Chiese Fiorentine

AN ITALIAN TOWN or neighborhood's heart may be its square, but its soul is its parish church: in a country where the government leaves its citizens to sink or swim, most types of community service, from assisting immigrants (of all faiths) to organizing boy scout troops, are handled by the Church and lay brotherhoods such as the Misericordia. The Church's role was even more important in the past, when a good priest was the only protection against the abuses of the nobility, and religious organizations cared for the needy and the sick (a risky business indeed, when plagues swept the land). Small wonder then that those who could gave lavishly to their churches.

Of course lavish is a relative term; what you or I could give would most likely not amount to much. However, Florence's bankers once financed kings, and on the home front competed to see whose parish church would be the most beautiful. The resulting largesse launched the Renaissance.

We begin with Ognissanti (in Piazza Ognissanti), which was built in 1254, and transformed into one of Florence's first Baroque churches by Bartolomeo Pettirossi in the 1620's (the façade, by Matteo Nigretti, dates to 1637). When you look up from the center of the nave your first thought will be that Messers Romei and Bonucci tore off the roof of the church; while there are a number of painted ceilings of this kind in Rome, in particular S. Ignazio, this is the only important one in Florence. Above the second alter to the right Domenico and Davide Ghirlandaio's Madonna della Misericordia (1473) watches over the Vespucci family; the young man between the old man's back and the Virgin is said to be Amerigo, while the girl with the red cape and the green robe may be Simonetta, Giuliano De'Medici's beloved, who married a Vespucci following his assassination. The Pietà below the Madonna, which was at one point covered (note the scrape marks) is also by the Ghirlandaio brothers. The next chapel has an early work by Santi di Tito, the Virgin Enthroned (1565), and the following one has the Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, by Matteo Rosselli. The men seated above the confessionals are Saints Jerome, to the left, and Augustine, to the right, respectively by Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli.

Botticelli lies under a stone in the second chapel of the right transept, while the habit Saint Francis was wearing when he received the Stigmata is in the first chapel to the left of the main altar. The sacristy, off from the left transept (open afternoons), has several Early Renaissance works, including a Crucifixion by the school of Giotto, another by Taddeo Gaddi, and the Resurrection and Ascension by Agnolfo Gaddi. There's also an Annunciation, copied from the Annunciation painted by an angel in Santissima Annunziata.

Ognissanti was and is a monastery, and has a beautiful cloister that is also off from the left transept (note the three pilasters that support the transept, whose Gothic origins are quite clear from the outside). The frescoes in the lunettes underneath the arches, which were badly damaged in the 1966 flood, show scenes from the life of Saint Francis. The refectory (open Mon, Tue, Sat, 9-12), has one of Domenico Ghirlandaio's Last Suppers. Judas is, per tradition, on the opposite side of the table from everyone else. The table cloth, with its griffon embroideries, is spectacular, while the birds in the garden beyond the windows are quite fun. The refectory also has several sinopias (the the line drawings that artists follow when painting frescos) that were separated from their frescos during the restorations that followed the 1966 flood.

The church with the pretty dome you will see on the other side of the river as you exit Ognissanti is San Frediano. Turn left onto Borgo Ognissanti. There isn't much Liberty Architecture (The Italian equivalent of the French Belle Époque) in Florence, but the building at N° 26 is spectacular. Continue down Borgo Ognissanti; the upside down house (N° 12) supposedly has all the decorative elements of the balconies and the windows inverted because the then chief of the city planning commission said he would only allow the new building if it was built from the top down.

Cross Piazza Goldoni and take Via del Parione. You will note that the first building extends out over the sidewalk; this sort of encroachment onto the street was quite common in medieval Florence. Duck into the University of Florence (N° 11b) to see a beautiful Renaissance spiral staircase, and continue down Via del Parione. The eves at the intersection with Via del Parioncino are featured in post cards. Via del Parione opens out onto Piazza Santa Trìnita.

The Column of Justice in the middle of the square is from the Baths of Caracalla, and was given to Cosimo I de'Medici by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Cosimo placed it here to celebrate his victory over his rivals at Montemurlo in 1537, and changed the inscription when he was declared Grand Duke in 1569. Tadda's statue of Justice, intentionally placed looking away from the Palazzo Vecchio, was added in 1581. Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni (N° 1) was designed by Baccio d'Angelo in the 1520's, and reveals the influence of his stay in Rome. Vasari decided it was graceful, but many other critics thought the architecture was better suited to a church: The inscription over the door, Carpere promptius quam imitari -- it's easier to criticize than imitate -- was Baccio's reply. The window sills bear the motto Better not Sleep (adopted by the Poet Gabriele D'Annunzio) and the building has friezes with poppy flowers, in reference to a dinner during which a Salimbeni merchant is said to have drugged his guests so he could place his bid for an important lot of merchandise that was being auctioned off the next morning first.

The church facing the palace, Santa Trínita, was founded by the Vallombrosians in the 11th century (when it was outside the city walls), and subsequently patronized by many of Florence's wealthiest families; as a result it was rebuilt many times, and could now serve as the text for a good course on Italian art history. To begin on the outside, the elegant Late Renaissance façade is by Buontalenti. However, when you enter the church and turn around, you will see the delightful Romanesque stonework that emerged when the building was restored at the turn of the century. The same restoration also revealed the floor of the 11th century church, under the present floor, and a crypt. Though the floor mosaics that were found are now in the Bargello, the capitals of the columns of the crypt are still there. The crypt is generally kept closed for safety reasons, and to see it you will have to make an appointment with the custodian (he'll most likely ask you to return another day -- tip him).

You will also note, flanking the main door, two beautifully carved tombstones (the bones were transferred to the church's ossuary when the stones were removed from the floor).

The fourth chapel on the right has Lorenzo Monaco's Saints, Prophets, and the life of Mary (1420-25) and his Annunciation. It's an interesting chapel, because Lorenzo mixes styles with a surprisingly pleasant result. The Annunciation at the altar is done in the High Gothic style, with stylized figures (convincingly rendered) set against an equally stylized background. The frescoes on the walls, however, reveal that Lorenzo was well aware of the new developments in painting introduced by Masaccio: He displays a firm grasp of the newly emerging Renaissance style, painting natural looking people who are solidly anchored to their backgrounds.

Continuing on to the right transept, we cross into the High Renaissance. Domenico Ghirlndaio's skill with a brush is astonishing, and you find yourself half expecting a breeze to stir the boughs of the trees or rustle the delicate gossamer veils of the ladies. The wall of the transept, above the chapels, features David, and the Tiburtine Sybil telling Agustus of the birth of the Redeemer. The Sassetti family chapel, which is the rightmost of the two chapels, has his scenes from the life of Saint Francis. In the background of the Approval of the Rule of Saint Francis by Pope Onorio III (in the lunette) there are the Palazzo Vecchio and Orcagna's Loggia, while Lorenzo il Magnifico and Mr. Sassetti are in the foreground to the right, and Agnolo Polizziano is leading Lorenzo's sons, Piero, Giovanni, and Giuliano up the stairs. To the left, Saint Francis dons his habit, and to the right, in a fresco attributed to Domenico's brother Davide, he undergoes a trial by fire before the Sultan (Francis went on a crusade, and returned horrified by what he'd seen). The next level down, to the left he receives the Stigmata before a realistic representation of the Santuario della Verna, an abbey in the wild mountains between Florence and Arezzo. The miracle of the revived boy occurs in Piazza Santa Trínita, and Sassetti's children fall to their knees (on the left); note the old Romanesque façade and Ponte Santa Trínita as it was before the great flood of 1557. The Saint's death is to the right. Francesco Sassetti and his wife, Nera Corsi, are in the tombs, and are also shown kneeling facing the altar.

The altarpiece, Domenico's Adoration of the Shepherds, is simply beautiful. It's also quite important, because he included classical elements, such as the sarcophagus manger and the Corinthian columns holding up the roof of the shack (one is dated 1485), and based the poses of the shepherds on those of the Flemish master Van der Goes's triptych (now in the Uffizi). We therefore have evidence of the newly awakened interest in the Classical world that was one of the characteristics of the High Renaissance, and also get an idea of the impact the Flemish style had upon the great masters.

The sacristy, to the right, is a step back in time. Though Abbot Baldini had the entire church whitewashed "to display his love for it" in 1685, a number of early 14th Century frescoes survived, and were moved here during the restoration following the 1966 flood, including a Noli me Tangere (Jesus saying "Don't hinder me" to the Magdalen as he leaves the tomb, generally mistranslated as "Don't touch me") by Puccio Capanna, a Pietà, and a Crucifixion clearly based on Giotto's. Compare the stilted figures in which there's no telling how a body might fit under the folds of the robes, and the simple, almost surreal landscapes, with Ghirlandaio's; the two might almost be from different worlds.

Returning to the right transept, the crucifix in the chapel to the left of the Sassetti chapel is known as San Giovanni Gualberto's crucifix, because Jesus is said to have nodded his approval to the saint when the man pardoned his brother's assassin. The crystal reliquary on the altar contains a fragment of the column Jesus was tied to when he was whipped.

The frescoes surrounding the main altar were alas painted on dry wall, and about all that is left are the Patriarchs on the ceiling, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. The crucifix by Cimabue that was once above the very pleasant 15th century alter is now in the Accademia. With the first chapel to the left, the Cappella di San Pietro, we enter the baroque with a rush. Christ walks on water to save Peter (to the right) and Peter holds the keys (to the left). The contrast between Felice Palma's bronze Christ and the jet black of the stone behind the altar is fascinating.

The next chapel has the decapitation of a saint and the Flaying of Saint Bartholomew, by Giovanni del Ponte, and, to the left, the tomb of Bishop Benozzo Federighi, one of Luca della Robbia's masterpieces.

Returning towards the front of the church, the first chapel on the right has a pretty statue of the penitent Magdalen, dressed in hair, that was begun by Desiderio da Settignano and finished by Benedetto da Maiano, in about 1464. Two chapels further down is the Cappella di Santa Caterina, which has scenes from her life on the walls, and an Annunciation by Neri di Bicci (note the expulsion from the garden in the background). Though the painting is about the same age as Lorenzo Monaco's works in the Cappella dell'Annunziata (across the isle), Neri was far less skilled, and was obliged to twist his extremely stylized figures to fit them into a building that is much too small for them.

Upon leaving Santa Trìnita cross the square and take Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, which leads into one of the most purely mediaeval sections of Florence. To the right you will find Piazza del Limbo, the cemetery where unbaptized babies were buried, and Santissimi Apostoli, which has the prettiest and best preserved Romanesque stonework façade in Florence, with beautiful brickwork under the eves and around the windows, and a roof of the kind that you now only see in paintings over the door (the door itself is more recent). Though the present building is 11th century, the church was supposedly founded during the reign of Charlemaign, and the capitals of the first two columns of the nave are from the Roman baths (the rest are copies). It's open for afternoon mass, beginning at about 5, and is well worth coming back to. As you enter, your first impression is one of tranquility, and you can understand why the church is said to have served as Brunelleschi's source of inspiration when he designed his masterpieces, San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito.

The Renaissance side chapels set into the walls compliment the columns remarkably well, and one of them houses the tomb of Bartolomeo Ammannati, author of the Nettuno in Piazza della Signoria. The ceiling is beautiful, and there is a spectacular tabernacle by Giovanni della Robbia to the left of the Alter. The church also houses several flakes of stone brought back from Jerusalem by Pazzino de'Pazzi following the first Crusade; they're used to strike the flame with which the Colombina is set off in the Duomo on Easter morning, for the Scoppio del Carro (a rocket propelled dove flies down a wire from the main altar to set off a firework laden wagon in front of the baptistry, and then returns to the altar -- it's quite a sight, and if she fails to return, it's a bad omen).

The building to your right as you exit the church was once a public bath house. Return to Via Tornabuoni and follow it to Via della Spada. The building to the right at the intersection with Via delle Belle Donne (the street of the Lovely Ladies, a reference to the neighborhood's past) has a tiny door that was the booth of a wine cellar, whose hours are given on the plaque. Continue down Via delle Belle Donne, turn right onto Via del Moro at the column, and follow Via del Giglio (the Bartolini Salimbeni Cellar is at N° 2). Turn left onto Via dell'Amorino when you reach Piazza Aldobrandini. You will come out in Via Sant'Antonino, almost directly across the street from Sant'Antonino, a tiny church that is always delightfully aglow with votive candles (Sant'Antonio is the patron of miraculous survivals and lost causes). Alas, the soot from the candles has turned all the paintings quite black.

The palace a few doors to the right as you exit the church, with the odd looking scrolls in honor of Galileo, is Palazzo dei Cartelloni (Broadside Palace). Vincenzo Viviani, the owner of the building, was a disciple of the scientist, and also had the man's bust mounted over his door.

Retrace your steps and continue up Via Sant'Antonino; the butcher shop at N° 21 has cold cuts from all over Italy, and four stuffed piglets sitting around a table, who have become a tourist attraction in their own right. Via Sant'Antonino leads to the Mercato di San Lorenzo, the grandiose wrought iron central market built in 1874 to replace the market that had been where Piazza della Repubblica is now. It's well worth exploring; the freshest, cheapest, and most varied produce in Florence is upstairs, while downstairs you will find fish that look like they're about to swim away, and delicatessens worthy of pilgrimages. There is also a good tripe stand, and a bar. The outdoor market that surrounds the building was once a good place to buy clothing and leather goods, but now caters mainly to tourists. When it's closed, on Mondays, the whole area is surreally quiet.

Once you have explored the market, wind your way through the stalls to San Lorenzo; you will come out in front of the red tiled dome of the Cappelle Medicee. Since the church proper closes at 12, while the Medici chapels close at 2, you may wish to start with the church. San Lorenzo began life in 393 as the Basilica di Sant'Ambrosio, and, though it's hard to believe now, it was once outside the city walls. At some point the church was rededitacted to San Lorenzo, and the present building was funded mostly by the Medicis. Though work began in 1419, it was interrupted shortly thereafter, and only resumed in 1442 when Brunelleschi took over, using plans he'd drawn in 1420. The church is therefore one of the earliest Renaissance churches, a fascinating exercise in sobriety and thought in which every line directs the eye to the main alter (to see how Brunelleschi's concept of space evolved over time, you should visit Santo Spirito, which he designed in 1440 -- though the churches are similar, Santo Spirito has an airiness about it that San Lorenzo simply lacks).

Alas, Brunelleschi died before he could complete San Lorenzo, and though Antonio Manetti continued working on the building until 1460, several parts were left undone. This was both good and bad, because it gave the young Michelangelo the opportunity to match wits with the greatest master of the early Renaissance, and the contrast between Brunelleschi's rarified, almost abstract style and Michelangelo's more lively, earthy creations is as intriguing as it is pleasant.

Enter San Lorenzo from the right hand door. The second chapel to the right, given by Giulio De'Medici to Carlo Ginori, has Rosso Fiorentino's Betrothal of the Virgin (1523), with its beautiful swirling colors. "There's nobody else quite so deft with a brush, nor so quick to add anecdotes to his paintings," said Vasari; unfortunately, the significances of many of the details had been forgotten just 50 years later. You should note the setting; while many Renaissance masters, for example Raffaello, set the Betrothal of the Virgin out of doors, Rosso Fiorentino harkened back to the 14th century tradition and set it in the Temple.

Continuing towards the front of the church, you will come to two bronze pulpits, Donatello's last works. He died before he could complete them, and the remaining bas reliefs were done by his students, Bellano and Bertoldo, who followed his drawings. The pulpits were assembled temporarily for Leo X Medici's visit in 1515, and were finally mounted where they are now only a century later.

Cosimo the Elder is buried in the crypt under the main altar. Cross over to the left transept to visit the old sacristy, also known as Brunelleschi's Sacristy (open MWF 10-12, TTh 16:17:45). In the church, the architect was forced to work with what was already there, while here he was able to unleash his imagination, producing a structure based on perfectly proportioned geometrical shapes tied together by perspective. It's the first unfettered expression of Renaissance architecture (Brunelleschi worked on it between 1420 and 1429), and, with the decorative elements added by Donatello between 1435 and 1443, is a gem. The tomb on the left wall houses Piero and Giovanni de'Medici, and was done by Verrocchio in 1472.

A doorway in the left transept opens out onto the cloisters, which clearly reveal the influence of Brunelleschi's Spedale degli Innocenti (they were built in the 1470's), and are surprisingly calm when they're not full of school children. Climb the stairs to the loggia, which offers an enchanting view of the Duomo. It also has the entrance to Biblioteca Laurenziana, which Michelangelo began in 1524 (a number of things happened during its construction, including the expulsion of the Medici from Florence in 1527, and it was only completed in 1578). He was perhaps the greatest architect of all time, and we can only marvel at the elegant airiness of his creation. He also designed the great hall of the library, with its beautiful ceiling, whose motifs are repeated on the floor.

Once you have finished exploring the cloisters, return to the Cappelle Medicee. The crypt you enter into was designed by Buontalenti. The tombs of the Medici princes are set into the floor. The stairs to the right lead up to the Cappella dei Principi, the Medici funeral chapel. It was designed by Don Giovanni de'Medici in 1602, though Buontalenti also contributed to it, and was from the outset planned to astonish the visitor; that it certainly does, with some of the most spectacular stone inlays anywhere. The coats of arms of the sixteen cities of the Grand Duchy line the walls, and the altar is magnificent, though it is simpler than what had originally been planned. Oddly enough, the sarcophaguses of the Princes are empty; they're buried elsewhere in the cellars.

When you have seen enough, follow the signs for the Sagrestia Nuova, Michelangelo's first architectural commission. He began it in 1521 at the behest of Pope Clement VII Medici, and it was roofed by 1524. However, the Pope's death, the Medici's expulsion, and the siege of Florence, during which he applied his talents to fortification, slowed its construction, and when he left Florence for Rome in 1534 it was still unfinished. Cosimo I finally had Vasari and Ammannati complete the job in 1555, and fortunately they had the sense not to alter Michelangelo's breathtaking work.

The chapel is also famed for its statuary, the Medici tombs, with Michelangelo's allegorical representation of Time the all consuming, the statues of Dawn and Dusk, on Lorenzo's tomb, to the left, and Day and Night, on Giuliano's tomb, to the right. Lorenzo's tomb also has his statue, known as The Thinker because of his pondering pose. In the original plans Lorenzo il Magnifico and Giuliano were also to be buried here, in a splendid tomb on the opposite wall, but instead they got a simple sarcophagus perhaps designed by Vasari. However, the central statue group, a sad Madonna absorbed in her thoughts as Jesus twists to suckle, is one of Michelangelo's most expressive works. The other two pieces, Saints Cosimo and Damiano, were done by Michelangelo's students.

It will quite likely be lunch time by now; for a slightly different rapid eating experience, you may wish to try the Cantinetta di Verrazzano, an elegant sandwich place on Via dei Tavolini 18/r that serves the wines produced by Castello di Verrazzano, and the cold cuts made by the Macelleria Falorni, a butcher in Greve in Chianti whose store has become an institution.

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