Florence - Stendhal's Syndrome and my favourite painting in the world!

Joined in this terrific city by the excellent Ben Street we began our time in Piazza della Signoria on the spot where Savanorola was immolated, and continued to visit all of the great sites; much discussion about real or fake (is Luigi Arrighetti's 'David' more authentic because of its position?)

"As I emerged from the porch of Santa Croce I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty...I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations...Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me, I walked with the fear of falling" (Stendhal, 1817)

Not only immersed in fantastic, memorable and exciting art (including an excellent Mark Rothko show at Palazzo Strozzi, but also pieces in San Marco monastery alongside the Fra Angelico frescoes in the monks cells), the gorgeous bronze David by Donatello, but we took a glorious, sun-drenched trip to Settignano to visit the gardens of Villa Gamberaia, just to sit

We took some keen artists to the excellent Charles Cecil Studios where the students took a very different approach to the bohemian vibes at Geoffrey Humphries' Venice apartment, we saw Botticelli, Masaccio, Michelangelo, stunning views over Florence from San Miniato (and of course, Gamberaia), and the rituals of Saint Patrick's day were observed!

Oh, and in case I never let on, here's my favourite all-time painting in the world! Look at the incredible colours! Look at the tremulous, traumatic emotion on the faces (put them in Ukranian clothes, or Palestinian, African dress) and they're all shocked, distraught at the cruelty and horror of a summary execution...and yet...and yet, there's hope amidst the terror, that, whatever you may believe, whoever you may believe in, this person died for a cause greater than himself. People often say that the art that followed on from, say Michelangelo or Titian was 'mannered', that it was all about showing off one's skill at the expense of spirituality, but my view is that this painting is more emotional and spiritual than a great deal of what came before and after. It waits here for you in a little church off the main drag, Santa Felicita, it waits for you to put a coin into the light box, and the explodes into my heart (and perhaps, into yours)

Check out the detail. It's in a chapel designed by Brunelleschi (see the design in Masaccio's 'Trinity' here, and look at the colours used by Fra Angelico over 100 years before...)

We ended our week in Florence, as we often do, with a bracing walk up to San Miniato al Monte to be rewarded with a stunning view over the city as the golden hour bathed us in light

and then...Rome!