The Mortal Gorgon Loses Her Head in Florence

One of Florence's greatest statues is outdoors for all to enjoy day or night. Located in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza Signoria Cellini's Perseus and Medusa is one of the world's masterpieces.

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae. As most Greek myths go Perseus mortal grandfather was told by a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. Perseus was exposed to the sea only to be found by a fisherman.

Years go by and Perseus is now a man. He attends a banquet and at the banquet he is fooled into promising to do anything that is asked of him by the King. The King asks him to fetch the head of Medusa. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons and the only mortal one of the three.

To begin his quest he is aided by Athena and Hermes. Perseus heads to Libya to seek 0ut the Graiae. When he finds them he steals their shared eye and tooth. In turn they tell him where and how to find Medusa. He also receives a pair of winged sandals, a magical bag, a magical helmut, and a shied from them. Hermes throws in a sickle-shaped sword too.

Off he goes to find and kill Medusa in her lair. If he gazes at her he'll be turned to stone. Perseus finds her sleeping and sees her through the reflection in his shield. His blow is guided by Athena. He places Medusa's head in his magical bag and flies away wearing his winged sandals.

Athena takes the head of Medusa and places it on her shield. It is now called an Aegis and is meant to frighten enemies during battle.

Cellini did his Medusa in bronze. It nearly killed him and burned down his studio. More on Cellini and the process later. Caravaggio created a painted shield with the head of Medusa now located in the Uffizi. Bernini created a masterful sculpture of her head in stone located in Rome at the Capitoline Museum.

Cacio all'argentera - Herbed Italian Cheese

This is a crowd pleaser and very easy to make. It serves four, but can easily accomodate more.

2 Tbl of olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb of Provolone cheese, cut into 1/2" slices
1 Tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tsp each of fresh oregano and rosemary
cracked black pepper
Italian bread

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the cheese and cook until it begins to soften slightly (around 2 minutes). Turn the cheese with a spatula and cook 1-2 more minutes. Scatter the garlic into the pan along with the vinegar and herbs. Saute until the garlic begins to sizzle.
Pour directly into serving platter and enjoy.

Dante - The father of the Italian language

Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy. It ranks up at the top with the world's best Epic Poems. In it Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. His guide in Hell and Purgatory is another great poet named Virgil. In Heaven his guide is his beloved Beatrice.

The love story between Dante and Beatrice is worthy of Shakespeare. Having only met her a handful of times and sharing only a couple of conversations they never grew their relationship beyond a casual one. Only seeing her from afar Dante loved her so. He loved her so much that she has been immortalized the Divine Comedy as his guide through Heaven.

The Divine Comedy was written in Italian rather than the standard Latin or Greek. By doing so Dante brought the Italian language to center stage. This let Europe know that Italian was worthy of the highest use in literature. It also brought the trilogy to the masses throughout Italy that couldn't read Latin.

Each book contains 33 cantos. The Inferno actually has 34 because of the introduction. Each of the three books end with the word stars.

The Inferno is the most famous 0f the three due to Dante's colorful descriptions of the tortures of the nine levels of Hell, each sin that caused the sinner to be eternally tortured on that level, and bring contemporary Florentines, Romans, Popes, and other political figures to Hell while they lived in Dante's Italy.

One of the tortures that sticks in my mind is where a sinner, submerged under boiling pitch has his flesh ripped apart by demons using grappling hooks if they come above the boiling tar.

In the Divine Comedy Dante encounters Odysseus, Achilles, Charon, Saint Peter, other great Epic Poets, and many more.

It is well worth a read even if you only get through the Inferno and Purgatorio.