Shared Memories Florence
17-05-2011 to 27-05-2011
Florence
24th May
Cassino station waiting for the train to Florence. Aubrey was here during the war. The Battalion were unable to hold the station and had to retreat.
The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
The back of the Cathedral.
Palazzo Vecchio the Town Hall of Florence where we have been invited to the 'Shared Memories Agreement' ceremony.
Piazza della Signoria.
The queue of people in front of the Palazzo Vecchio waiting to go on a tour.
Florence
25th May
This is the room in the Palazzo Vecchio where the ceremony will take place.
We arrived early and were given a tour of the palace before the ceremony.
Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the Five Hundred) in the Palazzo Vecchio.
One of the paintings in the Salone dei Cinquecento.
The ceiling of the hall.
Looking across the rooftops from the palace to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
Aubrey talking to the chairman of the ceremony, Susanna Agostini.
Aubrey making his speech.
Singing at the ceremony.
Speeches by the Florence councillors.
Aubrey and the president of the City Council, Eugenio Giani, reading the agreement.
Signing the agreement.
The Shared Memories Agreement.
Being presented with a Florence city lapel pin. We all received one.
Colleen with one of the attendants with the feathered hat.
After the ceremony.
(Photographer Aubrey.)
The lapel pin.
After lunch we were taken to the village of San Michele a Torri to take part in a ceremony at the memorial to the 28th Maori Battalion.They fought for a week here on their way to Florence.
Wreath laying.
The memorial to the 28th Maori Battalion.
The dedication in three languages. Italian, Maori and English. One on each leaf.
The English version.
On the left are members of the Partisans the Italian resistance who were active in the area during the war.
The memorial is just outside the San Michele a Torri winery.
During the fighting the villagers took shelter in these cellars.
More speeches and Aubery was presented with some wine from the winery.
With the partisans.
Florence
26th May
Ponte Vecchio from our van as we are taken to Florence war cemetry.
Our group at the entrance to the cemetry.
Aubrey paying his respects to his friend Mac. Chanel McCalman was a european who left his battalion to fight at the front with the B company of the Maori Battalion. To avoid being charged as a deserter he was transfered to the Maori Battalion.
The trumpeters for the ceremony.
Talking to the Italian Resistance.
Colleen was asked to stand in for her father and lay the wreath at the memorial.
As part of the ceremony we were invited to attend 'Aotearoa Experience The Taste' lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence.
Susanna and Aubrey before the lunch.
(Photo supplied by Susanna Agostini)
Aubey has been asked to sing.
(Video supplied by Susanna Agostini)
The dining room.
Waiting for the food to arrive.
(Photos supplied by Susanna Agostini)
.
Cloudy Bay surf clam bouillabaise with karengo and waikame seaweed, grilled lime and saffron rouille.
Tempura of wild New Zealand Prawns with crispy salad of daikon and cucumber, sesame, soy and wasabi oils.
New Zealand crispy skin snapper, seared big eye tuna with char grilled eggplant, caramelised cherry tomatoes, red wine reduction and New Zealand Kawakawa herbs.
Aubrey has been invited to singing for the diners.
(Video supplied by Susanna Agostini)
Another request for a song from the guests.
(Video supplied by Susanna Agostini)
Dessert. Fresh New Zealand pavlova and vacherin of red fruits, salad of wild berries, with Balsamic liqueur and creme Chantilly.