole, a quiet, small village situated just above the city of Florence. Hopping off the bus, we walked down Via Giuseppe Verdi, just to the right of the Church and followed the paved path, turning left onto Via di Monte Ceceri. This road skirts the mountain and offers lovely panoramic views of Florence. We followed the forest path to a clearing with a stone marker. Taken from da Vinci’s book, Codex on the Flight of Birds, the inscription on this giant monolith reads, “The great bird will take its first flight on the back of Monte Ceceri, filling the universe with amazement, filling with its fame all writings and bringing eternal glory to the nest in which it was born.”

Long before the Wright brothers, Leonardo da Vinci came up here to this clearing above Florence in 1505 to test out his flying machine. Strapping on the artifact with two large wings made of membranes, his friend Tommaso Masini, used the pedals and levers of this “Grande Nibbio” to glide a thousand meters before falling onto the forest ground.

Standing on this historic site, we felt such a connection to this person we have idolized for so long. And then we heard voices and watched as young people descended around us, bringing bags of building supplies. A wooden design was sitting in a small clearing, and construction resumed on it as these kids began hammering and talking excitedly.

We had to ask their leader what they were doing. And we discovered that this lovely young dark haired woman was a professor at the University of Florence Architecture School. Her group of students were designing and building a project to honor Da Vinci in this 500 year anniversary of his death. They were finishing the project today and planned a celebratory Nibbio flight in two days. She asked if we would like to attend.

Of course we would ! We felt like part of the Florentine community as we excitedly descended back to Florence. We had plans. We were included. We were giddy as we patiently waited for Saturday to arrive.

Then we were off again up to Fiesole and back to the finished Da Vinci project, arriving an hour before the scheduled activity. Scouting the area, we saw the wire that would take the Nibbio on its flight today. Where should we stand for the best video ? Would we get the best light if we perched below the flight line or to the left ? As Italians began to gather, we listened to the chatter as the attendees found seats on the grass and on stones. We waved to the professor when she saw us in the crowd and we felt so special. Finally, someone took the microphone, and speaking in Italian, began the presentation.

We watched as the small sized “Nibbio” was hung on the wire, and suddenly, the bat like craft was soaring through the sky over our heads. The crowd cheered.

After a coffee on the piazza and a recap chat about our few days with Leonardo, we arrived back in Florence and walked the Arno for a long evening stroll. Gazing up at the hill of Monte Ceceri above the town, we remarked that we had indeed wandered, observed, and explored.

And in that deeper dive we truly felt like we were part of the Florentine community.

Che bella esperienza !