During Notte Bianca in Florence, the streets of the Centro Storico runneth over with people. It can get tiring slogging through the mob, as you can imagine from this scene at Piazza della Signoria…
… and outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florentine government during the Renaissance. Madness!
At about midnight, I decided I needed a rest from the crowd and the walking. So Marlon and I sat down in front of the Palazzo Strozzi to catch a break from the hordes.
Thus it was quite by accident that I discovered this magical sight inside the Palazzo Strozzi. If I hadn’t looked around the corner from where I was sitting, I never would have seen this. Tired as my feet were, I was drawn inside for closer look.
“Aerial Boundaries” by Italian artist Loris Cecchini was an installation created especially for the courtyard of the Palazzo Strozzi for Notte Bianca.
“Through its multiple reflecting surfaces, the work of art interacts with the reality surrounding it, reflecting the image not only of the Renaissance architecture, the sky and the natural light filtering through to the courtyard, but also of the observer himself as he or she looks up.”
(via CCC Strozzina)
The juxtaposition of old and new, graceful symmetry versus irregular geometry, the serenity of the courtyard in contrast to the activity and noise outside it, made this not only a sight to behold, but an experience to savor.
I felt as though I’d fallen into a pocket of night sky and starlight. Like I was breathing in something pure, clean and crisp… but through my eyes. It was very hard to leave.
I leave you these beautiful images until Monday. I hope that your weekend brings you something equally surprising, delightful, possibly even magical. Bonus points if it sparkles!
