Sunday, July 1, 2018

Two Seek Adventure




That Wednesday, Carmen and Carmichael had a field trip to the Villa di Pratolino near Florence. The class of children rampaged through the garden's geometric alleyways, and sometime before noon Carmen, leading Carmichael by the hand, found the giant.

They weren't supposed to slip past the fence and shuck their shoes by the waterside. They shouldn't have have waded out into the water. Above all, they should never have looked up at that rocky face and said - with the insouciance of extreme youth - hello.



The Apennine Colossus may still be seen at Pratolino, in the remains of the garden laid out by Francesco di Medici in the 1570s. It was created by Giambologna, greatest of the sculptors of the mannerist era, some of whose more famous works are in the Loggia di Lanzi in downtown Florence.