I just returned from a fabulous trip to Italy. We spent 3 nights in Florence, and 5 in Rome. I’ll tell you more in the posts to come.
We flew on British Airways, and arrived at 2 pm at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO). About an hour later, we were on a train to Florence. I enjoy looking out at the scenery when I’m in a train, and this trip was no exception. There was also plenty of graffiti art along the way.
And then we arrived in Florence! Of course, there were street artists painting (chalking?) the works of the masters.
There was also traditional street art as well as a fair amount of stencil art and some more graffiti.
I saw a few works of art by an artist Quint.
Some of the art was painted directly on the walls, but some was on paper glued to the walls. A friend in Rome explained that there is some sort of law against painting directly on the walls. But, all of the art was varied and interesting.
This 3D art was rather creepy.
What really caught my interest was the street art all over Florence, of people wearing scuba goggles. Here’s a take on Botticelli’s Venus.
These scuba mask signature paintings were generally either of old masters or of Italian icons or other famous persons. I’m told there is a painting of Amy Winehouse somewhere out there, but I missed it.
The scuba mask works are signed by Blub. Some also say L’arte sa nuotare, which is also the name the artist uses on Instagram. I did a little research and found this article. Blub is a local artist who chooses to remain anonymous.
Leonardo de Vinci!
Dante!
Here’s an actual painting by the artist that was displayed in the window of a local gallery. Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring – wearing a scuba mask!
One night, after watching the sunset over Florence from Piazzale Michaelangelo, we went into a rather funky, but fun, art gallery.
This sexy moving art is pretty amazing, don’t you think?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BX7FMIOlIXP/?taken-by=katstarr_
And then, our stay in Florence was over. On the train to Rome, I saw this:
Stay tuned, there will be a similar post in the near future with photos of the street art I saw in Rome.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Very cool! I saw some of the same street art you did when we were in Florence (and then on to Rome via train, also), although it seems you caught more than I did. Good memories 🙂