I am really excited to be traveling to Italy next week with my youngest daughter. The last time I was in Italy was in 2018. For this trip, we start in Venice, then Florence, Rome, and Sorrento. I have not seen the David by Michelangelo since I was 19, though. So, I am looking forward to being in awe once again as I was when I was a young girl.

I do remember Florence when I was 19. We were there for two days, and on the first day, we went to the flea market where I purchased a tablecloth with matching napkins. These tablecloths were all the rage, and I still have it today, although it is rarely used. I do not remember seeing the David, and wish I could remember. It is a blur.

Artists are so interesting to me. I read that he rarely ate or slept while he was creating, and while he slept, he kept his clothes and boots on. A few thoughts about this amazing artist.

Michelangelo

The artist who can instill a sense of awe.
Terribilita.
The Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgment, The David.
Frescos of faded orange, green, yellow, and blue hues. 
Muscles, “bizarro e fantastic” critics called him.
We gaze. We ponder. We stare.

He frequently withdrew from the company of others.
He was a lone artist and wrote sonnets.
The Pieta, commissioned by the French Cardinal and Michelangelo, a young 25 or 26!
Nine months to choose the suitable Carrara marble for the youthful Mary holding her son, Christ.
The marble, luminous. The fresco, evanesce. 
And sonnets.
I gaze. I ponder. I stare.
Magnificent.