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Churches in Florernce |
The Basilica di Santa Croce
Art in Tuscany | Italian Renaissance painting
[1] The Italian painter, sculptor and architect Giotto di Bondone (known simply as Giotto) was active during the proto-Renaissance era in Padua and Florence. Best known for his humanistic religious frescoes, Giotto - along with the Sienese artist Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319) and Cimabue (1240-1302) - was a key figure in the pre-Renaissance period and is considered one of the founders of fine art painting in Europe. His pictures broke away from the symbolism of Byzantine art and introduced a new naturalism and realism into painting. Although much of his work has been destroyed, his most notable feat was the cycle of fresco paintings in the Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padua (Arena Chapel) (1304-13). Other major works include his frescoes on the life of Saint Francis at Assisi, and in the Bardi and Peruzzi Chapels (created after 1320) in the Franciscan church Santa Croce in Florence.
Many of the details of Giotto's life are sketchy and open to controversy, including the date and place of his birth. It is believed that he was born around 1267 in a village called Vespignano, near Florence. His father was a small landowner described as 'a person of good standing' in public records from the time.
Legend has it, the young Giotto was discovered by the renowned Italian painter Cimabue (also known as Benvenuto di Giuseppe) while he was drawing pictures of his father's sheep. Apparently Cimbaue was so impressed he asked the boy's father if he could take him to Florence as an apprentice. However, it is far more probable that Giotto's family were well off enough to move to Florence and send the 12 year old Giotto to Cimbue's studio as an apprentice.
Around a year later Giotto followed Cimabue to Rome where he was introduced to a school of fresco painters, including the famous Pietro Cavallini and the well-known Florentine architect and sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio.
The earliest of Giotto's known works, is believed to be a series of frescos painted on a church at Assisi about the life of St Francis. At a time when realism in art was not yet popular, these frescos were refreshingly realistic and the figures very natural looking. There is some dispute as to whether it is in fact the hand of Giotto, and recent documents have come to light to suggest that the fresco is in fact the work of a group of unnamed proto-Renaissance artists. If this is so, then Giotto's next most celebrated work, the Fresco of Padua, owes much to the naturalism of these painters.
The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua | In about 1305 Giotto painted a series of 38 frescos at the Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel in Padua. The frescos illustrate the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, and the figures are emotionally expressive and realistic looking. Although Giotto specialized in religious art, he broke from the traditions of Byzantine art (which valued the symbolic approach over realism) by infusing his figure drawing with real-life people, poses and expressions. He also introduced an early form of linear perspective into his painting. Although other artists like Pietro Cavallini had started working in this style, Giotto took it much further and set a new standard for figure painting. The art historian and writer Giorgio Vasari, a biographer of Giotto, wrote many stories about the latter's mastery of drawing. One story told how Pope Boniface VIII sent a messenger to Giotto to request samples of his work. As a response, Giotto dipped his brush into red paint and in one continuous stroke painted a perfect circle. He told the messenger to take the circle back to the Pope and that it's worth would be recognised. When the pope received the circle, according to Vasari, he 'instantly perceived that Giotto surpassed all other painters of his time'.
Giotto's reputation as a painter quickly grew, as did his commissions. By 1301 documents show he owned several large estates in Florence (apparently he was a good saver!) and that his workshop had become a leading studio in Italy. But in spite of his fame and demand for his services, no painting survives to this day that is documented by him. There is a certain measure of agreement that Giotto painted frescos at four chapels at the Sta Croce in Florence and the Bardi Chapel. Some of the frescos are in bad condition, as they were whitewashed in the 18th century, but despite this, remain impressive to this day. Several panel paintings on the Stefaneschi Altarpiece at the Vatican bear Giotto's signature, but it believed that this is just a trademark confirming it came from his workshop, rather than a signature of his personal work. On the other hand, the Ognissanti Madonna, c.1315 (Uffizi Gallery) is not signed, but the work is such a grandiose spectacular that it is universally accepted as Giotto's.
Sometime between 1303 and 1310 Giotto executed his most influential work, the painting of a series of 37 scenes at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. Famous panels in the series include The Adoration of the Magi, in which a comet-like Star of Bethlehem streaks across the sky, and the Flight from Egypt. The 19th century English critic John Ruskin said of Giotto's realism 'He painted the Madonna and St. Joseph and the Christ, yes, by all means ... but essentially Mamma, Papa and Baby'. In 1311 Giotto returned to Florence where he executed a work of mosaic art for the facade of the old St. Peter's Basilica and now lost except for some fragments. Remaining frescos from his later years show that Giotto's style had become more ornate, which perhaps reflected the new International Gothic style, which was emerging in Europe.
Revered by this time - even by the more conservative Sienese School of painting - as one of the great new innovative artists, Giotto was honored with the title of Magnus Magister (Great Master) in 1334 by the city of Florence and was appointed city architect and superintendent of public works. During this time he designed the famous campanile (bell tower) on St Peters Square, but died before the work was completed. He last known completed work is the decoration of Podestà Chapel in the Bargello, Florence.
Giotto died in January 1337, but there is some controversy over the exact location of his grave. In 1970, bones were discovered underneath the paving of the Church of Santa Reparta (where his biographer claims he was buried). Forensic examination confirms that they were the bones of a painter (a range of chemicals including arsenic and lead, both commonly found in paint, were discovered in the bones). The front teeth were worn in such as way as to be consistent with holding a brush between the teeth. A reconstruction of the skeleton shows a man with a very large head, large crooked nose and one eye more prominent than the other. The bones were of a small man, only about 4 foot tall who suffered from a form of dwarfism. This would be consistent with a picture in one of the frescos at the church of Santa Croce of a dwarf-like figure which is supposed to be a self portrait of Giotto. His biographer, who was a friend of Giotto, says 'there was no uglier man in the city of Florence'. The body was reburied with honour near the grave of the Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi.
Although Giotto lacked technical knowledge of anatomy and perspective that painters in futures year were to learn, he had grasped something far more important. He grasped human emotion, and was able to portray this is a powerful and meaningful way. He managed to convey, stress, soul-searching, grief and joy through his paint brush, and it was this gift he passed onto future masters of Renaissance art such as Mantegna, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Giusto de'Menabuoi, Jacopo Avanzi, Titian and Altichiero. Italian painter Cennino Cennini wrote in about 1400 that `Giotto translated the art of painting from Greek to Latin.'
[2] The Cambridge companion to Giotto, Giotto, By Anne Derbes, Mark Sandona.
Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
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The restoration site in Santa Croce
The much-awaited guided tours of the restoration site of the frescoes in Santa Croce, the great Florentine basilica of the Holy Cross, have finally begun. The eight frescoes on the side walls of the Cappella Maggiore, painted in 1380 by Agnolo Gaddi and depicting the Legend of the True Cross, are now being restored. This is a unique opportunity to come face-to-face with the works of this great artist influenced by Giotto. The tour of the restoration site includes gradual ascension up 7 levels, for a total of 90 steps. There are three stops for explanations of the works. For safety reasons, access is only allowed to children over 12.
The tours, which last approximately 40 minutes, start on 16th May. The guided groups will include a maximum of 15 visitors. Booking required. Timetable of guided tours: from Monday to Friday at 10 am - 11 am - 12 noon - 2 pm - 3 pm - 4 pm.
The ticket costs € 13.00 and also allows entrance to the Basilica, the cloisters and the museum. Reservations can be made by phone from 10 am to 2 pm (tel. +39 055 2466105 - dial 3) or else by e-mail booking@santacroceopera.it , specifying the date and time of the visit, the number of people, a cell-phone number to contact, the names and dates of birth of the participants.
(From Apt - Agenzia per il Turismo di Firenze (Florence Official Tourist Office)
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The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the Duomo. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).
In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.
Santa Croce was the first populated area to be overflowed by the flood. This area remained under the water longer compared to the others because it's lower with respect to the river. The Arno river completely filled the Cloister, it penetrated into the crypt, it disrupted the tombs of the Church. The works of removing the mud and the rubble took about two months. But the damages didn't finish here: the Franciscan fathers and those in charge of the Belle Arti saw the most devastating reality: the Crucifix by Cimabue, located in the Museum inside the big Franciscan refectory, was destroyed. Among great difficulties the heavy painted cross, drenched with water, was brought down and laid in a horizontal position. It took six hours to accomplish this difficult task, while the flakes of colour detached and fell in the mud. The mud was sieved and some fragments were recovered.
The statue of Dante, now in front of the church, was still in the middle of the piazza in 1966.
Specific collections affected in Florence were the Archives of the Opera del Duomo (Archivio di Opera del Duomo), 6,000 volumes/documents and 55 illuminated manuscripts were damaged; Gabinetto Vieusseux Library (Biblioteca del Gabinetto Vieusseux): All 250,000 volumes were damaged, namely titles of romantic literature and Risorgimento history; submerged in water, they became swollen and distorted. Pages, separated from their text blocks, were found pressed upon the walls and ceiling of the building; the National Library Centers of Florence (Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze): Located alongside the Arno River, the National Library was cut off from the rest of the city by the flood. 1,300,000 items (or one-third of their holdings) were damaged, including prints, maps, posters, newspapers and a majority of works in the Palatine and Magliabechi collections.
and the State Archives (Archivio di Stato): Roughly 40% of the collection was damaged, including property and financial records; birth, marriage and death records; judicial and administrative documents; and police records, among others. |
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 Santa Croce after the Florence Flood,
4th of november 1966
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Tuscany is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Known for its enchanting landscapes, its fantastic and genuine food and beautiful towns as Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Siena. The strategical geographical position in southern Tuscany will give you the opportunity of arriving in Siena and other important cities of art in Tuscany, such as San Gimignano, Volterra and Massa Marittima. Podere Santa Pia is located in the heart of the Valle d'Ombrone, and one can easily reach some of the most beautiful attractions of Tuscany, such as Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano and San Quirico d'Orcia, famous for their artistic heritage, wine, olive oil production and gastronomic traditions. It is the ideal place to enjoy the beauty of Tuscany – both its cuisine and its historical towns – and to pass a very relaxing holiday in contemplation of nature, with the advantage of tasting the most typical dishes of Tuscan cuisine and its best wines.
The extreme simplicity of Tuscan cuisine is its strongest strength, as the flavours that emerge during the cooking process are vibrant and pure. A little known fact about Tuscan cuisine is that the French learned how to cook from their Tuscan counterparts when it was imported by Catherine de' Medici into the court of Henry II. The Tuscan style of cooking is richly flavoured and wholesome. With its original kitchen and the wood burning pizza oven, Casa Santa Pia offers an upbeat atmosphere. |
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Pienza |
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San Quirico d'Orcia
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Florence and Surroundings Tuscany
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Fiesole, Settignano and Certosa are just a few places just outside of Florence that merit a visit.
A day trip from Florence to Fiesole is a must for any visitor to this part of Tuscany in Italy. Fiesole can be reached by car or bus, and also on foot along narrow walled roads past numerous fine villas, including the Villa Medici at Fiesole. Aside from the sights of interest within and near Fiesole itself, on a sunny day the view over Florence is spectacularly beautiful. Fiesole is a city of Etruscan and Roman origins and it was destroyed in 90 BC and subsequently entirely reconstructed. During the Renaissance it became a popular holiday destination and prominent families built many villas, including: Albizi, Medici, Salviati, Rondinelli Vitelli and Medici. The Villa Medici at Fiesole is one of the oldest Renaissance residences with a garden and is also one of the best preserved, but at the same time one of the least well known. While most of the villas dating back to the same period, such as Cafaggiolo and Trebbio, stand at the centre of agricultural concerns, Villa Medici had no connections at all with farming life. The villa was built during the mid fifteenth century when Cosimo the Elder employed Michellozzo di Bartolommeo to design it for his second son Giovanni dei Medici. Intended to be a setting for intellectual life rather than a working Villa, Villa Medici was constructed to be a demonstration of aesthetic and ideological values.
The first settlements in this area date back at least to the Bronze Age (about 2000 BC), but the foundation of a city itself, surrounded by walls, dates from the Hellenistic age (end of IV – beginning of III century. A . C.).
It became a typical Roman city, ant there are still traces of it, and after the fall of the Roman Empire it was invaded by the Lombards (VI-VII sec. D. C).
Though small, Fiesole is rich in monuments of great artistic value. Among the oldest there are the remains of the Etruscan walls, testifying the historical origin of the town, and the Roman theater dating to the first century BC, where in summer suggestive performances are still offered.
Remarkable is also Piazza Mino da Fiesole with the Church of St. Maria Primerana. Interesting are the Museo Bandini with a large exhibition of sculptures, paintings of Tuscan school of the XIII XIV XV century and the Archaeological Museum. Its ground floor houses Etruscan and Roman statues, stelae, bronze (from Fiesole) while the upper floor houses exhibits not coming from Fiesole and a room with cups, glasses and weapons.
Nice to visit is the Basilica of St. Alexander built on a pre-existing pagan temple converted in the Christian Church in the VI century. The Church of St. Francis dating back to the fourteenth and fifteenth century contains great works and the Ethnographic Museum exhibits missionary objects of Etruscan, Chinese and Egyptian origins.
From the train station Santa Maria Novella in Florence you can easily reach Fiesole by bus. Alternatively you can reach the station to Fiesole-Caldine, part of the municipality of Fiesole, 5 km far from Florence with which however it is not well connected.
Florence | Transport
Settignano | Settignano is a picturesque frazione ranged on a hillside northeast of Florence, Italy, with spectacular views that have attracted American expatriates for generations. The little borgo of Settignano carries a familiar name for having produced three sculptors of the Florentine Renaissance, Desiderio da Settignano and the Gamberini brothers, better known as Bernardo Rossellino and Antonio Rossellino. The young Michelangelo lived with a sculptor and his wife in Settignano—in a farmhouse that is now the "Villa Michelangelo"— where his father owned a marble quarry. In 1511 another sculptor was born there, Bartolomeo Ammanati. The marble quarries of Settignano produced this series of sculptors.
Roman remains are to be found in the borgo which claims connections to Septimus Severus—in whose honor a statue was erected in the oldest square in the 16th century, destroyed in 1944— though habitation here long preceded the Roman emperor. Settignano was a secure resort for estivation for members of the Guelf faction of Florence. Giovanni Boccaccio and Niccolò Tommaseo both appreciated its freshness, among the vineyards and olive groves that are the preferred setting for even the most formal Italian gardens.
Mark Twain and his wife stayed at the Villa Viviani in Settignano from September 1892 to June 1893, and greatly enjoyed their visit. Twain was very productive there, writing 1,800 pages including a first draft of Pudd'nhead Wilson. He said the villa "afford[ed] the most charming view to be found on this planet."
In 1898, Gabriele d'Annunzio purchased the trecento Villa della Capponcina on the outskirts of Settignano, in order to be nearer to his lover Eleanora Duse, at the Villa Porziuncola. Near Settignano are the Villa Gamberaia, a 14th-century villa famous for its 18th-century terraced garden, and secluded Villa I Tatti, the villa of Bernard Berenson, now a center of art history studies run by Harvard University.
Gardens in Tuscany | Villa i Tatti in Settignano
Certosa di Firenze or Certosa del Galluzzo is a charterhouse, or Carthusian monastery, prominently situated on a hillside just south of Florence and is clearly visible as a huge walled structure to travellers on the motorway from Florence to Sienna and on the SR1 road from Florence to San Casciano. Niccolò Acciaiuoli, one of the most powerful citizens of 14 C Florence, had the Certosa of Galluzzo built in 1341 not only as a religious centre but also for the education of the young. The Acciaiuoli (Acciaioli) Palace where the youth of Florence were taught towers upwards alongside the religious buildings of the monastery. Galluzzo was one of the most influential monasteries in Europe and was immensely wealthy, with a population of hundreds of monks and, until the Napoleonic depredations, large numbers of works of art. Its huge library is now dispersed.
The Church of Saint Lawrence is Mannerist in architectural style and filled with frescoes and pictures, a sumptuous marble altar of the 16 C and a crypt containing many tombs, mainly of the Acciaioli family. The church gives access to the beautiful Renaissance cloister with its large terracotta well by Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia. The monks' cells open onto this cloister, and those which are open to the public give an idea of Carthusian monastic life. Each consists of a room for sleeping and a room for praying. Their furnishings are severe but, as in all Carthusian monasteries, each has a tiny enclosed garden which was cultivated individually by the inhabitant. In addition to the large cloister, the small Chiostro dei Conversi is open to the public. This consists of two superimposed loggias, and gives access to the refectory which is decorated with a large wash basin in pietra serena and a pulpit from which lessons were read during meals. Five fresco lunettes by Pontormo showing scenes from Christ's Passion were originally in the large cloister, but are now found in the monastery's gallery with other works of art of the 14 C to 18 C.
In 1957, a small group of Cistercian friars replaced the Carthusian monks as the inhabitants of the Certosa. They are largely self-supporting and maintain their old traditions such as the distillation of herb liqueurs and the manufacture of small handmade religious articles. Visits are possible under the guidance of a monk from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am-12pm and from 3-6pm.
A tour of the Certosa of Galluzzo
The monastery can be reached by car from Florence by taking Via Senese from Piazzale di Porta Romana as far as Galluzzo, passing through about three km of hills covered in olive groves and dotted with Tuscan villas, and then along a short avenue climbing up to the Certosa. It can also be be reached by bus 37 that leaves from outside the main (Santa Maria Novella) railway station. From Greve in Chianti, take the road to Florence that passes through Ferrone (i.e. not SS 222 through Strada and Grassina)
The first building of the monastic complex that you encounter is Palazzo Acciaiuoli, a compact palace that the founder built for himself although he was never able to occupy it because only the first floor had been built at the time of his death in 1365. The palace was only completed and attached to the rest of the Certosa in the mid 16 C. The 14 C part of the building is now occupied by the Vieusseux library laboratories for book restoration, while the lower level contains the picture gallery, where you start your tour.
The remaining moveable art works of the Certosa are on display in the picture gallery and, despite extensive depredations over the centuries, it still contains a large number of very interesting paintings and other art representing Florentine artistic output between the second half of the 14 C and the 18 C, including notable paintings by Jacopo del Casentino, Raffaellino del Garbo, Cigoli, Sebastiano Ricci). The Certosa is famous for the extraordinary frescoes executed by Pontormo for the cloisters in 1523-25, when this genius of the Tuscan Mannerist school stayed at the Certosa to avoid the plague that was running rife in Florence. The dramatic atmosphere of the frescoes that so annoyed Vasari is in fact a major feature of the five Stories of the Passion of Christ.
In contrast to the Palazzo Acciaiuoli, the monastery was completed in just a few years and consecrated in 1395, though it has a somewhat composite aspect today due to the numerous alterations and enlargements that continued up until the end of 17 C. The Certosa is basically a late Renaissance group of buildings, characteristic for their measured classicism, visible when you come out of the picture gallery and turn right into the main courtyard. The latter was constructed in the mid 16 C to link the palace to the Church of San Lorenzo.
Chiostro grande
| The Church of San Lorenzo is divided into two longitudinally placed and separate areas: the first was for the "lay brothers", who carried out various practical duties for the monks, while the second, nearest the altar, was reserved for the cloistered monks. The first part of the church and the facade were built at the same time as the courtyard, while the "church of the monks" still maintains its ancient Gothic structure, a single room, roofed over with cross vaults. The interior was however completely remodelled in the 16 C, enriched with the marble altar, the new chancel, and decorated with wooden inlays and the frescoes by Bernardino Poccetti. This co-existence of mediaeval structures with later additions characterises the whole of the monastery, starting with the corridor on the left of the church where, once a week, the monks were allowed to gather together and interrupt their vows of silence. At the end of the corridor there is a fine Christ carrying the Cross by Andrea della Robbia and the elegant little cloister that acts as a fulcrum for the entire complex. From here a door, decorated with a St. Laurence between two angels in terracotta by Benedetto da Maiano, leads through to the refectory, the main cloister and the Chapter House, where the monks used to meet to discuss any problems that touched upon their community.
The Chapter House is a small room with a fine fresco of the Crucifixion by Mariotto Albertinelli (1506) and the funerary monument of Leonardo Buonafé by Francesco da Sangallo (1550), who also carried out the polychrome marble flooring. From here you pass behind the church to the huge open area of the main Cloister of the Monks. The 18 cells in which the Carthusian monks spent most of their lives, coming out only for Mass and meals on feast days, line the sides, elegantly divided by arches dating from the early 16 C. The luminosity of the cloister and the extremely elegant decorations (the beautifully carved capitals, the busts in terracotta by Giovanni Della Robbia and the frescoes above the doors of the cells), which once also included the frescoes by Pontormo, make this cloister worth close examination. From here you return to the courtyard and to the great flight of stairs that climb up to the picture gallery.
The charterhouse inspired Le Corbusier for his urban projects. |
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The Bardi Chapel and the Peruzzi Chapel 
