Thursday, April 12. Feeling disturbed since visiting Uffizi, not knowing what I was seeing. Back today à la récherche d'un grand récit. Started at C13 paintings this time, some in style not out of place in AS manuscript. S calls it 'generalized Carolingian', which may or may not be right. Both of us struck by a Filippino Lippi of the Virgin adoring the Christ child which caught very well the way baby and mother's gazes interact. Before the great Botticellis it seemed to me that the combination of their sheer size and the obvious, though not necessarily transparent, allegory compels a sort of adoration, a surrender to the symbol, of an almost religious kind. Not that the people for whom these things were made were anything special, morally speaking.
Then to the Duomo - vast and bare inside, though this reflects a more modern taste, shrines and altars etc having been cleaned out C17 and subsequently. Marriage of classic and gothic - ceilings vaulted, arcades with pointed arches, though carried on square Corinthian pillars and pilasters. And the dome is just 4 intersecting pointed arches. Wondered how it all stood up, as there is little buttressing. S suggested Gothic arch approximates a catenary, which seemed implausible to me. L very struck with C15 glass, though I found green and yellow tones a little garish. Total lack of postcards - L thought place could be a lot better managed from point of view of extracting the tourist dollar. Later saw San Lorenzo, where S said the square is a great place for pickpockets. Inside very grand; outside bare masonry. Apparently a donation was promised which never materialized. Braised radicchio and mashed potato in evening with fresh sage. X opened I Tatti wine - I drank too much.