Florence Guide
FLORENCE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florence (Italian: Firenze, Florentia and Fiorenza) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany, and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of approximately 364,779. The city lies on the Arno River and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.[1] It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The "historic centre of Florence" continues to attract millions of tourists each year and was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1982. Florence is also home of Serie A team ACF Fiorentina
Florence was originally established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. It was named Florentia (Flourishing) and built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated at the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the North, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial center. Emperor Diocletian made Florentia capital of the province of Tuscia in the 3rd century AD.
Saint Minias was Florence’s first martyr. He was beheaded at about 250 AD, during the anti-Christian persecutions of the Emperor Decius. After being beheaded, it is said that he picked up his disembodied head and walked across the Arno River and up the hill Mons Fiorentinus to his hermitage, where the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte now stands. The seat of a bishopric from around the beginning of the 4th century AD, the city experienced subsequent turbulent periods of Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 living persons. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century. Conquered by Charlemagne in 774, Florence became part of the duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. Population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county. Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca at about 1000 AD. This initiated the Golden Age of Florentine art. In 1013, construction began on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. The exterior of the baptistry was reworked in Romanesque style between 1059 and 1128.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Florence1.jpgFlorence. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa (defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406), and the exercise of power by the mercantile elite following an anti-aristocratic movement, led by Giano della Bella, that resulted in a set of laws called the Ordinances of Justice (1293).
Of a population estimated at 80,000 before the Black Death of 1348, about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382-1434) of the Albizzi family, bitter rivals of the Medici. Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova. The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their rise. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was shortly thereafter succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was also an accomplished musician and brought some of the most famous composers and singers of the day to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).
Following the death of Lorenzo in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realized the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.
During this period, the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He blamed the exile of the Medicis as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his extreme teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.
A second individual of unusual insight was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimisation of political expediency and even malpractice. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories, the history of the city. Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a republic on May 16, 1527. Restored twice with the support of both Emperor and Pope, the Medici in 1537 became hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569 Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence.
The extinction of the Medici line and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), restored at the Congress of Vienna; Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865, hosting the country's first parliament, but was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops made its addition to the kingdom possible. After doubling during the 19th century, Florence's population tripled in the 20th with the growth of tourism, trade, financial services and industry. During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943-1944) and was declared an open city. The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about 9 kilometres (6 mi) south of the city[2], British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometers east of the center on the north bank of the Arno[3])
A very important role is played in those years by the famous café of Florence Giubbe Rosse from its foundation until the present day. Piazza del Mercato Vecchio was destroyed (Old Market Square), and then was renamed Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. It is known today as Piazza della Repubblica, and is the location of the Giubbe Rosse. In those years (the end of the l9th century) the city administration of Florence decided to raze the old neighborhood of Mercato Vecchio to the ground, in favour of a new square dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II. "Non fu giammai così nobil giardino/ come a quel tempo egli è Mercato Vecchio / che l'occhio e il gusto pasce al fiorentino", claimed Antonio Pucci (poet) in the fourteenth century, "Mercato Vecchio nel mondo è alimento./ A ogni altra piazza il prego serra". The area had decayed from its original medieval splendor". Nowadays the literary café Giubbe Rosse is publishing books of famous Italian authors such: Mario Luzi, Manlio Sgalambro, Giovanni Lista, Menotti Lerro, Leopoldo Paciscopi.
In November 1966, the Arno flooded parts of the center, damaging many art treasures. There was no warning from the authorities who knew the flood was coming, except a phone call to the jewelers on the Ponte Vecchio. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point.
FLORENCE AND THE RENAISSANCE
There was a surge in artistic, literary, and scientific activity in Florence from the 14th to 16th centuries. This was accompanied by significant economic growth and business activity. There was substantial private and public funding to sponsor artistic and scholarly endeavours.
There were crises in the Roman Catholic church (especially the controversy over the French Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism). There were catastrophic results from the Black Death and a some re-evaluation of medieval values.
HISTORICAL EVOCATIONS
SCOPPIO DEL CARRO
The Scoppio del Carro (“Explosion of the Cart”) is a celebration of the First Crusade.
During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is lead by four white oxen, is taken to Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistry of St. John the Baptist (Battistero di San Giovanni) and the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore).
The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the cart there is a model of a dove which, accordin to legend, is a symbol of good luck for the city: at the end of the Easter's Mass the cart is exploded, and the dove is pushed towards the church, passing across the rope.
The Scoppio del Carro (“Explosion of the Cart”) (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
CALCIO STORICO
Calcio Storico Fiorentino' (“Historic Florentine Football”), sometimes called Calcio in costume, is a traditional sport, regarded as an forerunner of soccer, though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby.
The event originates from the Middle Ages, when the most important Florentine nobles amused themself playing while wearing magnificent costumes. The most important match was played on 17 February 1530, during the siege of Florence. That day Papal troops besiged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies, decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation.
The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce. A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered playing field. A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere (quarter) of Florence during late June and early July.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenze.Palvecchio.Uffizi03.JPG
The Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Florence keeps an exceptional artistic heritage. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.[8][9]
Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists up to the artists of our century, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the Uffizi, the most selected gallery in the world, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages".[10]
The Bargello Tower with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the Medicis , Buonarroti' s house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following museums: Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of Modern Art, The museum of the Opera del Duomo, the museum of Silverware and the museum of Precious Stones.[11]
Great monuments are the landmarks of Florentine artistic culture: the Baptistry with its mosaics; the Cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces: Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilization.[12]
In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time.[5]
MAIN SIGHTS
Florence is known as the “cradle of Renaissance” (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site and crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo. The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. Both the dome itself and the campanile are open to tourists and offer excellent views; The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world[4].
In 1982, the historic center of Florence (Italian: centro storico di Firenze) was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO for the importance of its cultural heritages. The center of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city after it became famous and important for its economic growth.
At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolomeo Ammanati's Fountain of Neptune (1563-1565), which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct.
The Arno river, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the men who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno — which alternated from nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Florenca109.jpgFacade and Campanile (bell tower) of Santa Maria del Fiore. The Baptistery can be seen in the right foreground. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
One of the bridges in particular stands out as being unique — The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti). First constructed by the Etruscans in ancient times, this bridge is the only one in the city to have survived World War II intact.
The church of San Lorenzo contains the Medici Chapel, the mausoleum of the Medici family - the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century. Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world - founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family.
The Uffizi ("offices") itself is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence civil life and government for centuries (Signoria Palace is still home of the community government): the Loggia dei Lanzi was the set of all the public ceremonies of the republican government. Many well known episodes of history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:
- In 1301, Dante was sent into Exile from here (a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi commemorates the event).
- 26 April 1478 Jacopo de'Pazzi and his retainers try to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy) who murdered Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounded his brother Lorenzo; the Florentines seized and hanged all the members of the plot that could be apprehended from the windows of the Palace.
- In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola
- On the 23 May 1498 the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake (a round plate in the ground commemorates the very spot were he was hanged)
- In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a reproduction as the original was moved indoors to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno), was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).
It is still the setting for a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello, Giambologna, Ammannati and Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the priceless originals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenze.PalVecchio.Uffizi02.JPGUffizi and Palazzo Vecchio. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
In addition to the Uffizi, Florence has other world-class museums. The Bargello concentrates on sculpture, containing many priceless works of art created by such sculptors as Donatello, Giambologna, and Michelangelo. The Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno (often simply called the Accademia) collection's highlights are Michelangelo's David and his unfinished Slaves.
Across the Arno is the huge Pitti Palace containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection the palace's galleries contain a large number of Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian as well as a large collection of modern art, costumes, cattiages, and porcelain. Adjoining the Palace are the Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with many interesting sculptures.
The Santa Croce basilica, originally a Franciscan foundation, contains the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante (actually a cenotaph), and many other notables.
Other important basilicas and churches in Florence include Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo, Santo Spirito and the Orsanmichele, and the Tempio Maggiore Great Synagogue of Florence.
Florence has been the setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films Hannibal, Tea with Mussolini and A Room with a View.
Today, the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time. [5]
FLORENCE CATHEDRAL From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Duomo_Firenze.jpgView of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore with the landmark dome. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SMDFplan36.gif
Plan of the church with various extension phases (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Piazza_del_Duomo1.jpg
FLORENCE BAPTISTRY From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenze.Baptistry06.JPGThe Battistero of San Giovanni (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Florence Bapistry or Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John) is a religious building in Florence (Tuscany), Italy, which has the status of a minor basilica.
It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style. The Baptistry is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures by Lorenzo Ghiberti.[1] These doors were dubbed by Michelangelo "the Gates of Paradise" because of their beauty, and they were said to have begun the Renaissance.[2]
The octagonal Baptistry stands in the Piazza del Duomo, across from the Duomo cathedral and the Giotto bell tower (Campanile di Giotto).
The Italian poet, Dante Alighieri and many famed artists and leaders of the Renaissance, including members of the Medici family, were baptized here.[3]
Until the end of the 19th century, all Catholic Florentines were baptized in this Baptistry[4]
It is a place beloved and revered by Florentines for centuries.
SAN MARCO, FLORENCE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:San_marco_view_aerea.jpgThe façade and the bell tower of San Marco in Florence (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
San Marco is the name of religious complex in Florence, Italy. It comprises a church and a convent. The convent, which is now a museum, has three claims to fame: during the 15th century it was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher, Girolamo Savonarola. Also housed at the convent is a famous collection of manuscripts in a library built by Michelozzo.
The present convent occupies the site where a Vallombrosan monastery existed in the 12th century, which later passed to Benedictine monks of the Silvestrine line. In 1435 the Benedictines were replaced by Dominicans from Fiesole. Two years later, they appealed to Cosimo de' Medici the Elder, who lived nearby in the family palace, now known as the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, to fund the renovation of the entire complex. The works were entrusted to Michelozzo. Each cell of the monks cloister and many other walls were decorated by Fra Angelico in collaboration with others, including Benozzo Gozzoli. Cosimo de' Medici had a cell at the convent for his personal retreat.
San Marco is famous as the seat of Girolamo Savonarola's discourses during his short spiritual rule in Florence in the late 15th century.
ORSANMICHELE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Verrochioorsanmichelle.jpgOrsanmichele (or "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the contraction in Tuscan dialect of the Italian word orto) is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele, now gone.
Located on the Via Calzaiuoli in Florence, the church was originally built as a grain market[1] in 1337 by Francesco Talenti, Neri di Fioravante, and Benci di Cione. Between 1380 and 1404 it was converted into a church used as the chapel of Florence's powerful craft and trade guilds. On the ground floor of the square building are the 13th century arches that originally formed the loggia of the grain market. The second floor was devoted to offices, while the third housed one of the city's municipal grain storehouses, maintained to withstand famine or siege.[1] Late in the 14th century, the guilds were charged by the city to commission statues of their patron saints to embellish the facades of the church.[1] The sculptures seen today are copies, the originals having been removed to museums (see below).
SANTA FELICITA, FLORENCE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SantaFelicitadiFirenze01.jpgWest front of Chiesa di Santa Felicita. Interior of the church. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SantaFelicitadiFirenze02.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Santa_Felicita_(Firenze)The chiesa di Santa Felicita (Church of St Felicity) is a church in Florence, Italy, probably the oldest in the city after San Lorenzo. In the 2nd century, Syrian Greek merchants settled in the area south of the Arno and are thought to have brought Christianity to the region. The first church on the site was probably built in the late 4th century or early 5th century and was dedicated to Saint Felicity of Rome. A new church was built in the 11th century and the current church largely dates from 1736–1739, under design by Ferdinando Ruggieri, who turned it into a one nave edifice. The monastery was suppressed under the Napoleonic occupation of 1808-1810.
The Vasari Corridor passes through the façade of this church and on the inside there is large window, covered by a thick gate, where the Grand Dukes of the Medici family used to listen to the mass without being seen by the people staying at ground level.
PALAZZO PITTI From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenza_Palazzo_Pitti.jpg
Early, tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of King Emmanuel II between 1865–71, when Florence was the capital of Italy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palazzo_Pitti_Gartenfassade_Florenz.jpgThe garden front facing the amfiteatro of the Boboli Gardens (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1539 and later became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, becoming a great treasure house as various generations amassed paintings, plate, jewellery and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly-united Italy. Together with its contents, it was given to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, and its doors were subsequently opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today, housing several minor collections in addition to those of the Medici family, it is fully open to the public.
PALAZZO VECCHIO From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenze-palazzovecchio.jpgPalazzo Vecchio. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Palazzo Vecchio (IPA pronunciation: [palatzo vɛkio]) (Italian for Old Palace) is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Gothic, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany.[1] Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy.
Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti.
BARGELLO From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Il_Bargello.jpgThe Bargello (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People) is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy.
UFFIZI From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Uffizi_Gallery,_Florence.jpgThe narrow courtyard between the Uffizi's two wings creates the effect of a short, idealized street. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Uffizi_Hallway.jpgView of hallway. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:UffiziCeiling1.jpgCeiling paintings in the main corridor. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi), one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world, is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi, a palazzo in Florence, Italy.
Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name "uffizi" ("offices"). Construction was continued to Vasari's design by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and ended in 1581. The cortile is so long and narrow, and open to the Arno River at its far end through a Doric screen that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians[1] treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. Vasari, a painter as well as architect, emphasized the perspective length by the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand.
The Palazzo degli Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the state archive (Archivio di Stato). The project that was planned by Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany to arrange that prime works of art in the Medici collections on the piano nobile was effected by Francesco I, who commissioned from Buontalenti the famous Tribuna degli Uffizi that united a selection of the outstanding masterpieces in the collection in an ensemble that was a star attraction of the Grand Tour.
Over the years, further parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence by terms of the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Lodovica, the last Medici heiress; it formed one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.
Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence — for example, some famous statues, to the Bargello. A project is currently underway to expand the museum's exhibition space by 2006 from some 6,000 metres² (64,000 ft²) to almost 13,000 metres² (139,000 ft²), allowing public viewing of many artworks that have usually been in storage. Today the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence. In high season (particularly in July), waiting times can be up to five hours. Visitors who reserve a ticket in advance have a substantially shorter wait.
ACCADEMIA DI BELLE ARTI FIRENZE From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It was founded in 1561 with high patronage of the Medici, specifically that of Cosimo I, by Giorgio Vasari, Agnolo Bronzino and Bartolommeo Ammannati, three of the central artists of Mannerism. At first the academy met in the cloisters of the Church of the Santissima Annunziata. It was taken for granted at the outset that all the members of the Accademia were male; when the Accademia welcomed Artemisia Gentileschi to membership, it was a signal honor to a woman. Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, decreed in 1784 that all the schools of drawing in Florence be combined under one roof, under the direction of the Accademia, now renamed Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze ("Academy of Fine Arts, Florence") and that it was to contain a gallery of paintings by old masters to help the studies of the young artists. The Accademia, and the adjoining Gallery still occupy the premises that were assigned in via Ricasoli, a former convent and hospice. The Grand Duke also decided to include among the arts protected in this way, a conservatory of music (the Cherubini Conservatory) and, more extraordinary, a school of art restoration (the Opificio delle Pietre Dure).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:David_von_Michelangelo.jpgMichelangelo's David in the Tribuna that was built especially to house it. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti has housed the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was allegedly brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, although other factors were involved in its move from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria. The original intention was to create a 'Michelangelo museum', with original sculptures and drawings, to celebrate the fourth centenary of the artist's birth. Today the gallery's small collection of Michelangelo's work includes his four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, and a statue of Saint Matthew, also unfinished. In 1939 these were joined by a Pietà discovered in the Barberini chapel in Palestrina, though experts now consider its attribution to Michelangelo to be dubious.
Among the notable renaissance works on display are an outstanding collection of 15th and 16th century Florentine paintings by Paolo Uccello, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto and, from the High Renaissance, Giambologna's original plaster for the Rape of the Sabine Women. As well as a number of Florentine Gothic paintings, the gallery houses the idiosyncratic collection of Russian icons assembled by the Grand Dukes of the House of Lorraine, of which Leopoldo was one.
BRANCACCI CHAPEL From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Izokefalizm.jpgThe Tribute Money, fresco by Masaccio in the Brancacci Chapel. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Brancacci Chapel is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.
It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance" for its painting cycle, among the most famous and influential of the period.
Construction of the chapel was commissioned by Pietro Brancacci and begun in 1386.
The patron of the pictorial decoration was Felice Brancacci, descendant of Pietro, who had served as the Florentine ambassador to Cairo until 1423. Upon his return to Florence, he hired Masolino da Panicale to paint his chapel. Masolino's associate, 21 year old Masaccio, 18 years younger than Masolino, assisted, but did so well that Masolino ultimately left, and the commission was given to Masaccio. However, Masaccio was called to Rome before he could finish the chapel, and died in Rome at the age of 27. Portions of the chapel were completed later by Filippino Lippi.
MAGI CHAPEL From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gozzoli_magi.jpgEastern Wall, the procession of the Magi. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Benozzo_Gozzoli_001.jpgDetail of the choir of angels in the apse. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Magi Chapel is a chapel in Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence. It includes a famous cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted in 1459-1461.
The chapel is on the piano nobile of the palace, and was one of the first decorations executed after the completion of the edifice by Michelozzo. Gozzoli painted his cycle over three of the walls, the subject being the Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, but the religious theme was a pretext to depict the procession of important people who arrived in Florence in occasion of the Council of Florence (1438-1439). In this occasion the Medici could boast to have favoured the reconciliation between the Catholic and the Byzantine churches. The luxury of the Byzantine dignitaries is manifest, and shows the impression they would have at the time on the Florentine population.
Over a rich landscape probably influenced by Flemish artists (perhaps through tapestries), Gozzoli portrayed the members of the Medici family riding in the foreground of the fresco on the wall at the right of the altar. A young Lorenzo il Magnifico leads the procession on a white horse, followed by his father Piero the Gouty and the family founder, Cosimo. Then come Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, respectively lord of Rimini and Milan: they did not take part in the Council, but were guests of the Medici in Florence in the time the frescoes were painted. After them is a procession of illustrious Florentines, such as the humanists Marsilio Ficino and the Pulci brothers, the members of the Art Guilds and Benozzo himself. The painter can be recognized for he is looking towards the observer and for the scroll on his red hat, reading Opus Benotii.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Benozzo_Gozzoli%2C_lorenzo_il_magnifico%2C_cappella_dei_Magi.jpgEast Wall, alleged portrait of Lorenzo il Magnifico. (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
On the following wall, the bearded character on a white horse is the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos; the three girls next to him have been identified as the three daughters of Piero de' Medici, Nannina, Bianca and Maria. Finally, on the wall to the left of the altar are Pope Pius II, portrayed as an old man on a mule, preceded by Lorenzo's elder brother, Giuliano, carrying a leopard on his horse. In the same scene can be seen the Joseph, Patriarch of Constantinople and other Byzantine dignitaries, surrounded by exotic animals, such as a lynx and a falcon.
In the apse Gozzoli frescoed two choirs of angels, following the style of his master, Fra Angelico. The altarpiece is a copy of Filippo Lippi's Adoration of the Child, now in Berlin.
The lively colors and details of the frescoes are backed by the precious mosaics of the pavement, the gilted ceiling and the wooden stalls designed by Giuliano da Sangallo.
Gozzoli patron, Piero de' Medici, felt some of the seraphim were unsuitable, and wanted them painted over. Although the artist agreed to do this, it was never actually done.
In the 17th century, parts of the frescoes were destroyed to create access for a new staircase, where is the current entrance.
LOGGIA DEL MERCATO NUOVO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Firenze-mercato.jpgLoggia del Mercato Nuovo (Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, popularly known as the Loggia del Porcellino is a building in Florence, Italy. It is so called to distinguish it from the Mercato vecchio (old market) located in the area of today's Piazza della Repubblica.
The loggia was built around the middle of the 16th century in the heart of the city, just a few steps from the Ponte Vecchio. Initially it was intended for the sale of silk and luxury goods and then for the famous straw hats, but today mainly leather goods and souvenirs are sold.