joy magnetism: Italian diversions




@Joymagnetism, now on Instagram!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Italian diversions

Magnet #927 - Il Duomo & Campanile

This is one of my favorite images of Florence - ever. I think the reason why, is because Il Duomo and its Campanile was built between the 1200s and the 1400s, and still, more than 600 years later, I can take the very same picture - without meaning to!

I'm using it for a couple of reasons, first, because I finally went to go see The American, mostly set in the Italian countryside.

Gravy, is my boyfriend George Clooney superduper pretty. But, definitely drink some coffee before you head into the theatre.

Oh, even though I should have known it from the get-go, it was definitely not the action flick I was anticipating. It's quiet. It's tense. It's quiet. No. I mean, seriously, George's dialogue had to have been less than 10 pages overall. Even as he came off as a model for designer sunglasses and wardrobe, George was fabulous in it - there was definitely no sign of George playing George.

The camera work is beautiful, and you can tell that the director is really a photographer. But ya'll know how I hate overdirected movies? This would be one of them. My biggest pet peeve with this movie.

"Here. Look at this beautiful roadside with a car driving down the left side. This movie (not car commercial) is set here. Here. Look at this beautiful Italian countryside. This movie (not NatGeo photoshoot) is now set here. Here. Look at George look beautiful in this doorway. He's worried someone's after him. Here. Look at George. He looks really hot in sunglasses. You can't see his true thoughts."

Oiy. Moving on.

The other reason I picked Florence because I picked up a new favorite show called Art of the Heist - all about famous art heists through history. Pretty cool stuff. Like the guy who walked into the Louvre and walked out with the Mona Lisa, and tried to sell it back to the Uffizi in Florence three years later. Really? You didn't think they'd notice?

Or, how some family started forging masterpieces and selling them. And getting away with it!

Or how the Hermitage in St. Petersburg did a standard inventory and found that more than 200 pieces in their collection were missing. Missing, I say!

I swear, most of these stories are fodder for White Collar on USA. Even so, now, I'm now totally planning my trip to the Hermitage in 2012.
Pin It!

2 comments:

julie said...

if you're going to russia, i'm going too!

joy said...

You're on. Though, I was thinking a cruise to include Sweden/Norway/Finland/Denmark, which I promised myself I'd never ever go on, but might could break my vow, since it's not really the open ocean.