Dentures

 

President Washington's dentures
Mount Vernon Estate Museum

As I am preparing to take mom to the dentist to replace the fourth dentures she had lost, thrown away with a meal or dumped in the trash, I am grateful to the Etruscans, the precursors to the Romans who lived in the northern part of Latium, in today’s Tuscany. Etruscans were expert denture makers and their skill was not replicated until the 19^th century.

Etruscans were so skilled at extracting decayed teeth and replacing them with partial or full dentures, that they were renowned all over the ancient world. The bridgework was made from gold and the teeth were carved from ivory, carefully resembling the original tooth.  If a person died, their good teeth were removed and used in dentures for the upper classes.

In the medieval and Renaissance periods, the rich could actually pay poor people to have teeth removed and then implanted in “gums” of ivory. Women of the 1500s had their gums pierced with wires in order to secure dentures or partials in place. In the 1600s uppers were kept in place by springs that were so taut that pressure was necessary to keep the mouth shut.  Not paying constant attention to these springs could result in a mouth flying open uncontrollably.

The first realistic looking dentures were made by Parisian doctors in the 19th century – they were durable porcelain teeth baked in one piece. Dr. Claudius Ash adopted the procedure in America. 

One gory practice had individuals collect the teeth of dead soldiers from the battlefield; sometimes these soldiers were not really dead thus the term “teeth robbers” was born. Many Europeans had dentures made with “Waterloo” teeth and  quite a few Americans had “Civil War” teeth.

Porcelain teeth put an end to teeth robbery. The porcelain teeth were embedded in vulcanized rubber. About the same time period, the practice of using nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” for anesthesia made dentistry less painful.

It is always a good idea to take good care of your natural teeth, however, should that fail, you can thank Etruscans for inventing dentures and modern medicine for perfecting dentures and implants.

Day Trip to Volterra and Siena

Volterra Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

After a morning of twists and turns, hair pin curves in which speeding motorcyclists taking terrifying chances would dangerously zigzag with death-defying speed between the lanes of traffic, we got closer to Volterra. As the road got narrower and narrower, Volterra rose from the hills like a medieval clay-tiled gem surrounded by intensely green trees, yellow tiled roofs, and dizzying drops. With much fewer visitors than San Gimignano, Volterra was a tranquil place with a well-preserved Roman theater dating back to the first century B.C., excavated in 1950, columns, and Etruscan ruins.

Considered one of the “twelve cities” of the Etruscan League, Volterra was known as Velathri. It is believed that the surrounding area has been inhabited since the end of the 8^th century B.C.  There are excavations of Etruscan tombs in Valle Bona. The Etruscan City Walls have two well preserved gates, Porta all’Arco (3^rd-2^nd centuries B.C.) and Porta Diana.

Volterra

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum displayed thousands of funeral urns dating back to Archaic periods, a bronze statue, “Ombra della sera,” (Shadow of the Evening), and “Urna degli Sposi” (Urn of the spouses), an Etruscan couple’s effigy sculpted in terra cota.

Photo: Wikipedia

 

Piazza dei Priori is a well-preserved medieval Tuscan town square; the Palazzo dei Priori is the town hall built in 1208-1257.

The Volterra Cathedral, enlarged in the 13^th century, had a ciborium, a free-standing baldachin in the sanctuary. It was used at times to emphasize the altar and other times to hide it.

Volterra Roman Theater

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

Walking through the narrow cobbled stoned alleys, with the sun barely peeking through buildings erected too close to each other, casting shadows and cool air on a sunny early May day, I compared the surroundings with the images of Volterra cast in Luchino Visconti’s 1965 movie Sandra.

Medici Fortress Prison with famous restaurant

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

The Fortezza Medicea (Medici Fortress), built in 1474, is a prison and houses the famous restaurant by the same name where the meals are prepared by inmates. I was not sold on the idea of eating a meal prepared by people who did not just broke the law but committed murder by various means, poison coming to mind. I did not say a word about its existence to my husband who would never miss an opportunity to eat an Italian meal, even one prepared by inmates.

The Renaissance era fortress is a high-security prison for criminals who serve at least seven year sentences. Even though customers must pass a background check, several checkpoints, and eat with plastic forks and knives, since the prison administrators started operating the restaurant in 2006-2007 as a rehabilitation effort, the tables in the Medici fortress are booked weeks in advance. I find it peculiar that people are willingly subjecting themselves to such scrutiny just to eat a meal prepared and served by criminals.

Not far from Volterra is Lajatico, home town of the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. He gives annual concerts in Teatro del Silenzio, concerts that are attended by people from all over the world.

Peering from the upper road down to the Roman theater, I imagined the majestic Greek tragedies played on stage for the entertainment of the Romans long ago. Behind me I found Fabula Etrusca, a tiny gold showroom with unique Etruscan pieces, one of a kind. The tiny display windows were stylishly decorated but contrasting oddly with the rock walls and stony building carved into the rock with a heavy iron gate, steps going down into a dungeon with an electronically locked metal door with grates that slid like a prison cell door. The limited lighting focused mostly on the pieces displayed on dark blue velvet. It was somewhat spooky funereal and the prices were steep. A lady appeared out of nowhere and seemed very unfriendly and stiff, almost like a jailer. I could not find the exit fast enough and some fresh air.

On the way back to the underground parking garage, we found a store famous for its alabaster works of art. Preoccupied with the beauty of mushrooms, I bought one carved in clear alabaster and three inexpensive elastic bracelets faceted from real stones and polished into geometrical shapes.

I was ready to move on to the next stop, Siena. I really wanted to see the fan-shaped piazza called Campo where the famous Palio is held each year.

Tuscany Hills

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

We backtracked most of the slopes and dangerous curves of Tuscany on the way to Siena. The GPS kept taking us on one-way streets which were impossible to escape. Italians were honking at us, shaking their fists, and some even stopped their cars in the middle of the one-way road, got out, and started yelling obscenities and making not so nice hand gestures in our direction.  We laughed at them and continued on our way. Somehow I think there is a picture of us somewhere in the traffic department in Siena, the poster of stupid American drivers who do not know what a one-way street is.

Streets of old Siena

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

We finally found a parking spot about .7 km from the Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped square. We walked very slowly as my knees have had enough and I was in excruciating pain. The streets were narrow and dark with a distinct medieval look.

Siena Cathedral

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

On the Siena Cathedral (Duomo), a Capitoline Wolf reminds the visitors of the legend that Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus who was murdered by his brother Romulus. Fleeing Rome, the two sons took with them to Siena the statue of the famous she-wolf who nursed the abandoned twins Romulus and Remus. Senius and Aschius rode white and black horses on their journey from Rome, a source of inspiration for the coat of arms of Siena with a white band on top of a dark band.

Capitoline Wolf statue

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

Etymological scholars argue about the origin of the name Siena. Some say that it comes from Senius, others from the Etruscan family name Saina, the Roman family Saenii, or even the Latin word senex (old), or from the Latin verb, seneo (I am old).

Sarcophagus of St. Catherine

Photo: Wikipedia

 

Siena was first inhabited by Etruscans (900-400 B.C.) and then by a tribe called Saina. Etruscans were good planners; their settlements were built in forts on top of hills that could be easily defended against invaders.  Etruscans were outstanding farmers who used irrigation to grow food on terrain sometimes less suitable for agriculture. During Emperor Augustus’s reign a town called Saena Julia was founded on the same location as documented in 70 A.D.

An Italian Romanesque-Gothic masterpiece, the Duomo, built on top of an existing church which in turn was built on top of a pagan temple dedicated to Minerva, was meant to be massive when the construction began in the 12^th century, but lack of funds because of wars and the plague forced the Sienese to reduce its size by the time the façade was completed in 1380. The inlaid marble floors are among the most intricate in Italy, the artistic work of many master craftsmen. The pulpit was sculpted by Nicola Pisano. Frescoes were painted by Ghirlandaio and Pinturicchio. Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti and other famous sculptors left their imprint on the cathedral.  

The famous Campo in Siena

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

Suddenly, the narrow streets ended in a gate with downwards stairs which opened into Piazza del Campo, the famous shell-shaped town square in front of the Palazzo Pubblico with the tall tower, Torre del Mangia. The sloping square was a disappointment for me because I imagined it so much larger. The photos I had seen are always taken from the air, making the square look deceptively much larger.

A view from above of the Campo square

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

 

We found a comfortable outdoor restaurant of the many encircling the square and had an early dinner while watching young people have a celebratory fight with pillows in the middle of the square, egged on by a female DJ from the local radio station.

The Palio (horse race) is held in this cobbled square twice a year, on July 2 and August 16, a competition reflecting the medieval rivalry of wards (Contrada), and a significant part of the culture of the town.

Each of the seventeen wards has a mascot representing a city neighborhood that was formed originally as battalions for defending the city. The trophy is a painted banner or Palio with the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each race commissions a new Palio by famous artists and then is retired in the Contrade museum. During the Palio, the entire town is festively decorated with lamps and flags with the colors of the teams. I had to purchase such a Contrade scarf which locals wear during the festivities.

A Sienese takes Palio very seriously; they are baptized twice, once in the Catholic Church and a second time in the fountain of their own Contrade. A dangerous competition, the Palio is surrounded by celebrations and banquets before the event. The city pretty much closes many roads in order to accommodate banquets in excess of 1,000 people.

With pomp and circumstance, drummers and flag twirlers dressed in traditional medieval costumes accompany the horses and the riders on the day of the event, first to the Contrade parish church for prayers and dedications and then in a procession along the route, in the streets, and ending in the Piazza del Campo, a traditional parade called Corteo Storico.

Each Palio can only accommodate ten of the seventeen Contrades. Seven teams run who had not run in the previous year’s Palio, and three are drawn from the remaining ten. The bare back riding race that lasts three minutes is dangerous for both the horse and the rider. Practice races take place three days before the actual race. Horses on their way to practice are cheered by crowds as the stars of the show. Emotional Italians take the race and winning very seriously. Vets are available during the race and cushions have been placed at the most dangerous corners of the course to protect both horses and riders in case of falls.

I counted at least six beautiful churches and a historic Siena synagogue. Most notable was the sanctuary of Santa Caterina, with the old house of St. Catherine of Siena. The miraculous Crucifix of the late 12^th century from which the saint received her stigmata is housed here, including a 15^th century statue of St. Catherine.

Palazzo Salimbeni was the original headquarters of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena, one of the oldest banks in continuous existence in Europe. The Palazzo remains in their possession to this day.

The city’s beautiful botanical gardens are cared for by the University of Siena. The Siena Jazz School, Enoteca Italiana in the Medici Fortress, and patrician villas that display the artistry of Baldassarre Peruzzi contribute to the unusual charm of Sienna.

We limped back to our car which, surprisingly, was still there and had not been issued a ticket even though we far exceeded the posted 60 minutes. At that moment in time, Siena looked to us much more beautiful in our rear view mirror and we were elated to get back to Florence.

 

 

Day Trip to San Gimignano

San Gimignano in the distance
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

We left Florence early in the morning, bound for San Gimignano in the heart of Tuscany. There were no tunnels this time, just large rolling hills covered in lush green orchards, olive groves, vineyards, and agritourist sites where room and board were available, and wine and olive oil for sale.

We were glad we did not have any breakfast; the hair pin curves were non-stop.  The bluish-green vistas with spectacular trees were dotted with terra cotta villas and wild flowers, especially red poppies. My husband is a first class driver and managed all curves like a pro. 

We drove by what appeared to be a prison compound, an unusual site in the midst of so much beauty. Tall chicken wire fences topped with barbed wire were encircling a foreboding building with heavy wrought iron bars on the small windows. Two heavily armed policemen were guarding the access road while their car was parked nearby.  It was most unusual to see police on such a picturesque country road especially since we never saw one cop ticketing any drivers.

More Tuscan landscape on lower elevations

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

Eventually the road opened up to reveal a foggy bluish fortress in the distance with fourteen medieval towers, located at an elevation of 1,063 ft., the unmistakable and famous silhouette of San Gimignano, a walled medieval hill town of 7,768 people in the province of Siena, Tuscany. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, the well-preserved buildings reveal Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

The gate we entered

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

The city can be entered on foot through eight gates; the main gates are Porta San Giovanni (south ridge), Porta San Matteo (north-west), and Porta S. Jacopo (north east).

Tuscan landscape

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

Torture museum Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

After a minor turnaround, we found a parking spot by the town’s supermarket on the outside of the city walls. We took off on foot on the steep pedestrian cobblestone walkway to the fortress.  We passed by the museum of torture and by several tiny shops of local artisans selling their  crafts and food produced in full view and sold in specialty stores the size of a hole in the wall.

Piazza della Cisterna

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

In the main piazza, Piazza della Cisterna, we found a very busy gelato store that was voted the best gelateria in Italy at the 2015 competition. Of course it broke our hearts to sample small cones.

Gelateria in San Gimignano

Photo: Ileana Johnson

 

San Gimignano produces saffron, a very expensive spice used as medicinal and cooking ingredient, extracted from a purplish flower called saffron crocus, golden ham, and a white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, from an ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hills surrounding the town, a wine desired by popes and poets.

The city is crossed north south by Via San Matteo and Via San Giovanni. There are four squares in the center of town: the Piazza Duomo, the Piazza della Cisterna, the Piazza Pecori, and the Piazza delle Erbe.

San Gimignano 1300 museum exhibits models of the city as it was 700 years ago. Everything is handcrafted to showcase 800 structures, 72 towers, lovely street scenes, and figurines all with the attention to artistic detail that Italians are famous for.

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

During the third century B.C., there was a small Etruscan village on the site of San Gimignano. Two patrician brothers, Muzio and Silvio, fled Rome during the Catiline conspiracy against the Roman Republic in the first century, and settled in Valdelsa where they built two castles.

The name of Silvio was changed to San Gimignano in 450 A.D. after the Saint of Modena, Bishop Geminianus, intervened and saved the castle from the destruction by Atilla the Hun’s followers.  The church was thus dedicated to the saint and a walled village was built around it in the sixth and seventh centuries.  The area, surrounded by then thick woods, was called the “Castle of San Gimignano,” and was ruled by the bishops of Volterra.

In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, Catholic pilgrims going to Rome and to the Vatican, would stop in San Gimignano to rest before continuing on their pilgrimage. Although it became independent from Volterra in 1199, the conflict between the Guelphs, who supported the Pope and Ghibellines, who supported the Holy Roman Emperor, disturbed the town’s peace for two centuries. The cancerous rivalry between the two clans resulted in the building of towers, taller and taller, 72 by the end of the Medieval period, with a height of 70 meters. A city ordinance, which restricted the height of the towers to that of the one near the Palazzo Comunale, controlled the rivalry.

There is a house which still stands in San Gimignano; it is the home of Santa Fina or Serafina, who was born here in 1238. The Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church displays her shrine and frescoes by Ghirlandaio. She is celebrated on March 12, the day she died at the age of 15, paralyzed and attached to a wooden pallet, in unimaginable pain but very positive and encouraging to the world. Because of her invincible spirit in the face of excruciating pain and adversity, she is the patron saint of physically challenged people.

Dante Alighieri is said to have visited San Gimignano on May 8, 1300, as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany. Almost five decades later the city was struck by the Black Death and half of its population died.

Ruled by Florence, San Gimignano built some Gothic palaces in Florentine style while towers were cut down to the height of houses but development stopped and this sleepy little town remained preserved in its medieval form until the 19^th century.

It is remarkable that even though other cities such as Florence lost their towers due to wars, conflict, and urban development, San Gimignano preserved fourteen towers of various heights from its original seventy-two.

Movie producers used San Gimignano as movie location such as the 1999 drama, Tea with Mussolini.  A group of women, English and American expatriates in Italy, save frescoes from being destroyed during Germany’s withdrawal at the end of World War II. These frescoes were inside the Duomo, San Gimignano’s main church.

San Gimignano from outside the walls

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016

 

After taking more photographs than I can ever store of the breathtaking views, the yellow flowers, the bluish green landscape in the distance, the baby blue sky, the dark green trees silhouetting in the distance like soldiers standing at attention, the vineyards, the red poppies, the yellow and purple saffron flowers, sunflowers, and the watchtowers from medieval times, we left for Volterra.