NEW: The Orsanmichele Museum is now open on Mondays only from 10 AM to 5 PMOrsanmichele is famously known for the sculptures of saints placed in the niches or tabernacles on all four sides of the church by the various guilds of Florence. Executed between 1340 and 1602, they form a timeline of gothic and renaissance art that is perhaps unrivaled in one location. The first sculpture, of St. Stephen by Andrea Pisano, was executed in 1340 - 150 years before Columbus discovered America - the last, St. Luke by Giambologna - was completed over 260 years later.
Orsanmichele's unique history as a site that has radically changed function over the centuries is infinitely interesting. It is speculated that in Roman times there was a building here dedicated to the worship of Isis. Later, in the 9th century it was used by the Lombards as an oratory dedicated to St. Michael. By order of the Comune in the early 13th century it became a market where wheat was sold, eventually under a brick and wooden awning constructed by Arnolfo di Cambio. During this period the first "Madonna of the Graces" painting was done on a pillar of that structure, which was soon followed by miraculous events. Eventually destroyed by a fire in 1304, it was followed in 1337 by a more robust structure that was erected by either some or all of the following from a design, according to Vasrai, of Taddeo Gaddi: Francesco Talenti, Simone Talenti, Neri di Fioravante, Benci di Cione and (the most recent favorite of current scholarship) Andrea Pisano. This time made of brick and stone to better withstand fires, the new building had an open loggia on the ground floor similar to the one at the nearby Mercato Nuovo (known to many tourists as the "Straw Market") for the selling of wheat, while the upper was designed to serve as the granary. Two of the piers are actually hollow and were used to move the grain between floors; the slots through which the grain passed are still visible. In 1347 Bernardo Daddi's "Madonna and Child with Angels" was commissioned to replace the original "Madonna of the Graces".
It seems pretty silly that you can't take snapshots inside the museum of Orsanmichele, but I follow the rules. However people obviously can and do (I have witnessed this myself while visiting). Here are a few that someone has anonymously passed on to us:
Here are a couple of older photos of Orsanmichele - I think from just before 1900. The picture of the sculpture of St. George is very interesting - it is in the tabernacle of the Madonna of the Rose:
And here is a view of the north east corner of the church from Via Calzaiuoli:
A friend had access to the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio and got an amazing panorama of Florence. This is just a crop from the larger photo:
It is great to report that the Orsanmichele Museum is indeed reopened, and better yet, admission is free! I got a chance to stop by this morning and there was another welcome surprise - the piano secondo is also open. You can access the top floor from the contemporary stair case that is built between the primo piano (the museum room with all the sculptures - or in English, the second floor) and the piano secondo (or third floor).
The top floor is mostly empty, but there are some spectacular views in all directions, as well as what really can only be described as the near ruins of the smaller sculptures that originally adorned the openings/windows of the church. The architecture is fantastic, with meter wide or more wooden beams spanning the width of the building and original stone work.
The scale of Orsanmichele is simply amazing - to walk up to the primo piano is four flights of huge stairs. I think floor to ceiling must be over 40 feet.
One thing that hasn't changed unfortunately is that no photos are allowed - which just seems sort of silly in this day and age.
The only missing sculpture in the museum is the one of St. George. I inquired about it with both guards but neither had a real answer. At least there is some clarity to the situation - the original marble is the one in the Bargello, and a marble copy is in the niche on the outside of the church. But at the moment, the bronze copy, which was in the niche until at least a year or two ago is nowhere to be seen. I have a feeling it must be in for restoration, probably at the Opificio Delle Pietre Dure. I am going to try to contact the museum administration for and answer to this mystery, and for permission to photograph the statues in the museum for this website.
In some very welcome and exciting news the museum of Orsanmichele, the primo piano with all the original sculptures, will now be opened on Mondays from 10 AM to 5 PM. The museums director, Antonio Goldoni, has been quoted as saying that, "It's a gift for all - both residents and tourists. For this we thank the Amici dei musei fiorentini". (The Florentine article goes on to say that the museum has been closed for 4 years which is not exactly accurate - when all the original sculptures were finally in place the museum was briefly opened again and was open several other times when special exhibits were on display).
The museum will be staffed by volunteers from the Amici dei Musei Fiorentini Association. We will be sure to visit as soon as possible and hope to have more to report.
Simone Stella, aspiring to revive interest in baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude, has initiated a series of concerts in the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance - the city of Florence. The concert series, called "Complete Organ Works by Dietrich Buxtehude", is being performed in the historic Orsanmichele Church in Florence. On August 30th the fourth of a series of ten free concerts will be held at 5:30 PM.
You can read more about Simone Stella and his thoughts on Buxtehude here.
More dates in the series: 2009 - October 11th, November 22nd. 2010 - January 31st, March 7th, April 25th, and June 6th.
St. George by Donatello is a classic example of the early renaissance - the return of the human figure, "rendered as a self-activating, functional organism... shown with a confidence in its own worth(1)". St. George is shown as the clear eyed vanquisher of the dragon, calmly and confidently assuming his pose. Their are several marble copies of this sculpture - including the current one in the niche, as well as a bronze. The original now appears to be in the Orsanmichele museum - but at one point (when it was first removed from the church in 1892) was placed in the Bargello, as was the predella (the predella at Orsanmichele is a copy - the only copy of all the tabernacles and predellas as far as I have learned).
This sculpture was commissioned by the Armorer's and Sword Makers Guild and completed c. 1417-18. It is on the north side of the church on Via Orsamichele. Though the tabernacle was also done by Donatello it lacks any renaissance style and is much more in line with some of the other gothic tabernacles of the church. The statue probably once also had a sword or spear in George's right hand, as well as a helmet. When these were lost is not well documented.
Pretty alarming to see this guy working from a cherry picker today with a huge drill almost right on top of the tabernacle. It looked like he was drilling a hole for some wire to go through. He was all alone though, and there didn't seem to be any kind of forethought to protecting the tabernacle or sculpture in case of an accident.
He also was chipping away at the building to the left of where he was drilling. I am not sure what the work is related to -
This is pretty neat - the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina holds concerts inside Orsanmichele:
The Chamber Orchestra of Florence was created in 1981 by conductor and artistic director of the orchestra, Giuseppe Lanzetta. Consisting of 40 musicians, the orchestra has performed over 1300 concerts to date. Their repertoire contains both symphonic works and chamber music. International critics have described the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina as "one of the best chamber orchestras of Europe".
You can buy tickets on-line and see the schedule at classictic.com.
Recent Comments