On our first visit to the Duomo

We pull from Justin's records to immortalize our first visit to downtown Florence. We begin in medias res with his visit to the post office to secure a temporary permesso di soggiorno. Perhaps true to Italian form, the appointment for our permanent permesso di soggiorno, i.e. permission to stay, is set for July 10th, a good two weeks after we will have returned home. Not Germans, these. :)

Justin: "....The post office employee who processed my permesso di soggiorno was so taken aback by the news that I have six kids that he called out to the colleague next to him to share the amazing news. (“Sandro, listen to this . . . !”) Most of the employees seemed to be taking orders from Vittorio. It all worked like a well-oiled machine. Within minutes I was on my way with a temporary permit in hand.

Back at home we did some desperately-needed cleaning. The kids grumbled about this, of course, but I think it improved their spirits in the end—both the work and the cleaner environs. After chores we had lunch—tortellini with pesto Genovese and pesto alla siciliana—and then left to do some exploring. Again I parked near Le Cure, and then we all took our first family bus ride down to Piazza San Marco. From there we walked several blocks to the Piazza del Duomo where we saw the most famous and imposing building in all of Florence.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore—the Duomo—is famous both for Brunelleschi’s majestic cupola and for the baptistery that sits opposite to it. The baptistery is best-known for its golden gate etched with fifteenth-century friezes by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Ghiberti was the winner of a far-famed contest and awarded the job of designing the doors.

Abdiel has a little book called “Mission Florence” that gives kids little assignments for famous places. The book has a spy theme. Abdiel was excited to fill several “missions” in connection with the Duomo. He was especially pleased to find the bust of a bull hanging from the heights of the cathedral near Via di Ricasole. He also liked finding the insignia “OPA” above one of the doors.

The façade of the cathedral includes a statue of the Mother and Child, centered above the main door. They are flanked by the Twelve Apostles, six on each side, with Peter just to Mary’s right, carrying a large key. Gwyndelin loved the bell tower, which reminded her (naturally) of Rapunzel’s tower.

It’s hard to convey in writing, and even harder to capture in a photo, just how colossal the Duomo seems. Modern skyscrapers dwarf it in size, but they don’t feel as big. The Duomo must have struck contemporaries as simply astronomical—the greatest building in the world. It is a really wonderful mixture of elegance, immensity, and strength. Now it’s mainly a tourist attraction, but for centuries it must have given thousands of Florentines a sense of the grandeur of God—and of the power of what claimed to be His Church on earth.

It was a cold day, and Katharine was soon ready to go home. We retraced our bus route and hunted down our parked car. When we arrived at the car, Elinor was ready to eat. Lia suggested that she and the kids wait in the car, and that I run grab some treats while Elinor ate. At this point Gwyn informed us that she needed to go potty. So I took her with me.

I walked fast and Gwyn jogged to keep up. I asked her how she was doing, and she responded that she was feeling good because she told her mom that she needed to go potty.

We passed a couple closed pastry shops before we finally found one that was open. Unfortunately, Gwyn made it to the store but not to the bathroom. As soon as we entered the unfortunate shop, Gwyn squatted halfway down, let out a primal shriek of despair, and unleashed a staggering flow of urine all over the shop floor. I foolishly tried to remove her from the shop, but succeeded only in expanding her range and dousing my own shoe.

There was nowhere to hide. Meekly, I asked the shopkeeper for a towel. “La ragazzina . . . ,” I began (the little girl). “Che,” he asked, “ha fatto la pi-pi?” (What, did she pee?)

He brought me a stack of paper towels. They weren’t enough. He brought me another stack. Then he mopped the floor. Twice. Then he went back behind the counter and asked, “Now, what was it you wanted?”

I bought three tarts and three eclairs. After giving me my change he asked if the little lady wanted to use the bathroom. “No,” I said, “ha già fatto tutto.” (No, she’s all done.) Thankfully, I was done too.

The kids loved their treats, and we were soon on our homeward way. Lia fed us a delicious, Italian-style chicken noodle soup for dinner. After dinner, we played, at Abdiel’s request, a game in which everyone drew a dinosaur fossil and then hid it somewhere in the house. Everyone else then had to hunt down the fossils. He’s a very cute kid.