INTRODUCING my Mom to my Mentors

PROF. CARARRA & MY MOM

I was so happy that my Mom, not only got to come to Florence to see me, but also go to meet Professor Carrara. Carrara has become a sort of mentor to me since I have been living here in Italy and it means a lot to me that my Mom was able to come to one of my Modern Italian private art gallery tours, my Renaissance Art tour at the Pitti Palace, lunch and gelato with Cararra and I was able to take her to Palazzo Wilson-Gattai and Casa Peruzzi-Mazzoni on Friday.

MY MODERN ITALIAN ART CLASS & DEAN BURKE

WITH OUR GRACIOUS HOSTS
On Tuesday we were lucky enough to go to the Capaccoli residence, a beautiful home with several pieces of art that I easily fell immediately in love with.

PALAZZO WILSON-GATTAI
On Friday, Carrara was kind enough to take my Mom and little sister on an additional tour to her family's palace and to her close friend's palace just down the street. Being able to walk inside a home as elegant and beautiful as these just once, is a dream come true. But being able to come back with my mom and little sister makes the experience so much more surreal.

A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE GARDEN

With the slightly warmer weather right around the corner, Italy is starting to bloom. Many gardens in the city, including the gardens right across the street from my school, Gonzaga-in-Florence University, do not even open their gates to the public until mid-April. I am so happy that the weather is finally changing but so sad that it is happening just as I am about to leave Florence!

STUNNING APARTMENTS OF THE PALAZZO

FLOWERS & SWANS

BRE (my little sister), MYSELF & CAROLINE

AN ADORABLE BEDROOM

A VERY SPECIAL ROOM
Once upon a time, a young Mercedes Carrara stayed in this room while she was studying art in Florence. After falling in love with the city and then falling in love with her husband, Eugenio, Carrara made the decision to stay in Florence permanently. It was very special for me to be able to see this room because Carrara has inspired me so much to continue my art dreams and to pursue all of the opportunities that come to me.

CAROLINE, MYSELF & BREANNE

AN ORIGINAL RAPHAEL!!

Sometimes I cannot even grasp how special some of these private collections are that we get to view for my Art classes. I can honestly say that there is no class like this taught anywhere else in Florence, anywhere else in Italy, or anywhere else in the world. Being able to visit private collections that we would otherwise have no other way to view is something to invaluable and so special. Being opened into this world is the reason why I have decided that I want to work in Art Auction Houses.

MY FAVORITE ROOM,
FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE

AMAZING PORTRAITURE
My Mom, being an artists herself, was very deeply impressed by these portraits.

MY MOM AT THE ART NOVEAU DOORS

FLORENTINE PALACES

OUTSIDE FLORENCE'S JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
Back in WWII, Carrara's family would help Jewish citizens escape by hiding in the grounds of their property then jumping over the wall in the backyard which leads directly to the beautiful Jewish synagogue in Florence.

CASA PERUZZI-MAZZONI
This house and it's owners have made a deep impression on me.

CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS & FRESCOES

MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER
In front of the lace curtains at the house, which one of her friends had seen in an earlier blog post. This woman told me Mom that her favorite photo was the one showing the light through the lace curtains at the window.

SIGNORA SIMONETTA PERUZZI-MAZZONI
Signore Peruzzi-Mazzoni is a truly kind woman. Since the first time I met her, I knew there was something special between us. She talked me me about Dante, one of my favorite authors, and gave me advice on ways to further my education on this great writer because her father was a great scholar and professor on this subject. Since then, every time I have seen her or been in her acquaintance, she treats me very special. I believe it is because she can see my love for art and literature, how eager I am to express my love for the subjects in which I study, and because she was also once a professor. She means a lot to me and I know that I am very lucky to have spent time with her.