So, I'm walking through the town of Florence, Italy, which is where we were spending day four, and town three of the infamous 10 destinations in 12 days "Speed Tour of the Mediterranean". And it's beautiful, and fortunately Simon & Ann, our English friends are with us as unofficial tour guides. Ann and I are walking along, and this guy comes up to us trying to sell me this painting. Well, actually it is a poster... but it has texture, sort of like an oil painting.
The view is of the river Arno, and the town of Florence with all it's signature sights and/or sites. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is perhaps the most significant, seen in the upper left of the poster/painting. This bridge was not destroyed as the German's retreated in August or 1944. Hitler instead ordered buildings on both shores demolished to deny the approaches (since rebuilt). The bridge itself dates to Roman times, first mentioned in a document circa 996. Stone piers anchored a wooden deck. A flood in 1117 swept away the wooden superstructure, but it was then reconstructed all in stone. In 1333, it was again swept away by a flood, which left only two central piers of this closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge. Twelve years later (1345) it was rebuilt as you would see it today, with the center span being 98 feet, the two side spans at 88 feet, making it a total of 274 feet across the Arno. Shops continue to do business on the bridge, but the butcher shops (once common) have been replaced by jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir merchants.
Which brings me back to my story - this souvenir merchant, one of the many who were legion on the ground, sees me and Ann walking and says "buy this lovely painting, only 25 Euro". I never even hear him, however Ann relates to me later that this was the initial "ask". As his persistence increases exponentially, he gains my attention and says "sir, for you, only 20 Euro". Now, that's roughly $26 dollars U.S. currency (a buck thirty buys one Euro). I walk on...........
He now says "I make a deal, 15 Euro" I politely tell him "grazie, no". He mutters something in Italian, probably along the lines of "mister, you're killing me here", so I reach into my pocket to show him I don't even have ten Euro, but I do produce a five Euro piece of bluish gray paper showing a Roman aqueduct on one side, some columns (probably ionic, perhaps doric, certainly not corinthian) on the reverse. It's my BAFO, my best and final offer. "Sir, the poster is lovely, but all I have is this - do you want it? Quickly he snatches it as I firmly grab hold of the painting, and the deal is done.
So, I feel pretty good about it - got this nifty souvenir for only five Euros, which look to me like oversized Monopoly money. As we walk on, I note others of his trade are selling the same poster, but starting at 20 Euros - the word is out, these cruise ship passengers won't pay retail.
So, for six dollars and fifty cents American, I bring home the poster, which my wife takes to Hobby Lobby and has framed..........for $184.25 (frame, glass, spacers, labor and tax). I suspect that poster merchant followed me home from Italy, and got a job at Hobby Lobby to wreak his revenge. But it is what it is, and as a memory of Tuscany and Florence, well worth it.
What a great story, John. And what a wonderful reminder you now have of one of the world's most beautiful cities.
ReplyDeleteMy souvenir of Florence -- in addition to some really great photographs I took of the city -- is a small plaster copy of Michelangelo's "David," which I bought one evening at the souvenir shop at the end of the Ponte Vecchio. I paid about 5 euros for it, but that was 10 years ago. Lord only knows what it would cost now.
I should hasten to point out that my plaster reproduction of "David" can't hold a candle to the real thing, which took my breath away when I first saw it at the Academia.