Visitart n5 eng

n.5 spring-summer 2012

a half-yearly magazine on the arts

10,00 â‚Ź

florence

Archivio Alinari-archivio Villani, Firenze

enclosed journalino with map of the city and calendar of exhibitions

in this issue

the stones of Florence

exhibitions museums academies foundations villas gardens libraries churches palaces restoration events publications conferences childrenĘźs activities

Poste Italiane s.p.a. - Spedizione in Abbonamento Postale - D.L. 353/2003 (conv. in L. 27/02/2004 n° 46) art. 1, comma 2, DCB Firenze In caso di mancato recapito inviare a Firenze CMP per la restituzione al mittente previo pagamento resi

contents 5โ ข spring-summer 2012 4

The stones of Florentine architecture

6

The Uffizi

9

The Uffizi Department of Prints and Drawings

10

Palazzo Pitti

12

San Marco Museum

12

Jewish Museum

13

Santa Croce Monumental Complex

14

Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore

14

Cenacoli

15

Fresco cycles

16

Polychrome faรงades

18

Orsanmichele

19

The Bargello

20

Academies and Foundations

40

ECRF Exhibition Area

41

Bardini Villa and Garden

42

Stibbert Museum

42

Casa Buonarroti

43

Casa Vasari

43

Horne Museum

44

Natural History and Anthropology Museums

21

Libraries

22

Medici Chapels

46

Fondazione Florens

24

Galileo Museum

47

House Museums

24

Museum of Mathematics

48

Alinari National Museum of Photography

25

Opificio delle Pietre Dure and the Restoration Laboratories

49

Fashion Museums and Archives

26

The Accademia

50

Fiesole Museums

26

Museo degli Innocenti

52

Foreigners in Florence

27

Archaeological Museums

54

Children

28

Columns and obelisks

58

Music in the city

30

Civic Museums

59

Books about town

32

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

60

In Tuscany

32

Richard Ginori Museum

62

Architecture Walks

33

Medici Villas

34

Palazzo Strozzi

36

In the now

Note from the editor The editorial team welcomes any change or update to upcoming issues, to arrive not later than 45 days before the publication date. redazione@visitartfirenze.com or VisitArt c/o Centro Di Lungarno Serristori 35, 50125 Firenze Notice to readers VisitArt is a half-yearly magazine, the calendar of events is current to the date of going to press.

For up-dated information please refer to the websites of the various museums and to our own site www.visitartfirenze.com

14th Culture Week 14-22 April 2012 free entry to all State monuments, museums, archaeological areas, archives, libraries. Events throughout Italy www.beniculturali.it

18th Artigianato e Palazzo 11-13 May 2012 over 80 artisans from all over Italy and abroad display their work, with demonstrations and initiatives encouraging the artisan tradition Giardino Corsini via della Scala, 115, Firenze

www.artigianatoepalazzo.it

Notte Blu 12-13 May 2012 27 hours dedicated to Europe and its culture through music, theatre, cinema, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and sporting events

European Museum Night 19 May 2012

www.notteblu.eu

night-time opening of museums and institutions throughout Europe, with free admission for visitors www.lanottedeimusei.it

2012 Anno Vespucciano a rich programme of exhibitions, conferences, concerts, and meetings to celebrate Amerigo Vespucci 500 years after his death in various venues

www.comune.fi.it

San Giovanni Battista Festa della Cultura

Concerts at Palazzo Pitti

Gallery of Modern Art, Saloncino delle Statue organised by the Amici di Palazzo Pitti a series of concerts with free admission for the museum’s visitors

Orientalism, Exoticism, Symbolism 10 March, 12 April, 12 May 2012 at 12 music by Ravel, Arensky, Chausson, Si Cong Ma, Scott

The Unknown 19th Century 17, 18 and 19 April 2012 (14th Culture Week) L. Boccherini, Quintet in G Major G414 F. Giorgetti, Sextett in F Sharp Major music by Munier, van Beethoven, Schubert, Calace

European Heritage Days 29-30 September 2012 a national event designed to value the Italian cultural heritage and to share our common continental roots with other European countries www.beniculturali.it

21 June-1 July 2012 first edition of the festival designed to bring Italian and AngloFlorentine artists and audiences closer together and to celebrate the feast day of the city’s patron saint; the festival includes exhibitions, conferences, and concerts of classical music www.johnhoenig.it

VisitArt dedicates the present edition to stone: from pietraforte and pietra serena – the traditional materials of ancient and contemporary Florentine architecture, imbuing the city with its particular atmosphere –, to the splendour of marbles, gems and pietre dure that can be admired in its artistic treasures and museums.

april the new exhibition Americans in Florence.

Sargent and the American Impressionists continues (pp. 34-35) be sure to catch the exhibition of precious tapestries held at the Uffizi (p. 6), and Dinosauri in carne e ossa at the Botanical gardens (pp.

44-45) two photo exhibitions continue: XX anni del Corso Triennale di Fotografia at the Fondazione Studio Marangoni (p. 38), and photographic works by Pier Luigi Esclapon de Villeneuve in the ECRF Exhibition Area (p. 40) 1 April the recently restored silver altar and cross of the Baptistery return to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (p. 14), and the exhibition Opere inedite dalla collezione Roster, Del Greco, Olschki opens at Villa Bardini (p. 41) starting on 3 April, three exhibitions featuring Japanese art on display at Palazzo Pitti as part of the project Giappone. Terra di incanti (p. 10) last chance to see Voglio soltanto essere amato and Do you believe in mirages?, held at the EX3 until 8 April, and Rob Johannesma World-Wielding at the Museo Marino Marini, which closes 12 April (pp. 36 and 39) from 12 April works by Venturino Venturi at the Palazzo Comunale of Fiesole (p. 50) last opportunity to see the exhibition on Urbano Lucchesi at the Richard Ginori Museum, open until 14 April (p.

32), and the exhibitions linked to the series Le stanze dei tesori, held at Palazzo Medici Riccardi and at the Stibbert Museum (pp. 32 and 42) starting on 20 April, Ventagli ad arte at the National Archaeological Museum (p. 27) ♣ until 22 April, “Carte che paion fatte col pennello” are on display at the Uffizi Department of Prints and Drawings (p. 9) the exhibition of liturgical pieces at the Museo Casa Rodolfo Siviero closes 25 April (p. 47) Mario Mariotti’s exhibition on display at Centro Pecci closes on 30 April (p. 38) inauguration of Fabbrica Europa 2012 at the Stazione Leopolda and various venues on 3 May (p. 37) from 4 May works by Lovett/Codagnone are on display at the Museo Marino Marini (p. 39) 8 May the exhibition Arte torna arte opens at the Accademia (p. 26) last chance to explore the newly restored frescoes in the Cappella Maggiore of Santa Croce until 16 May (p. 13) from 16 May

may

in this issue a selection of events month by month

updates on

www.visitartfirenze.com

Fabulae pictae on display at the Bargello (p. 19) Duffy. The Photographic Genius at the MNAF closes 20 from 1 June Patrick Mimran’s May (p. 48) work is on display at the MNAF (p. 48) last opportunity to see Figli d’Italia at the Museo degli Innocenti which closes on 3 June (p. 26) 14 June Anna Cionini. La luce dell’anima opens at Fiesole’s Archaeological Museum (p. 50) beginning on 19 June Bagliori dorati. Il gotico internazionale a Firenze 1375-1440 at the Uffizi (pp. 7-8) from 23 June Il dolce potere delle corde is on display at the Uffizi’s Department of Prints and Drawings (p. 9) from 23 June Geometrie dell’illusione. Ottica tra arte e scienza from 3 July Native at the Museo Galileo (p. 24) American pieces from Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum in the exhibition La Nuova Frontiera at the Costume Gallery (p. 10) Families at Palazzo Strozzi continues until 15 July for the exhibition Americans in Florence (pp.

54-56) the exhibition American Dreamers at the Strozzina closes 15 July (p. 36) the exhibition of Chinese video art at Prato’s Centro Pecci closes 29 July (p. 38) last chance to visit Alessandro Pieroni dell’Impruneta (1550-1607) e i pittori della Loggia degli Uffizi in the Pieve di Santa Maria at Impruneta, open until the end of July (p. 6) from 7 July the exhibition Illustrare Pinocchio: l’archivio storico Giunti workshops at the National Library (p. 20) and activities for children continue at the Botanical gardens in conjunction with the exhibition Dinosauri in carne e ossa (pp. 54-55) works by Giuseppe Gavazzi on display at Fiesole’s Archaeological Museum until 31 August (p. 50) final days to see Andrea Commodi at the Casa Buonarroti which closes on 31 August (p. 42) The Thirties. The Arts in Italy under Fascism opens at Palazzo Strozzi on 22 September (p. 35) closing on 30 September, I colori: il mio grande karma at the Museo Capucci (p. 48) and Il tessuto è tutto at Prato’s Textiles Museum (p. 49) openings in September: Io lo guardo e ci parlo… quattro busti nella raccolta Siviero on display at the Casa Siviero (p. 47) and Underwater dreams of Akyiyoshi Ito at the MNAF (p. 48)

june

july

august

september

the stones of florentine architecture

The stones of Florentine architecture

Two stones are particularly characteristic of Florentine architecture: pietra serena, whose colour according to Vasari is “bluish, or rather greyish”, and pietraforte, which Vasari describes as “of a particularly yellowish colour”, are both sedimentary sandstone rocks. In architectural constructions the use of these two stones, which are quarried in the hills around Florence, has alternated over the centuries, more according to taste than through necessity. Observing the urban fabric today, the building material used and the way in which it is used, help us to identify the precise time one building was erected compared to another.

Pietraforte – whose quarries are located mainly in the Oltrarno (in the area of the Boboli Gardens and on the Costa a San Giorgio), at Monteripaldi, at Campora, at Riscaggio and as far as Greve in Chianti (see map) – was used extensively in the building of medieval Florence: Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello, the Badia fiorentina, all the gates with the walls and the towers of the city, and the structures of Romanesque churches, were made with this warm and extremely durable stone. Further on in time, Baroque and 18thcentury buildings found pietraforte to be the most appropriate medium for their sculptural and decorative embellishments. In the neoclassical and 19th/20th-century period, beside the neo-Gothic or neo-medieval revivals with their widespread adoption of pietraforte, there was a return to the austerity, rigour and composure of pietra serena, while pietraforte was used again in the 20th century, and with different criteria, by modern architects like Giovanni Michelucci for the railway station of Santa Maria Novella and Leonardo Ricci for the villas of Monterinaldi.

pietraforte “The pietra forte is quarried in many places; it resists rain, sun, frost, and every trial, and demands time to work it, but it behaves very well; it does not exist in very large blocks. Both by the Goths and by the moderns have been constructed of this stone the most beautiful buildings to be found in Tuscany, as can be seen in Florence in the filling of the two arches, which form the principal doors of the oratory of Orsanmichele, for these are truly admirable things and worked with the utmost care. Of this same stone there are throughout the city, as has been said, many statues and coats of arms, as for instance in the Fortress and various other places. It is yellowish in colour with fine white veins that add greatly to its attractiveness, and it is sometimes employed for statues where there are to be fountains, because it is not injured by water. The walls of the palace of the Signori, the Loggia, and Orsanmichele are built of it, also the whole interior of the fabric of Santa Maria del Fiore, as well as all the bridges of our city, the Palace of the Pitti and that of the Strozzi families. It has to be worked with picks because it is very compact.”

pietra serena

from G. Vasari, Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti, 1550 (translation 1960)

“Much more durable than this [pietra serena] and of finer colour is a sort of bluish stone, in our day called ‘pietra del fossato’. When quarried, the first layer is gravelly and coarse, the second is never free from knots and fissures, the third is admirable being much finer in grain.

Michelagnolo used this, because of its yielding grain [a term still used by the stonemasons of Santa Brigida], in building the Library and Sacristy of San Lorenzo for Pope Clement, and he has had the mouldings, columns, and every part of the work executed with such great care that even if it were of silver it would not look so well. The stone takes on a very fine polish, so much so that nothing better in this kind of material could be wished for. On this account it was forbidden by law that the stone be used in Florence for other than public buildings, unless permission had been obtained from the governing authorities. The Duke Cosimo has had a great quantity of this stone put into use, as for example, in the columns and ornaments of the loggia of the Mercato Nuovo, and for the work begun by Bandinello in the great audience chamber of the palace and also in the other hall which is opposite to it; but the greatest amount, more than ever used elsewhere, has been taken by his Excellency for the Strada de’ Magistrati [the Uffizi], now in construction after the design and under the direction of Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo. This stone demands as much time for working it as marble. It is so hard that water does not affect it and it withstands all other attacks of time.”

4

from G. Vasari, Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti, 1550 (translation 1960)

the stones of florentine architecture

The use of pietra serena became widespread from the Renaissance onwards: it came to be preferred over pietraforte and, in combination with white plasterwork, became a symbol of the city’s image. It is known that Brunelleschi was responsible for the introduction of pietra serena as a characterizing element of the new architecture and particularly the use of monolithic blocks for columns, as Vasari mentions. The effect of the stone’s colour against the white of lime-plastered masonry became the essential element of architectural expression for defining measured and harmonious proportions; this stone, which became traditional and emblematic of the city by virtue of its use in important public and religious buildings of the Renaissance, with its uniform, sky-like colour, would perfectly represent, later in time, regality, magnificence and solidity, those qualities of government that Cosimo, ruler of the new Medici state, wished above all to glorify. It is Vasari again who describes the technical characteristics and limitations of pietra serena: “which, in the presence of damp or if rained upon, or exposed to frost, deteriorates and breaks up, but when protected lasts forever”. It is precisely because of these qualities that today the preservation of many historical buildings in Florence is a cause of concern and requires specific restoration work.The stone is present in the Florence area prevalently north of the city, in the quarries of Fiesole, Santa Brigida and in the Mugnone valley; in lesser quantity it can be found south of the city in the areas of Tavarnuzze and Gonfolina. Vasari uses the term “pietra di fossato” for a particular variety of pietra serena quarried on the Mensola river, below Settignano, which was used for the Uffizi.

The extraction site was known as the “cava delle colonne” because it furnished the eight-metre long monoliths used for the columns of the basilica of San Lorenzo. The place was distinguished by an extraction face of great “saldezze” – the “potenza”, the maximum size of the blocks that could be extracted from it – which made possible the creation of large columns. In the 19th century the same quarry was used by John Temple Leader to rebuild his castle at Vincigliata; once the building work was over the proprietor ended the quarrying by flooding the pit with water from the Mensola river, thus converting it into a charming little lake in the middle of a romantic park. In the grounds of the Villa Corsini at Maiano, it can be visited today (www.fattoriadimaiano.com).

Antonio Godoli Director of Orsanmichele Francesca Piccolino Boniforti Restorer of works in stone

Grey sandstone Pietraforte 0

1

2

3

4

5 km

5

the uffizi

exhibition

It was 1987 when the painful yet necessary decision was taken to remove the precious set of tapestries from display in the corridors of the Galleria degli Uffizi – where for decades they had represented an expression of magnificent elegance but where for too long they had been exposed to too much light.

Since then they have been stored in the reserve rooms, where they are the object of operations of maintenance and, when possible, also of restoration. Twenty-five years later, favourable circumstances have made it possible for us to exhibit seventeen tapestries drawn from eight splendid series of the museum’s collections. Circumstances that enable us not only to reveal to the public the extremely high quality of these creations, but also to underline how important it is to proceed with restoration work on most of this collection. The exhibition presents works of Flemish craftsmanship from the 16th century (drawn from the series of the Stories of Jacob, the Feasts at the Court of the Valois and the Stories of Hannibal) and fabrics of Medicean manufacture from the 16th and 17th century (from the devotional ones of the Salviati cycle to the series of the Florentine stories, the Hunts, the Passion of Christ and the Stories of Phaëton), as well as two door curtains with Medicean coats of arms.

The display of some of the tapestries restored in recent years – including the Christ before Herod based on cartoons by Cigoli, presented here for the first time – is accompanied by the showing of some of the same series in a different state of conservation, thus favouring comparison between the two and drawing attention to the remarkable results of recovery obtained through the work of restoration.

La Galleria degli arazzi Epifanie di tessuti preziosi the Uffizi curated by Giovanna Giusti 20 March-3 June 2012

6

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/uffizi

piazzale degli Uffizi open: from Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-18.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December We advise visitors to make a reservation

Giovanna Giusti Director of the Department of Tapestries

calendar of exhibitions april-september 2012 “La città degli Uffizi 8”

La Galleria degli arazzi.

Epifanie di tessuti preziosi

Alessandro Pieroni dell’Impruneta (1550-1607) e i pittori della Loggia degli Uffizi

curated by Giovanna Giusti the Uffizi 20 March-3 June 2012

curated by Annamaria Bernacchioni Impruneta, Pieve di Santa Maria 21 April-end of July 2012

17 tapestries drawn from eight splendid series in the museum’s collections are again displayed to the public, 25 years after being put into storage. The exhibition features Flemish tapestries from the 16th century, fabric of Medicean manufacture from the 16th and 17th century, and two door curtains with Medicean coats-of-arms. The exhibition offers the opportunity to compare recently restored tapestries with examples in the same series in a different state of conservation.

As part of the ‘La Città degli Uffizi’ project, the series of exhibitions directed by Antonio Natali, the Comune of Impruneta presents an exhibition dedicated to its illustrious fellow townsman Alessandro Pieroni, painter and architect at the court of the Medici, and to the painters who assisted him in the decoration of grotesques in the first corridor of the Uffizi: Alessandro Allori, Giovanni Bizzelli, Giovanmaria Butteri, Ludovico Buti and Cigoli. The exhibition aims to familiarise the public with this eclectic artist who enjoyed a role of considerable prestige in Florence in the final decades of the 16th century.

the uffizi

focus

Uffizi pages edited by Valentina Conticelli with Monica Alderotti

The myriad colours of marble It is well known that our black and white vision of classical sculpture and architecture is the result of a misconception that became established in the 18th century. In actual fact the marble buildings of the Greek and Roman world, like the friezes and statues that embellished them, were distinguished by vivid colours that formed part of the necessary completion of the work. A fact well known to ancient sources was the collaboration between the Athenian Praxiteles, undoubtedly the most important sculptor of the 4th century BC, and the painter Nicias, one of the most celebrated artists of his generation, whose skilled hands were entrusted with the colouring of the flesh tones and attributes of the marbles created by the Attic master. If traces of original polychrome decoration often survive in a good state of preservation in works that are found buried in the earth, their survival is considerably more difficult on those sculptures that have been kept in collections for centuries, as is the case with the statues of the Uffizi.

If one considers that even at the end of the 18th century marbles showing obvious remains of colouring – whether it was in Florence, or Naples, or Rome – were carefully cleaned with acid to cancel any remains of a decoration believed to be the result of later additions that had disfigured the original whiteness, the challenge of restoring original colouring to ancient sculptures may seem a desperate enterprise destined to certain failure. And yet advances in technology and the perfecting of instruments of analysis, which presently boast the use of portable spectrometric equipment, have left the door open to the hope of being able to reconstruct from the remains of a pictorial decoration, perhaps invisible to our eyes, but certainly not to those of sophisticated research instruments. It was precisely this possibility that sparked the collaboration between the Department of Classical Antiquities of the Uffizi and the Department of Chemistry of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia which, in the persons of Professors Pietro Baraldi and Paolo Zannini, has for at least two decades had a top role at a European level in the research on ancient polychrome decoration.

In just under a year from the beginning of this fruitful collaboration it is possible to affirm that the original gamble has been won. In places where the eye saw nothing other than a gleaming white surface, the optical microscope picked up the shadow of ancient colours, furnishing vital and hitherto unknown information that could be useful in restoring the sculptures to their original splendour. This is the case with a smaller than life-size statue of Minerva whose aegis (chest-protecting armour) has shown up specks of the original gilding which, together with the greens and reds of the garments, gave the statue a force and majesty that are almost unimaginable today. The greens of the sarcophagi with Nereids, produced with the precious powder of lapis lazuli, the blacks obtained with carbon powder to represent the irises of portraits and statues, like those of the Athlete of the first corridor, the dark blue with which the mantle of the panther in the sculpture of the dancing Maenad was painted, and the iron oxide reds used to tint the stola of the Augustan matron presented at the Volti svelati exhibition are just some of the colours rediscovered after months of patient research and highly specific scientific analysis. Under our eyes the cold appearance of the classical statues lined up along the corridors of the Uffizi has gradually given way to a dazzling array of vivid colours, which in the future it is hoped the public at large will also be able to admire and enjoy with the aid of graphic reconstructions accompanying the works on display.

Fabrizio Paolucci Director of the Department of Classical Antiquities

calendar of exhibitions april-september 2012 abroad:

Bagliori dorati. Il gotico internazionale a Firenze 1375-1440 curated by Antonio Natali and Angelo Tartuferi the Uffizi 19 June-4 November 2012 A large selection of paintings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts and works of sacred and profane art illustrate the broad range of Florentine art between 1375 and 1440. The flourishing of the late Gothic grew out of the 14th-century tradition, represented by Agnolo Gaddi, Spinello Aretino, Antonio Veneziano and Gherardo Starnina. The exhibition presents a wide variety of cultural and stylistic expressions: from Lorenzo Monaco’s extreme Gothic to Gentile da Fabriano’s highly valued naturalism and to the artistic production of Lippo d’Andrea, Mariotto di Cristofano, Giovanni Toscani, Ventura di Moro, Francesco d’Antonio, Arcangelo di Cola, moving on to Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and up to Paolo Uccello.

the United States

Il Pane degli Angeli curated by Antonio Natali Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (until 8 April 2012) James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania (21 April-10 August 2012) Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin (24 August -25 November 2012) Telfair Museum, Savannah, Georgia (7 December 2012-31 March 2013)

The exhibition presents a selection of paintings, taken from the deposits of the Uffizi, that illustrate various aspects of a fundamental principle in Christian salvation: the Eucharistic sacrifice. Shown for the first time at the Uffizi in 2007, the exhibition met with considerable acclaim on the part of the public, such that it was requested in other cities abroad: between 2008 and 2009 it was put on in Madrid and Barcelona, and now – thanks again to the ‘Amici degli Uffizi’ – it is being shown in four museums in the United States, where through a series of poetical representations visitors can retrace the itinerary of the Redemption.

7

the uffizi

exhibition

Bagliori dorati

Il gotico internazionale a Firenze 1375-1440 the Uffizi curated by Antonio Natali and Angelo Tartuferi 19 June-4 November 2012

The Galleria degli Uffizi is staging an important exhibition of paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts and works of sacred and profane art: a large selection of works, all of extremely high quality and historical importance, taken from prestigious public museums as well as private Italian and foreign collections. The aim is to illustrate to the museum’s vast public an overview of Florentine art in the crucial period dating approximately from 1375 to 1440 (in this sense, the present show can be seen as a continuation of the exhibition L’eredità di Giotto. Arte a Firenze 1340-1375, put on at the Uffizi in 2008 by Angelo Tartuferi). In Florence the flourishing of late Gothic developed out of the glorious 14th-century tradition, which in its final stages was most eminently represented by artistic figures of the calibre of Agnolo Gaddi, Spinello Aretino, Antonio Veneziano and Gherardo Starnina. Each

of these artists is featured in the exhibition with works that fully characterise their own particular mode of expression. Lorenzo Monaco, the greatest Florentine painter after the death of Starnina (before 1413), put forward a highly personal variation of extreme Gothic, beyond even the precious naturalism of the style developed, within the walls of the Tuscan city, by Gentile da Fabriano (also represented in the exhibition). The artistic scene in Florence between the 14th and 15th century was full of a wide variety of cultural and stylistic modes. Noteworthy among these – for its original reinterpretation of recent tradition accompanied by revivals of antiquity and fervent interest in the new – was the group of artists including Lippo d’Andrea, Mariotto di Cristofano, Giovanni Toscani, Ventura di Moro, Francesco d’Antonio and Arcangelo di Cola, artists who may have inspired the artistic formation of the genius from Castel San Giovanni, Masaccio; the free-minded embodiment of a solid, truthful vision of the world, Masaccio is instead represented in the exhibition by the ‘courtly’ and delicate Madonna Casini, a painting typifying the persistence of late-Gothic taste. Scholarly research in recent decades has rightly emphasised the importance of the figure of Beato Angelico, the epitome of an expressive style capable of marrying the recent past with the contemporary innovations then emerging in Florence. This was a cultural disposition closely linked to the circle of intellectuals orbiting around Cosimo il Vecchio. A prominent figure on the Florentine scene in the late Gothic period, especially in the early years of his career, was Lorenzo Ghiberti, whose work-site for the first door of the Baptistery was a training ground for almost all the important artists working in the city, from Masolino to Paolo Uccello. The exhibition ends with the Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello, a painting recently restored and shown here for the first time after restoration, shown to visitors as a splendid synthesis and symbol of the intellectual and spiritual complexity of a great period in Florentine art.

Angelo Tartuferi Vice Director of the Uffizi

Sale dei Pittori Stranieri On 17 December 2011 the first ten rooms of the Nuovi Uffizi, dedicated to the painting of Foreign Schools in the 17th and 18th century, were opened to the public. The rooms, situated at the level of the Gallery’s first floor, face the Cortile delle Reali Poste and the Chiasso dei Baroncelli, in the vicinity of the Contini Bonacossi Collection. They are reached by way of the imposing new staircase, inaugurated on the same occasion, situated at the end of the Third Corridor near the Loggia dei Lanzi and designed by the architect Adolfo Natalini. The Rooms of Foreign Painters contain paintings by Dutch, Flemish, French and Spanish artists and we find here not only masterpieces by Chardin, Liotard, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck and Goya, but also many other important works (more than a hundred and twenty paintings in all), very few of which were previously exhibited owing to lack of display space. The main nucleus, strongly rooted in the old Medici collections, is the Flemish and Dutch one, whose schools have been divided according to the artists’ cities of origin.

There are rooms dedicated to Amsterdam, Leiden, The Hague, Delft, Rotterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht for the Dutch, while two others represent the painters of Antwerp. French and Spanish artists follow, relating respectively to late 18th-century acquisitions (in the case of the French) and more recent acquisitions (in the case of the Spanish), though both characterised by historical importance and by the quality of the works chosen.

he prestigious collection of drawings and prints of the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi (GDSU) began with the Medici family collections and in particular with the works assembled by Leopoldo de’ Medici, who became cardinal in 1667.

Leopoldo made use of numerous agents to purchase folios by the greatest Renaissance and Mannerist artists. In 1737 following the extinction of the Medici dynasty, the Lorraine enriched the collection, which was added to in the period following the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy thanks to a great many donations. Today, the collection contains over 150,000 works by Tuscan artists, artists of other Italian schools, and Flemish and Dutch, French, Spanish, and German artists.

T

via della Ninna, 5 Opening hours follow those of the Uffizi.

Access to the Sala di Studio is reserved to scholars, upon letter of presentation. open: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8.30-13.30, Tuesday and Thursday 8.30-17

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/disegni

recent restoration The Annunciation and the Cafaggiolo Altarpiece

by Alesso Baldovinetti 2011 was a decidedly fortunate year for Alesso Baldovinetti (c. 1425-1499), an artist who – in the context of Florentine painting during the latter half of the Quattrocento – certainly deserved much greater consideration in the eyes of art critics, even to the point of being promoted to the very front ranks. Thanks to two separate events, the great altarpieces of the artist conserved at the Uffizi were the object of recent restoration. The painting known as the Cafaggiolo Altarpiece, executed around 1455 for the chapel of the Medicean villa of the same name in the Mugello, was restored on the occasion of the exhibition Fra Angelico et les Maîtres de la lumière, which recently closed at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. The delicate Annunciation, on the other hand, painted around 1457 for the convent of the Padri Silvestrini of San Giorgio alla Costa in Florence, and presented at San Pier Scheraggio on 23 January following the impeccable restoration of Lucia and Andrea Dori, benefited from financing from BioNike. The two restorations, carried out simultaneously, furnished a mass of information on the compositional technique of this extremely refined artist. The most remarkable technical feature is the refined execution of fine incisions along all of the outlines. This is found in a more accentuated manner in our Annunciation, where the delicate incisions appear even in the minutest details like the angel’s hair and the nails of the hands. From the point of view of style, the restoration work unequivocally confirms the direct influence of Domenico Veneziano on the art of Baldovinetti; it also reveals the close network of relations among those artists most directly involved in that ‘pittura di luce’, the ‘painting of light’ created with the fresco decoration of the choir of the church of Sant’Egidio, begun in 1439 by Domenico Veneziano – who had among his assistants the young Piero della Francesca – continued at the beginning of the 1450s by Andrea del Castagno and completed

by Baldovinetti himself in 1461.

Angelo Tartuferi Vice Director of the Uffizi and Director of the Department of Medieval Art

Vasari Corridor Collezione Contini Bonacossi For information on opening times and bookings see www.polomuseale.firenze.it

new publications • Giotto. Il Polittico di Badia restaurato, edited by A. Tartuferi, with essays by A. De Marchi and S. Scarpelli. The first volume in the new series “Il Pomario nuovo”, edited by Antonio Natali

photo Francesca Anichini

the uffizi department of prints and drawings

opening

exhibitions

“Carte che paion fatte col pennello”.

Chiaroscuri italiani dal Cinquecento al Settecento

Il dolce potere delle corde

Orfeo, Apollo, Arione e David nella grafica tra Quattrocento e Cinquecento

curated by Giorgio Marini until 22 April 2012

curated by Susanne Pollack (Kunsthistorisches Institut Florenz) 20 June-20 September 2012

In the search for an increasingly faithful reproduction of the drawings of the Renaissance masters, at the dawn of the sixteenth century the introduction of colour in the production of prints already seemed indispensable. The chiaroscuro xylograph, or woodcut, capable of evoking the chromatic and material effects of the drawing, immediately became popular in Italy thanks to Ugo da Carpi, already identified as the inventor of the technique by Vasari, who – in view of their exceptional imitative potential – defined his prints “as if Made with the Brush”. A selection of 50 drawings from the GDSU collections shows how, following the work of Ugo da Carpi, the new technique was adopted by his contemporaries Antonio da Trento and Niccolò Vicentino, and developed in the experiments of Domenico Beccafumi in the middle of the century, to the woodcuts of Bartolomeo Coriolano and to those of Anton Maria Zanetti in the eighteenth century.

There are examples in the exhibition of the drawings of Parmigianino and the sixteenthcentury chiaroscuro reproductions taken from these same drawings.

Orpheus, Apollo, Arion and David demonstrate supernatural powers when playing stringed instruments, transforming chaos by creating harmony. These harmonies are not confined to music but pervade almost every sphere of being.

Orpheus, taming wild animals as he serenaded them with his voice and lyre, becomes a political allegory of a well-ordered civil society. David, playing for the deeply dispirited King Saul, represented music’s therapeutic power over body and spirit. Apollo’s cosmic lyre created universal harmony, its seven strings symbolizing the seven planets. In the works of art displayed, stringed instruments serve as vehicles to convey sound and meanings. The selection of 15th- and 16th-century drawings and prints demonstrates the increasing popularity of Orpheus, Apollo, Arion, and David as they were represented ever more frequently and in various new contexts; the role of the stringed instrument as an icon of the different theories on harmony grew at the same time. In addition, the images of stringed instruments provide invaluable information about their construction and musical practice during the Renaissance.

piazza Pitti www.uffizi.firenze.it

E

The Palatine Gallery and Royal Apartments

Costume Gallery

The Palatine Gallery was created in the late 18th and early 19th century by the Lorraine family to exhibit masterpieces mainly from the Medici collections, and houses works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Pietro da Cortona and other Italian and European masters of the Renaissance and the 17th century. The Royal Apartments, formerly the private residence of the sovereigns, are decorated with furnishings, fittings and works of art dating from the 16th to the 19th century. open: Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-18.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Gallery of Modern Art The Gallery shows paintings and sculptures mainly by Italian artists, dating from the late 18th century to the First World War. The works range from the neoclassical period to Romanticism and include a fine collection of the Macchiaioli artists. open: Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-18.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Carriage Museum The museum houses fine examples of carriages used by the Lorraine and Savoy courts as well as antique harnesses for horses. The oldest carriage is an 18thcentury rocaille coupé.

The Gallery was founded in 1983 in the Palazzina della Meridiana. Dedicated to the history of fashion from the 18th century to the present day, it houses clothes, accessories and jewels as well as stage costumes.

There is also an important collection of papers, including archive documents, sketches and drawings.

Porcelain Museum Located in the 18th-century Palazzina del Cavaliere, the museum houses the finest European porcelain collected by Pietro Leopoldo and Ferdinando III of Lorraine, alongside porcelain removed from the historic residences in Parma, Piacenza and Sala Baganza.

Boboli Gardens Behind the Pitti Palace lie the magnificent Boboli Gardens, a veritable open-air museum, filled with antique and Renaissance statues, and enhanced with grottoes and grand fountains. The grounds were first laid out at the time of the Medici, creating the formal Italian garden that would become a model for many of the European courts. open: every day 8.15-16.30 from November to February, 8.15-17.30 March and October after official summer time sets in, 8.15-18.30 April, May, September and October, 8.15-18.50 from June to August closed: 1st and last Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

open: only upon request

calendar of exhibitions april-september 2012 Giappone. Terra di incanti 3 April-1 July 2012 planned by Maria Sframeli curated by Vincenzo Farinella, Masahiro Karasawa, Francesco Morena and Masanori Moroyama

Di linea e di colore.

Giapponismo.

L’eleganza della memoria.

Il Giappone, le sue arti e l’incontro con l’Occidente

Suggestioni d’Oriente tra Macchiaioli e anni trenta del Novecento

Le Arti decorative nel moderno Giappone

Silver Museum

Gallery of Modern Art, Sala del Fiorino

Palatine Gallery, Sala Bianca

The exhibition is dedicated to Japonism in Italy and shows works executed between the 1860s and the 1940s by Italian artists who were captivated by the Japanese arts, like Giovanni Fattori, Telemaco Signorini, Giuseppe De Nittis e Mariano Fortuny. They admired the inspired calligraphic use of the line, the daring juxtaposition of bright colours, the dynamic cut of the scenes, the novelties in the choice of themes, especially those inspired by the world of nature. Thus their work grew brighter, chromatic modulations expanded, while actual objects from Japanese art increasingly began to appear in their compositions, in a whirl of exoticisms.

The excellence of modern and contemporary Japanese art, which saw the Japanese artistic tradition evolve into a new form of aesthetic expression, is illustrated through works by the most representative artists in the Japanese decorative arts from the 19th century to today. The works come from three important Japanese national museums, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art and the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which also put together the show.

300 years of Japanese art in works of exquisite quality from various Japanese, European and Italian museums. Painting, calligraphy, sculpture, lacquer ware, ceramics, metals and fabrics illustrate the essence of a truly original aesthetic in which are mixed conceptual synthesis, chromatic richness, profusion of gold and minuteness of detail. Japanese artists have indeed seduced the line, making it their own, though without renouncing the cultivation of colour, which captures space and imposes its rhythm.

Among the works from Japanese museums are screens and rolls, theatrical costumes and the famous Murakumo tea bowl of Hon’ami Koetsu.

Le cravatte impossibili del professore.

La collezione di Piergiovanni Marzili Costume Gallery, Sala da ballo 17 April-10 June 2012 The exhibition dedicated to the male accessory par excellence presents part of the collection of over one thousand ties once belonging to Piergiovanni Marzili, donated to the Gallery at his wish. Varied in shape and colour, ties interpret the personality of the person wearing them; faithful companions on more formal occasions on the one hand and expressions of an exuberance emerging from the seriousness of male clothing on the other.

La Nuova Frontiera.

Storia e cultura dei nativi d’America dalle collezioni del Gilcrease Museum curated by Robert B. Pickering in collaboration with the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa Costume Gallery and Andito degli Angiolini 3 July-8 December 2012 A selection of significant pieces from the Gilcrease Museum brings Native American civilisation to the attention of the public, who perhaps know it only through film reconstructions. One section, enriched with photos by the ethnologist Edward Curtis, introduces colonisation, tribal settlements, social organisation, and contamination by Western culture. The second section shows plumed headdresses, pottery, weapons, jewels, and clothing of the various tribes, together with paintings, sculptures and photographs, executed by artists such as Joseph Henry Sharp who entered into close contact with the Native Americans.

photo Francesca Anichini

palazzo pitti

leonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, bought and greatly extended Palazzo Pitti to create a light and airy residence for the ducal family and surrounded it with superb gardens. The palace was linked by the Vasari Corridor to the Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio, which remained the official seat of government. In the course of its history the building has been home not only to the grand dukes, but also to Italy’s royal family.

Today it houses several impressive collections of paintings, sculptures and artefacts, in perfectly preserved surroundings.

This prestigious structure now houses seven museums.

The museum takes its name from the silver that belonged to the collections of the bishops of Salzburg, brought to Florence in 1815 by Ferdinando III of Lorraine.

Nevertheless the most important collection in the museum is the famous Medici Treasury, collected by the Medici from the 15th century onwards and once housed in the Tribune of the Uffizi. The museum also includes elegant Chinese and Japanese porcelain.

palazzo pitti

Silver Museum

focus

Rare and precious stones The Medici collection in the Silver Museum The allure of the Orient

Maria Sframeli Director of the Silver Museum

In 1459 Benozzo Gozzoli frescoed the chapel of Palazzo Medici with the Procession of the Magi arriving from the East laden with precious open: every day 8.15-16.30 from November to February, gifts. The shapes of those vases, containing gold, 8.15-17.30 March and October after official summer time sets in, 8.15-18.30 April, May, September and October, frankincense and myrrh, are the same as those of the precious 8.15-18.50 from June to August artefacts that constituted the beginning of Medicean collectionism. closed: 1st and last Monday of the month, 1 January, It was a quite unique treasure comprising prized vases in pietre dure, 1 May, 25 December cameos and ancient gems, crafted precious stones, Oriental rarities, ancient and modern manuscripts, sophisticated objects made of unusual materials sometimes believed to be magical, remnants of classical statues and contemporary masterpieces. The nucleus of the collection, started by Piero, the father of Lorenzo il Magnifico, were precisely the rare Oriental vases in pietre dure – sardonyx, carnelian, jade, onyx, jasper, amethyst, rock crystal of ancient, Sassanid or Byzantine origin – mounted in gold or silver-gilt and enamels by the skilled goldsmiths employed by the Medici. Only a few had the privilege of admiring them in the ‘Scrittoio’ of Palazzo Medici, that magical treasure chest of jewels, for they The magic were used as gifts only for the lords of the Italian of precious stones courts on the occasion of visits or ceremonies.

Texts listing the supernatural properties of Artifice stones also arrived from the East to the Christian and Nature West. In remote China, or in the mountains of India, Cosimo I, after becoming duke of Florence, stones symbolised the eyes of dragons or divinities and it was drew inspiration from the collectionism of Lorenzo il believed that if mounted on rings they could confer great Magnifico. At that time Milan was pre-eminent in the powers to whoever wore them. According to popular belief, working of vases in pietre dure and so from the workshops of the spirit contained within the ring of Lorenzo il Magnifico, the Saracchi brothers and Gasparo and Girolamo Miseroni freed at the moment of his death, released such a powerful extraordinary vases carved in rock crystal and bowls in pietre dure force that it caused the lantern of the cupola of the Duomo arrived at the Florentine court. In 1572, when Francesco, Gian to fall to the ground. The wide diffusion of similar texts – Ambrogio and Gian Stefano Caroni were summoned to Florence, court from Aristotle to Pliny’s Naturalis Historia, from Alberto workshops were opened for the working of pietra dura. This art, now no Magno to Marbodo – introduced the knowledge of the secret longer the prerogative of Milanese workshops, was masterfully practised in properties of stones: a fascinating intermingling of Florence too, where it could rely on the additional prestige given to it by pharmacology and magic which did nothing to undermine the designs of excellent artists like Bernardo Buontalenti. The possibility of the values of the Christian faith. No less than precious perfecting the products of nature with artifice was the guiding criterion that stones, ancient gems carved with magical signs also formed subsequently empassioned Francesco I. In the workshops he set up at the part of the patrimony of Renaissance beliefs, joining, with Casino di San Marco, the grand duke, who dabbled in alchemy, experimented the the miraculous power of the motifs carved on fusion of rock crystal and tried his hand at the carving of precious stones and them, the link that came to be established pietre dure. In his ‘studiolo’ in Palazzo Vecchio, Francesco jealously guarded his with the mythical people of history to treasures in cupboards and cabinets decorated with figures alluding to the whom they had belonged. materials and objects kept in them. Here a statue of Apollo represented colours, “that came to life with light, which would include not only lapis lazuli, but many other inexhaustible sources of colour”; that of Ops Jewels instead symbolised the Earth, evoked “through porphyries, The same Mannerist spirit also inspired jaspers, chalcedonies, agate, quartz and all sorts of other the production of jewels. Although the large mixed marbles, that can be carved, and be made into jewels with fabulous stones – like Ferdinando I’s vases and other fine pieces, for stones are, let us necklace with its 5,000 diamonds – and large gems say, the bones of the earth”. like the Florentine diamond, represented in various portraits, have been lost, today a considerable number of jewels survives from the 16th and 17th century, where At the service at times the quality of the workmanship quite surpasses the actual of power and religion value of the materials used. The most lavish and extraordinary jewels In the 17th century, the age of hyperbole ever created by goldsmiths were constructed around large Scaramazza and extravagance, the luxury and ostentation pearls; almost competing with nature, those strange marine formations were of precious stones were extremely useful for a power used for jewels that took the form of mermaids, tritons, boats and small animals that conceived self-celebration as an instrument of laden with symbolic meanings. It was due particularly to the decisive contribution persuasion and a guarantee of duration, at the same time of goldsmiths and jewels that the supremacy of the ‘Florentine style’ was established remaining respectful of the values dictated by the Counterthroughout Europe and an international style of the princely jewel, with uniform Reformation.

This spirit – where aspirations of earthly glory characteristics, spread from Madrid to Prague, from Paris to Florence. Between the and the desire for heavenly approval come together – is middle of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century the grand-ducal exemplified by the celebrated ‘paliotto’ in gold and enamelwork workshops worked to satisfy the requirements of the palace, but also to create representing Cosimo II kneeling in front of an altar with the refined and lavish gifts that could be given to the princes of Italy and emblems of power entrusted to his Highness to implore Europe. The diamond ‘pennino’– a head adornment in the shape of a pen, healing from a serious illness. The grand duke is portrayed donated to Queen Margaret, the wife of Philip III of Spain – is evidence as a sovereign of immense richness and sumptuous majesty; of that taste for the extraordinary and phantasmagorical, typical of in a curious intermingling of fantasy and reality, his jewels late 16th-century jewels: from Apollo’s lyre issued forth a melody and lavish grand-ducal clothes were represented by the which, thanks to an ingenious mechanism, played for six same artists who supplied the real jewels which the hours, while the wheels of the carriage turned, grand duke wore when he had himself portrayed: producing glimmers of light “as if they had 11 the court goldsmith Cosimo Merlini and the come from the Sun”. jeweller Jonas Falck.

T

piazza San Marco, 3 open: Monday to Friday 8.15-13.50, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 8.15-16.50 closed: 1st, 2nd and 5th Sunday, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/sanmarco

events

• Bartolomeo Caporali, Madonna con il Bambino e angeli in: Illegio (Udine), Casa delle Esposizioni for the exhibition: I bambini e il cielo. L’età divina dell’uomo 28 April-30 September 2012

synagogue and museum

European Museum Night 2012 19 May 2012 The museum is open in the evening, with free entry.

12

other works • Beato Angelico, Pala di San Marco, panel • Beato Angelico, Crocifissione e santi, fresco in the Sala del Capitolo • Beato Angelico, Trittico di san Pietro martire, panel • Bartolomeo Caporali, Madonna con il Bambino e angeli, panel

• Lorenzo Monaco, San Nicola salva i naviganti • Zanobi Strozzi, La Scuola di sant’Alberto Magno in: Rome, Palazzo Sciarra for the exhibition: Beato Angelico e i maestri della luce until June 2012

Opening of the Sala Greca until 28 April 2012 Exceptional opening of the Sala Greca every Saturday with guided tour at 14, 15 and 16.

• Beato Angelico, Trittico di san Pietro martire • Lorenzo Monaco, L’abate Pafnunzio visita sant’Onofrio in: Florence, the Uffizi

T

via Luigi Carlo Farini, 6 open: from April to September Sunday to Thursday 10-18, Friday 10-14; from October to March from Sunday to Thursday 10-15, Friday 10-14 closed: Saturday and Jewish holidays Exceptional openings upon request 055 2346654 fax 055 244145 itinerariebraici@cscsigma.it

detached frescoes in the Chiostro di Sant’Antonino • Beato Angelico, San Pietro da Verona invita al silenzio • Giovan Battista Vanni, La Fede e La Speranza • Beato Angelico, Cristo pellegrino • Bernardino Poccetti, Sant’Antonino giovinetto prega davanti al Crocifisso di Orsanmichele

works on loan

Culture Week 2012 14-22 April 2012 The museum presents Ultimi restauri a San Marco: instructive panels and videos, and special lighting, describe the most significant restoration carried out over the past few years, illustrating the technical aspects of the various works.

he Synagogue of Florence, built in 1882, is considered one of the most beautiful examples of the exotic Moorish style. The entire temple complex is considered one of the most harmonious nineteenth-century Italian buildings. Inside the Synagogue is a two floor museum founded in 1981, that offers an overview of the history of the Jewish Community in Florence over the centuries and their relationship with the city. On the second floor there are objects and materials of private and public worship. The final room, the “Room of Memory”, is devoted to the history of the Community over the last two centuries.

restoration in progress

European Day of Jewish Culture 2 September 2012 A day dedicated to throwing light upon Jewish culture and traditions through guided visits to the Synagogue and the Museum, educational activities, shows and other events.

For a detailed programme see www.firenzebraica.it

for the exhibition: Bagliori dorati 19 June-4 November 2012 • Beato Angelico, two panels of the Armadio degli Argenti in the church of Santissima Annunziata with eleven Stories of Christ • Benozzo Gozzoli, Vir Dolorum con san Giovanni evangelista e la Maddalena; Sposalizio mistico di santa Caterina d’Alessandria; sant’Antonio abate; sant’Egidio • Fra Bartolomeo, Ritratto di Fra Girolamo Savonarola • Follower of Beato Angelico, Madonna con il Bambino fra i santi Giacomo e Sebastiano in: Beijing, Thien’ an Men Museum for the exhibition: Il Rinascimento a Firenze.

Capolavori e protagonisti until February 2013

photo Francesca Anichini

san marco museum

he museum building, designed in 1436 by Michelozzo, occupies a vast area of the Dominican Convent of San Marco, which played an important role in the cultural and religious life of Florence, especially at the time of Savonarola, prior of San Marco. The museum owes its renown especially to the paintings of Fra Angelico, one of the great artists of the Renaissance, who made frescoes in many of the convent’s spaces. Other works by Fra Angelico were assembled here in the 20th century. There is also an important collection of 16th-century paintings including works by Fra Bartolomeo. The museum has a section devoted to artefacts from buildings of the city centre that were demolished in the 19th century.

santa croce monumental complex

he Franciscan basilica of Santa Croce is a sort of open workshop that in 700 years has seen the most extraordinary religious and civil events and contains an exceptional wealth in works of art. It contains the tombs of many great figures in Italian history, and is thus defined the ‘tempio delle itale glorie’. A visit to the monumental complex includes: the Basilica, the cloisters and the early Renaissance Pazzi Chapel, the hall of 19thcentury funerary monuments, the exhibition devoted to the wood engraver Pietro Parigi, the great 20th-century Italian illustrator, the Museo dell’Opera, which includes the Sala del Cenacolo (Refectory), with important works including Cimabue’s Crucifix and Taddeo Gaddi’s frescoes of the Last Supper and the Albero della Vita.

T

piazza Santa Croce open: Monday to Saturday 9.30-17.30; Sunday, 6 January, 15 August, 1 November, 8 December 13-17.30 closed: 1 January, Easter, 13 June, 4 October, 25 and 26 December

www.santacroceopera.it

Discovering art Exploring the restored frescoes in the Cappella Maggiore until 16 May 2012 Guided tours of the restoration work-sites make it possible for us to admire at first-hand one of the most splendid artistic productions of the Middle Ages: the Cappella Maggiore frescoed by Agnolo Gaddi with scenes from the Legend of the True Cross. A guide illustrates the events narrated by the frescoes and the pictorial techniques employed, accompanying visitors onto the scaffolding along an itinerary comprising 7 levels (90 steps without elevators) with three intermediate stops for explanations.

Information and booking: 055 2466105 int.3 booking@santacroceopera.it

13

opera di santa maria del fiore

stablished at the end of the 13th century to oversee the construction of Florence’s new cathedral, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore today administers a group of monuments and buildings of exceptional importance. These structures developed around the cathedral and are now important monuments for all visitors to the city. The buildings consist of several groups, all with a marked identity and specific historic function. The buildings include churches, such as Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery. The latter came under the Fabbriceria del Duomo (Ecclesiastical Board) only in 1777, following the suppression of the Opera di San Giovanni.

The remains of another church, deeply rooted in the city’s history, are also part of this group of buildings – the ancient cathedral of Santa Reparata rediscovered beneath the floor of the Duomo.

Considerably less known is the little church of San Benedetto, also of medieval origin and also under the authority of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. The work of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in conserving and improving its works of art is evident in other structures, in particular in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, established in 1891 to house the numerous masterpieces removed for safe keeping from Santa Maria del Fiore and from the Baptistery. In addition, the stonemasons’ workshop, where the traditional skills of Florentine artisans created works of inestimable value in the past, continues to work on their conservation, while the newly renovated Museum of the Opera del Duomo opened in 1987.

E

via della Canonica, 1 office hours: Monday to Friday 8-19, Saturday 8-14

www.operaduomo.firenze.it

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Designed by the architect Arnolfo di Cambio, and the world’s third largest church, Santa Maria del Fiore was built on the earlier church of Santa Reparata and dedicated in 1412 to Santa Maria del Fiore, clearly alluding to the lily, a symbol of the city. The façade was completed only at the end of the 19th century. open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10-17; Thursday 10-16.30, in May and October 10-16, from July to September 10-17; Saturday 10-16.45; Sunday and holidays 13.30-16.45

Crypt of Santa Reparata (archaeological site) A major excavation beneath the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, carried out between 1965 and 1973, brought to light the remains of the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata, the oldest evidence of early Christianity in Florence. open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10-17, Saturday 10-16.45, 1 May 8.30-17 closed: on the occasion of major holidays

The Cupola The construction of the cupola, the largest dome ever built, began in1420; five years later construction was under Filippo Brunelleschi alone and was completed up to the base of the lantern on 1 August 1436. open: every day 8.30-19, Saturday 8.30-17.40 closed: Sunday and holidays

Baptistery of San Giovanni With an octagonal plan, entirely faced with polychrome marbles, the Baptistery we see today was built over a smaller and earlier Baptistery dating from the 4th or 5th century. open: every day 12.15-19; 1st Saturday of the month, Sunday and holidays 8.30-14

Giotto’s Campanile Giotto’s bell tower, begun in 1334, is one of the four principal components of piazza del Duomo.

At a height of 84.70 metres and about 15 metres wide, it is the most eloquent example of 14thcentury Florentine Gothic architecture.

cenacoli

open: every day 9-19.30

14

Museum of the Opera del Duomo Established in 1891 and rearranged in 1999, the museum is being restructured and enlarged, work that should be finished by 2016. The museum is one of the most important ecclesiastical museums in Italy. Since the late 19th century, works of art have been removed from their outdoor location at Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery and the Campanile in order to conserve them in the museum. piazza del Duomo, 9 open: Monday to Saturday 9-19.30, Sunday 9-13.45 in May and October every day 10-15.30; from July to September 10-17 closed: 1 January, Easter, 8 September, 25 December

exhibition

Elia Dalla Costa, l’uomo e l’immagine until 15 April 2012 The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Dalla Costa, heroic archbishop of Florence during the period of the Fascist regime, the Second World War and the years of postwar reconstruction. There are three portraits of the Cardinal on show: a sculpture

by Antonio Berti, a painting by Luciano Guarnieri, and a painting by Oskar Kokoschka, on loan from the Phillips Collection in Washington. recent restoration The silver altar and cross of the treasure of the Baptistery of San Giovanni From 1 April two important works commissioned by the Calimala Guild for the Baptistery return to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. The monumental silver altar, finished in 1483, is a synthesis of the tendencies of the Florentine goldsmith’s art and sculpture from the Gothic age to the Renaissance. 100 years went by before skilled goldsmiths and sculptors like Bernardo Cennini, Michelozzo, Antonio del Pollaiolo and Andrea del Verrocchio worked its 200 kg of silver and crafted the 1,050 enamelled plaques. The silver cross which completed the altar, and was to contain a fragment of the cross of Christ, was instead made between 1457 and 1459 by Antonio del Pollaiolo and his assistants. The restoration of the two precious works, directed by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, took approximately six years.

Sant’Apollonia

Fuligno

San Salvi

The museum occupies part of the historic Benedictine convent of Sant’Apollonia. The Refectory houses his Last Supper (c. 1450) which represents the first painting of this subject in the Renaissance style in Florence.

Located in the former convent of the Franciscan nuns of Sant’Onofrio, also known as the Fuligno Sisters from the name of their town of origin, is the Last Supper now recognised as the work of Pietro Perugino and workshop (1490).

The museum, housed in part of the former monastery of Vallombrosan monks beside the church of San Michele a San Salvi, is named after Andrea del Sarto’s magnificent Last Supper (1526-1527).

via XXVII Aprile, 1 open: every day 8.15-13.50 closed: 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

via Faenza, 42 open: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 9-12 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Museo del Cenacolo di Andrea del Sarto via di San Salvi, 16 open: from Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-13.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Cenacolo di Ognissanti

Cenacolo della Calza

Cenacolo di Santo Spirito

The refectory of the Convento degli Umiliati houses the Last Supper painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1480. As the fresco has been detached, the sinopia is also visible.

In the refectory of the ex convent of San Giovanni Battista, known as the Calza, after the white hood worn by the Jesuit lay bretheren, is found the Last Supper by Franciabigio (1514).

Church and convent of Ognissanti borgo Ognissanti, 42 open: Monday, Tuesday and Saturday 9-12 closed: 1 January, 1 May, August, 25 December

Convento della Calza piazza della Calza, 6 open: upon request 055 222287

Fragments of the Last Supper by Andrea Orcagna (c. 1370) and Crucifixion. see Museo della Fondazione Salvatore Romano p. 31

Cenacolo del Carmine Last Supper by Alessandro Allori (1582). see Cappella Brancacci p. 31

opera di santa maria del fiore

No waiting at the Duomo!

The electronic card Priority Pass allows the visitor to jump the queue not only for the Cathedral but also for the crypt, the Cupola, Giotto’s Campanile, the Baptistery and the Museum. The card does not include entry fees.

The Confraternita dei Buonomini was founded

by Saint Antoninus to assist the “poveri vergognosi” and was established in 1478 in rooms behind the church of San Martino, which were eventually transformed into an oratory. The space is decorated with a series of lunettes, painted around 1480 by Domenico Ghirlandaio’s workshop, illustrating the story of San Martino and the confraternity’s charitable work. The adjacent rooms house a rich archive documenting over five centuries of work of the confraternity.

Oratorio dei Buonomini di San Martino piazza San Martino open: every day 10-12 and 15-17 closed: Friday and holidays

Crucifixion by Perugino Dated 1257, the original church and its adjacent monastery were dedicated to Santa Maria Maddalena delle Convertite recalling the hostel for repentant prostitutes which previously stood here. The church was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo. The Sala Capitolare houses Perugino’s evocative fresco of the Crucifixion and Saints (1493-1496), with the figure of Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot of the Cross. This is the most important artistic evidence of the Cistercian period of the monastery.

Church and monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi access via the Liceo Michelangiolo via della Colonna, 9 open: Tuesday and Thursday 14.30-17.30 closed: public holidays adn school holidays

Chiostro dello Scalzo

fresco cycles

Frescoes in the Oratorio dei Buonomini di San Martino

The cloister originally formed the entrance to the Chapel of the Brotherhood of Saint John the Baptist, founded in 1376 and known as the Scalzo. Andrea del Sarto was responsible for the fresco cycle, which he painted in several stages (1509-1526). The fine monochrome scenes represent episodes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist and the Virtues. Two of the episodes were actually painted by Franciabigio (15181519). via Cavour, 69 open: Monday, Thursday, Saturday 8.15-13.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, August and 25 December

15

polychrome façades

The churches

VisitArt starts its survey of the façades of Florentine churches by drawing attention to those with marble façades; decidedly fewer in number compared to those in pietraforte and yet capable of illustrating the very particular fortune with which Florence traversed its artistic eras, conserving even in the Middle Ages that spirit of geometry, that rigour inherited from antiquity that would constitute the fertile terrain for the flourishing, here and not elsewhere, of the Renaissance. The geometric pattern of white and green panels embellishing the outer facing of the Baptistery and the modular grid defining the façade of the church of San Miniato – cornerstones of a distinctly Florentine Romanesque style – express such refinement and grace as to be described as manifestations of the ‘proto Renaissance’, a deep inspiration that Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti and all the leading exponents of Florentine architecture in subsequent centuries would draw on. A ‘classical’ rigour that endured in the Gothic age, when artists like Arnolfo di Cambio, Giotto and Francesco Talenti took care of the sumptuous facings of the (unfinished) façade and flanks of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Campanile; or the marble facing of Santa Maria Novella was started, with the Gothic arcaded recesses of the lower register whose rhythm was so essential and harmonious as to be conserved and incorporated by Alberti in the 15th-century completion of the façade. A grace that also pervaded minor examples of polychrome church facings and that only the 19th century in some measure betrayed with the rebuilding of the façades of the Cathedral and Santa Croce in a ‘Gothic’ style that the city had never known.

Marbles in Florentine architecture White marbles

Red marbles

type: limestone colour: white or white veined

type: polychrome schists (Marne del Sugame), or nodular limestones colour: various shades of pink and red

Carrara white other names: Carrara marble type: limestone colour: white or white veined found in Tuscany: Carrara, Campiglia Marittima (Livorno), Monti Pisani, Montagnola Senese

Rosso ammonitico

Black marbles

Monsummano red

type: serpentine or limestone colour: from black to blue with metallic reflections in ever lighter greens, reaching the olive green known as Prato

Prato green other names: black touchstone type: serpentine colour: various tones of green, with bluish lights, a single colour, flecked, or veined with a greenish yellow found in Tuscany: Appennino settentrionale, Monteferrato (Prato) and Impruneta (Florence)

Colonnata black other names: Carrara black type: marly limestone colour: dark grey or black, with tones or whitish veins found in Tuscany: Colonnata (Carrara)

16

other names: rosso mandorlato from Verona, Bolgheri red type: nodular limestone found in Tuscany: Gerfalco (Grosseto), Avane (Pisa), Monsummano (Pistoia) and Sassetta (Livorno) colour: from pale pink to dark red other names: rosso antico from Monsummano type: nodular limestone (rosso ammonitico) distribuzione in Toscana: hills of Monsummano Alto (Pistoia) colour: from light grey to a fleshy pink

Marne del Sugame other names: red or pink from Monterantoli, Cintoia red type: marly schist found in Tuscany: San Giusto a Monterantoli (Cintoia del Chianti) and hills of Monsummano (Pistoia) colour: from a purplish red to a liverish red and yellowish pink

Other marbles Siena yellow other names: yellow ochre, plain yellow type: limestone found in Tuscany: Sovicille and Casole d’Elsa in the area of Montagnola Senese (Siena) colour: uniform dark yellow with varying tones

consecrated in 1059

polychrome façades

Baptistery of San Giovanni

Campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore 1334-1359, to a plan by Giotto

façades 11th-12th century; apse, early 13th century marbles used Carrara white re-used ancient marble Prato green Carrara black (above the doors) Monsummano red (frieze of the apse)

façades 1334-1359 marbles used Carrara white Prato dark green Monsummano red Siena red Monterantoli pink rosso mandorlato from Verona

piazza San Giovanni

piazza del Duomo

San Miniato al Monte

Santa Maria Novella

from 1018, consecrated in 1207

from 1279 to the mid 14th century; consecrated in 1420

façade end of the 11th to 13th century marbles used Carrara white re-used ancient marble Prato green sandstone rock (corners) via delle Porte Sante

façade lower register, c. 1350; upper register, 14581478 (to a plan by Leon Battista Alberti); right volute facing, 1921 marbles used white marble Prato dark green red limestone

piazza di Santa Maria Novella

San Salvatore al Vescovo early 12th century, rebuilt in the first half of the 13th century façade c. 1220, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio marbles used white marble Prato green (original lower register) piazza dell’Olio

Santa Croce from 1295, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio; consecrated in 1443 façade 1854-1863, to a plan

by Niccolò Matas marbles used Seravezza white Cintoia red Bolgheri red Prato light green Pisan dark serpentine Asciano black Siena yellow Egyptian red piazza di Santa Croce

Santo Stefano al Ponte

Santa Maria del Fiore

early 12th century, rebuilt in the first half of 13th century

from 1296, to a plan

by Arnolfo di Cambio; consecrated in 1436

façade lower register, 12th century; upper register and central doorway, c. 1230 marbles used pietra serena (lower register) pietraforte (upper register) White and green marbles (main door surround)

façade 1876-1887, to a plan

by Emilio De Fabris (1868) marbles used Carrara white Prato green Monsummano red Siena red Monterantoli pink

piazza Santo Stefano

piazza del Duomo

17

orsanmichele

uilt in the 13th century as a granary and market, in the next century Orsanmichele became a religious place and in the middle of the 14th century was consecrated for Christian worship. From then until the 17th century the building, which served both civil and religious functions, was modified and enriched by the city guilds with the 14 canopied niches of the exterior. Religious services take place regularly, and concerts of classical music are held here, overlooked by the splendid marble tabernacle by Orcagna and the 14th-century Madonna delle Grazie by Bernardo Daddi. On the first floor of Orsanmichele is the Sculpture Hall, which houses the original statues from the tabernacles.

B

Orsanmichele: stone and marble Stone and marble are the materials that Orsan-

via dell’Arte della Lana open: Church every day 10-17, Museum Monday 10-17

photo Antonio Quattrone

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/orsanmichele

michele is built of, that is, both its architecture and its sculptural decoration. After the fire that destroyed the grain market in 1304 – built by Arnolfo di Cambio with marble pilasters and a wooden roof – in 1337 the Comune began to build the great loggia of the new market, assigning the work to the master builders of the city’s main building sites. The block of Orsanmichele, together with the great mass of the Cupola and Palazzo Vecchio, stands out prominently in the panoramic view of the city: a monolith in pietraforte of an imposing size – about 30 metres long, 20 metres wide and 40 metres high – which, when lit by the sun on the horizon, glowed with a warm golden colour. At the end of the 14th century, when worship of the Madonna delle Grazie prevailed over the activities of the market, the arches were closed up by Simone di Francesco Talenti with the same pietraforte of the pilasters and façades and with three-light Gothic windows, ornate with tracery, thus transforming the loggia into a church. The Silk Guild was charged with supervision of the construction and the Parte Guelfa, was involved in its embellishment. On the outer pilasters of Orsanmichele the Signoria ordered the Guilds to arrange the aediculae and adorn the niches carved out of the pilasters with the statues of their respective patron saints. Until the beginning of the 15th century the statues of the saints were made of marble, but starting with the statue of Saint John the Baptist, cast in bronze by Ghiberti for the Calimala Guild (1416), the greater Guilds began to make their statues in bronze; only these Guilds could afford the high expense of bronze casting, which cost about ten times more than producing sculptures in marble. In the first half of the century the marble sculptures began to be substituted by those in bronze, the last of which was Saint Luke in the 17th century. These operations were also due to the requirements of more modern tastes, which in the 18th century would lead to the painting of marble statues with a brown-coloured tint, the cause of the present phenomena of the darkening and dappling of the marble surfaces. On the tawny-coloured pietraforte of the façades, white marble outlines the apertures of the great ogee windows, defines and characterises the aediculae of the tabernacles, all of them in the Gothic style except the Renaissance ones with their classical design. Today, following the important work of restoration and structural consolidation carried out in the 1960s, the statues of the exterior are replaced by copies and the originals now housed in the Sculpture Hall to be protected from environmental degradation. The sculptures of Nanni di Banco, Donatello, Ghiberti, Verrocchio, Giambologna and others can be admired on the first floor; resting on a continuous low base in order to be seen almost on the same level as the viewer, the statues are grouped and aligned in succession just as they appear in the tabernacles on each of the four external façades. Arranged along the walls of the second floor are some of the small stone sculptures once decorating the arches of the exterior and now in a particularly poor condition.

Antonio Godoli Director of the Museo di Orsanmichele

1. Arte del Cambio (bankers) aedicula and Saint Matthew Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1420 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) 2. Arte della Lana (wool manufacturers) aedicula by Andrea Pisano, c. 1340 Saint Stephen Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1427-1429 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) in place of Saint Stephen, Andrea Pisano, c. 1340, marble, Opera del Duomo 3. Arte dei Fabbri e Maniscalchi (farriers) aedicula and Sant’Eligio Nanni di Banco, c. 1420 marble (Orsanmichele Museum) 4. Arte dei Linaioli e Rigattieri (linen manufacturers) aedicula by Perfetto di Giovanni and Albizzo di Piero, 1411-1413 Saint Mark Donatello, 1411-1413 marble (Orsanmichele Museum)

May-September The museum hosts shows and concerts with international artists theatre Un amore di Swann by Marcel Proust (Compagnia Lombardi Tiezzi); La Pinacoteca di Eumolpo by Antonio Tarantino (Compagnia Verdastro della Monica); Falstaff (Scuola Nazionale Comici “Massimo Troisi” with Carlo Monni and Marco Cocci) dance 23° Florence Dance Festival, artistic directors Marga Nativo and Keith Ferrone music Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Aco.Mus International, Accademia San Felice

via del Proconsolo, 4 open: Monday to Sunday 8.15-13.50 closed: 1st, 3rd, 5th Sunday, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

5. Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai (furriers) aedicula and San Giacomo Maggiore Niccolò di Pietro Lamberti, c. 1420 marble (Orsanmichele Museum)

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/bargello

6. Arte dei Medici e Speziali (physicians and apothecaries) aedicula by Jacopo di Piero Guidi Madonna della Rosa Piero di Giovanni Tedesco, 1399 marble (Orsanmichele Museum)

8. Arte di Calimala (cloth importers) aedicula by Albizzo di Piero, 1414 Saint John the Baptist Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1412-1416 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) 9. Tribunale della Mercanzia (the merchants’ court) aedicula by Donatello, 1423-1425 Christ and Saint Thomas Andrea del Verrocchio, 1486 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) in place of San Ludovico di Tolosa (Parte Guelfa), Donatello, 1425, gilded bronze, Opera di Santa Croce 10. Arte dei Giudici e Notai (judges and notaries) aedicula by Niccolò di Pietro Lamberti, 1423-1425 Saint Luke Giambologna, 1602 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) in place of Saint Luke, Niccolò di Pietro Lamberti, 1406, marble, the Bargello 11. Arte dei Beccai (butchers) aedicula and Saint Peter Filippo Brunelleschi, c. 1410 marble (Orsanmichele Museum) 12. Arte dei Calzolai (tanners) aedicula and Saint Philip Nanni di Banco, 1412 marble (Orsanmichele Museum) 13. Arte dei Maestri di Pietra e Legname (stonemasons and carpenters) aedicula and Four Crowned Saints Nanni di Banco, c. 1410 marble (Orsanmichele Museum) 14. Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai (armourers) aedicula and Saint George Donatello, c. 1418 marble (Orsanmichele Museum)

exhibition

Fabulae pictae.

Miti e storie nelle maioliche del Rinascimento curated by Marino Marini under the direction of Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi 16 May-16 September 2012 The exhibition is dedicated to Renaissance majolica, featuring narrative scenes and figurative subjects, and its direct dependence on literary, historical and figurative sources, throwing special light on the important collections of the Bargello, which also include a precious Medicean group of majolica ware, and enriched for the occasion by significant loans from prestigious Italian and foreign collections. The exhibition is divided into two sections: the first dedicated to themes from classical mythology, the second to episodes from ancient history, through which visitors see the far-reaching dependence of majolica on great Renaissance models, especially those borrowed from painting. To highlight this close relationship, the exhibition juxtaposes the majolica alongside medals, plaques, drawings, small bronzes and engravings – that contributed to popularising the great themes of painting, the inspiration for the master-painters of maiolica working for the most well-known 16th-century manufacturers.

photo Antonio Quattrone

7. Arte della Seta (silkweavers) aedicula by Andrea Pisano (?), c. 1340 Saint John the Evangelist Baccio da Montelupo, 1515 bronze (Orsanmichele Museum) in place of Saint John the Evangelist, Orcagna school, c. 1370, marble, Ospedale degli Innocenti

he Bargello National Museum is found in the former Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, built in 1255 and in 1287 embellished with a verone, the loggia that opens onto the courtyard where the Podestà assembled the representatives of the guilds.

In 1502, the palace became the seat of the Consiglio di Giustizia, headed by the Bargello or chief of police, and was then used as a prison. In 1865 the palazzo was transformed into a museum of sculpture and examples of the “minor arts”. Some of the greatest sculptures of the Renaissance have found their home here: masterpieces by Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, Cellini and Giambologna. Prestigious collections of small bronzes, majolica-ware, wax pieces, enamel work, medals, ivories, seals, and fabrics, from both the Medici collections and private donations, have enriched the museum’s holdings.

T

summer at the Bargello

the bargello

The sculptures of the Orsanmichele Tabernacles

academies and foundations

Accademia delle Arti del Disegno

Biblioteca Marucelliana

Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale

Aside from its collection of sculpture, painting, tapestry and furniture, the Accademia has a historic archive of documents, printed books and photographs and a library with circa 6,000 volumes and journals, devoted to Tuscan artistic culture from the 19th century to the present day.

opened to the public: 1752 founder: Francesco Marucelli (1625-1703) collection: the core of the collection, which grew as a result of successive acquisition, consists of about 6,000 volumes; since 1911 the library has been the repository for all books published in Florence and its province

opened to the public: 1861, with the unification of the Magliabechiana and Palatina libraries founders: Antonio Magliabechi (Magliabechiana) and Ferdinando III (Palatina) collection: 6,000,000 printed books, 120,000 periodicals, 4,000 incunabula, 25,000 manuscripts, 29,000 cinquecentine and more than 1,000,000 autographs

via Orsanmichele, 4 open: Monday to Friday 9.30-12.30

www.aadfi.it

via Cavour, 43-47 open: Monday to Friday 8.30-19, Saturday 8.30-13.45

Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario Vieusseux

www.maru.firenze.sbn.it

Established in the 19th century, the Gabinetto is still a vital institution in Florence; it organises conferences and events, and is custodian of a rich Library, the Historic Archive and the Archivio Contemporaneo “Alessandro Bonsanti” (Palazzo Corsini Suarez, via Maggio, 42).

Biblioteca Riccardiana

Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi open: Library Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-13.30, Tuesday and Thursday 9-18. Archive Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-14, Tuesday and Thursday 9-14, 15-18. Archivio Contemporaneo Monday, Tuesday and Friday 9-13, Wednesday and Thursday 9-17.30

www.vieusseux.fi.it

opened to the public: after 1659 origin: the collection of Riccardo Romolo Riccardi made in the 16th century collection: 4,450 manuscripts, 5,529 single leaves, 725 incunabula, 3,865 cinquecentine, 20,000 antique printed books, 40,000 modern printed books, 276 drawings via de’ Ginori, 10 open: Monday, Thursday 8-17.30, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8-14

www.riccardiana.firenze.sbn.it

Accademia dei Georgofili

The Accademia has an extraordinary library with over 70,000 volumes ranging from monographs to journals. Permanent and temporary exhibitions bear witness to the wealth of its holdings, unique in the history of agriculture.

Logge degli Uffizi Corti open: Library Monday to Friday 15-18

www.georgofili.it

Accademia della Crusca

From the very beginning, the Accademia welcomed Italian and foreign scholars of various fields of knowledge: grammarians, philologists, writers, poets, scientists, historians, philosophers, jurists and statesmen. The Accademia’s principal work, the Vocabolario (first edition in 1612), made a decisive contribution to the identification and diffusion of the Italian language.

Villa medicea di Castello, via di Castello, 46

www.accademiadellacrusca.it

Accademia Toscana di Scienze e Lettere “La Colombaria” “La Colombaria” houses an archive consisting of manuscripts, incunabula, 16th-century books and letters, and a collection of drawings and prints. The library consists of some 10,000 volumes and includes the Devoto, Ravà, Procissi and Rodolico archives. via Sant’Egidio, 23 open: Monday to Friday 9.30-13.30

The Fondazione’s books (about 36,000 volumes), photos (70,000 items), and art collection (paintings, drawings, engravings, miniatures, and sculptures), plus vast archives, are at the disposal of scholars and students. via Benedetto Fortini, 30 open: Library Monday to Friday 9.30-13, 14-17.30 by appointment

www.fondazionelonghi.it

The Florence Lyceum Club The first Lyceum founded in Italy was based on the model of the women’s clubs opened in 1904 in London, Paris and Berlin. The Club’s first president was Beatrice Pandolfini (née Corsini) who set out courageously to offer cultural experiences that were noteworthy for being open and innovative, such as the first Italian exhibition of the Impressionists (1910).

Palazzo Giugni Fraschetti, via degli Alfani, 48

www.lyceumclubfirenze.net

opened to the public: 1942 origin: 1870, with the collection of Domenico Moreni (1763-1835) collection: about 2,000 manuscripts, 287 boxes containing letters, documents and booklets, 71 incunabula, 952 cinquecentine, 5,126 early printed books, 5,747 modern books, about 10,000 printed public notices, 265 play scripts, maps and drawings via de’ Ginori, 10 open: Monday, Thursday 8-17,15, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8-14

www.provincia.fi.it/ palazzo-medici-riccardi/ biblioteca-moreniana

www.bncf.firenze.sbn.it

exhibitions

1000 anni di Camaldoli: fede arte e storia dell’Ordine Camaldolese 4 April-15 June 2012

Illustrare Pinocchio: l’archivio storico Giunti 7 July-15 October 2012

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana opened to the public: 1571 by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I origin: a collection begun by Cosimo il Vecchio collection: about 11,000 manuscripts, 2,500 papyri, 150 drawers of single leaves, 43 ostraka, 566 incunabula, 1,681 cinquecentine, 592 periodicals and 126,527 printed books piazza San Lorenzo, 9 open: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8-14, Tuesday, Thursday 8-17.30

www.bml.firenze.sbn.it

Biblioteca degli Uffizi opened to the public: 1998 in the restored rooms of the ex Biblioteca Magliabechiana origin: the first public library in Florence, founded by Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine in the mid-18th century collection: 74,000 titles, including 470 manuscripts, 5 incunabula, 192 cinquecentine, 1,445 books from the 17th to the 19th century, 1,136 periodicals Loggiato degli Uffizi open: Tuesday 9-17, Wednesday 9-13.30, Friday 9-13

www.polomuseale.firenze.it www.colombaria.it

Fondazione Roberto Longhi

20

Biblioteca Moreniana

piazza dei Cavalleggeri, 1 open: Monday to Friday 8.15-19, Saturday 8.15-13.30

exhibition

Consilioque manuque.

La chirurgia nei manoscritti della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana until 16 June 2012 The Académie Royale de Chirurgie, with its motto ‘Manu consilioque’, was founded in 1731 and led to the establishment of surgery as an academic discipline. The exhibition, through the manuscripts of the Laurentian Library, recounts the development of surgery, from ancient Greece to the Roman world, and extending to the basin of the Mediterranean.

On display are a fragment of the De Morbis mulierum of Soranus (4th century), the surgical texts of Niketas, written in Constantinople, the Canon medicinae of Avicenna illuminated in Ferrara in the middle of the 15th century, and the French Chirurgia Magna of Lanfranco da Milano. The exhibition is completed by pieces from the Surgery School of Santa Maria Nuova, now part of the University of Florence, and a section dedicated to the physician Antonio Cocchi (1695-1758). open: Monday to Saturday 9.30-13.30 closed: on major holidays

libraries

focus

Biblioteca delle Oblate

Paper memorials: an unusual unpublished manuscript In May 1913 Professor Alfredo Pesci and his assistant and friend Giuseppe Schmidt announced to the Comune di Firenze that they had finally completed a work that summarised “in logical order everything concerning inscriptions, memorials, coats of arms, level marks, etc.”.

The work is divided into four parts: a map of the individual neighbourhoods; churches, oratories and convents; public and private buildings with galleries, museums and theatres; city cemeteries. An “arduous task”, entirely handwritten, made up of many volumes, for whose publication the authors requested of the Comune “moral and pecuniary encouragement”. The years of the risanamento, or reclamation, of Florence had just passed, with the controversial demolitions of the historical centre, documented particularly through the paintings, drawings, photographs and detailed descriptions of some of its opposers. Pesci and Schmidt, also contrary to the operation, wrote: “It is in memorials and in a multitude of inscriptions that history bases itself for an accurate narration of facts: so why not gather together all these memorials when the demolishing pickaxe has sent to the dump inscriptions, coats of arms and other records that now exist only as they are transcribed in our work, for this destruction has been underway for many years?

And others still may also be destroyed by necessary expansion and modernisation”. The city authorities, already involved in the publication of the Stradario storico amministrativo della città, showed no interest in the work and no publisher offered to sustain the printing costs. Only years later, in 1921, did the manuscript appear in the catalogue of Gozzini’s antiquarian bookshop and the librarian of the Biblioteca Comunale purchased it for 1,705 lire, judging it to be a “valuable document for the history and topography of our city”. Today the work, conserved at the Oblate, bound in 24 volumes, with its detailed, prevalently black ink drawings, represents an invaluable testimony of memorials and inscriptions now either permanently lost or illegible. Presently the object of scholarly research, the intention is to make this precious documentation both visible and usable through an on-line project.

opened to the public: 2007, following the restoration of the complex origin: the Biblioteca Comunale Centrale (1913) collection: the section on conservation and local history alone consists of over 50,000 documents via dell’Oriuolo, 26 open: Monday 14-19, Tuesday to Saturday 9-24 (times subject to change)

www.bibliotecadelleoblate.it

activities

Leggere per non dimenticare until May 2012 This is the city’s most important literary event, its success extending to the entire outlying area of the city. Disenchantment is the theme linking the various meetings of this edition in which over 50 of the most important authors on the national scene will be taking part.

Walks in the library The Library periodically organises tours of the building it occupies, the Convent of the Oblate: guided tours shed light on the history of those who lived in the place and on the many services and facilities that the Library now offers its users.

Palazzo Strozzi at the Oblate until December 2012 Meetings and reflections on art intended for an adult public organised simultaneously with the exhibitions organised at Palazzo Strozzi. Younger readers instead can take part in and enjoy the fantastic adventures of the Sezione Bambini e Ragazzi workshops.

21

medici chapels

focus State museum since 1869, the history of the Medici Chapels is tied to the history of the basilica of San Lorenzo to which they belong.

The museum includes the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo, the Chapel of the Princes, a mausoleum in hard stone, the crypt, containing the tombs of the Medici grand dukes and their relatives, and the Lorraine crypt, with the tombs of the Lorraine princes and the funerary monument to Cosimo il Vecchio. The museum also displays items from the Treasury of the basilica of San Lorenzo.

A

piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 6 open: 8.15-16.50 closed: 2nd and 4th Sunday, 1st, 3rd and 5th Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ cappellemedicee

Galleria dei Lavori

As early as 1599 Ferdinando I summoned to Florence specialised craftsmen from Rome for whom he had set up a laboratory at the Uffizi, called the Glleria dei Lavori, a factory for the working of pietre dure, or semiprecious stones. The innovative and refined technique of pietre dure inlay was known about and admired throughout Europe thanks to the gifts sent by Medici rulers to other sovereigns, objects that very soon became highly prized, thus helping to glorify the image of the small yet very wealthy kingdom of Tuscany.

A treasure chest of semi-precious stones, or the desire for immortality: the Cappella dei Principi in Florence A vast treasure chest encrusted with marbles and pietre dure, its resplendent interior forming a startling contrast with the sober exterior: this is the ‘Cappella dei Principi’, the Chapel of the Princes, its great cupola covered with the characteristic red tiles that can be identified in any view of the city owing to its imposing dimensions, smaller in size only to that of Brunelleschi’s cupola from whose form it drew inspiration. This majestic central-plan monument, flanking the presbytery of the Laurentian basilica, is a tangible manifestation of the message that the reigning family wished to convey to citizens and visitors alike: a mausoleum destined to house the mortal remains of members of the Medici family, but also a monument, magnificent in both form and size, that was the expression of a political and cultural grandeur that would outlive the passing of the centuries, bestowing upon them fame and immortality.

The construction The idea of building a third chapel “entirely decorated with mixed marbles and mosaic”, centrally placed in relation to the two sacristies (the ‘Sagrestia Vecchia’ and the ‘Sagrestia Nuova’) of the Laurentian basilica, dates to the time of Cosimo I and sees as protagonist his architect Giorgio Vasari, who in 1566 worked on a model of the chapel. However, the project came to nothing due to the almost simultaneous death of both Cosimo and his architect. It was Ferdinando I who subsequently interpreted and fulfilled his father’s dream: initially the grand duke employed stone-masons to lay in supplies of jaspers and rare marbles from Corsica and the Veronese area to be used in the construction of the mausoleum, and concentrated particularly on the project of a magnificent altar designed by Buontalenti. Only in 1602 was a competition held for the actual building, in which Buontalenti himself and Giovanni de’ Medici took part.

The choice of the latter’s project was in line with the harsh climate of the Counter-Reformation, well rooted also in the director of works, Matteo Nigetti. In 1605 the first stone of the Chapel was laid and from that moment on the documents record a bustling activity of choosing and cutting the semi-precious stones and rare marbles for the decoration of the base. The coats of arms of the cities of Tuscany represent the possessions of the grand duke, his territorial policy as well as his artistic patronage, testified by the refinement and taste of the marble facing inside the mausoleum, destined to shine on for all eternity. It was an extraordinary example of political propaganda, comparable in spirit to the San Lorenzo of the Escorial in Madrid, where the Spanish monarchs lie to rest, the Capuchin Crypt, the mausoleum of the Hapsburgs in Vienna, or the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Saint Petersburg housing the tombs of the Romanov tsars.

medici chapels

The slow decoration The planning of the architecture and its iconographical programme proceeded in fits and starts. Ironically, the huge enthusiasm which accompanied the start of the great enterprise of the mausoleum was matched by the interminable length of its realisation. On the death of Ferdinando I (1609), his son Cosimo II continued the work of construction and built the sarcophagi and the two full-length portraits of the Grand Dukes Ferdinando I and Cosimo II, executed by Pietro and Ferdinando Tacca. Matteo Nigetti was replaced in 1649 by Giovan Battista Balatri, director of works until the time of the rough construction of the cupola in 1654. Troubled years ensued, partly due to financial difficulties, and partly due to the divergent ideas of Cosimo III. Only with Anna Maria Luisa, the last descendant of the Medici dynasty, was the project revived with the building of the outer cupola to designs by Ferdinando Ruggieri, though on the death of the Electress in 1743 the project was again suspended. While from 1821 the Opificio worked on the new project for the altar, between 1827 and 1836 Pietro Benvenuti painted the frescoes in the vault of the cupola commissioned by Leopoldo II. The work of the Opificio would be interrupted once again following the Unification of Italy, when the new government of the Savoy rulers concentrated on the completion of the floor. Later, as the idea of setting up a new Museum of the Medici Chapels took shape, a ministerial decree ordered the sale of both old and modern pieces at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure so that it stopped being a drain and contributed with these sales to filling up the coffers of the new nation state.

Extraordinary pieces were sold off, though the factory remained in existence. In 1873 Edoardo Marchionni became director of the Opificio and of the Museo delle Cappelle Medicee. In 1882 the Opificio was promoted to the status of museum, thus preventing the further dispersion of remarkable pieces and Marchionni began work on the paving of the Chapel, which would be completed only in 1962.

Problems of conservation In 1999, fortunately at a time when the museum was closed, a large piece of marble broke off, corresponding to the keystone of the arch of the chapel to the left of the mausoleum. Immediate security measures were taken and thorough investigations were made into the causes of the incident. An examination of the structure, the foundations and the materials revealed that the problem was less serious than at first expected, although very complex as regards the solution to the problem and undoubtedly extremely demanding financially. From the investiga-

tions it emerged that the facing was composed of blocks of pietra serena 12 centimetres thick, on which panels of polychrome marble three centimetres thick were applied with brackets and rosin. Each panel of the facing, weighing in excess of 100 kilos, is connected to the weightbearing structure with a system of iron tie rods cemented in place with a gypsum-based mortar. The state of conservation of the metal parts in the areas affected by damp caused by infiltrations from the outside leaves little to the imagination; the extensive presence of rust and corrosion had created a widespread precarious situation with the consequent risk of pieces falling. It was therefore necessary to proceed with the dismantling of all the panels comprising the facing in order to verify its state of preservation and proceed with restoration. Having ascertained the cause, a solution was advanced that is a true masterpiece of Italian ingenuity and creativity. The direction of works, masterfully carried out by Vincenzo Vaccaro, chose to employ materials guaranteed to last in time, materials identified through historical study and already tried and tested in ancient Roman constructions. It is clear that the entire area affected by the facing applied in the 18th century is to be restored with this method, work that requires generous financing, in addition to what has already been made available through the funding of the Polo Museale Fiorentino that will ensure continuation of restoration work.

The technique and the didactic project In the past the production of mosaics in pietre dure aroused the interest of sovereigns throughout Europe, which stimulated the making of imitations of the Florentine manufacture. Today this interest is reflected by the thousands of visitors who frequent the museum, which houses supreme masterpieces like the Cappella dei Principi with its crypt and Michelangelo’s ‘Sagrestia Nuova’. The Opificio delle Pietre Dure, which was fundamental in the creation of the Chapel and which later became a museum, has all the didactic and technical requisites necessary for the public to comprehend the development and execution of this precious art. For visitors to the Cappella dei Principi I also believe that it can be useful to show how the magnificent mosaics in pietre dure that can be admired here are made, and it is because of this that soon two 19th-century glass showcases will be set up with didactic materials and a brief explanation in Italian and in English prepared by the Opificio.

Monica Bietti Director of the Medici Chapels

23

galileo museum

he Galileo Museum is heir to a prestigious tradition of scientific collecting that boasts nearly five centuries of history and centres on the importance attributed, by the Tuscan grand dukes, to the protagonists and to the tools of science. It revolves around the figure of Galileo Galilei, authoritative and controversial protagonist of astronomy and modern science. The new arrangement of the museum emphasises the importance of Galileo in the museum’s collections and the research activities that identify the dual function of the Galileo Museum – as an Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, an institute and a museum for the history of science.

T

piazza dei Giudici, 1 open: Wednesday to Monday 9.30-18, Tuesday 9.30-13 closed: 1 January, 6 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 1 November, 8 December, 25 and 26 December

www.museogalileo.it

exhibition

Geometrie dell’illusione.

Ottica tra arte e scienza 23 June-16 September 2012

museum of mathematics

The exhibition features about twenty anamorphic sculptures by Stella Battaglia and Gianni Miglietta, two Florentine artists who have collaborated in forming exhibitions and workshops with the Museo Galileo. Anamorphic works show images which can only be recognised when observed from a fixed point of view or when they are reflected in a mirror. These same images reveal an unexpected appearance, showing distorted or fragmented shapes, when observed from a different point of view. All of these objects are made by strictly applying both the optical and geometrical laws which regulate perspective. Stella Battaglia and Gianni Miglietta’s work – categorically placed in an intermediate zone between art and science – is associated with the tradition of “quadraturismo”, perspective scenographic painting and “material perspective.”

Their artwork is a kind of visual translation of some of the Museo Galileo’s main subjects of research and workshop activities in the field of the history of the science of drawing, starting from the Renaissance with the invention of linear perspective. There is a close connection between these works and the collections of the Museo Galileo, which include scientific instruments and wonderful “toys,” such as the “double portrait” of the Duke of Lorraine Charles III and his daughter Christina, painted by Ludovico Buti in 1593, or the optical trick by Jean-François Niceron.

24

he Giardino di Archimede is a museum, the first of its kind, dedicated entirely to mathematics and its applications. It is organised into a number of interrelated sections, each of which functions as an independent exhibition. The section Oltre il compasso (Beyond the Compass), dedicated to the geometry of curves, is flanked by the section Aiutare la natura: dalle Meccaniche di Galileo alla vita quotidiana (Helping Nature. From Galileo’s Le Meccaniche to Daily Life), in which interactive machines, similar to those developed by Galileo, show that we continue to use such machines today. Un Ponte sul Mediterraneo. Leonardo Pisano, la scienza araba e la rinascita della matematica in Occidente (A bridge on the Mediterranean. Leonardo Pisano, Arab science and the rebirth of mathematics in the West), which highlights Leonardo Fibonacci.

T

via San Bartolo a Cintoia, 19/a open: from 16 May to 30 September Monday to Friday 9-13; from 1 October to 15 May Monday, Wednesday and Friday 913, Tuesday and Thursday 9-13 and 14-17, Sunday 15-19 closed: holidays and August

www.archimede.ms

a section of the museum

A bridge on the Mediterranean.

Leonardo Pisano, Arab science and the rebirth of mathematics in the West At the end of the 12th century, Guglielmo Bonacci, notary of the city of Pisa, took his son Leonardo to the city of Bugia in the Maghreb, and there sent him to learn arithmetic and the use of the abacus. For the young Leonardo this meant the discovery of his vocation, to which he dedicated the rest of his life.

Having learnt all the mathematics he could during many journeys – from which he probably received the surname of Bigollo – all over the Arab Mediterranean world, upon his return to Pisa Leonardo Fibonacci transferred his knowledge in a series of works that for several centuries were without comparison in the Christian West: the broad and more elementary Liber Abaci and the Practica geometriae, the more concise and advanced Flos, the Liber quadratorum and the Epistola ad Magistrum Theodorum. The exhibition is made up of illustrated panels, about thirty works including handwritten reproductions of Fibonacci’s works, other texts of medieval mathematics, publications and studies on Fibonacci from the nineteenth century, and a plastic model reproducing the transfer of the abacus’ schools in the Florence of the late Middle Ages.

from Imperiale e Reale Galleria dei lavori di commesso in pietre dure, 1858 Lined up along the long wall are the 19th-century showcases (lovingly restored and completed, with small curtains in the lower level) containing an extraordinary collection of pietre dure. Here the museum’s dream of classification reaches perfection: the stones are lined up like a book of samples and at the same time like colours from a painter’s palette.

My father worked in a marble factory and one of my first toys was a book of samples that I used to arrange and rearrange endlessly, being careful with the colours, gradually breaking up the individual pieces from Il Museo dell’Opificio a Firenze restaurato da Adolfo Natalini, edited by Adolfo Natalini, 1995

To understand how a Florentine inlay is created one must start with the stones, with their infinitely gay and iridescent colours, since the success of this arduous “stone painting” depends in large part precisely on the right choice of colours. The eye, first and foremost, and then the trained and supple hand of the maker are the essential tools for the crafting of Florentine mosaic, the technical processes of which are of a simplicity inversely proportional to the complexity of the work from Annamaria Giusti, Guida al museo dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure di Firenze, 1995

activities open to the public “effetto restauro” This initiative is designed to show the public some of the most significant works after their restoration or in the course of restoration in the Opificio laboratories. visits to the Restoration Laboratories Guided tours of the Restoration Laboratories in via degli Alfani, the Fortezza da Basso and the workshop for the restoration of the tapestries in Palazzo Vecchio.

For information and reservation

opd.promozioneculturale@beniculturali.it new publications Initiated in 1986, ‘OPD Restauro’ is an annual publication containing the most significant findings following restoration in all fields.

• The second series is now at its 23rd volume (1, 1989-23, 2011) published by Centro Di.

s might be gathered from its unusual name, the origin of the Institute is composite, fruit of an ancient and illustrious tradition and modern, wideranging activity. Founded in 1588 for the manufacture of furnishings using semiprecious stones, in the late 19th century the Opificio changed character, shifting toward restoration. Following the catastrophic flood of November 1966 and the establishment of the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Assets in 1975, the old Medici Opificio and the Restoration Laboratory of the Fine Arts Service were merged to create a single entity. In 2007, the Opificio became an Istituto Centrale and specialised in restoration, applied research and education, subdivided into specific sections including: tapestries, bronzes and antique weapons, paintings on canvas and on panel, wall paintings, works on paper and fibre, stone materials, mosaic and Florentine commesso work, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ work, painted wooden sculptures, ceramics and models, and textiles. The adjacent museum mirrors the history of the centuries of work carried out here, work that included prestigious creations today preserved in palaces and museums throughout Europe. The collection contains pieces of great evocative power and sophistication, outlining the history of the workshop over three centuries, as well as an important collection of antique marbles and semiprecious stones brought together in order to be used for the commesso fiorentino inlay technique.

A

Opificio via degli Alfani, 78; Fortezza da Basso, viale Strozzi, 1; Palazzo Vecchio, Sala delle Bandiere

Museum via degli Alfani, 78; open: Monday to Saturday 8.15-14, from June to November (excluding August) Thursday 8.15-19 closed: Sunday and holidays Information: 055 2651357

www.opificiodellepietredure.it

opificio delle pietre dure and the restoration laboratories

These [exhibition] rooms have been arranged in such a way as to present the samples of stones in their natural state, in the form of pebbles, which we have displayed cut and sawn into slices with the aim of showing the tints and hues they take on after being cut, as well as the effect of those shades of colour which appear in the stones after receiving the final polishing, the last process our works are subjected to

25

the accademia

n 1873 Michelangelo’s David was transferred to the specially designed tribune from piazza della Signoria. The presence of the David, the Prisoners and Saint Matthew indicate that in the 19th century the Gallery was already identifying The new itself as a Michelangelo museum. Yet the reference room Gallery’s main collection is built upon the From 19 March onwards visitors can use a 18th-century collections of the new area set up by the museum director Franca Accademia del Disegno and the Falletti to obtain information on the Gallery’s Accademia di Belle Arti, enriched activities and deepen their knowledge of the with works from the suppressed museum’s artistic treasures. The room on the first floor monasteries. The works collected is equipped with touchscreens providing information on here, in addition to the plaster exhibitions, events, tour itineraries, restoration, and casts, were used as teaching facts and events relating to Michelangelo’s David. From materials for the students of the these computer points one has access to the museum’s Accademia. The holdings comprise website and a database with more detailed mostly paintings by major artists who information on the works on display; also worked in and around Florence available to visitors are Gallery catalogues and publications. This multi-purpose area can between the mid-13th and the late-16th also be used for didactic activities, century. The collection is especially laboratories and study important for its unique paintings on seminars. a gold background, the splendid late-Gothic polyptychs and the collection of Russian icons.

I

Department of Musical Instruments

Also displayed in the Accademia are about 50 musical instruments (17th to 19th century) from the private collections of the Medici and the Lorraine, shown against the splendid backdrop of various paintings representing scenes of the musical life of the Medicean court, panoplies and still lifes with musical instruments. Among them are some remarkable instruments, both for their sound (audible on headphones at the terminals giving information on the musical culture of Florence under the grand dukes) as well as their exquisite workmanship. Among the most precious pieces are the ’cello and tenor viol

by Stradivarius (1690), the only surviving pieces of the Quintetto mediceo that belonged to Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici. via Ricasoli, 58-60 open: Tuesday to Sunday 8.15-18.50 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Art returns to Art is an expression Luciano Fabro coined for a series of lectures he held between 1981 and 1997. Taking this expression as the title of an exhibition means embracing the principle that all of art unfolds from a single root in a continuous flow, in the different areas of our culture, though with a different pace over time and despite the inevitable fractures that mark its development. The persistence of models and forms is the very essence of art history, of its languages and its visual and plastic character; in the work of the great artists, this approach of mediation and reformulation of the sources does not lead to empty nostalgic evocations, but instead goes well beyond the praxis of the ‘copy’, of the d’après and of the quotation, and generates profoundly innovative creations. This exhibition therefore considers history and iconology as vibrant forms of belonging, for a language still full of possibilities of interpretation, through the works of highly significant artists: Louise Bourgeoise, Francis Bacon, Antonio Catelani, Martin Creed, Gino De Dominicis, Marcel Duchamp, Luciano Fabro, Hans Peter Feldmann, Gilbert and George, Antony Gormley, Yves Klein, Sol Le Witt, Eliseo Mattiacci, Piet Mondrian, Olaf Nicolai, Luigi Ontani, Giulio Paolini, Claudio Parmiggiani, Giuseppe Penone, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alfredo Pirri, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, Alberto Savinio, Fiona Tan, Thomas Struth, Bill Viola, and Andy Warhol.

museo degli innocenti

The MUDI is closed for works from the month of June 2012

T

26

8 May-4 November 2012

communication from the museum

he history of the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence began in 1419 with the foundation of the Spedale, or foundling hospital, by the Silkweavers Guild, thanks to a bequest from Francesco di Marco Datini, a merchant of Prato. The intention was to “begin a new place […] which will nourish children and allow them to grow up”. Culture and beauty have always been an integral part of the social and educational function of the Istituto degli Innocenti. The modernity of the Renaissance architecture and a new concept of child care were closely linked in the structure designed by Brunelleschi. The museum – housing works such as the Adoration of the Magi by Domenico Ghirlandaio, a Virgin and Child by Luca della Robbia, the Virgin and Saints by Piero di Cosimo, and a splendid Virgin and Child by Sandro Botticelli – is located in the gallery, originally designed as the children’s living quarters, above the portico which enhances the façade.

www.istitutodeglinnocenti.it

Arte torna arte

For the programme of side events including conferences, meetings with artists, concerts and performances: www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/accademia

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/accademia

piazza della Santissima Annunziata, 12 open: every day 10-19 closed: 1 January, 25 December

exhibition

Workshops for families see p. 57

exhibition

Figli d’Italia. Gli Innocenti e la nascita di un progetto nazionale per l’infanzia (1861-1911) until 3 June 2012 Through videos, objects, documents and period photographs, the exhibition recounts the daily life of 15 children who lived at the Ospedale degli Innocenti and in other Italian foundling homes between 1861 and 1911. The exhibition starts from the last years the finestra ferrata was in use and from the time of its closure which marked the end of anonymous abandonment (1875), illustrating the development of the areas and functions of the Foundling Hospital and other institutions and relating historical events with the moving biographies of children whose personal experiences tell us not only of abandonment but also of journeys, reunions with families and the creation of new emotional ties and relations. The exhibition also includes the remarkable video documentary of Rina, now a centenarian, who lived in the institution in the early years of the 20th century and was later adopted by a Tuscan family.

archaeological museums

Museo Archeologico Nazionale events The museum is participating in events promoted by MiBAC and local organisations, with exceptional openings, exhibitions, conferences and study days Exceptional openings on Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May and 15 August Culture Week (14-22 April) European Museum Night (12 May) Le Notti dell’Archeologia (July 2012) Festa della Rificolona (7 September) Giornate Europee del Patrimonio (29-30 September) Festa di Santa Reparata (8 October)

In 1881 the museum was transferred to the 17th-century Palazzo della Crocetta, built for Cosimo II’s sister, Maria Maddalena de’ Medici. Over time it has acquired masterpieces from the Medici and Lorraine collections and fine examples of art from the Greek, Etruscan and Roman periods, flanked by the important Egyptian Museum collection. Among the large bronzes not to be missed are the Chimera, found near Arezzo in 1553, and the Etruscan Aule Meteli, known as L’Arringatore. The collection of rare figured ceramics is equally prestigious and includes the large black figure François Vase (c. 570 BC). In the area of stone work is a collection of marble sculptures and an important group of rare Etruscan funerary artefacts, with urns from the areas around Chiusi and Volterra and stone and marble sarcofagi, including the famous Amazon sarcophagus (4th century BC). The Egyptian Museum of Florence, second only in Italy to the Turin museum, is also housed here. It is made up of Medici and Lorraine collections and from 1880 was further enriched by Ernesto Schiaparelli, private donors and scientific institutions.

Adjacent to the museum is a delightful garden which can be visited on Saturday mornings.

piazza della Santissima Annunziata, 9/b open: Monday 14-19, Tuesday and Thursday 8.30-19, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8.30-14 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.archeotoscana.beniculturali.it

exhibition

Ventagli ad arte project by Luisa Moradei 20 April-30 September 2012 The theme of the exhibition is suggested by the presence in the museum of two precious Etruscan flabella (fans) and other finds on which this ‘cooling’ accessory appears. Classical iconography is in fact rich in flabella, as can be seen in Attic and Italiot vase painting and in Etruscan and Roman sarcophagi. The works produced for the occasion by about 60 of the major contemporary Italian artists represent the fan in a new light, giving it back an artistic identity, and reinterpreting classical forms in ways that range from painting and sculpture to the goldsmith’s art, textiles, and even the experimental expression of fibre-optic materials. Other archeological finds are also exhibited whose iconography includes fans or flabella.

The “Paolo Graziosi” Florentine Museum and Institute of Prehistory Created in 1946, the museum brings together, classifies and conserves the prehistoric collections once scattered throughout the city of Florence. The library consists of about 3,000 volumes. via Sant’Egidio, 21 open: Monday 14-17, Tuesday and Thursday 9.30-16.30, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 9.30-12.30 closed: 1 January, Easter and Easter Monday, 1 May, week of the 15 August, 24-26 and 31 December

Parco Archeologico di Carmignano

Villa Corsini

The new centre of archaeology brings together in a single system the Archaeological Museum at Artimino and the various Etruscan sites of the area. The four main sites in the Archaeological Park are the Artimino necropolis at Prato Rosello, the fortified settlement of Pietramarina, the Tumulus of Montefortini and the Tomba dei Boschetti at Comeana. The Archaeological Museum at Artimino exhibits a collection of finds discovered in the area of Carmignano and arranged according to topographical and chronological criteria in two sections dedicated to the “world of the living” and the “world of the dead”.

Villa Corsini, on the western outskirts of Florence in the Castello district, was donated to the Italian State in 1968. The villa was used for storage by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Toscana and has now been completely restored to display an important group of antique sculptures, including the Arianna dormiente and the recently restored Apollo saettante. The Antiquarium shows the results of research on objects found locally, dating from the Iron Age to the Roman period.

www.museofiorentinopreistoria.it Archaeological Museum at Artimino piazza San Carlo, Artimino (Prato) open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-13 and 15-18 closed: Easter, 15 August, 25 December

www.parcoarcheologicocarmignano.it

via della Petraia, 38 open: Saturday and Sunday 9.30-13 closed: 1 January, 25 and 26 December

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/ musei/villacorsini

27

columns and obelisks

The oldest columns scattered throughout the urban fabric of Florence trace their origins to the medieval tradition of erecting architectural elements to mark the intersection of roads, to commemorate important events, military victories and miraculous facts that had taken place in the city. At the height of the Renaissance they continued to have a historical and religious importance, although they also celebrated the ruling family, being the keystone of that overall design for renewing the city’s image carried out by the first grand dukes with a taste for the antique. Egyptian obelisks that had been brought to Italy in the Roman period, whose forms and monumental significance were taken up again in the new columns commissioned after the unification of Italy to qualify Florence’s urban spaces, are also referrable to that same revival of antiquity.

Obelisks of Santa Maria Novella from 1563, on 23 June, the chariot race known as the Palio dei cocchi was run in this square. The limits of the circuit were marked by wooden posts, which in 1608 were replaced by the two obelisks in mixed marble of Seravezza (or breccia medicea). These large ‘spires’, which had been quarried in 1570 under the supervision of Ammannati, rest on four bronze tortoises, probably the work of Giambologna. The sandstone bases are the result of an 18th-century restoration, while the red marble panels of the bases date from the 1960s.

Column of the Croce al Trebbio it is said that the column was erected in 1338 in memory of the victory of 1244 of the knights of Santa Maria (captained by the Dominican Pietro da Verona, later Saint Peter the Martyr) over the Cathar heretics. From the circular stone seat rises the column in oriental grey granite terminating in the capital with the symbols of the Evangelists. The column is surmounted by a crucifix, protected by a small roof and accompanied by the figure of Saint Peter the Martyr. The Latin inscription at the base records the date the column was erected to replace the previous one wanted by Saints Zenobius and Ambrose. between via del Trebbio and via delle Belle Donne

piazza di Santa Maria Novella

Column of Justice the old column in oriental grey granite from the Baths of Caracalla was donated to the Medici family by Pope Pius IV and arrived in Florence from Rome on 27 September 1563 after a journey lasting over a year.

It was erected two years later, as part of the decorations for the entrance into Florence of Joan of Austria as wife of Francesco I. The column, which evokes a classical style monument, was later given a base, its capital in white Pietrasanta marble and its pedestal in breccia medicea. The statue of Justice in red porphyry was made by Francesco and Romolo del Tadda and mounted in 1581. piazza di Santa Trinita

Column of San Felice in the 15th century the square had a column, which at some uncertain time later disappeared. The present column, in breccia medicea, wanted by Cosimo I, was placed here in 1572: the operations of quarrying and transportation of the great monolith required the supervision of Bartolomeo Ammannati. Because of its huge size the column broke in two during its erection and it was necessary to join the two pieces together with braces. It was also supposed to have been crowned by a sculpture representing Religion, but in the end remained unfinished. Removed in 1838 on the wishes of Leopoldo II, it was repositioned in the square only in 1992. piazza di San Felice

28

Illustration by Inklink Firenze and Roberto Innocenti. © NexusCom S.R.L. for Alessandro Rabatti

Column of Santa Felicita the tradition linking the column in oriental grey granite to the memory of the conflict between the Cathars and the militias of Pietro da Verona (1244) derives from the image of the friar, placed here in the 15th century, together with the Corinthian capital, by Amerigo de’ Rossi. His descendants in the 18th century replaced the clay statue with a new figure of the friar in stone, the work of Antonio Montauti. Damaged in 1944, the column was later partially reassembled and repositioned in loco. piazza di Santa Felicita

the obelisk was erected in 1882 to commemorate the Tuscan volunteers who fell in the three Wars of Independence. It was made by Giovanni Pini, and reaches a height of 15 m, alternating pietra lavica (the base, base of the lower pedestal and shaft) and pietraforte (moulded pedestals), to which plaques and other commemorative elements in bronze and marble are attached. One of the more important pieces of urban decoration linked to the age of the Risorgimento, it is the starting point for celebratory processions on 25 April, 2 June and 11 August. piazza dell’Unità Italiana

Column of San Zanobi

the column has a white marble base and oriental cipollino marble shaft, crowned by a leafy ferrule and stone cross, and was erected on the exact spot where a miraculous event is said to have taken place.

During the transfer of the relics of bishop Saint Zenobius from the church of San Lorenzo to the cathedral of Santa Reparata, a withered elm tree was knocked by the saint’s sarcophagus and immediately sprouted foliage. The column was set up here in 1334, replacing the original granite column which collapsed during the flood of 1333.

Saracene columns the two large porphyry columns were brought from Majorca by the Pisans following their campaign of conquest against the Muslims in 1113.

The columns were a gift to the Florentines in recognition of their defence of Pisa against the offensive of Lucca during the Balearic campaign.

piazza San Giovanni

piazza San Giovanni set against the east façade of the Baptistery

Column “dell’Abbondanza” set up in 1431, this column made of grey granite from Elba was surmounted by Donatello’s Abundance in pietra serena. A bell attached to the shaft marked the opening and closing times of the market that took place in the square. At the bottom of the column two chains and a metal collar were used to expose swindlers and insolvent debtors at the stocks. In 1722 the Abundance, reduced to fragments, was replaced by a similar statue

by Giovan Battista Foggini. Dismantled during the 19th-century demolition of the historic centre, only in 1956 was the column repositioned in the square, surmounted by a sandstone copy of Abundance, executed by Mario Moschi.

columns and obelisks

Obelisk in piazza dell’Unità

piazza della Repubblica

Obelisk of Boboli the Egyptian obelisk in red granite from Aswan was placed in the amphitheatre on the wishes of Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine (1790), on a base with bronze tortoises made by Gasparo Maria Paoletti; in the first half of the 19th century Pasquale Poccianti added a fountain with a granite basin, it too coming from Rome. The obelisk was previously on the Pincio hill in the garden of Villa Medici; it had been taken to Rome in the 1st century BC and in the 16th century was bought by Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici. The hieroglyphics carved onto the obelisk mention the god Atum and refer to the reign of Ramesses II (13th century BC).

Boboli Gardens, amphitheatre

29

civic museums

he Musei Civici Fiorentini are made up of a varied and comprehensive group of collections. Their function is to preserve and exhibit the rich heritage of Florentine art, encouraging its enjoyment by the general public.

Belonging to this cultural patrimony are some of the most important Florentine churches, religious buildings and numerous collections donated by collectors, artists and city institutions.

T

www.museicivicifiorentini.it

focus

Palazzo Vecchio Palazzo Vecchio was built in 1299 as the seat of the standard bearer and ‘priore’ and became a ducal residence in the mid-16th century when Cosimo de’ Medici moved his court there. A tour includes the Michelozzo courtyard, the Salone dei Cinquecento, the Apartments of Leo X and of Eleonora di Toledo, the Sala degli Elementi, the Studiolo of Francesco I. Not to be missed are Verrocchio’s Putto, Donatello’s Judith, Michelangelo’s Genius of Victory and works by Vasari, Ghirlandaio, Salviati and Bronzino. piazza della Signoria open: from October to March Friday to Wednesday 9-19, Thursday 9-14; from April to September Friday to Wednesday 9-24, Thursday 9-14 Extraordinary openings on special occasions closed: 25 December

Traces of Florence. Palazzo Vecchio tells the story of the city

From 26 March in Palazzo Vecchio we find Tracce di Firenze, a new exhibition area situated on the ground floor of the building, in two rooms accessible from the Cortile della Dogana. This new section offers an overview of the historical evolution of Florence in terms of urban planning, urban landscape, society and culture, through the permanent display of a selection of engravings, drawings and paintings that document the city’s appearance over the centuries and a section dedicated to temporary exhibitions on themes relating to local history. Tracce di Firenze, taking material from the collections of the ex historical/topographical museum “Firenze com’era”, is a first step in the reorganisation of existing testimonies relating to the history of Florence, an encouragement for a possible future Museo della Città within Palazzo Vecchio, a place destined to be used increasingly and enjoyed as a museum in accordance with the building’s recent Piano Unitario di Valorizzazione. Palazzo Vecchio has thus been enriched with a new image display area that focuses on ‘traces’ of the history of the city as urbs (urban form) and as civitas (political, social and cultural identity). The permanent section includes various cornerstones of the iconography of Florence, including the striking pictorial reproduction of the Veduta della Catena and the celebrated perspective view of Stefano Buonsignori, and numerous works by important artists, including Livio Mehus, Thomas Patch, Giuseppe Zocchi, Lorenzo Gelati and Giovanni Signorini. In 2012 the temporary section is featuring La Firenze di Ottone Rosai, a collection of six canvases and four sketches donated to the Comune in 1963 by the artist’s widow and until now inaccessible to the public.

photo Francesca Anichini

www.museicivicifiorentini.it/ palazzovecchio

30

The ‘Palazzo dei Fiorentini’ 1 April, 13 May, 10 June, 9 September 2012 Special opening times for people born and/or resident in Florence and the Florentine province.

As well as free admission to and guided activities at Palazzo Vecchio (from 9 to 24), it is also possible to visit the Museo Bardini (from 11 to 17), and the Fondazione Salvatore Romano (from 10 to 16) free of charge. To participate visitors will need the free ‘Un bacione a Firenze’ card, available at the Ufficio per le Relazioni con il Pubblico booking necessary 055 2768224/2768558 info.museoragazzi@comune.fi.it Detailed programme on www.museicivicifiorentini.it

Silvia Colucci and Serena Pini Curators

The archaeological excavations in the ground below Palazzo Vecchio brought to light the remains of a Roman theatre (1st-2nd century AD). A series of galleries and walkways makes it possible to visit the fascinating vestiges of the ancient monument and the later medieval stratifications.

Guided visits by appointment only. The excavations are partially accessible to disabled visitors not in wheelchairs (and accompanied by carers), and are not accessible to children younger than 8 for safety reasons.

For information and booking: 055 2768224/2768558 info.museodeiragazzi@comune.fi.it

www.palazzovecchio-museoragazzi.it

Foundation Salvatore Romano

Museo del Bigallo

Museo Stefano Bardini

This museum takes its name from the Greater Company of Saint Mary of Bigallo.

It houses 14th century frescoes, including the Madonna della Misericordia from 1342, which contains the first known image of Florence, and priceless 14th and 15th century paintings, including a triptych by Daddi, paintings by Domenico di Michelino and the Master of San Miniato, and sculptures by the architect of the Loggia, Master Alberto Arnoldi.

Stefano Bardini (1854-1922) created a museum in the building he bought in 1881 to house his antiques’ business. The recent renovation entirely reflects the character of the collection as it was when Bardini left it to the city of Florence in 1922. Among more than 2,000 paintings, sculptures and objects in the applied arts are Tino da Camaino’s Charity, Donatello’s Madonna dei Cordai, Antonio del Pollaiolo’s Michael Archangel, Guercino’s Atlas and Pietro Tacca’s famous bronze Porcellino. There is also an interesting collection of medallions, bronzes, oriental carpets, 15th-century marriage chests and the precious armoury.

piazza San Giovanni, 1 open: Monday to Saturday 10.30-16.30, Sunday 10.30-13.30 Admission every hour, only by appointment, with tour guide 055 288496 bigallo@comune.fi.it closed: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

www.comune.fi.it

The museum in the historic refectory of the monastery of Santo Spirito houses sculptures, architectural fragments and wall paintings, mainly medieval, donated to the city in 1946 by the antiquarian Salvatore Romano. piazza Santo Spirito, 29 open: Saturday to Monday 10-16 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.museicivicifiorentini.it/romano

Brancacci Chapel The 13th-century church of Santa Maria del Carmine houses the Brancacci Chapel, the masterpiece universally known for the frescoes of the cycle illustrating the Life of Saint Peter by Masaccio and Masolino.

Executed in the years 1425-1427, the frescoes remained unfinished and were completed by Filippino Lippi between 1481 and 1482. A visit to the museum also includes the cloister and the Sala del Cenacolo housing the Last Supper by Alessandro Allori. piazza del Carmine, 14 open: Monday and Wednesday to Saturday 10-17; Sunday and mid-week holidays 13-17 closed: 1 January, 7 January, Easter, 1 May, 1 July, 15 August, 25 December

www.museicivicifiorentini.it/brancacci

Santa Maria Novella Museum The museum includes the cloisters decorated between the 14th and the 15th century – including the Chiostro Verde with important work by Paolo Uccello –, the Cappellone degli Spagnoli (Spanish Chapel), decorated with frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto, the Cappella degli Ubriachi and the Refectory with the late 16thcentury work of Alessandro Allori. piazza Santa Maria Novella open: Friday to Monday 10-16 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.museicivicifiorentini.it/smn

The former home and studio of Rinaldo Carnielo (1853-1910) and the Collezioni del Novecento, that includes the Alberto Della Ragione Collection, the FeiRosai and the Palazzeschi donations, are temporarily closed.

civic museums

The Roman Theatre of Florence (Palazzo Vecchio)

via dei Renai, 37 open: Friday to Monday 11-17; group booking Tuesday to Thursday closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.museicivicifiorentini.it/bardini

focus

Art forms for the Florentine imagination: the Stefano Bardini and Bigallo Museums, two works, one legend

There’s no point going into the obscure origins of popular legend, nothing emerges from the historical texts to explain the reasons that led the Confraternita del Bigallo and Bernardo Vecchietti to represent the devil in two emblems inextricably linked to the cultural and social history of Florence. Painted on the façade of the Loggia del Bigallo are two frescoes by Ventura di Moro and Rossello di Jacopo Franchi, datable to the middle of the 15th century. On the right-hand fresco, the better preserved, we see Saint Peter the Martyr preaching to a crowd and a black horse galloping on the horizon. The image alludes to a popular legend that told of the saint preaching in the public square, and the sudden appearance of a runaway black horse that hurtled into the crowd. Saint Peter the Martyr recognised in the horse a manifestation of the devil and, with the sign of the cross, succeeded in warding it off. It was popularly believed that the point at which the horse disappeared was the corner of Palazzo Vecchietti, for which, three centuries later, Bernardo Vecchietti asked Giambologna to make a little devil in the guise of a flagbearer. The sculpture, today at the Museo Stefano Bardini, portrays in the fine forms rendered by Giambologna all the magic and fantasy associated with the mysteries of nature. Devil or satyr? Undoubtedly for the Florentines of that time the black shadow of the mad horse and the sinister expression of the Diavolino must have produced more than a shudder of fear, especially among the dim shadows of the candle-lit night.

Antonella Nesi Curator of the Museo Stefano Bardini

works on loan from City museums and collections from the Museo Stefano Bardini • Desiderio da Settignano, Gesù Bambino benedicente in: Illegio (Udine), Casa delle Esposizioni for the exhibition: I bambini e il cielo.

L’età divina dell’uomo from 28 April to 30 September 2012 from the Collezioni del Novecento • 67 paintings; 13 sculptures in: Viareggio, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea ‘Lorenzo Viani’ for the exhibition: Il Novecento nelle collezioni civiche di Firenze from 26 May to 25 November 2012

from the church of San Salvatore al Monte • Giovanni dal Ponte, Maria Vergine con il Divin Fanciullo in: Florence, the Uffizi for the exhibition: Bagliori dorati.

Il gotico internazionale a Firenze 1375-1440 from 19 June to 4 November 2012 from the church of Santa Maria Novella Reliquary bust of a Saint in: Florence, the Uffizi for the exhibition: Bagliori dorati.

Il gotico internazionale a Firenze 1375-1440 from 19 June to 4 November 2012

31

palazzo medici riccardi

alazzo Medici Riccardi, a stone’s throw from the Duomo, is one of the most interesting palaces in the heart of Florence, both in its architecture and decoration, and in the cultural initiatives offered by the provincial administration, based in the palace. The museum includes Michelozzo’s courtyard, Benozzo Gozzoli’s Cappella dei Magi, the Gallery with frescoes by Luca Giordano, and the Marbles Museum.

P

via Cavour, 3 open: every day 9-19 closed: Wednesday

richard ginori museum

www.palazzo-medici.it www.provincia.fi.it

exhibition

Le stanze dei tesori.

Meraviglie dei collezionisti nei musei di Firenze until 15 April 2012

The Marbles Museum In the underground room, on the north side of the garden, the premises have been arranged for the display of a group of sculptures from the ancient world, selected from the 160 works of the Riccardi collection. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the collection created by the able banker and refined humanist Riccardo Riccardi (1558-1612) was one of the most important in Florence. It found a home in Palazzo Medici in via Larga, purchased by the family in 1659. The marbles remained here following the economic ruin of the family, when the

he historic collections of the ancient Doccia ceramics factory are on show in the Museo RichardGinori in a building that is one of the finest examples of early1960s Tuscan architecture. The Richard-Ginori name identifies the two dynasties that guided the manufacturing enterprise: the Ginori in the 18th century – the Doccia ceramics factory was founded by Carlo Ginori in 1737 – and the Richard, from 1896 to about 1960. This hidden treasure at the gates of Florence, not to be missed by aficionados of the decorative arts and design, contains enormous sculptures in white porcelain, rare wax impressions of models by Giovan Battista Foggini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, 18th-century fancy articles, majolica-ware garden seats, Liberty vases, ceramics signed

by Gio Ponti, prototypes by well-known designers, and so very much more.

T

viale Pratese, 31, Sesto Fiorentino open: Wednesday to Saturday 10-13 and 14-18

www.museodidoccia.it

building passed into the hands of the Tuscan state in 1814. The 22 busts were selected and cleaned for the exhibition Volti di marmo (2001-2002) and now form a permanent museum of ancient sculpture in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. The exhibition aims to give visitors an idea of the quality of the collection, which comprised copies of Greek originals such as the Riccardi athlete, the bust of Heracles as well as rare examples of portraiture such as the bust of a child and the bust of Sabina, one of the finest portraits of the wife of the Emperor Hadrian.

The exhibition honours the period when educated and prosperous Anglo-Saxons chose Florence as the ideal home. In the 19th and 20th century people like Bardini, Volpi, Loeser, the Actons, Stibbert, Temple Leader and Horne bought and furnished, with eclectic taste, villas and palazzi, which some among them later gave to the city along with their art collections. www.stanzedeitesori.it

exhibition

Urbano Lucchesi: mondo rurale e soggetti di fantasia nelle maioliche Ginori di fine Ottocento until 14 April 2012 The first exhibition dedicated to the maiolicas of the recently rediscovered sculptor who was the artistic director of the Doccia Factory from about 1880 to 1900. The museum has recently acquired a nucleus of works that are on display to the public for the first time: more than fifty pieces, including majolicas, porcelains, plaster casts and watercolours with subjects inspired by the world of fantasy or the rural environment.

medici villas

Villa medicea di Cerreto Guidi

Villa medicea di Castello

original owner: Cosimo I de’ Medici. architecture: the villa was built in 1556 as a hunting residence and garrison for the area, to a plan attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti. to see: became a museum in 1978 and houses furniture and portraits of members of the Medici family (16th and 17th century); since 2002 it has housed a Historic Museum of Hunting and the Countryside.

original owner: Lorenzo and Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (from 1477). modified by: Cosimo I de’ Medici. architecture: the villa is one of the oldest Medici family suburban residences, altered, with its garden, in the 16th century, under the supervision of Tribolo, Vasari and Buontalenti. to see: the terraced garden, considered by Vasari to be one of the most magnificent in Europe, is well worth the visit, as are Ammannati’s Fountain of Hercules and Antaeus and the Grotta degli Animali.

via dei Ponti Medicei, 7, Cerreto Guidi open: every day, 8.15-19 closed: 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

via di Castello, 47, Castello open: from November to February 8.15-16.30, in March 8.15-17.30, in April, May, September, October 8.15-18.30, from June to August 8.15-19.30 closed: 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ cerretoguidi

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ villacastello

Villa medicea di Poggio a Caiano photo Francesca Anichini

original owner: Lorenzo il Magnifico. architecture: the villa was built to a plan by Giuliano da Sangallo and reflects the humanist trends in architecture inspired by classical antiquity (1485-1492); the building was completed in the first half of the 16th century under Giovanni, then Pope Leo X. to see: frescoes by Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, Franciabigio and Alessandro Allori.

Parco mediceo di Pratolino Villa Demidoff

piazza Medici, 14, Poggio a Caiano open: every day, from November to February 8.1516.30, in March and October 8.15-17.30 (official summer time 18.30), in April, May, September 8.1518.30, from June to August 8.15-19.30 closed: 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ poggiocaiano

Still Life Museum The first Still Life Museum in Italy exhibits, in the rooms of the Villa medicea di Poggio a Caiano, around two hundred paintings dating from the 16th to the 18th century and belonging to the Medici collections.

Reservation required 055 877012 Accompanied visits (not guided), every hour, begin at 9 (excluding lunchtime between 13 and 14)

The new Sala del Fregio From 3 March a new room is open to the public.

It takes its name from the splendid frieze in polychrome terracotta (c.1490) that was originally on the façade. Also on display are a tapestry, La caccia al cigno (1577-1578), by Benedetto Squilli to a design by Alessandro Allori, and a modern wood model showing Giuliano da Sangallo’s original plan for the villa. Temporarily on display is an important painting, recently restored, showing the Medici family tree, lent by the Compagnia dei Buonomini di San Martino in Florence.

Villa medicea della Petraia original owner: the Brunelleschi family; the Strozzi family. modified by: Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici. architecture: the building came into the possession of Ferdinando in the second half of the 16th century and was modified by Giulio Parigi in the 17th century. to see: the interior decoration and 19thcentury furnishings and interesting decoration; the ballroom with frescoes by Volterrano (17th century); the formal garden planned by Niccolò Tribolo and the fountain with Giambologna’s Fiorenza, transferred from the Villa di Castello.

original owner: the Medici family. modified by: Francesco I de’ Medici (1568); Ferdinando III of Lorraine (1819); Leopoldo II of Lorraine (1837); Paolo Demidoff (1870). Acquired by the Florentine provincial administration in 1981, destined for public use. architecture: the Medici Villa, designed by Bernardo Buontalenti and demolished in 1822, was inside a large park that, with its water games, automatons and fountains, was imitated all over Europe. The existing Villa Demidoff was adapted from the paggeria while the transformation of the garden into an English park was carried out

by Joseph Fritsch in the Lorraine period. to see: the park with its centuries-old trees; the Colossus of the Apennines and the Mugnone grotto (Giambologna), the Cupid grotto (Buontalenti, 1577) the Casino di Montili (Cambray Digny, c. 1820) and the chapel on a hexagonal plan (Buontalenti, 1580).

via della Petraia, 40, Castello open: every day, from November to February 8.15-16.30, in March 8.15-17.30, in April, May, September, October 8.15-18.30, from June to August 8.15-19.30 closed: 2nd and 3rd Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

via Fiorentina, 282, Pratolino, Comune di Vaglia open: from April to October. In April and October, Sunday and holidays 10-17; in May and September, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10-18; from June to August, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10-19. The opening of the park is subject to weather conditions.

Groups of residents and visitors can request to see the central area of the park on days when the park is generally closed: parcpra@provincia.fi.it 055 409427

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/petraia

www.provincia.fi.it/pratolino

33

palazzo strozzi

alazzo Strozzi is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture. It was commissioned by the Florentine merchant Filippo Strozzi and the foundations were laid in 1489 according to a design perhaps by Benedetto da Maiano. The palazzo was finished in 1538. It remained the property of the Strozzi family until 1937. In 2006 the City of Florence, the Province, the Chamber of Commerce and an association of private partners joined forces to create the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi with the task of managing the public spaces of the Palazzo. Palazzo Strozzi hosts two major exhibitions annually, and is open year-round with a permanent exhibition on the history of the palazzo.

P

piazza Strozzi open: every day 9-20, Thursday 9-23

www.palazzostrozzi.org

500 years after the death of Amerigo Vespucci, this exhibition sets out to celebrate the ties between the Old and New Worlds, between Europe and the United States, by telling the story of the legendary cosmopolitan circle of artists and intellectuals who travelled to Florence from America in the late 19th and early 20th century. The exhibition celebrates the strong ties between the American Impressionists and Italy, and in particluar with Florence, from the final decades of the nineteenth century. Italy represented an irresistible attraction in Europe, particularly after the American Civil War, and continued to exercise its power to the beginning of the 20th century. 32 American artists who worked in Florence are represented in the six sections of the exhibition – some very well-known like John Singer Sargent, others less wellknown and seen here for the first time in Italy – together with Florentine and Tuscan painters who came closest to the sophisticated manner, so rich in literary allusions, favoured and nurtured by this exclusive cosmopolitan colony. Represented in the exhibition are the precursors – masters for generations of young painters – including William Morris Hunt, John La Farge and Thomas Eakins. They are followed by the ‘expats’ in Europe, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, who could boast of a sparkling cosmopolitan background. The heart of the exhibition comprises paintings on Florentine themes painted by several members of the American group closest to Impressionism, the ‘Ten American Painters’, whose number included William Merritt Chase and Frederick Childe Hassam. Franck Duveneck, along with his wife Elizabeth Boott Duveneck, also played an important role in relations between American and Tuscan artists, forming a group of pupils known as the ‘Duveneck boys’. The lives and careers of Americans artists in Florence were also inextricably entwined with those of their fellow Americans in the city, the intellectuals, writers and art critics: Gertrude Stein, Mabel Dodge, Bernard Berenson, the brothers Henry and William James, Egisto Fabbri and his family, Mabel Hooper La Farge, Bancel La Farge, Charles Loeser, and Edith Wharton. The American colony, while living isolated from the local population, took on the lessons of the most modern of contemporary Italian painting and had something of an impact on Italian artists and intellectuals; they introduced a refined and cosmopolitan way of life and, in relation to women, freer and less prejudiced attitudes.

Americans in Florence Sargent and the American Impressionists curated by Francesca Bardazzi and Carlo Sisi 3 March-15 July 2012

34

Families at Palazzo Strozzi activities for families on the occasion of the exhibition see pp. 54-56

events linked to the exhibition

Room with a View Sargent’s The Hotel Room opens the first section focusing on the places where the Americans’ daily life was played out in Florence: the hotel, their first encounter with the city; the market place, a discovery for the Americans, with its hubbub, colours, and smells; the villas in the hills, places far from the confusion of the city and in contact with nature.

Young and old at Palazzo Strozzi A rich programme of events, lectures, courses and other activities to explore diverse ways of artistic expression, in particular painting, poetry, theatre, literature, dance and cinema

Americans in Florence A gallery of self-portraits and portraits of American artists, intellectuals, writers and art critics, who spent time in Florence. Among them, the Portrait of Chase, painted by Frank Duveneck in 1876, exemplifies a widespread practice of exchanging portraits by artists who had shared common experiences. The faces of the exhibition’s leading players are complemented by drawings and illustrations showing the villas and gardens which they frequented during their stay in Florence.

The Circle of Egisto Fabbri: Scholars and Painters This section seeks to recreate the intellectual and spiritual climate that characterised the circle of Egisto Fabbri – a painter and collector of Italian origin who was born in New York – as an example of other American circles in the city. The section illustrates the academic curriculum of the painters of his generation, initially little inclined to accept the lure of Impressionist painting, and their later overtures to modern European trends. On display are portraits of members of America’s most influential families, painted by American painters who had been influenced by contact with modern European art, comparing these with portraits painted by Boldini, Corcos and Gordigiani. A number of female portraits complete this section, showing the desire for emancipation so widely held by American women of the day.

The Image of Florence and Tuscany Panoramic views of the city and countryside and other areas in Tuscany of which the American artists were especially enamoured, these painted visions reflect the literary transfigurations evinced in novels.When the American painters immersed themselves in that idealised countryside, they were confronted with the unexpected task of having to compare its sense of measure and its elegance with the boundless and unbridled nature of their homeland. Their work is in dialogue with the work of Tuscan artists, showing several clear affinities with them: Signorini’s Morning in Pietramala is juxtaposed with Sargent’s Oxen, Carrara The Cult of the Renaissance The cult of the Renaissance was celebrated with particular devotion by the Anglo-Saxon colony; here are works that attest to a passion for the Old Masters, studied and copied by ‘sentimental travellers’, like the study of Michelangelo’s Night copied by the young Sargent.

America through the Lens of Painting and Literature The last section takes the visitor across the Atlantic, following those American artists now returned from Europe and painting the American landscape, often in plein air, and domestic interiors. Women caught up in the daily business of living are the main players in these scenes, often dressed in white symbolising purity, youth and the optimism of the American middle class – women painted and women painters, in search of their own social and artistic independence.

upcoming The Thirties.

The Arts in Italy under Fascism curated by Antonello Negri with Silvia Bignami, Paolo Rusconi, Giorgio Zanchetti and Susanna Ragionieri for the Florence section 22 September 2012-27 January 2013 Italy under Fascism saw of an extremely vigorous artistic battle involving every style or trend, from classicism to Futurism, from expressionism to abstract art, and from monumental art to decorative painting for the bourgeois home. The situation was further complicated by the arrival on the scene of design and mass communication, which collected many ideas from the ‘fine arts’ and disseminated them to the public at large.

all activities are free with a ticket to the exhibition reservations required 055 2469600 fax 055 244145 prenotazioni@cscsigma.it

• Conversation in the exhibition: guided conversations in the exhibition, allowing participants to examine and discuss some of the works of art on display every Thursday at 18.30 and the 2nd Thursday of the month also at 20

• Drawing on Thursday evenings: a special artistic adventure using the works on exhibition. The activity is open to everyone, even those with no previous experience in drawing, and Palazzo Strozzi will provide all the materials needed.

Tuesday at the movies!

Discovering New Worlds A programme of screenings organised by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and FST Mediateca Odeon Cinema, piazza Strozzi, Florence.

Eight films that tie in with the exhibition.

Cinema Odeon, piazza Strozzi every Tuesday from 3 April to 29 May

every first Thursday of the month at 20-22

• Thursday2: a new way of experiencing Thursday evening at Palazzo Strozzi On the second Thursday of every month, Palazzo Strozzi hosts a full evening programme of events and activities designed to let you experience the many different sides of art. Listen to experts speaking live at the CCCStrozzina, give free rein to your creativity with art in the courtyard, sip an exclusive aperitif at the American Café, or explore the exhibitions with your friends. There’s a different programme every month. every second Thursday of the month

• The drawing kit: the drawing kit is an elegant leather folder containing drawing materials and a short practical manual designed to allow visitors to draw as they tour the exhibition available every day, can be borrowed against some form of ID which can be reclaimed on returning the kit

The Palazzo Strozzi Passport As always the exhibition moves outside the walls of Palazzo Strozzi: a Passport lists places linked to the themes of the exhibition. By visiting at least five sites listed, a visitor can enjoy free access to the exhibition.

palazzo strozzi

Sections of the exhibition

A living garden in Palazzo Strozzi The American community in Florence was charmed by the Italian landscape; inspired by this theme the students of New York University campus in Florence together with the gardeners of Villa La Pietra create a walled garden in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi. from April to June

Music in the spring at Palazzo Strozzi Thanks to collaboration with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the coutyard becomes a stage for musicians for the pleasure of visitors to the exhibitions, tourists and Florentines.

9, 16, 23, 30 May and 6, 13, 20 June at 13

Sunday brunch with the exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi During the period of the exhibition, six chefs create a special American-style Sunday brunch. Holders of tickets to either of the two exhibitions are entitled to a special discount on the brunch menu in these six restaurants: Mama’s Bakery, via della Chiesa, 34r

iPhone and iPad apps Free iPhone app with a special itinerary of sites and institutions related to the exhibition’s themes. The iPad app allows the visitor to compare the Florentine landscapes of today with those painted in the past

The Diner, via dell’Acqua, 2/3 Hotel Gallery - Fusion, vicolo dell’Oro, 3 Il Salviatino Ristorante Grappolo, via del Salviatino, 21 Hotel Savoy Ristorante L’Incontro, piazza della Repubblica, 7 Helvetia&Bristol - Hotel Hostaria Bibendum Restaurant, via de’ Pescioni, 2

35

in the now

exhibitions

Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina

Created in 2007 as part of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, the centre houses exhibition projects of contemporary art which explore themes and modes of expression with an interdisciplinary approach through meetings, debates, conferences, workshops and video projections. Strozzina activity is distinguished by a programme expressly centred on the artistic developments of recent years, favouring multimedia projects and relational and interactive forms of art.

Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi open: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 10-20, Thursday 10-23 closed: Monday The Strozzina ticket is valid for a month; a special ticket gives entry to both exhibitions in the Palazzo

www.strozzina.org www.palazzostrozzi.org

upcoming Tracce del tempo 28 September 2012 27 January 2013

American Dreamers

Reality and Imagination in Contemporary American Art curated by Bartholomew Bland organised in collaboration with Hudson River Museum (Yonkers, New York) 9 March-15 July 2012 The exhibition comprises a reflection on the work of artists who use their fantasy and their imagination to build alternative worlds to the increasingly complex reality of life today. Does the “American dream” still exist? Since 11 September 2001 the United States has witnessed the collapse of its sense of invulnerability and security, but at the same time a spirit of optimism, the will to carry on believing in a future with a happy ending, have maintained their central place in the very idea of “being American” and of the “American dream”. The latter promises success and happiness, constantly fuelled by the fantasy of Hollywood and by the aesthetics adopted in the advertising campaigns of such leading multinational brands as Coca Cola or Walt Disney. The eleven American artists involved in the exhibition (Laura Ball, Adrien Broom, Nick Cave, Will Cotton, Adam Cvijanovic, Richard Deon, Thomas Doyle, Mandy Greer, Kirsten Hassenfeld, Patrick Jacobs and Christy Rupp) use their imagination to produce a personal revisitation of reality, or at times even a flight from that reality. Some of the works condense the essence of reality into miniaturised systems while others expand outwards into space, creating worlds in which spectators can immerse themselves in parallel realities, and yet others feed on dreamlike images or reflect on such symbolic themes as the home and the family which play a central role in the construction of the myth of the ‘American way of life’. For some artists the construction of fantasy worlds represents their own personal critique of contemporary society; for others it enables them to create alternative solutions in which to rediscover meanings and values that appear to have been lost in today’s world. Some of the artists also seem to share an interest in manual skills, echoing the principles of outmoded manufacturing methods or alternative ways of organising life, espousing a deliberately unconventional attitude in an effort to combat the principles of serial production and the excessive speed that contemporary society demands.

Family size activities for families on the occasion of the exhibition see pp. 54-56

EX3 Organises solo shows of Italian and international artists and offers workshops, seminars and events to interact with the different languages of the contemporary. viale Donato Giannotti, 81/83/85 open: Wednesday to Sunday 11-19, Friday 11-20

www.ex3.it

exhibitions

Voglio soltanto essere amato project by MAP Multimedia Art Platform developed by Gabi Scardi and Ruth Cats until 8 April 2012 A group of professionals (38 artists, 31 writers, 23 curators and 15 intellectuals) meet on map-project.com, a virtual platform for interactive and interdisciplinary conversation on the theme of, “I just wanna be loved”, the sentence pronounced by the serial killer protagonist of American Psycho. The debate begins on the Web and is shown offline at this event

Do you believe in mirages?

Jacopo Miliani until 8 April 2012 The exhibition takes its cue from a reflection on perception and illusion.

According to Miliani, the winner of the second edition of the Premio EX3 Toscana: “Art is the mirage of reality: it adopts the idea of representation, and then through another closer look, reveals a sense of lack and urgency, needed to prompt the process of inquiry.”

Base Cultural association and art gallery, supports in-depth research and collaboration with international artists. via San Niccolò, 18r

www.baseitaly.org

exhibition

Lawrence Weiner Ever so much / Mai così tanto until 20 April 2012 Weiner’s first one man show in Tuscany, showing new large-format wall installations. Since 1967 the American artist – one of the founders of Conceptual Art – has used language as a means for the material representation of the external world, using statements and semantic and grammatical symbols.

Laura Ball, Web, 2009, watercolour on paper. Courtesy the artist and Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York

open: Tuesday to Saturday 18-20 Open also by appointment: 328 9627778 329 2298348 347 7210222 fax 055 2207281

in the now

events Live at the museum Mouse on Mars 13 April 2012 Museo Marino Marini

music@villaromana La dinamica del soffio 15 April 2012 at 21.15 Villa Romana

Live at the museum Sic Alps 27 April 2012 Museo Marino Marini

Fabbrica Europa from 3 May 2012 Stazione Leopolda and various venues

music@villaromana Aus dem Thürmchen 11 May 2012 at 21.15 Villa Romana

Tempo Reale Four - A night with John Cage 13 May 2012 Stazione Leopolda

Live at the museum Nurse with Wound 18 May 2012 Museo Marino Marini

Tempo Reale Musica di tutti i giorni

Fondazione Fabbrica Europa per le Arti Contemporanee

23-24 May 2012 Limonaia di Villa Strozzi

72º Modaprima Salone internazionale delle collezioni moda e accessorio 26-28 May 2012 Stazione Leopolda

The Fabbrica Europa project is a cultural festival that takes place in May in the Stazione Leopolda and other spaces in the city. On the programme are theatrical performances, concerts, dance, workshops and discussion.

music@villaromana What’s new

borgo degli Albizi, 15

www.ffeac.org

12 June 2012 at 21.15 Villa Romana

Pitti Immagine Uomo 81 Pitti Immagine Donna 9 19-22 June 2012 Fortezza da Basso

Pitti Immagine Bimbo 74 28-30 June 2012 Fortezza da Basso

Festival delle Colline June-July 2012 Centro Pecci and other locations

Videominuto September 2012 Centro Pecci

Fragranze 10 7-9 September 2012 Stazione Leopolda

Open Studios 8 September 2012 Villa Romana

music@villaromana Vanitas 21 September 2012 at 21.15 Villa Romana

Festival for Contemporary Arts FABBRICA EUROPA 2012 Art Mobility 19th edition Stazione Leopolda and other locations opening 3 May 2012 The main theme of this year’s Festival is the concept of ‘art mobility’, in its widest meaning of ‘movement’, ‘transit’, ‘journey’, both across nations (among, but not restricted to, European countries) and across cultures (with the promotion of a dialogue among different types of knowledge and different identities), but also across ‘time’ and ‘generations’ (focusing particularly on the relationship between masters and young artists). These themes are expressed on different levels and from various viewpoints, through projects, shows, performances, encounters and creative incursions in different spaces of the city, giving life to a real “creative, hyper-textual and interactive map” of the contemporary scenario in order to involve and spread ‘cultural action’ not only to the broad public of the Festival, but also to the still wider population of the city, not usually in touch with the languages of art.

For a detailed programme www.fabbricaeuropa.net

37

in the now

focus

FSM 1991-2011: a new generation of photographers

Since the Fondazione Studio Marangoni set up its ThreeFondazione Studio year Photography Course in 1991 there have been many Marangoni changes on the photographic scene. During those years in Italy photography was still of marginal importance and via San Zanobi, 32r e 19r was only elevated to its current status by the commitment www.studiomarangoni.it of a few photographers and historians of photography whose efforts from the early 1980s onwards created the conditions for the launch of the many ventures like our own. This historical context explains the foundation and development of the FSM. In the last twenty years, photography has undergone an evolution that is both cultural and technical. The inclusion of the photographic medium in the art world has led to its reinvention, both in the way in which photographs are used in the art world and in a commercial context. At the same time the practice of photography has been revolutionised by the advent of digital technology. These changes have led us over time to rethink the equipment, workspaces and methods used in the production of an image and to consequently modify the didactic and exhibition programmes. In spite of these changes our teaching methods have remained coherent. We still encourage our students to see photography as an artistic discipline that adapts to the personality and expressive needs of each individual. The main aim of the school is to provide students with the cultural and technical tools necessary to realise their projects and to assist them in developing a critical method that allows full artistic expression in work that is simultaneously original and market aware.

A new generation of photographers has grown up around the FSM. After obtaining their diplomas, some have continued within the school as teachers or as organisers, encouraging innovation and renewal within the programme, while others continue to contribute to the programme of the Three-year Photography Course, either running workshops or supervising the final, third year photographic projects. We believe that the highest ambition for a school is to train artists who go on to work happily and successfully in areas of artistic research and in the professional world and who at the same time continue to collaborate with the school, guaranteeing its didactic continuity and its capacity to be forward looking.

Martino Marangoni President of the Fondazione Studio Marangoni

exhibition

XX anni del Corso Triennale di Fotografia 10 March-28 April 2012 20 recent works of photographers who have studied at Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence are on show in the exhibition that celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Three-year Photography Course; the selected photographs illustrate the great variety of genres and styles that have emerged in the school. Since its foundation the Three-year Photography Course has awarded diplomas to over 150 students; of these, almost half are working today in photography. The selection of the works on show was conducted by two committees: the first selection was made by the faculty of Fondazione Studio Marangoni and the second by a jury composed of Giovanna Calvenzi, Daniele De Luigi and Roberta Valtorta. The photographic projects offer an opportunity to reflect not only on the school’s identity and development but also on the state of photography in Italy today.

Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci The purpose of the Centro Pecci is to interpret and display the cutting edge in international contemporary art. In addition to the permanent collection of works, the Centre periodically stages temporary exhibitions, workshops and events. viale della Repubblica, 277, Prato open: Monday and Wednesday to Friday 10-19, 1 January 15-19 closed: 25 and 31 December

www.centropecci.it

Cao Fei, Cosplayare, 2004, video/colour/sound, 8’. Courtesy of Vitamin Creative Space

exhibitions

Moving Image in China 1988-2011 Vent’anni di video arte cinese in collaboration with Minsheng Art Museum of Shanghai Exhibition rooms 24 March-29 July 2012 The most complete retrospective on Chinese video art of the last 20 years with films of various format and running time produced by over 50 artists.

Mario Mariotti curated by Stefano Pezzato in collaboration with Francesca Mariotti Project space until 30 April 2012 The Centro Pecci presents the Archive of Mario Mariotti, recently acquired and composed of works, documents, photographs and books that represent the original work of the Florentine artist who died prematurely. Mariotti was a eclectic artist and assiduous experimenter of visual mediums that ranged from drawing and graphic art to advertising and publishing, as well as photography, painting, sculpture and even public action like the projects he organised in many Florentine piazzas.

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze

Villa Romana

Fashion, visual arts, cinema, photography, advertising, architecture and music all come together in Florence in the events organised by Pitti Immagine. via Faenza, 111

www.pittimmagine.com Stazione Leopolda, viale Fratelli Rosselli, 5

www.stazione-leopolda.com

A centre of independent artistic production. Every year it provides hospitality for four German artists whose works are presented in an exhibition at the end of their residency.

Apart from this aspect of its activities, the Villa also organises workshops and symposiums and a full programme of exhibitions and events dedicated to contemporary art.

A prestigious institution, founded in 1784, today committed to developing the creative potential of its young students with university level courses that stimulate the search for artistic expressions and contemporary forms of art in the wake of the great Florentine artistic tradition. via Ricasoli, 66

via Senese, 68

www.accademia.firenze.it

www.villaromana.org

exhibitions

Cantieri Goldonetta

Supplica per un’appendice

Performance, residential workshops. The place for research into body language. Also the home of the Accademia sull’arte del gesto, devoted to exploring dance for children.

In the summer it organises the Festival Oltrarno Atelier.

Tempo Reale

Ketty La Rocca, Jacopo Miliani, Anna Möller, Henrik Olesen, Eske Schlüters 23 March-11 May 2012

Eleni Kamma From bank to bank on a gradual slope

via Santa Maria, 23-25

www.cango.fi.it

25 May -28 June 2012

Switch Creative Social Network

in the now

Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery

European reference point for research, production and education in new music technologies.

It collaborates with important Tuscan music festivals, offering performances by international artists who have explored the confines of auditory experience.

Villa Strozzi, via Pisana, 77

www.temporeale.it

Musicus Concentus

Urban creativity, musical experimentation and artistic entertainment. Switch offers meetings with musicians, deejays, urban writers and digital artists in a continual dialogue with the development of the city.

Explores the new scene in electronic music, offering concerts and other musical encounters throughout Tuscany. piazza del Carmine, 19

www.musicusconcentus.com

via Scipio Slapater, 2

www.switchproject.net

Museo Marino Marini

exhibitions

An exhibition space devoted to contemporary art.

The collection of the artist Marino Marini’s own works is permanently on show, along with exhibits, and in-depth learning and training activities.

Rob Johannesma. World-Wielding curated by Luigi Fassi and Alberto Salvadori until 12 April 2012 First one man show in Italy of this Dutch artist, who for some years has been exploring the symbolic and narrative possibilities of photographic reproduction, looking for a relationship that resonates between the iconic nature of the Western historical/artistic heritage, and the materials of the media universe, in particular images that accompany stories in international newspapers. In the exhibition are, Untitled (2012), a collage of photographs from daily newspapers, and WorldWielding (2012), a monumental work starting from a war photograph published in a Dutch newspaper in May 2011, as well as three video works made between 1998 and 2010.

Lovett/Codagnone. La verità è figlia del tempo non dell’autorità curated by Alberto Salvadori 4 May-23 June 2012 The installation grew out of an interpretation of Berthold Brecht’s Life of Galileo. John Lovett and Alessandro Codagnone, following Brecht’s methods, intend to involve the viewer as critic, offering various possibilities of interpretation.

The selection of Brecht’s texts focus the attention of the two Italian American artists on the relationship between truth and power, between research as an expression of freedom and the culture of power as a reactionary element and invidious to change.

piazza San Pancrazio open: Monday and Wednesday to Saturday 10-17 closed: Tuesday, Sunday, holidays and August Kaputt, 2006, collage, glitter.

Photo Roberto Marossi

www.museomarinomarini.it

ecrf exhibition area

ECRF Exhibition Area: there’s something new in town

A new exhibition area, recently opened on the ground floor of the historic headquarters of the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, represents a new point of reference for Florentines, and an added asset for Florence, just a stone’s throw from the Duomo and the the main sites of artistic and cultural interest scattered throughout the city’s historic centre. The venue will host exhibitions and cultural events.

exhibition

Un po’ artigiani un po’ pionieri Pier Luigi Esclapon de Villeneuve e la fotografia pubblicitaria a Firenze tra il 1970 e il 1990 curated by Silvia Corradini and Daniela Cammilli

16 March-9 September 2012 The exhibition is the end result of a long project of reorganisation of the archive of Pierluigi Esclapon de Villeneuve, the well-known photographer who between 1970 and 1990 worked for the most prestigious companies and institutions in Tuscany (Ferragamo, Mazzini, Amaro Averna, Chianti Classico, Adica Pongo and Mukki Latte), highlighting the quality and originality of their products. With photographs and vintage objects, the exhibition focuses on a particular period for Tuscan and Florentine industries and companies, those which took advantage of the boom in means of communication to make their products known on national and international markets.

via Bufalini, 6

www.entecarifirenze.it

open: every day 10-13 and 15-19 Free entrance Information and booking: 055 5384001

Alighiero Noschese posing during a shoot for the publicity campaign for Liù floor wax

Da Fattori al Novecento

he Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron was established in 1998 by the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze in the wake of the project to revive the properties of the Bardini inheritance that had been acquired and restored.

Since 2008 the Villa has not only housed the monographic museum dedicated to the artist Pietro Annigoni, but has also, and in this it surpasses the classic dimension of a ‘closed’ museum, been an exhibition centre for temporary events and scientific research, focusing particularly on the historical period between the late 19th and early 20th century. The Museo Capucci (see p.

48) and the Società Italiana di Orticultura are also based on the premises.

T

Opere inedite dalla collezione Roster, Del Greco, Olschki curated by Francesca Dini with Alessandra Rapisardi

1 April-4 November 2012 For the first time the original nucleus of a large and valuable private collection, enriched from generation to generation, and surviving to this day almost entirely unseen by the general public, is finally on show. The collection was started by the Garibaldian physician Giovanni Del Greco, a friend of Giovanni Fattori, who Del Greco commissioned to produce many of the canvases with a military subject that can be seen through the course of the exhibition. On Del Greco’s death, part of the collection became the property of the family of his friend and colleague Alessandro Roster, the person mainly responsible for the enlargement of the collection as we know it today, full of works by artists like Giovanni Fattori, Telemaco Signorini, Giuseppe Abbati, Eugenio Cecconi, Vito D’Ancona, Luigi Gioli, Ruggero Panerai, Oscar Ghiglia and Ulvi Liegi. Later generations added the significant nucleus of post-Macchiaioli painters, with a particular predilection for Llewelyn Lloyd with whom they entertained friendly relations during long stays on the island of Elba. Thus, a fascinating overview of Tuscan collectionism between the 19th and 20th century documented by the previously unseen works of Macchiaioli and post-Macchiaioli artists.

Bardini Garden via dei Bardi, 1r; costa San Giorgio, 2 open: every day 8.15-16.30 in January, February, November and December; 8.15-17.30 in March; 8.15-18.30 in April, May, September and October; 8.15-19.30 in June, July and August closed: 1st and last Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December For times and events see:

www.bardinipeyron.it

events Un tè a Villa Bardini.

Percorsi di arte, scienza e musica nel suggestivo scenario di Firenze from an idea of Alessandra Buyet

open: Tuesday to Sunday 10-19, last entrance at 18 Information and booking: 055 20066206 mg.geri@bardinipeyron.it

The Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron presents a series of meetings on occasional spring afternoons in a marvelous corner of Villa Bardini. Here you can enjoy a view of Florence, listen to lectures and music, and have afternoon tea. A fairy tale afternoon is reserved for children on Saturdays: the garden is a learning space to observe and understand the beauties of Florence and to watch puppet shows and to listen to story-tellers.

For related events see: www.entecarifirenze.it

events linked to the exhibition Guided tours for individuals Saturday and Sunday at 10.30, 11.30, 15.30, 16.30 All the activities are free to those who buy a ticket to the museum the same day.

The exhibition ticket is also valid for the Museo Capucci

Firenze e il Granduca Cosimo I Giovanni Cipriani 26 April at 16.30 Con Firenze nel cuore Riccardo Marasco 3 May at 16.30 Camera con vista Carlo Sisi 10 May at 16.30

A green walk Palazzo Pitti and Villa Bardini are connected via the Boboli Gardens.

There is free access for residents

bardini villa and garden

exhibition

Aspettando l’estate Neri Torrigiani 31 May at 16.30

Llewelyn Lloyd, Madonna del Monte (Barca e Villa Anselmi), 1937, private collection

I bambini e il giardinaggio two afternoons to discover Florence with games and activities 5 and 26 May at 15 Villa Bardini costa San Giorgio, 2 Reservation required: 055 20066206 entrance € 5; free for children

stibbert museum

ow a foundation, the Stibbert Museum came into being in 1908 on the death of Frederick Stibbert (1838-1906).

According to the terms of his will, Stibbert left his art collections and the building where they were housed, located at Montughi, to the city of Florence. The bequest is now a rare example of a 19th-century house and museum which is still well preserved. In recent years, many of the original arrangements and exhibits, altered during the 20th century, have been reinstated. The creation of the Japanese armoury was one of Stibbert’s passions and he went on collecting up until the last months of his life, hundreds of objects that document the styles of armour and the splendid quality of edged weapons from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’. Today the collection is considered one of the most important in the western world.

N

via Frederick Stibbert, 26 open: Monday to Wednesday 10-14, Friday to Sunday 10-18 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

casa buonarroti

www.museostibbert.it

his fine 17th-century palazzo, built by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger to celebrate his family’s fame, is now a house museum with a dual function: to bear witness to the efforts of the Buonarroti through the centuries to expand and embellish their home, to protect the precious cultural legacies it contains (including the valuable Archives and the Library), and to preserve rare art collections; and at the same time, to celebrate the genius of Michelangelo, by exhibiting many of his works, such as the Madonna of the Stairs and the Battle of the Centaurs, and alongside them the extensive collection of drawings. The museum holds annual exhibitions addressing themes that relate to the Casa’s cultural and artistic heritage and its legacy, as well as to Michelangelo and his times.

T

42

via Ghibellina, 70 open: Monday and Wednesday to Sunday 9.30-16 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.casabuonarroti.it

exhibition

Il Risorgimento della maiolica italiana: Ginori e Cantagalli until 15 April 2012

loans The museum is contribuing with prestigious loans, and essays in the accompanying catalogues, to important exhibitions held at Palazzo Pitti (Di linea e di colore. Il Giappone, la sua arte e l’incontro con l’Occidente at the Silver Museum and Giapponismo.

Suggestioni d’Oriente dai Macchiaioli agli anni Trenta at the Gallery of Modern Art, 3 April-1 July 2012).

New museum layout With the reopening of rooms on the first floor, the museum is now enriched with new display areas: the Sala della Piatteria Antica, the bedrooms and other rooms where the collector lived together with his mother Giulia. This is the culmination of a decade of restoration that has recreated the arrangement that Stibbert himself had chosen, a situation that had been changed after his death. Indepth research has enabled the precise reconstruction of the original arrangement of the rooms and collections; the old decorations and the floors eroded by the passage of many visitors have been restored to their former glory, and furniture and paintings repositioned where Stibbert originally wanted them.

publications

The Venetian Loggia in the early 20th century

Un Inglese garibaldino, Museo Stibbert-Firenze, n. 14, Firenze 2011 The volume, which tells the story of Stibbert’s participation in the Garibaldian campaign of 1866, retraces his personal experience and the story of the “Squadrone delle Guide” through previously unpublished hand-written letters.

exhibition

Andrea Commodi dall’attrazione per Michelangelo all’ansia del nuovo curated by Gianni Papi and Annamaria Petrioli Tofani 15 May-31 August 2012 An important selection of graphic art and pictorial works representing the colourful personality of Andrea Commodi (1560-1638), a cultivated artist with a flair for experimental and non-conformist expression. On display, among the figurative works, is a remarkable series of pages, in which the artist draws inspiration from drawings and sketches by Michelangelo, in addition to the famous drawings taken from posing models that are astonishing for their modernity. Here Commodi broke with academic tradition in the search to render a reality that is often crude in terms of its expressive line as well as in its use of light. This new expressiveness recurrently gave rise to comparisons with the art of Caravaggio, although today it should be seen instead as completely independent and even earlier. The innovative artistic production of Commodi is also represented in the exhibition by works like the Consecration of the Church of the Holy Saviour from Cortona, the series with the Stories of Saint Ignatius, while a model and a group of drawings relate to the project for a never completed fresco in the Cappella Paolina of Palazzo del Quirinale.

casa vasari

The house of Giorgio Vasari in Florence In 1561 Cosimo I donated to

borgo Santa Croce open: by appointment with guided tour.

Information: Horne Museum 055 244661 fax 055 2009252 info@museohorne.it

horne museum

Elisabetta Nardinocchi Director of the Horne Museum

•

Giorgio Vasari, in recognition of his services, a house in borgo Santa Croce in Florence. As in the residence of Arezzo, Vasari and his collaborators – including Jacopo Zucchi, whose contribution was decisive – decorated some of the rooms, including the Sala Grande, presumably in the summer of 1570. The decoration consisted of frescoes inspired by the Arts and the supremacy of painting, in the form of scenes taken from Pliny, of allegorical images and of the portraits of thirteen artists chosen by Vasari for the role they had had as precursors or for the high level of achievement reached in their work. Enriched by a noteworthy collection of paintings, the house remained the property of the family until the death of its last member in 1687; subsequently, in addition to the dispersion of the works of art, it was subjected to various transformations that involved the radical modification of the rooms, fortunately with the exception of the Sala Grande. Following a period of abandonment, a long and complex restoration was carried out thanks to the present owners, Umberto Baldini and the Fondazione Horne, a restoration supported entirely by the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. The result of the restoration work is that a building of great beauty and extraordinary interest has been made available to visitors. The owners delegated the Fondazione Horne with the development of the monument and the house was opened in 2011 on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the birth of the Aretine artist.

n 1911, the English architect and art historian Herbert Percy Horne purchased Palazzo Corsi to house his collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and furnishings in such a way as to recreate the atmosphere of a Renaissance home. Horne died in 1916, his collection (which in the meantime had grown to include more than 6,000 works) was left to the Italian State, creating a foundation “for the benefit of study”. Today, visitors see the Horne Museum as the English collector would have wanted them to: an elegant treasure chest of masterpieces of painting and sculpture (from Giotto to Simone Martini, Masaccio, Filippino Lippi, Domenico Beccafumi, and Giambologna), but above all as a home, decorated with precious items dating from the 1200s to the 1600s, in which to relive the past and discover the customs and art as they were in 15th- and 16th-century Florence.

I

via dei Benci, 6 open: Monday to Saturday 9-13

www.museohorne.it

43

natural history and anthropology museums

he Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History, was founded in 1775 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Hapsburg Lorraine to collect together natural artefacts and scientific instruments, previously kept in the Uffizi Gallery. It is commonly called “La Specola”, recalling the Astronomical Observatory which was completed in 1789. The institute now consists of six sections, or museums, located in palazzi throughout the centre of Florence, where items of quite exceptional naturalistic and scientific value are preserved. These include 16th-century herbals, rare 18th-century waxworks, fossilised skeletons of elephants and collections of brightly coloured butterflies, giant crystals of tourmaline, Aztec artefacts, majestic wooden sculptures and even the largest flower in the world. The museums represent an impressive universe of nature, history, science and art.

T

Administrative offices: via Giorgio La Pira, 4

www.msn.unifi.it

Mineralogy and Lithology Collections of minerals, rocks and gems. Not to be missed is the large topaz crystal and an aquamarine weighing almost 1 kilo. Videos and innovative educational multi-media graphics describe and illustrate the museum’s collections. via Giorgio La Pira, 4 open: from 1 October to 31 May Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-17; from 1 June to 30 September Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-18 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

Botany This is the most important Italian scientific institution for the collection and preservation of plants. The museum houses some exceptional herbals, and artistic and didactic collections which include the still life paintings of Bartolomeo Bimbi and wax models of plants, fruits and mushrooms made in the 18th and 19th century. via Giorgio La Pira, 4 open: admission with reservation and guided tour only 055 2346760

Geology and Palaeontology This museum exhibits the fossils of vertebrates that have been found in Tuscany over two centuries, illustrating the palaeontological history of the region, its palaeogeography and the progressive stages in the evolution of marine and terrestrial fauna. Among the items displayed is the skeleton of the oldest primate found in Tuscany. via Giorgio La Pira, 4 open: until 28 February Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-17; from 1 March to 31 May every day 9-19; from 1 June to 2 September every day 10-19 closed: 1 January, 25 December

Villa Il Gioiello via Pian dei Giullari, 17 open: admission with reservation and guided tour only 055 2346760

“La Specola” On the ground floor is the Skeleton Hall where the skulls and complete skeletons of ancient and extinct animals are housed.

On the first floor is Galileo’s Tribune, created in 1841. The second floor houses the zoological museum, providing an almost complete panorama of existing animals as well as a large number now extinct or in danger of extinction. The collection of anatomical waxes includes items of great scientific, and also artistic, interest; these continue to be consulted in the study of anatomy. In the Torrino of the Specola, the new arrangement exhibits important historic and scientific items including many from the Medici collections.

The museum includes a permanent exhibition of crystals. via Romana, 17 open: from 1 October to 31 May Tuesday to Sunday 9.30-16.30; from 1 June to 30 September Tuesday to Sunday 10.30-17.30 Skeleton Hall and Observatory admission with reservation and guided tour only 055 2346760 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

Anthropology and Ethnology The oldest items come from the Medici collections and the 18th-century collection of James Cook, while others were collected by researchers and scientists in the 19th and 20th century. The American Indians, Lapland, Siberia and Indonesia are all represented in separate sections.

The collection of musical instruments is significant. via del Proconsolo, 12 open: from 1 October to 31 May Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-17; from 1 June to 30 September Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10-13, Saturday and Sunday 10-18 closed: 1 January, Easter, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

Biomedica viale G. B. Morgagni, 85 open: admission with reservation and guided tour only 055 2346760

photo Andrea Grigioni

44

Running concurrently with the exhibition, the museum is organising a series of events, educational activities and guided tours.

For information and a full calendar see: www.dinosauricarneossafirenze. tumblr.com

Botanical gardens (Medicinal Herb Garden) The Botanical Gardens originated in 1545 as a garden of medicinal plants. Today the grounds cover an area of 3 hectares, with a series of thematic flower-beds, large hot-houses and smaller greenhouses.

Itineraries are available for the blind, based on touch and smell. The gardens are also home to some monumental trees, several of which are over 300 years old. via Pier Antonio Micheli, 3 open: until 28 February Saturday, Sunday and Monday 10-17; from 1 March to 31 May every day 9-19; from 1 June to 2 September every day 10-19 closed: 1 January, 25 December

exhibition

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

Scienza e Arte riportano alla vita i dominatori di un mondo perduto

natural history and anthropology museums

events linked to the exhibition

curated by Simone Maganuco e Stefania Nosotti Geology and Palaeontology Botanical garden 1 March-2 September 2012 The Orto Botanico di Firenze is the impressive backdrop for about 30 three-dimensional models of life-sized dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, set into reconstructions of past environments complete with plants and animals. The exhibition has been staged by Geomodel, a laboratory specializing in paleontological and anthropological models, with the advice of paleontologists and professional artists. Among the exhibits are a Diplodocus measuring 20 metres long; a Spinosaurus, the largest land-based predator measuring 16 metres long; the celebrated Tyrannosaurus, the king of the dinosaurs standing almost 5 metres high; a Pachyrhinosaurus, a spectacular-looking six-metre long dinosaur; and an Indricotherium, the largest land-based mammal that has ever existed, measuring some 6 metres high, evidence that not only dinosaurs reached colossal dimensions. These specimens are accompanied by many other models of dinosaurs and predators, some of which are exhibited in the Department of Geology and Paleontology. The exhibition includes a section dedicated to local paleontology, with exhibitions of finds from the paleontological collections of the museum and featuring a programme of lectures. In addition to the hyper-realistic animal reproductions, a sort of laboratory/art gallery shows the various stages in the construction of the models and displays illustrations produced by various Italian paleo-artists of international renown. Combining entertainment and a rigorously scientific didactic approach, the exhibition represents a learning experience in which the contents are transmitted extremely effectively with an emotional impact.

45

Florens 2012 International Week on Cultural Heritage and Landscape

2-10 November 2012 Florens 2012 deals with the theme ‘From the Grand Tour to the Global Tour’: the concepts of ‘local’ and of ‘identity’, a value added to Italian cultural products, is explored in the ‘Forum Internazionale’, in the ‘case histories’ and in a series of lectures given by experts. Initiatives aim to stimulate a unitary vision of cultural heritage: from landscape to historical archives, from gastronomy to handicrafts, from archaeology to fashion, from agriculture to design. ‘Il local per il global’, the short distribution chain, is at the centre of the Forum’s research, in which 12 case histories are presented on the themes of culture, creative industry and landscape in their connection with the land and its patrimony. The aim of Florens 2012 is to motivate and promote a new golden economy linked to long-term sustainable industrial development. Another objective is to stimulate among the public, but above all among public sector administrators, a new sensibility toward these themes with a view to restoring the close and correct relationship between production and knowledge, the economic return of culture.

Cultural direction Andrea Carandini, Walter Santagata, Mauro Agnoletti The first edition: numbers (12-20 November 2010) The first edition brought Florence alive, turning the city into an international workshop on the economy of cultural heritage. It met with widespread success and public acclaim.

200,000 visitors at the ‘Miracolo di San Zanobi’ event 30,000 visitors at the historic procession of the ‘David, La Forza della Bellezza’ event 25,000 visitors at the ‘Cultura e Civiltà dei Sapori’ market 12,000 spectators at the ‘Invasioni Musicali’ concerts 10,000 people attending the conferences and lectures 4,000 visitors at the ‘Le stanze della Meraviglia’ exhibition 2,500 spectators at the ‘Deep in Florens’ concerts 2,400 participants at the ‘Incontri con gli Autori’ in bookshops 1,600 spectators at the National Geographic film projections 1,400 spectators at the concert of the ‘Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’ 1,200 visitors at the ‘Polar obsession’ exhibition 940 participants at the ‘Pellegrinaggi nel Tempo’ 560 qualified area specialists at the ‘Forum Internazionale’ 350 spectators at the concert of the ‘Maggio Musicale Formazione’ 280 spectators at Riccardo Sandiford’s concert

Fondazione Florens ‘Fondazione Florens’ was created to continue the activity of Florens 2010 with the aim of being a permanent workshop of cultural heritage, demonstrating the importance of investment in culture for the development of the country’s economy. Its mission is to promote a new economic model in the sector of cultural and environmental heritage, creative industry, cultural production, handicrafts, food and wine; not nonproductive centres of expenditure, but essential investments to relaunch growth and employment. The ‘Settimana dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali’ is a two-yearly event that takes on these issues with Research programmes, an International Forum and a series of engaging Events that involve and stimulate the public: for culture that enhances well-being and an economy that is nourished by culture.

Organising committee Cristina Acidini Soprintendente Polo Museale Fiorentino Terry Garcia Vice President National Geographic Society Paolo Galluzzi Director Museo Galileo.

Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze Mons. Timothy Verdon Director Centro Diocesano per l’Ecumenismo, Director Ufficio Diocesano per l’Arte Sacra e per i Beni Culturali Ecclesiastici, Direttore Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore Ben Janssens President Comitato Esecutivo di The European Fine Art Foundation - TEFAF Maastricht

An almost unique example of a typical Florentine house, which developed out of the medieval tower and preceded the appearance of the Renaissance palace. Built in the mid14th century by the Davizzi family, during the 16th century it passed to the Bartolini and then in 1578 to the Davanzati who owned it until the late 1800s. In 1904 it was bought by the antique dealer Elia Volpi who restored the palace and furnished it with items from his collection. The palazzo was later bought by the State and opened to the public in 1956.

The furnishings, paintings, tapestries and items of everyday use effectively recreate the interior of a noble Florentine house as it would have been from the 14th to the 17th century. There are also numerous paintings with secular and religious subjects including the 15th-century tondo decorated with the Gioco del Civettino (Game of the Fop) by Giovanni di ser Giovanni known as lo Scheggia. Sculptures include Antonio Rossellino’s Bust of a young man. Of great interest is the collection of ceramics and majolica dating from the 14th to the 18th century and the rare wall decorations, such as those in the Sala dei Pappagalli and the room known as the bedroom of the Castellana di Vergy. via Porta Rossa, 13 open: every day 8.15-13.50; until 4 April Wednesday 8.15-17 closed: 2nd and 4th Sunday, 1st, 3rd and 5th Monday of the month, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Museo di Casa Martelli

Museo Casa Rodolfo Siviero

Palazzo Martelli, which became a State museum in 1999, was opened to the public in 2009 to make available for general viewing the historic home and artistic collections of this noble family. At the beginning of the 16th century the Martelli, bankers and allies of the Medici, bought a property that was to grow in the following years. Since the 17th century the first floor has housed an art collection that today retains its original arrangement. This house museum is, therefore, not the result of a posthumous reconstruction but derives from the centuries-old stratification of a family’s life.

The Casa Siviero was built in the neoRenaissance style in 1875, the year the new lungarno Serristori was completed. Rodolfo Siviero, known as the “James Bond of the art world” for his important contribution in ensuring that many stolen works of art were returned to Italy, bought the building in 1944 and lived there until 1983. He left the house and its furnishings to the Regione Toscana on the condition it became a public museum. As well as furnishings, archaeological finds and art objects of every type and period, in the collection there is a nucleus of 20thcentury works by, among others, Soffici, Annigoni, Manzù and Berti, as well as by Giorgio de Chirico who was very attached to this house.

via Zannetti, 8 open: Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning by appointment

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ casamartelli

Il Museo della Casa Fiorentina Antica Gli arredi storici nelle foto di Elia Volpi curated by Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, Maria Grazia Vaccari and Patrizia Cappellini until 15 April 2012 The exhibition, under the umbrella of Le stanze dei tesori, presents beautiful photographs from the Davanzati archive and the Photo Archive of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz.

These illustrate the decor of various rooms in the Museum of the Florentine House, inaugurated in 1910 by the antiquarian Elia Volpi. The atmosphere of the old palazzo was recreated by filling the rooms with furnishings, sculptures, paintings and objects, most of which were sold at the famous auction organised by Volpi himself in New York in 1916.

event Culture Week 2012 14-22 April 2012 In the Culture Week Palazzo Davanzati devotes an exhibition to recent donations and acquisitions that have enriched the museum’s collection.

lungarno Serristori, 1-3 open: Saturday, from October to May 10-18, from June to September 10-14 and 15-19; Sunday and Monday, all year 10-13 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 24 June, 15 August, 25 and 26 December

www.museocasasiviero.it

The recently formed Association of the Friends of the Museums of Palazzo Davanzati and Casa Martelli is organising a calendar of events to promote the two museums www.amicidavanzatimartelli.it

www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ davanzati

exhibition

house museums

Palazzo Davanzati or Museum of the Florentine House

House of Dante The Casa di Dante we know today dates back to 1911 when the architect Giuseppe Castellucci reproduced a rather quaint medieval style building in the area in which the poet was said to have lived. The museum illustrates the life of Dante Alighieri and the Florence of his times.

The Museo degli Originali includes a collection of medieval edged weapons, ceramics and objects once in daily use. via Santa Margherita, 1 open: Tuesday to Sunday 10-18 closed: Monday

www.museocasadidante.it

Casa Guidi After their secret marriage (1846) the poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning fled to Italy and lived in Florence until Elizabeth’s death (1861); the house was bought in 1971 by the Browning Institute of New York which restored the apartments, filling them with objects and furniture, some of which once belonged to the couple.

exhibitions

Quando ritrovo qualcosa di bello... croci, campane e altri oggetti liturgici curated by Diletta Corsini and Attilio Tori until 25 April 2012

Exhibition of liturgical objects never before on display, together with analogous objects from the church of San Giovanni Battista at Remole. Also documented are some of the sacred objects recovered by Siviero, including the precious processional cross stolen in 1973 from the church of Santa Maria at Visso near Macerata and recovered in Switzerland two years later by him.

Io lo guardo e ci parlo... quattro busti nella raccolta Siviero September-December 2012 The exhibition reunites the four 17th-century classical-style busts from the Siviero collection, separated following the collector’s death. Two busts – whose restoration has just been completed by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure – have remained in the house museum, while the other two have been moved to the Accademia del Disegno.

events Luoghi insoliti 19 February, 18 March, 15 April 2012 guided tours, booking required luoghiinsoliti@regione.toscana.it

piazza San Felice, 8 open: from April to November, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 15-18

Amico Museo 5-6 May 2012 Prize-giving of the ‘Giovani collezionisti’ competition and exhibition of noteworthy collections, and special edition of ‘Detective dell’arte’ (see p. 54) Notti dell’archeologia first weekend of July 2012 In the garden, performance with an archaeological theme

47

Housed in Villa Bardini, the museum opened in 2007 with the aim of making Capucci’s work better known through thematic exhibitions. The rotating exhibitions use the rich archive of the Fondazione Roberto Capucci which, since 1951, includes 450 creations, 300 illustrations, 22,000 sketches, 20 notebooks, 150 audiovisual sources, 50,000 photographs and 50,000 press articles. costa San Giorgio, 2 open: Tuesday to Sunday 10-18 closed: 1 January, 25 December

www.fondazionerobertocapucci.com

Vogue, Florence, 1962 © Duffy Archive

he MNAF (Alinari National Photographic Museum), managed by the Fratelli Alinari Fondazione per la Storia della Fotografia (Alinari Brothers Foundation for the History of Photography), includes a space for temporary exhibitions of historical and contemporary photography and a permanent exhibition space devoted to the history and the techniques of photography. A particular feature of the museum is the Museo Tattile (Tactile Museum) for the blind: for the first time, a museum space devoted to photography includes specially designed braille supports for ‘reading’ the works.

T

piazza Santa Maria Novella, 14a red open: every day 10-19.30 closed: Wednesday and in August

www.mnaf.it

Workshops for families see p. 57 48

photo Claudia Primangeli, Archive of the Fondazione Roberto Capucci

alinari national museum of photography

Museo Roberto Capucci

exhibitions

Duffy. The Photographic Genius until 20 May 2012 Celebrated author of many images of Swinging London and famous for his photographs of musicians, actors and models, in the 60s and the 70s Brian Duffy revolutionised the world of fashion photography and created a cult of the photographer.

Among the subjects of his photographs are John Lennon, Debbie Harry, William Burroughs, and the beautiful Jean Shrimpton and Joanna Lumley. His are amongst the most wellknown of David Bowie’s album covers, and he made the photographs for two Pirelli calendars.

Patrick Mimran 1 June-31 July 2012 The many-sided French artist presents a new photographic project in Florence. Moving from music to visual arts, from video to new technologies, Mimran has worked for theatre and for cinema. He has developed installations and artistic projects throughout the world, always using photography. In his work Mimran treats the great issues of human life – death, beauty, sexuality – with a sense of humour, using vivid colours, provocative compositions and word games.

Underwater dreams of Akyiyoshi Ito September-October 2012 Educated as a painter and a sculptor, the Japanese artist comes to Italy for the first time, bringing his “miracles under the waves”. His passion for the sea and the underwater world gives birth to photographs of the seas of Japan, the Philippines and Hawaii, and all those places where the artist has been able to capture the beauty of incredible ecosystems, marvelous worlds always hidden from our sight. In his photographs the big blue deserts of water contrast with the vitality and the bright colours of the coral reefs and their inhabitants.

exhibition

I colori: il mio grande karma until 30 September 2012 The new museum display invites visitors on a journey into the colourful world of Roberto Capucci through 28 creations in the three colours emblematic of his artistic production. In the works of Capucci green, the colour of vegetation, is presented in infinite shades that break up into futuristic interpretations, evoke natural structures and cover the majestic sculpture-dresses with iridescent leaves. Among these ‘Bouganvillea’, the celebrated sculpture-dress in plissé taffetas with circular motifs in shades of green and cyclamen. Red, representing both heavenly and earthly love, together with white and black, is taken up instead in ‘Nove Gonne’ (1956), one of the most important pieces in this section. Purple, much loved by Capucci, is the colour of art, fantasy and dreams, themes expressed best in the fabric architecture ‘Violano’ (1995).

The collection of footwear on exhibition at this museum, inaugurated in 1995, documents the entire working life of Salvatore Ferragamo, from his return to Italy in 1927 until his death in 1960. The museum highlights both the great technical prowess and the artistic flair of a master whose contribution to the brand “Made in Italy” was fundamental, and his relations with the artists of his time. The collection is enhanced by post-1960 production: every year, several contemporary models are given places in the Archivio Salvatore Ferragamo, from which the museum selects the materials for exhibition. piazza di Santa Trinita, 5r open: Wednesday to Monday 10-18; in August, Monday to Saturday 10-13, 14-18 closed: 1 January, 1 May, 15 August, 25 December

www.museoferragamo.it

Museo Gucci In September 2011 Gucci’s new museum opened in the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia: on three floors, the museum offers a dynamic and interactive display, rich in history, using objects, documents and pictures of the well-known fashion house founded in 1921 in Florence.

The palazzo also houses the private Gucci archive, a vast collection of ready-towear clothes, accessories, photos and objects collected and catalogued in order to document Gucci’s creative universe and its cultural influence.

piazza della Signoria open: every day 10-20 closed: 1 January, 15 August, 25 December

www.guccimuseo.com

Exhibition Ground floor • Travel: dedicated to trunks, suitcases and accessories created for the international jet-set, whose custom contributed to Gucci’s success in the 1950s and 1960s. It was in fact “Valigeria e Articoli da Viaggio” that defined Guccio Gucci’s first collections, himself inspired by the luggage of guests arriving at London’s Savoy Hotel where, as a young man, he worked as a porter.

First floor • Flora World: the enduring motif that has been interpreted in many different ways on the company’s products.

• Handbags: design and artisanal excellence, displaying historic handbag models, true cult objects still sought after today.

• Evening: the dream of the evening gown and the magic of red-carpet creations worn at the most prestigious events.

exhibition

Il tessuto è tutto 4 March-30 September 2012 The absolute excellence of contemporary Prato textile production on show at the Prato Textile Museum. Prato industrial production is presented through a new artistic approach: giving creative value to the fabric design phase, which becomes a distinctive part of the acquired know-how of textile firms over many years of production. Fabrics are the subject of an artistic journey where technical aspects, determined by the choice of raw materials, yarns and treatments, are terms of reference, expression and the language of refined research, aiming to interpret contemporary taste, style and fashion. The exhibition set up conforms to this aim by striving to interpret the aesthetic and technical elements in different types of fabrics. This offers a new way of presenting contemporary fabric as a work of art and follows the architectural space of the rooms.

• Precious: unique clutch bags and other valuable items.

• Contemporary Art Space: dedicated to showing contemporary art in collaboration with the Pinault Foundation, among the artists are Bill Viola, selected works from 1976-1981.

The adjacent room features the most original “movie art”video and film installations.

Second floor • Logomania: chronicles the evolution of the double G monogram, an emblem of what is ‘Made in Italy’.

• Lifestyle and Sport: completes the journey through the museum, paying homage to the brand’s iconic symbols and products that have been inspired by the world of sport and leisure.

fashion museums and archives

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

Textiles Museum of Prato

The museum was created in 1975 within the Istituto Tecnico Industriale Tessile Tullio Buzzi, as a cultural institution aimed at conserving the memory of local industrial production and acting as material support in the study of industrial textile design. via Santa Chiara, 24, Prato open: Monday and Wednesday to Friday 10-15, Saturday 10-19, Sunday 15-19

www.museodeltessuto.it

fiesole museums

Civic Archaeological Museum

The museum exhibits early Etruscan, Roman and medieval artefacts which came to light during excavations in the area of Fiesole, as well as items donated by private collectors.

As it began to grow in size, in 1914 the museum was transferred to a structure in the shape of an Ionic temple, designed by Ezio Cerpi and located inside the archaeological park. Reorganised in 1981, this also houses the Costantini Collection. via Portigiani, 1, Fiesole open: every day, March and October 10-18, from April to September 10-19, from November to February 10-14 closed: Tuesday from November to February

www.museidifiesole.it

Museo Bandini

Founded by Canon Angelo Maria Bandini in 1795, the collection was first housed in the church of Sant’Ansano and is now found in the building specially designed for it at the start of the 20th century by the architect Giuseppe Castellucci. On his death the Canon left the museum to the Chapter of Fiesole. Not to be missed on the ground floor are some fine Della Robbia terracottas (including the Effigy of a Young Man known as Sant’Ansano by Andrea della Robbia) as well as some fragments of classical sculptures, inlaid furniture and marble basrelief sculptures. Displayed in the two rooms on the first floor are paintings by well-known artists (from Taddeo Gaddi to Nardo di Cione and Lorenzo Monaco) in addition to works dating from the 13th to the 17th century. via Giovanni Dupré, 1, Fiesole open: every day, March and October 10-18, from April to September 10-19, from November to February 10-14 closed: Tuesday from November to February

www.museidifiesole.it

Fondazione Primo Conti The Foundation is housed in the 15th-century Villa Le Coste where the artist lived for many years. In 1980 the villa became the seat of the Foundation when a donation by the Conti family led to the establishment of a Documentation and Research Centre on the Historic Avant Garde.

The Foundation has three sections: the Museum with the works of Primo Conti, the Archive and the Studio. The Museum (with 63 paintings and 163 drawings by the artist) and the Archive (housing many archives including those of Papini, Conti, Pavolini, Carocci, Pea, and Samminiatelli) together represent a unique resource in Italy for the scholarly study and understanding of avant-garde movements.

50

via Giovanni Dupré, 18, Fiesole open: Museum Monday to Friday 9-13.

Visits also Saturday, Sunday and the afternoon, for groups by appointment Archive Monday to Friday 9-13, by prior appointment

www.fondazioneprimoconti.org

exhibitions

Venturino Venturi.

Anna Cionini.

Il dono dell’Assoluto

La luce dell’anima

in collaboration with Diocesi di Fiesole, Fondazione Ernesto Balducci and Archivio Venturino Venturi of Loro Ciuffenna Sala del Basolato, Palazzo Comunale 12 April-30 May 2012

Sala Costantini, Archaeological Museum 14 June-15 July 2012

Exhibition of works and documents relating to the artistic career of Venturino Venturi (1918-2002), an artist who succeeded in capturing the sacredness of all things: water, the sun, a green lizard tickling his chest, man and woman, but above all the mystery of birth. It was from the earth and from humanity that his faith was born; every mark of his chisel on stone, every stroke of his pencil on paper is a connection with God, present in every creative act. The artist works his many materials – concrete, stone, marble, wood – marking the paper with trickles laden with ink and always immersed in the realm of the Sacred.

Giuseppe Gavazzi.

La figura rivelata

curated by Lucia Bruni and Federico Napoli Archaeological area and piazza Mino 5 May-31 August 2012 25 sculptures in wood, bronze and cast iron produced in recent years with a technique made personal through continued experimentation (unpolished bronzes, unfinished, burnt or painted woods). A string of human figures unravels round the old Roman theatre, never captured in motion, though always dynamic in their inner vitality.

30 paintings on display inspired by classical beauty: the beauty the old Masters immortalised in scenes, landscapes and figures that have remained as indelible images in the collective imagination. The work of Anna Cionini looks to a classical order that finds evocative echoes in the “return to order” of the early 20th century.

Carrà, Rosai, Scuffi.

La modernità di una pittura che risale alla maestà dell’antico Sala del Basolato, Palazzo Comunale September-October 2012 Five works by Carrà, as many by Rosai, and twenty by Scuffi illustrating the line of continuity between the great painting of the early 20th century and the work of those – like Scuffi – who today are artists of national importance. An exhibition steeped in magic: silent landscapes, obscure places, nature ubiquitously imbued with the emblematic presence of a surging poetry.

focus The quarries of Monte Ceceri are of two kinds: ‘latomia’, also known as ‘cava ficcata’ o ‘fitta’ o ‘in grotta’ (hollowed-out caves) ‘tagliata’, where the quarrying activity is of the open-air type and the lie of the rock layers is clearly visible.

Pietra serena in the Florentine Renaissance North-east of the city of Florence, in the Comune

Before the actual quarrying of the raw deposits, a series of preliminary operations was carried out aimed at identifying the seams of particularly thick, high-quality stone; work then continued with the removal, using picks and shovels, of all those materials that had accumulated on and around the seams of usable stone – earth, gravel, pebbles, stones, marl and pietra morta – a process known as scoperchiatura (uncovering).

Subsequently there were four working stages: cavatura (extracting): this was done by means of a complex operation called zappettatura, the insertion of dry wooden wedges into grooves cut into the stone, which once soaked exerted a pressure externally that eventually resulted in the cleaving of the block, the break ideally being along the lines of stratification. Today this method has been substituted by the use of steel wedges based on the same principle, while in other areas explosive material and helicoidal wire cord are used. sbozzatura (roughing): this process was carried out in the quarry and resulted in the rough shaping of the stone block using a variety of tools like mallets, hammers, pitching tools and pointed chisels; immediately after the blocks were dressed so as to obtain a flat surface with straight square edges. posa in opera: the block of stone obtained after the initial roughing was ready to be transported towards its final destination. Moving and hoisting operations were done with slings, lewises, cables and iron levers, while cypress or holm-oak trunks called curri were used to transfer the stone blocks to the barroccio – the wooden cart used to transport stone blocks away from the floor of the quarry. rifinitura (finishing): this final phase involved the work carried out to give the block its final appearance in terms of roughness or smoothness, that is, to produce a visible surface of the type desired. Finishing operations varied according to the type of tool used (chipping, chiselling, bush hammering, claw chiselling, etc.).

of Fiesole, is the hill of Monte Ceceri which belongs geologically to the macigno, a formation of sedimentary rock that originated in a marine environment and evolved over millions of years.

The base of this rock complex is situated at Maiano and the highest point, 500 metres above sea level, at Monte Rinaldi, on the right bank of the Mugnone stream. The morphology of the land is distinguished by steep slopes with considerable drops in level, of both natural and artificial origin, and numerous areas with protruding rocky outcrops. The entire mass of the relief is traversed by a dense network of paths and tracks, sufficient evidence in itself of the presence of intense working activity over many centuries. The sandstone found here is of two main varieties: pietra serena, which is light grey in colour, with a bluish hue sometimes called “colore del cielo” (sky colour), and pietra bigia, which is an ochre colour and looks very similar to pietraforte. A minor variety is the pietra morta, a powdery yellowish sandstone used as refractory material for fireplaces. Florentine Renaissance architecture used pietra serena coming mainly from the quarries of Monte Ceceri. Among the numerous Florentine works in this stone, revealing particularly fine workmanship and remarkable quality in terms of the formal solution, we should mention the stairway designed by Michelangelo for the Biblioteca Laurenziana, the Brunelleschian complex of San Lorenzo and the church of Santo Spirito. The area of Monte Ceceri, with its surface area of around 44 hectares, has obtained legal recognition by the Regione Toscana as a Protected Natural Area of Local Interest; the company owning the land has granted free use, until the year 2020, of about 18 hectares to the Comune of Fiesole, and the Regione Toscana and Provincia di Firenze have already financed the project for the creation of a park that will be structured as an open-air pietra serena museum. Until 1929 Monte Ceceri was completely barren, but under regional management, a reforestation programme was carried out which, from the 1950s onwards, started to result in the hill’s present appearance as a wooded area. There are 42 quarries in the area that are evidence of the intense quarrying activity of the stone masons of Monte Ceceri and Settignano; craftsmen who were also able to forge their own tools in iron and carry out the tempering of bladed and pointed chisels (subbia) that gave the metal the right degree of hardness while at the same time maintaining its cutting potential.

Elena Maria Petrini Architect, Comune di Fiesole

photo Elena Maria Petrini

foreigners in florence

Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz

Founded in 1897, and part of the Max-PlanckGesellschaft since 2002, this is one of the oldest research institutions dedicated to the history of art and architecture in Italy. One of its principle aims is the education of scholars of an international level. The institute’s resources include the library with over 300,000 volumes, 940 ongoing journal subscriptions, and one of the most wide-ranging photographic libraries on Italian art, at the disposal of researchers from all over the world. via Giuseppe Giusti, 44

www.khi.fi.it

European University Institute

The EUI is an international postgraduate teaching and research institute established in 1972 by the six founding Member States of the European Community to promote cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, law, economics and the humanities in a European perspective. Lectures and seminars are organised with high profile figures on the international scene. The EUI carries out its work in various places near the city.

Badia Fiesolana via dei Roccettini, 9, San Domenico di Fiesole

www.eui.eu

Syracuse University in Florence

As one of the oldest study abroad programmes in Italy, Syracuse’s long-standing relationship with the Florentine community enable it to offer an extensive range of courses and cultural immersions. The University is housed in Villa Rossa, purchased by the University in 1963. piazza Savonarola, 15

www.syr.fi.it

edited by Alyson Price

Dutch University Institute fro Art History

Founded in 1958 to encourage cultural exchange, particularly between northern and southern Europe, the institute has an extensive and specialised library with a prestigious collection of critical texts on the history of art and culture.

The main areas of specialisation are Italian art and the art of the Netherlands. The insitute organises exhibitions, publications and lectures. viale Torricelli, 5

www.iuoart.org

New York University in Florence at Villa La Pietra

French Institute in Florence

La Pietra is the seat of the University in Florence and houses the Acton Collection with over 7,000 paintings, sculptures and other objects, and a Library with about 12,000 volumes and 16,000 photographs. The University hosts the Remarque Institute seminars, the Graduate Studies seminars, the Acton Miscellany, the Season Events and the La Pietra Policy Dialogues. The La Pietra Policy Dialogues aim to make a creative contribution to contemporary public policy debate by bringing together a wide array of actors not commonly called upon to reflect on policy questions or to sit at the same table together, including academics, politicians, business leaders, and other public intellectuals, with the ultimate goal of building a rich and diverse network across the Atlantic.

Villa La Pietra via Bolognese, 120

The French Institute, the oldest in the world and established in 1907, is part of the French State and of the cultural network of the French Embassy in Italy. It is located in the 15thcentury palazzo Lenzi and for over a century it has constantly maintained an active cultural policy and developed its unique library and newspaper library. piazza Ognissanti, 2

www.france-italia.it

activities Suona Francese 2012 The most important Italian festival of French music, now in its 5th year, includes concerts held in various venues in the city and a conference on Messiaen. www.suonafrancese.it

www.nyu.edu/global/lapietra

Concert, Eliane Radigue 7 May at 21 Villa Romana

British Institute of Florence The Harold Acton Library Founded in 1917 to promote cultural exchange between Italy and the English-speaking world, the British Institute today offers a comprehensive programme of courses in the Italian language, the English language and history of art, as well as a wide range of cultural events. lungarno Guicciardini, 9

www.britishinstitute.it

activities The Cultural Programme takes place at 18 every Wednesday. This season includes, on 16 May, a lecture by Richard Davies on the Italian diplomat Daniel Varé, Daniel Varé, the Laughing Diplomat. The Institute celebrates Shakespeare in the week beginning with the anniversary of his birth, 23 April, and James Joyce in the week leading up to Bloomsday on 16 June. On 22 June the Institute hosts the conference Preparing the way: the representation of John the Baptist in art, music and literature.

Conference registration required.

The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies The centre at Villa I Tatti is devoted to advanced study of the Italian Renaissance in all its aspects: the history of art; political, economic, and social history; the history of science, philosophy, and religion; and the history of literature and music.

Villa I Tatti via di Vincigliata, 26

www.itatti.it

events Early Music at I Tatti, XX Tensho¯ Sho¯nen Shisetsu. The Italian Tour of Four Japanese Youths in 1585 13 June 2012 at 17.30, Palazzo Pitti 14 June 2012 at 18, Villa I Tatti

Fabbrica Europa / Les trois Baudets: Vincha et Mell 9 May at 20.30 French Institute Concerts dedicated to Debussy 29 and 30 May at 20.30 Piccolo Teatro del Maggio Musicale Conference on Massiaen 1-2 June Florence Lyceum Club Concert, Karimouche 19 June at 20.30 French Institute

Georgetown University In 1979, Margaret Rockefeller Strong Cuevas, granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, donated her father’s estate, Villa Le Balze, to Georgetown University. Her aim was that Le Balze would be a place of learning in honour of her father, himself a philosopher, writer, and educator.

Georgetown University now offers students the opportunity to study in Florence, and organises conferences and publications Villa Le Balze via Vecchia Fiesolana, 26

www11.georgetown.edu

conference Emotions, Passions, and Power in Renaissance Italy Georgetown and the Università degli Studi di Firenze 7-8 May 2012 Georgetown hosts a conference with the contribution of professors from Georgetown University, the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai, Loyola University Chicago, the Università degli Studi Florence, University of California Santa Barbara, the Università del Molise, King’s College London, University of Grenoble, the Università di Milano, the Università degli Studi di Parma, University of Manchester, and the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici di Napoli.

Information: smocali@villalebalze.org

52

The English and the Americans in Florence

Discover the English in Florence with THE ENGLISH WALKS IN FLORENCE

THE ENGLISH AND THE AMERICANS IN FLORENCE

23&24 May 2012

23RD & 24TH MAY 2012 Two unique one-day programmes that bring to life the cultural experience of the Anglo-Americans in Florence. Each day is introduced by an expert lecturer and the British Institute archivist who put the day in context, in the splendid setting of the Harold Acton Library of the British Institute of Florence.

by Lauri Thorndyke

three brief guides following in the tracks of English travellers, evoking the golden age of that elegant tourism which signaled an unforgettable period in the history of Florence on sale in Florence at museum bookshops, at Paperback Exchange and My Accademia, at the British Institute or directly from Centro Di www.centrodi.it

Two unique one-day programmes that bring to life the cultural experience of the Anglo-Americans in Florence.

Each day is introduced by an expert lecturer and the British Institute archivist who put the day in context, in the splendid setting of the Harold Acton Library of the British Institute of Florence.

THE VICTORIANS LITERARY LANDSCAPES

THE EDWARDIANS CULTURE AND STYLE

23rd May 2012

24th May 2012

Each programme €200.00 t Both programmes €350.00

THE ENGLISH WALKS IN FLORENCE di Lauri Thorndyke

Lungarno Guicciardini 9 t 50125 Firenze

Tel: +39 055 267781 t info@britishinstitute.it www.britishinstitute.it

◉ THE GRAND TOUR ◉ THE VICTORIAN TOUR ◉ THE EDWARDIAN RESIDENTS cm 13.7x29.7 12 pages in English

Library and Cultural Centre t British Institute of Florence

€ 5 for one € 12 the series

The Victorians Literary Landscapes

The Edwardians Culture and Style

23rd May

24th May

Discover the world of the Victorians in Florence. Visit the home of English poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning; explore the styles and influences still visible today behind the doors of Florentine buildings, including a visit to a private palace; enjoy lunch and views from the Torre di Bellosguardo, once described by Lady Paget as having ‘air like champagne’; tour the ‘English Cemetery’ with its wealth of history; experience the past with a carriage ride through the old city centre. A rare glimpse of another time. All fees and transfers included.

Numbers are limited, prebooking required.

Explore a time of culture and style, and the unique role of Anglo-Florentine collectors, in the city and its surrounding hills. Share the passion of two Edwardian collectors, Herbert Horne and Arthur Acton: tour the Horne Museum; break the day with lunch in a private club, founded in the 1860s, on the ‘more English than England’ shopping street of via Tornabuoni; tour the 15th-century Villa La Pietra, visit its collection, established in the 1900s, and the recently restored magnificent gardens.

Experience the age of collecting and culture.

All fees and transfers included. Numbers are limited, pre-booking required.

Booking Information: The Victorians – Literary Landscapes 23 May 2012 € 200 The Edwardians – Culture and Style 24 May 2012 € 200 Both programmes € 350 Courses are conducted in English, beginning at 9am in the Library and Cultural Centre and concluding at 5pm.

For more information and booking:

www.britishinstitute.it

info@britishinstitute.it

Library and Cultural Centre, lungarno Guicciardini, 9 50125 Florence 00 39 055 2677 8270 Fax: 00 39 055 2677 8252

children

april Dinosauri in carne e ossa Botanical gardens I trucchi della natura 1 April at 10-12 Un passato ad arte 8 April at 10-12 Il verde di una volta 15 April at 10-12 Paleodetective 22 April at 10-12 Indovina chi...

29 April at 10-12

Mathematical Sundays

Museum of Mathematics Origami di Pasqua (guided visit and workshop) 1 April at 15.30

Activities generally take place in Italian, please consult websites for information regarding activities in English or in other languages.

A tutta scienza

Galileo Museum Leonardo artista e scienziato (workshop) 1 and 22 April at 15 Experiential Visit in English 7 April at 15 Le collezioni della scienza 14 April at 15 Gli strumenti di Galileo (workshop) 15 and 29 April at 15 La chimica di Pietro Leopoldo.

Dall’alchimia alle nuove scienze 21 April at 15 Il cannocchiale racconta 28 April at 15

Artigiani in famiglia

Horne Museum 14, 21 and 28 April at 10-12 or 16-18

Famiglie al museo

Church and Museum of Orsanmichele Le “Arti” e i loro santi protettori 7 April at 10.30 Palazzo Davanzati Il “gioco del civettino” specchio della vita quotidiana del Medioevo 14 April at 10.30 Boboli Gardens Le grotte dei Medici 21 April at 10.30

Musesplorando

Anthropology and Ethnology Storie di viaggi e viaggiatori (guided visit) 1 April at 10.30-12.30 “La Specola” OvoMuseo (event) 7 April at 10.30-12,30 and 14.30-16.30 Anthropology and Ethnology Cruciverbone antropologico (workshop) 14 April at 15-17 Villa Il Gioiello (via Pian dei Giullari, 42) Di gioviale e giocondo aspetto (guided visit) 15 April at 10.30-11.30 “La Specola” HMS Beagle (workshop) 15 April at 15-17 “La Specola” Volando sul pentagramma (guided visit) 22 April at 10.30-11.30 “La Specola” Birdwatching in città (guided visit) 29 April at 15-17

Family size

CCC Strozzina every Saturday at 15.30

Families at Palazzo Strozzi

54

Palazzo Strozzi Exploring the Palazzo. One palazzo, five senses 1 April at 15.30-16.30 The story-teller. Open-air tales 3 April at 17.30-18.30 Seeing hands (guided visit and workshop) every Saturday at 10.30-12 Through different eyes (guided visit and workshop) every Sunday at 10,30-12,30

Obladì

the Oblate every Saturday

may

june

Detective dell’Arte

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

(Amico Museo) Museo Casa Siviero 5-6 May

Botanical gardens I trucchi della natura 3 June at 10-12 Un passato ad arte 10 June at 10-12 Il verde di una volta 17 June at 10-12 Paleodetective 24 June at 10-12

Dinosauri in carne e ossa Botanical gardens Spostarsi, problemi di gravità 6 May at 10-12 Davanti allo specchio 13 May at 10-12 MiniMega Game 20 May at 10-12 Cibi di un tempo 27 May at 10-12

Family size

CCC Strozzina every Saturday at 15.30

Families at Palazzo Strozzi

Mathematical Sundays

Museum of Mathematics guided visit and mathematical treasure hunt (Amico Museo) 6 May at 16

Families at Palazzo Strozzi

Palazzo Strozzi Exploring the Palazzo.

100 ways of saying “piazza” 6 May at 17.30-18.30 Seeing hands (guided visit and workshop) every Saturday at 10.30-12 Through different eyes (guided visit and workshop) every Sunday at 10.30-12.30

A tutta scienza

Galileo Museum Impara l’inglese con la scienza 5 May at 15 Leonardo artista e scienziato (workshop) 6 and 20 May at 15 Sperimentiamo il Museo!

12 May at 15 Gli strumenti di Galileo (workshop) 13 and 27 May at 15 Dante secondo Galileo 19 May at 15 Il cannocchiale racconta 26 May at 15

Palazzo Strozzi Exploring the Palazzo.

A big family for a big house 3 June at 17.30-18.30 The story-teller. A really special place 5 June at 17.30-18.30 Seeing hands (guided visit and workshop) every Saturday at 10.30-12 Through different eyes (guided visit and workshop) every Sunday at 10.30-12.30

Obladì

the Oblate every Saturday

A tutta scienza

at the Galileo Museum for families with children aged 6 years and up every weekend until the end of May guided visits and workshops booking 055 265311 weekend@museogalileo.it www.museogalileo.it

Artigiani in famiglia

Horne Museum 5, 12 and 19 May at 10-12 or 16-18

Family size

Obladì

CCC Strozzina every Saturday at 15.30

at the Oblate complex

Musesplorando

for adults and children

Anthropology and Ethnology Il grande gioco antropologico (workshop) 6 May at 15-17 Villa Il Gioiello (via Pian dei Giullari, 42) Il mito Galileo (guided visit) 13 May at 10.30-11.30 “La Specola” Perché la zebra è a strisce? (laboratorio) 13 May at 15-17 “La Specola” Foto Birdwatching in città (tour in town) 20 May at 10.30-11.30 “La Specola” Una macchina quasi perfetta (guided visit) 27 May at 10.30-12.30

Obladì

the Oblate every Saturday

Detective dell’Arte

at the Museo Casa Siviero for children and young people learning from the detective Rodolfo Siviero www.museocasasiviero.it

every Saturday until July stories, readings, puppets, fantastic and entertaining characters guarantee enjoyment for all calendar and information: 055 291923 oblatedintorni@gmail.com

www.oblatedintorni.it

Famiglie al museo

Sezione Didattica del Polo Museale for families with children aged 7 to 14

Discovering masterpieces of art together with the whole family. From the most famous museums like the Uffizi and the Accademia to lesser-known treasures like the Cenacolo di Fuligno, numerous itineraries offer visitors the opportunity to explore the city’s amazing artistic heritage. booking necessary 055 284272 fax 055 2388680 Wednesday at 15-18 and Thursday at 9-12 didattica@polomuseale.firenze.it www.polomuseale.firenze.it/didattica

august

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

Botanical gardens Indovina chi...

1 July at 10-12 Spostarsi, problemi di gravità 8 July at 10-12 Davanti allo specchio 15 July at 10-12 MiniMega Game 22 July at 10-12 Cibi di un tempo 29 July at 10-12

Botanical gardens I trucchi della natura 5 August at 10-12 Un passato ad arte 12 August at 10-12 Il verde di una volta 19 August at 10-12 Paleodetective 26 August at 10-12

Botanical gardens Indovina chi...

2 September at 10-12

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

Accompanying the exhibition Dinosauri in carne e ossa short workshops with games, hands-on activities and excavations on the track of prehistoric animals

Palazzo Strozzi Exploring the Palazzo. The stone giant 1 July at 17.30-18.30 The story-teller. Upside-down stories 3 July at 17.30-18.30 Seeing hands (guided visit and workshop) 7 July at 10,30-12 Through different eyes (guided visit and workshop) 8 July at 10.30-12.30

continuous programme Saturday and Sunday 1417; booking for workshops for groups of children Sunday 10-12

Family size

Mathematical Sundays

Obladì

guided tours and surprises!

information and booking 055 2346760 www.dinosauricarneossa.tumblr.com

at the Museum of Mathematics

CCC Strozzina 7 and 14 July at 15.30

first Sunday of every month the activities are repeated on the following Sundays, depending upon demand

Artigiani in famiglia

at the Horne Museum for families with children aged 8 to 13 This project offers the opportunity to learn about and experiment with traditional artistic techniques, thanks to the work of practising Florentine artisans. This spring there are two courses, each with three meetings: museum visit, meeting in an artisan’s workshop, pratical workshop. information and booking 055 244661 segreteria@museohorne.it www.museohorne.it

Dinosauri in carne e ossa

at the Botanical gardens

Families at Palazzo Strozzi

the Oblate every Saturday

september

children

july

booking necessary 055 7879594 www.archimede.ms

Musesplorando is the virtual space where you find all the educational options open to you for an exciting journey in the world of the sciences.

Science at the click of a mouse!

Familiarizzare il Museo

(Getting to know the museum) at the Natural History and Anthropology Museum workshops, games, guided tours for the old and the young to understand the world of nature through play and experiment in the museum’s collections booking 055 2346760 www.musesplorando.it

illustrations by Silvia Cheli

55

children

Families

at Palazzo Strozzi for families with children aged 3 years and up • Captions designed specifically to encourage interaction • Audioguides for both adults and children • The Family Suitcase: the Painter’s Satchel contains texts and games designed to allow each family group to follow a particular route through the exhibition • A rich programme with which to explore art in a stimulating and entertaining way with activities for different age groups • The Family Ticket: created to encourage families to visit the exhibitions and participate in Palazzo Strozzi activities, this allows a family group (up to 2 adults and their children) unlimited access to the exhibitions Americans in Florence.

Sargent and the American impressionists and American Dreamers • The Family Sunday events offer you the perfect opportunity for a fun day out with the whole family until 15 July 2012 on the occasion of the exhibition Americans in Florence. Sargent and the American impressionists free activities with exhibition entry ticket booking necessary for all the activities Sigma CSC 055 2469600 (Monday to Friday 9-13, 14-18) fax 055 244145 prenotazioni@cscsigma.it family activities are available in English on request at 055 3917141 The Family Suitcase The Painter’s Satchel is free with an exhibition ticket; you can book the Family Suitcase ahead of your visit by phoning 055 2645155 or ask directly at the information point

www.palazzostrozzi.org/families

Exploring the Palazzo

The Family Bag

Observing, Discovering, Creating

Palazzo Strozzi is huge! Have you ever taken a really close look at it? On this discovery tour we are going to use our senses to discover the sounds, colours and shapes of the palazzo and how it interacts with the city. Through creative activities, we explore the hidden nooks and secret details that reveal the story of the Strozzi family’s “huge palazzo”. first Sunday of every month 15.30-16.30 for children aged 5 to 10 and accompanying adults no ticket to the exhibition is required; participants may attend single events

Visits to the exhibition and workshops

available every day for visitors aged 3 years and up

Seeing hands

Inside or outside? Near or far? We will be closely observing the paintings and playing at “seeing” them with our hands, an extraordinarily flexible “tool” that a touch of imagination can turn into a thousand different objects... We will discover how you can see the world in lots of different ways thanks to a simple – and astonishing – change of perspective! every Saturday 10.30-12 for children aged 3 to 6 and accompanying adults

Through different eyes

How many ways are there of looking at a scene? How many ways are there of painting?

Using our observation, we discover how each artist chooses not only what they want to paint but also what eyes to observe it with.

And we find out how we, too, keep on choosing our viewpoint as we observe the world around us. every Sunday 10.30-12.30 for children aged 7 to 12 and accompanying adults

Art course Another point of view

Experience the exhibition in “4D” with a 10week creative course combining observation skills, hands-on practical work and corporal expression. Through an in-depth study of the paintings on display in the exhibition, you climb into the space inside the picture frame. You will be able to use the vocabulary of painting, music and dance to interpret your own personal and creative experience of the exhibition, and the course will end with a “live” evening performance to be held before 15 June. from 23 March to 1 June every Friday at 15.30-17.30 8 and 9 June at 17-21 rehearsals for performance for young people aged 12 to 14

Creative activities The story-teller

A work of art can tell us a million stories, we just have to learn how to listen! That’s exactly what the story-teller teaches us as he shares with us the folk tales, myths and legends hidden in a painting. We will meet in the exhibition to observe, listen, and even draw if that’s what we feel like doing!

Le stanze dei tesori

first Tuesday of every month 17.30-18.30 (except from May) for children aged 5 to 10 and accompanying adults

at Palazzo Medici Riccardi and at the Stefano Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Bandini, Palazzo Davanzati, Casa Rodolfo Siviero and Fondazione Salvatore Romano museums

Birthdays

at the Museo e Istituto Fiorentino di Preistoria

until 15 April 2012 on the occasion of the exhibition Le stanze dei tesori workshops for families bookings: 055 2340742 (Monday to Friday) prenotazioni@cscsigma.it www.stanzedeitesori.it

The Painter’s Satchel

The family bag contains all that is necessary to emulate the experience of an American painter in the late 19th and early 20th century, when Florence was a place beloved by artists, writers and intellectuals from America.

With this you can visit the exhibition in a stimulating and entertaining way with activities for different age groups, including explanatory cards, games to test your powers of observation and everything you’ll need to draw with. You don’t need to be an artist to use the Painter’s Satchel, and you can even build your own tour to suit the time you have available for your visit, from just over half an hour to a whole day!

Workshops at the Pecci

workshops and guided visits to the exhibitions for adults and children booking 0574 531835 edu@centropecci.it calendar and further information: www.centropecci.it

Celebrate a birthday in the museum and get to know prehistory better with a guide who allows children to touch some of the objects. At the end of the visit children join in the chosen workshop and treasure hunts designed for different age groups (ages 5 to 12) booking 055 295159 info@museofiorentinopreistoria.it

Family size

at the CCC Strozzina for children aged 6 to 12 and accompanying adults

guided tour of the exhibition to discover the world of contemporary art every Saturday at 15.30 until 15 July 2012 booking necessary 055 3917137 didatticastrozzina@palazzostrozzi.org www.strozzina.org

illustrations by Silvia Cheli

(Learning by doing) at the Museo degli Innocenti for children aged 3 to 11

The Bottega dei Ragazzi, the educational section of the museum, offers a world of games and creative workshops where children experience the world of art and learn by doing, as in a Renaissance workshop. The Bottega dei Ragazzi also offers guided games in the nursery and spaces are also made available for birthday parties. booking 055 2478386 workshops in orari Bottega dei Ragazzi: Saturday 10-13 e 16-19,

bottega@istitutodeglinnocenti.it English upon demand Monday to Friday 9-13 and 16-19, last Sunday of the month 10-13

Storie di carta, cartone e colori for families until 3 June 2102

children

L’arte dell’“imparar facendo”

guided tours for children and their parents of the exhibition Figli d’Italia; discover the biographies, images and objects that describe the support given to abandoned children in the early years of a unified Italy.

Follow the workshop in which children record the memories decorating a cutout of a child; children attach their own memories and share them with their parents. Work produced by children today will then enrich the museum space, placed alongside the historical memories. booking 055 2478386 bottega@istitutodeglinnocenti.it for the calendar of activities see www.labottegadeiragazzi.it

Birthdays

at Palazzo Vecchio celebrate a birthday in the evocative surroundings of the Palazzo Vecchio through the Children’s Museum.

Celebrate with gifts and candles in a specially appointed room. Maximum numbers 20 children and 5 adults Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.3017.30; Saturday and Sunday 9.30-12.30 and 14.30-17.30. Activities for children begin at 10 and at 15. Parents have the first half an hour to decorate the birthday room

Il Museo dei Ragazzi

(Children’s Museum) A collection of educational projects promoted by the municipality, offering a broad array of educational and cultural opportunities, with the participation of various museums. Over 40 activities, using drama, multimedia and hands-on interactive material

activities in the Museo dei Ragazzi in Palazzo Vecchio Quartieri Monumentali

•Scopri Palazzo Vecchio •Favole per i più piccoli •Teatro al museo •Atelier d’arte •Il cibo come cultura •Geografia al museo •Giochi di ruolo

Guided visits and workshops at the MNAF

for families with children aged 6 years and up the educational section organises guided tours and workshops for families, using educational aids designed specially to stimulate in participants a spirit of observation and creativity Alla scoperta del MNAF! Guided tours of the museum’s permanent exhibition La storia vera di un cavallo fotografo Guided tour on the theme of movement in photography, and a workshop in producing a ‘moving’ photograph Una camera oscura grande come la cattedrale di Santa Maria Novella Guided tour on the development of the old camera obscura and a woarkshop on optical apparatus Scatta Firenze!

Tour around the city through photography L’Italia in posa Guided tour on the theme of the portrait in photography, and a workshop using multimedia games on well-known figures of the Risorgimento

Activities last about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The Museo dei Ragazzi has different activities going on over the same day, it is therefore possible to choose more than one activity for children.

Fotografia: invenzione o scoperta?

Guided tour looking of work illustrating the progress of this marvelous process, and a workshop of multimedia games

information and bookings: 055 2768224 fax 055 2768558 Monday to Sunday 9.30-17 info.museoragazzi@comune.fi.it www.palazzovecchio-museoragazzi.it

Booking required for family groups, no less than 10 people. Guided tour of the historic Fratelli Alinari building (largo Alinari, 15) is possible for groups of up to 15 people booking: 055 216310 055 2395217 didatticamnaf@alinari.it www.alinarifondazione.it

57

music in the city

The new Teatro dell’Opera Parco della Musica The new auditorium stands on the edge of the Parco delle Cascine, opposite the Stazione Leopolda, and lies on the boundary that separates the Florence of stone from its main natural environment: on an urban scale the concept of the project was therefore to establish an effective link between the city and its park. The Teatro dell’Opera is a modern music centre capable of hosting performances of the highest quality of opera, symphonic and chamber music and rock, in an adaptable, multi-purpose complex. An opera hall with 1850 seats, a concert hall for 1,000 spectators and a large auditorium for open-air musical performances, their facilities, and the remarkable complexity of a fully equipped theatrical structure: fly tower, stage, workshops, orchestra pit, rehearsal rooms, and ballet and dressing rooms and storage areas.

The exterior finish materials Special attention was devoted to the choice of materials for the exterior finish of the buildings, to the shapes of the structure and to the architectural quality overall. Fundamental requisites for the choice of materials were the ease of maintenance and the need for an architecture whose typological and morphological characteristics, finish, materials and colours were context friendly in relation to the surrounding city. In the light of these considerations the choice fell upon materials that were best able to reinterpret and render contemporary the local tradition.

Traditional pietra serena, for example, is a stone that is not sufficiently reliable at the level of durability, a crucial factor well known in the ancient world, which became manifest after only 4-5 years. An artificial stone was therefore decided upon which took up the familiar grey tones of pietra serena, but which was characterised by an extremely high level of resistance and durability. The base structure, or plinth, the paving of the outer terrace, including the ramps and steps, were made using porcelain stoneware in various shades of grey. The two recital halls, the auditorium and the paving of the roof garden of the small hall were faced in Kerlite with colours recalling the tradition of Florentine polychrome marbles, such as to form a contrast with the grey of the base structure; in particular the colours are reminiscent of cipollino marble with its shades of green on a white base. The material chosen to face the volume of the fly tower is the terracotta typical of the local tradition, although it too is reinterpreted, taking into consideration the grey and green of the base structure and the volumes of the halls. The outer wall, made of fixed brick sun screens, is faced with glazed earthenware panels in various shades of grey and green that increase the effect of depth and perceived vibration. The resulting effect is that of a spectacular ‘mixture’ of brick elements, arranged randomly and detached from the main masonry structure: an intricate pattern enveloping the whole volume, becoming denser or more spaced out according to the different aspects of the main wall behind. The detachment of the outer facing from the façades behind (80 cm) means that at night time the fly tower, thanks to a special system of illumination, takes on the appearance of a resplendent and truly territorial landmark.

Kerlite is an original ceramic product of an extremely high technological and aesthetic quality. It is highly eco-sustainable in that it requires 66% less raw materials compared to a traditional earthenware, but above all it has far less environmental impact compared to the extraction of any other natural stone material. The innate qualities of Kerlite also make it possible to obtain unrivalled performance compared to any natural stone: it is resistant to acids and atmospheric agents, durable, easy to lay, cut and perforate. For the Parco della Musica in Florence, Cotto d’Este, in association with the designers of the ABDR studio, studied ad hoc solutions that make the structure absolutely unique.

Thanks to a unique system of digital printing and decoration applied directly during the production of Kerlite, it was possible to produce Kerlite Auditorium, a light-weight laminated stoneware with exceptional aesthetic characteristics. Thanks to its only 3,5 mm thickness, to the special formats measuring 50x150 cm and to 28 slabs with different graphics, the material harmoniously complemented the surrounding environment. For the creation of the cipollino version, used for the exterior facings, a wide assortment of natural marble slabs was selected, directly in the areas of extraction. The slabs were cut in the format required and photographed with high definition technology. The photographs were subsequently reelaborated to obtain a digital mapping. The data obtained were then impressed on 7 large slabs, with an extremely high-definition greyscale on 5 levels and with an absolutely perfect design. These slabs, reinforced with glass-fibre matting, were in turn cut into the format 50x150x0,35 cm until 28 slabs were created, each different from the next, obtaining thus a perfectly 25,000 sq m Kerlite natural effect. For the Cipollino version paving of the floor, on cm 50x150x0,35 the other hand, a 15,000 sq m Kerlite porcelain stoneware Gres stoneware version structured form was cm 40x100x1,4 created, obtained using casts from bush hammered stones.

58 Project: ABDR Architetti Associati, Roma photo courtesy of ABDR

Firenze etrusca. Ipotesi storiche e realtà archeologiche, di Giovanni Spini e Enio Pecchioni, Firenze 2011 Gli etruschi e gli scavi in Toscana nel Risorgimento. I lavori della Società Colombaria tra il 1858 e il 1886, di Stefano Bruni, Cinisello Balsamo 2011 Volti svelati: antico e passione per l’antico. Capolavori dai depositi degli Uffizi, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi-Reali Poste, 20112012), a cura di Fabrizio Paolucci e Valentina Conticelli, Livorno 2011

Architecture, Gardens, Museums, Palaces Ammannati e Vasari per la città dei Medici, a cura di Cristina Acidini e Giacomo Pirazzoli, Firenze 2011 Edifici monumentali e parchi del Quartiere Uno di Firenze, di Giampaolo Trotta, Firenze 2011 Florentinische Palastkapellen unter den Medici-Herzögen (1537-1609).

Verborgene Orte frommer Selbstdarstellung, di Martin Hirschboeck, Berlin-München 2011 Fondazione Salvatore Romano. Guida alla visita del Museo, a cura di Serena Pini, Firenze 2011 Giotto: il restauro del Polittico di Badia, a cura di Angelo Tartuferi, Firenze 2012 Giovan Antonio Dosio da Sangimignano architetto e scultore fiorentino tra Roma, Firenze e Napoli, a cura di Emanuele Barletti, Firenze 2011

La Grotta grande di Boboli: laboratorio di meraviglie, di Costanza Riva, Pieve di Soligo 2011 La Serra del Giardino dell’Orticoltura a Firenze, di Daniele Vannetiello, Firenze 2011 Museo di Palazzo Davanzati. Guida alla visita del Museo, a cura di Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani e Maria Grazia Vaccari, Firenze 2011 Museo Horne. Guida alla visita del Museo, a cura di Elisabetta Nardinocchi, Firenze 2011 Museo Stefano Bardini. Guida alla visita del Museo, a cura di Antonella Nesi, Firenze 2011

Vasari, gli Uffizi e il Duca, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi, 2011-2012), a cura di Claudia Conforti con Francesca Funis, Firenze 2011 Viaggio nell’esotismo settecentesco alla Villa del Poggio Imperiale a Firenze. Il riallestimento della Stanza dei Quadri Cinesi e i restauri nei Quartieri Leopoldini al piano nobile, di Mirella Branca e Lucia Caterina, Livorno 2011

Painting, Sculpture, Applied Arts Artista. Critica dell’arte in Toscana, 2010, a cura di Carlo Del Bravo, Anna Maria Petrioli Tofani e Carlo Sisi, Firenze 2011 Botticelli. La Nascita di Venere, di Stefano Zuffi, Milano 2011 Desiderio da Settignano, atti del convegno (Firenze-Settignano, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz-Villa I Tatti, 9-12 maggio 2007), a cura di Joseph Connors, Alessandro Nova, Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi e Gerhard Wolf, Venezia 2011 Filippino Lippi e Sandro Botticelli nella Firenze del Quattrocento, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Scuderie del Quirinale, 2011-2012), a cura di Alessandro Cecchi, Milano 2011 Firenze. La fabbrica dei segni. Città e arte contemporanea, di Giandomenico Semeraro, Firenze 2011

La Collezione Corsi Dipinti italiani dal XIV al XV secolo The Corsi Collection.

Italian Paintings from the Fourteenth to Fifteenth Century

Edited by Sonia Chiodo and Antonella Nesi In italian and English

Il risorgimento della maiolica italiana: Ginori e Cantagalli, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Museo Stibbert, 20112012), a cura di Livia Frescobaldi Malenchini e Oliva Rucellai, Firenze 2011

La Firenze scomparsa. Le antiche mura, il ghetto e il mercato vecchio demoliti nell’800, di Daniela Zani, Firenze 2011

L’immagine e lo sguardo. Ritratti e studi di figura da Raffaello a Constable, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Museo Horne, 2011), a cura di Elisabetta Nardinocchi e Matilde Casati, Livorno 2011 La collezione Corsi: i dipinti dal XIV al XV secolo, a cura di Antonella Nesi e Sonia Chiodo, Firenze 2011 La croce di Bernardo Daddi.

Vicissitudini di un’opera d’arte, a cura di Antonella Nesi, saggio di Ginevra Utari, Firenze 2011 La pala d’altare. Dal polittico alla pala quadra, di Andrea De Marchi, Firenze 2012 Les premiers ateliers italiens de la Renaissance de Finiguerra à Botticelli, catalogo della mostra (Parigi, Museo del Louvre, 2011), a cura di Catherine Loisel e Pascal Torres, Paris 2011 Macchiaioli a Villa Bardini, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Villa Bardini, 2011-2012), a cura di Silvestra Bietoletti e Roberto Longi, Cinisello Balsamo 2011 Onorio Marinari, di Silvia Benassai, Firenze 2011 Rinascere dalle acque. Spazi e forme del Battesimo nella Toscana medievale, a cura di Annamaria Ducci e Marco Frati, Ospedaletto 2011

History Amerigo Vespucci, di Franco Cardini e Marina Montesano, Firenze 2011 Arte e storia. Cultura e restauro a Firenze tra Ottocento e Novecento, di Martina Vannini, Firenze 2011

Giorgio Vasari, catalogo della mostra (Parigi, Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, 2011), a cura di Louis Frank e Stefania Tullio Cataldo, Milano 2011 Giorgio Vasari. Disegnatore e pittore.

“Istudio, diligenza et amorevole fatica”, catalogo della mostra (Arezzo, 2011-2012), a cura di Alessandra Baroni, Alessandro Cecchi e Liletta Fornasari, Milano 2011 Guido Spadolini. Retrospettiva di un artista della prima metà del ’900, catalogo della mostra (Sesto Fiorentino, Centro Espositivo Berti, 2011-2012), a cura di Giulia Ballerini e Maria Donata Spadolini, Firenze 2011

Denaro e bellezza. I banchieri, Botticelli e il rogo delle vanità, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Palazzo Strozzi, 2011-2012), a cura di Ludovica Sebregondi e Tim Parks, Firenze 2011 Die Frauen des Hauses Medici. Politik, Mäzenatentum, Rollenbilder (15121743), a cura di Christina Strunck, Petersberg 2011 Firenze 1000 anni di calcio storico, di Luciano Artusi, Firenze 2011

Il crocifisso d’oro del Museo Poldi Pezzoli. Giambologna e Gasparo Mola, catalogo della mostra (Milano, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, 2011), a cura di Andrea di Lorenzo, Milano 2011

info www.centrodi.it

La Firenze di Giovanni Battista Giorgini. Artigianato e moda fra Italia e Stati Uniti, di Letizia Pagliai, Firenze 2011

Florence in the Nineteenth Century. A Guide to Original Sources in Florentine Archives and Libraries for Researchers into the English-Speaking Community, di Alyson Price, Firenze 2011

Edited by Gabriele Caioni

Concept and selection of works Fabrizio Moretti

In English

Allegories

Le meridiane storiche fiorentine, di Stefano Barbolini e Giovanni Garofalo, Firenze 2011

Le passioni del re. Paesi, cavalli e altro a Firenze al tempo dei Savoia, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Villa Medicea di Castello, 2011-2012), a cura di Mirella Branca e Annarita Caputo, Firenze 2011

Le stanze dei tesori. Collezioni e antiquari a Firenze tra Ottocento e Novecento, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, 20112012), a cura di Lucia Mannini, Firenze 2011

Medicea. Rivista interdisciplinare di studi medicei, 8, 9, 10 (febbraio, giugno, ottobre 2011), a cura di Marco Ferri e Clara Gambaro, Firenze 2011 Navigare in Arno. Acque, uomini, e marmi tra Firenze e il mare, di Emanuela Ferretti e Davide Turrini, Firenze 2011

Salvatore Ferragamo. Ispirazioni e visioni, a cura di Stefania Ricci e Sergio Risaliti, Milano 2011

Semplici e continue diligenze.

Conservazione e restauro dei dipinti nelle Gallerie di Firenze nel Settecento e nell’Ottocento, di Gabriella Incerpi, Firenze 2011 Souvenir de Florence. L’immagine della città nell’Ottocento, di Claudio Paolini, Firenze 2011

Spiritualità e vita sacerdotale a Firenze fra XVII e XX secolo. La congregazione dei sacerdoti secolari di Gesù Salvatore e il convitto de “La Calza”, di Giancarlo Lanforti, Firenze 2011 Umanesimo a Firenze nell’età di Lorenzo e Poliziano: Jacopo Bracciolini, Bartolomeo Fonzio, Francesco da Castiglione tra cultura e vita civile, di Francesco Bausi, Roma 2011 Volterra e Firenze dalla guerra alla pace, di Giovanni Cipriani, Ospedaletto 2011

new titles Centro Di Spring-Summer 2012

The Middle Ages Seicento Ritratti all’antica Il giardino and Early Fiorentino e profili di dell’anima: Renaissance Sacred and Profane imperatori: ascesi e Paintings and Sculptures from the Carlo De Carlo Collection and other Provenance

La moda a Firenze, 1540-1580. Lo stile di Cosimo I de’ Medici, di Roberta Orsi Landini e Bruna Niccoli, Firenze 2011

scultura del Quattrocento Edited by nel Museo Francesca Baldassari Stefano Bardini Concept and Edited by selection of works Antonella Nesi Fabrizio Moretti Essay by In English and Italian Francesca Maria Bacci

propaganda nelle Tebaidi fiorentine del Quattrocento Alessandra Malquori

Series ʻGli Uffizi.

Studi e Ricercheʼ, 23 directed by Antonio Natali

rivista interdisciplinare di studi medicei

Journal founded and directed by Marco Ferri and Clara Gambaro

Half-yearly publication

MITTEILUNGEN RESTAURO Prospettiva DES Rivista di storia KUNSTHITORISCHEN Rivista dell’Opificio dell’arte antica delle Pietre Dure INSTITUTES e moderna e Laboratori di IN FLORENZ

OPD

Editors Alessandro Nova Gerhard Wolf

Texts in original languages

Restauro di Firenze Editor Marco Ciatti

Yearly publication

Fondata nel 1975 da Mauro Cristofani e Giovanni Previtali

Editor Fiorella Sricchia Santoro

Quarterly publication

a selection of books on Florentine art and architecture, published in Italy and abroad in 2011

L’arte dell’abitare in Toscana. Forme e modelli della residenza fra città e campagna, di Emilia Daniele e Paolo Bertoncini Sabatini, Firenze 2011

Palazzo Davanzati. La storia del palazzo nelle immagini del Novecento, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Palazzo Davanzati, 2011), Firenze 2011

Il primato dei toscani nelle Vite del Vasari, catalogo della mostra (Arezzo, Basilica di San Francesco, 2011), a cura di Paola Refice, Firenze 2011

edited by Arte&Libri via dei Fossi, 32r, Firenze www.artlibri.it

Gli Uffizi. Studi e ricerche 22.

Bollettino degli Uffizi 2010, a cura di Federica Chezzi e Marta Onali, Firenze 2011

Museo Stibbert. Guida alla visita del Museo, a cura di Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti, Firenze 2011 Nati sotto Mercurio. Le architetture del Mercante nel Rinascimento fiorentino, di Donata Battilotti, Gianluca Belli e Amedeo Belluzzi , Firenze 2011

books about town

Archaeology

in tuscany

Ecomuseo dell’Alabastro The Ecomuseo dell’Alabastro is a multiple-site museum spread

out over the area between Volterra, Castellina Marittima and Santa Luce.

Around the quarrying area along the Marmolaio river is a trail dedicated to excavation; here a stretch of the ‘discenderia’ (underground gallery) has been recovered in the ‘cava del Massetto’, the place where entire generations of ‘cavaioli’ have quarried alabaster. The itinerary continues with the Archivio d’Area di Santa Luce which exhibits documents, archeological finds and utensils, flanked by a section dedicated to the blacksmith’s trade with 19th-century tools and machinery. The Punto Museale di Castellina Marittima, laid out to resemble a visit to a quarry, concludes the first route documenting various aspects of the quarryman’s life and the popular culture of the local community, with an archeological section and an area reserved for the collection of modern and contemporary art, and an upper floor for temporary exhibitions.

The operations of processing and commercialisation are illustrated in the Punto Museale di Volterra, which describes the history of the working of alabaster from Etruscan times to the present day.

The museum is set up in a way that highlights the technical and material aspects (the finding of the stone and working techniques), stylistic characteristics (models and decorative forms), and economic and social implications (market and diffusion, life of the alabaster worker and workshop activities). Among the most important objects are two Etruscan urns, two unique medieval capitals and valuable sculptures dating from the 18th and 19th century.

Archivio d’Area di Santa Luce Ex Palazzo Municipale piazza della Rimembranza, 14, Santa Luce (Pisa) For information on access see Punto Museale Centrale di Castellina Marittima Ex Palazzo Opera “Massimino Carrai” piazza Cavour, 1, Castellina Marittima (Pisa) Information: 050 694111 0586 769255 info@ilcosmo.it open: from October to May Saturday and Sunday 15.30-18.30; from June to September Friday, Saturday and Sunday 16.30-19.30 Punto Museale di Volterra Palazzo Minucci Solaini via dei Sarti, 1, Volterra (Pisa) Information: 0588 87580 a.furiesi@comune.volterra.pi.it open: from 16 March to 1 November every day 11-17; from 2 November to 15 March Saturday, Sunday and holidays 9-13.30 closed: 1 January, 25 December

www.comune.volterra.pi.it/musei

Carrara Marbleweeks 2012 23 May-10 September 2012 This is a natural extension of CarraraMarmotec – the international fair for marble, technology and design – with over a month of events involving the artistic and cultural tradition of the city and the excellence of its stonemasons. The 2012 event developes the themes of architecture, design, heritage, fashion, food, hosting, art and ‘Exfactory’. The events will have an official mascotte, selected through competition www.carraramarmotec.com

60

Museo della Pietra piegata at Stazzema The museum houses examples of the most characteristic productions in stone, including some mass-produced objects, to conserve the historical memory of the art and crafts tradition of the Apuan mountain area, where for centuries men have known the secret of ‘bending’ marble. The choice of Levigliani as the site for the museum is because the town is one of the few in which quarrymen are still active in significant numbers.

The museum is divided into five sections: • ‘Pure and sacred marbles’ (in niveo templo) is the section dedicated to the use of marble in religious and funerary art • ‘The colours of marble’ (luxuriosa materia) is an area reserved for the coloured marbles of the Apuan Alps, highly prized for marble inlays in the baroque age and later used in furnishings, ornaments and luxury objects • ‘The stones of homes and workshops’ (locus alchemicus) features a working object, the mortar, used both in the kitchen and by pharmacists, an implement often made out of marble • ‘27 centuries of history’ (marmor signum temporum) covers a period of almost 3,000 years through the material evidence of some important examples of mass production, particularly for architectural work and complementary furnishing • ‘Apuan Ligurian tombs at Levigliani’ (… ferrum hastae, lapides sepulchri…) is the archeological section housing finds from sporadic discoveries and from the excavations of the necropolis of Levigliani (3rd-2nd century BC) The library, archive and laboratory also provide documents and equipment for study and research; the material includes the collection of the naturalist Emilio Simi (1820-1875). c/o Foresteria dell’Ente Parco Regionale delle Alpi Apuane via IV Novembre, 70 Stazzema, fraz. Levigliani (Lucca) open: guided tours by appointment 0584 778405 0584 777952 (Museum offices) fax 0584 778053 info@parcapuane.it

www.parcapuane.it/archeominerario/archeominerario.htm

Fortress of Firenzuola, in rooms strongly characterised by their ancient offensive and defensive functions. Following the work of rebuilding piazza Don Stefano Casini, which brought to light the 15th-century bastions and moat, the structure of the museum was enlarged and completely renovated, becoming in the process a museum itself. Organised into six sections, the museum documents the history of the activity of extracting pietra serena, particular attention being devoted to the social organisation and working techniques involved. The first three sections focus on the stone in the context of the surrounding natural environment, ancient and modern techniques of extraction (work in the quarry) and everyday objects; an area offers a virtual reconstruction of a farmer’s house, featuring architectural elements typical of the area. The fourth section relates the various phases of the works of excavation and renovation of the fortress of Firenzuola which houses the museum. The last two sections focus on pietra serena as a stone used for artistic purposes and exhibit manufactures which reveal the technical skills of Firenzuola’s master stone masons who, with just a few efficient tools, have for centuries contributed to the decoration of buildings and monuments. The museum forms part of the Museum system of the Mugello, Alto Mugello and Val di Sieve area.

Museo Civico del Marmo at Carrara The local marble museum, set up in 1982 by the Comune

in tuscany

Museo della pietra serena at Firenzuola The Pietra serena museum is housed in the lower part of the

of Carrara, is the real centre of the city’s historical heritage, gathering together and documenting evidence of the culture of marble with the aim of preserving and developing it. The museum is divided into six indoor sections and an outdoor area which, with an interesting interdisciplinary approach to the subject, offer visitors a complex and fascinating image of the local resource: Roman archeology and the history of the area, the richest ‘marmoteca’ in Italy, Industrial archeology, Technical applications and Plaster casts. A new multimedia area – with various display areas, like the ‘Tavolo Leggio’, the ‘Tavolo Verticale’, the ‘Mucchio dei Ricordi’ and the Portraits Gallery – has been created in order to more efficiently explain the centuries-old culture of marble.

viale XX Settembre, Carrara Information: 0585 845746 museomarmo@amiatelfree.it open: from October to April 9-12.30 and 14.30-17; from May to September 9.30-13 and 15.30-18

piazza Don Stefano Casini, 4, Firenzuola (Florence) open: from 1 October to 31 March Monday and Thursday 10-12, Saturday and Sunday 10-12 and 14.30-16.30; from 1 April to 30 September Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10-13 and 15-17 closed: 1 January, Easter, 25 December Information: 055 8199477 (Museum) 055 8199459 (Offices of the Comune)

www.firenzuolaturismo.it

Mauro Staccioli, Tondo pieno, Volterra www.maurostaccioli.org

61

architecture walks

he city’s traditional building materials, primarily pietraforte and pietra serena – just as much as the legacy of clarity and simplicity inherited from the Romanesque and the Renaissance – was one of the main issues confronted by 20th-century Florentine architecture, desirous not only of modernity but also of continuity with a unique and glorious tradition...

T

The atmosphere of the city: historic building material in Florentine architecture of the 20th century

On 30 October 1935 the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale (1) and the railway station of Santa Maria Novella were inaugurated in Florence. Both were the result of competitions. The former, completed after a particularly troubled construction phase lasting over twenty years, was designed by Cesare Bazzani in 1906, the first stone being laid in 1911; the latter was built quickly to the designs of the ‘Gruppo Toscano’ (1932), the team of architects that won the competition. Two buildings that symbolised the evolution of a thirty-year period in the history of architecture, the Biblioteca Nazionale of monumental late-eclectic taste, the Fabbricato Viaggiatori of Santa Maria Novella (2) one of the highest expressions of Italian rationalism. Impossible to compare from the point of view of form, yet both sharing a common denominator: the warm, golden-brown colour of the pietraforte, together with pietra serena, one of the main ‘historic’ materials of Florentine architecture, through which, despite the passing of centuries and the changing of building styles, the city has established and consolidated its artistic ‘atmosphere’. It was around these two buildings that the bitter controversy raged between the supporters of ‘tradition’ on the one hand and those of ‘modernity’ on the other, the reflection of a debate that divided all of Europe following the ‘break’ with history worked by the avant-garde movements. The 1930s was a decade of extraordinary intellectual vivacity, and thanks partly to the theories emerging internally at the newborn Faculty of Architecture, the city became involved in it, developing the capacity for independent reflection (the beginnings of a search for identity that would acquire all the trappings of a ‘Florentine school’), seeking the foundations of modernity in its own architectural tradition; first of all drawing from it a lesson of clarity and simplicity – rather than a compendium of styles – then expressing the concept of tradition in the very idea of place, of urban environment. The ‘wall’ is recognisable as a characteristically Florentine element, denoting closure and mediation between architecture and environment, between the city and its surrounding territory; but also the contrast between the formal silence of exteriors and the preciousness of interiors. The Fabbricato Viaggiatori can be seen as a manifesto for this new interpretation of ‘tradition’: its exterior is like a wall, allowing the monumental expression of the Gothic apse of Santa Maria Novella to prevail, and yet the two buildings harmonise due to their common facing in pietraforte; moreover, the terseness of its outer appearance contrasts with the richness of the interior, which plays on a combination of polychrome marbles, glass and metal. The ‘Gruppo Toscano’ also designed the Palazzina Reale (3), the temporary residence of the king and his court (Palazzo Pitti was at the time a museum): although referrable to the formal rhetoric of

1 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale

62

piazza dei Cavalleggeri construction: 1911-1935, 1962 project: Cesare Bazzani, 1906; Vincenzo Mazzei, 1958 exterior: pietraforte with architectural ornament in pietraforte, pietra serena, marble, bronze; bare cement, pietraforte (section on via Magliabechi)

2 Fabbricato Viaggiatori of Santa Maria Novella

piazza Stazione construction: 1934-1935 project: Gruppo Toscano (Giovanni Michelucci, Pier Niccolò Berardi, Nello Baroni, Italo Gamberini, Sarre Guarnieri, Leonardo Lusanna), 1932 exterior: pietraforte; travertine (pilasters on the portico of via Valfonda)

edited by Emilia Daniele*

regime architecture – noble and extraneous to the material ‘tone’ of the city due to its facing in Carnic peach blossom marble – the building is distinguished by the high quality of the materials used for the interiors, but also by its extremely essential design, to the point that it was hailed as “the most interesting and intelligent revival of the linear Florentine spirit that has been had since the end of the Quattrocento onwards” (‘Architettura’, 1936).

The principles of constructional sincerity, structural evidence and simplicity, in the wake of the Tuscan Romanesque tradition and Brunelleschi, pervade significant examples of 1930s Florentine rationalism, where the recourse to local materials was never lacking: Raffaello Brizzi characterised the Palazzo della Questura (1938-1946) with a rigorous combination of external finishings in reinforced concrete and pietra serena on plastered surfaces; the original nucleus of the Ufficio Tecnico Erariale (the former ‘Casa del Fascio’) designed by Raffaello Fagnoni in 1939 is also recognised as having “a distinct Florentine flavour” due to the rhythmic division of the façades and the plaster finishing of the upper floors contrasting with the stone facing of the ground floor, where among other things the Renaissance invention of ‘kneeling’ windows is re-elaborated in modern terms. Aurelio Cetica resorted to pietraforte to harmonise the renovated Scuola Ufficiali Carabinieri (19391941) with both the historic and modern buildings already present in piazza Stazione. The whole question of the transmission of the city’s atmosphere made itself felt with renewed urgency immediately after the 2nd World War, following the devastating laceration of the historic centre caused by German bombing. Ammannati’s Ponte a Santa Trinita was rebuilt according to the principle “how it was, where it was”, even to the extent that the Boboli quarry was reopened to supply the same pietraforte used in the building of the 16th-century structure (R. Brizzi with R. Gizdulich, 1954-1958); but also the Ponte alle Grazie (G. Michelucci with E. Detti, R. Gizdulich, D. Santi, P. Melucci, inaugurated in 1957), notwithstanding its formal and technical modernity, has facings in pietraforte and plasterwork, as a mark of respect for the urban context. The problem was more complex for the Ponte Vecchio area due to the figuratively and functionally sedimented character of the destroyed neighbourhoods. A fundamental consideration in the debate on reconstruction was that minor buildings and the old road layout were recognised as having the ability to transmit that personality, colour and ‘warmth’ that made the city so unique and unrepeatable.

Michelucci made a significant contribution to these reflections: in the INA building for apartments and shops (4) between via Guicciardini and via dello Sprone, without making any concession to folklore, he carefully dosed the proportions of the facing in dressed

3 Palazzina Reale

via Valfonda construction: 1934-1935 project: Gruppo Toscano, 1932 exterior: Carnic peach blossom marble

4 INA building for apartments and shops on the corner of via dello Sprone and via Guicciardini construction: 1955-1958 project: Giovanni Michelucci , coll.

Ferdinando Poggi, 1954 exterior: worked pietraforte, bare cement, plasterwork

is an architect, Research Fellow in the History of Architecture and Urban Studies and professor at the Facoltà di Ingegneria CivileArchitettura at Pisa University.

She assists the chair of the Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane – Sezione Toscana in the organisation of cultural events, such as the national and international studies conferences. She edits volumes of architecture, art and fiction.

blocks of pietraforte, rough plaster and concrete, which thus became reminiscent of medieval tower houses. A logic which, in a much less innovative way, inspired the building of the Borsa Merci (E. Rossi and A. Tonelli, 1949-1953, today the H&M clothes store), which, with its stone facing in coursed rows of even height, attempts to merge with the structures of piazza della Signoria, the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo and the Palazzo di Parte Guelfa; or the Banco di Sicilia (C. Pascoletti, 1956-1959, today the Zara clothes store) which in the rather majestic context of piazza della Repubblica boldly combines reinforced concrete and anodised aluminium with pietraforte and marble. This use of natural materials with a sensitive regard for their context, perhaps the most explicit feature of 1950s Florentine architecture (which drew considerable inspiration from the Palazzo Strozzi exhibition on Wright’s organic architecture, 1951), found its greatest expression, in a non-urban environment, in the village of Monterinaldo (1949-1964), designed by Leonardo Ricci, characterised by the dialectic juxtaposition of reinforced concrete and walls in pietra serena erected directly over the quarry on which the settlement was being built. In the city it resulted in constructions like the residential building (R. Gizdulich, 1953), an austere block much longer than it was wide that took up the lines and material consistency of the nearby walls of Santa Rosa. The traditional combination of plaster and pietraforte (mostly for the ground floor level) was also experimented in the barest and most rational solutions,

5 Office building (ex base of the publisher La Nuova Italia) via Giacomini construction: 1968-1973 project: Edoardo Detti, Carlo Scarpa exterior: bare cement, pietra serena (slabs with a rough surface on the lower level; smooth slabs around window spaces)

6 Archivio di Stato viale Giovane Italia, viale Duca degli Abruzzi, viale Giovanni Amendola, piazza Beccaria construction: 1977-1988 project: Italo Gamberini, coll. Loris Macci, Rino Vernuccio, Franco Bonaiuti, 1972 exterior: bare cement, artificial stone, entrance staircase in pietra serena

from the minimal apartments of viale Milton and via del Giglio designed by Gamberini (1946, 1947) to the Contini Bonacossi residence of via Montebello designed by Michelucci (1952-1954). Even in the 1960s and 1970s, when rough, unplastered concrete burst onto the scene and the expressive potential of prefabrication was experimented, constant contemplation of traditional themes and materials is clearly recognisable. The external finishings of the office building in via Giacomini (5) (1968-1973) are exemplary, where the details in pietra serena (attributable to the mastery of Carlo Scarpa) strengthen and at the same time embellish the overall design of the façade in unplastered concrete. A noteworthy example of the very widespread use of pietra serena in interiors is the refined and perhaps somewhat intellectualistic edging of the steps connecting the underground auditorium of Palazzo dei Congressi (P. Spadolini and P. Felli, 1963-1968) to the 19thcentury Villa Vittoria (where it had been extensively used by Poggi), an element of continuity that ends in the floor designs of the so-called rooms of the “passi perduti”. It is used more vigorously in the great hall of the Sede Regionale Rai (I. Gamberini, L. Macci, A. Bambi, S. Barsotti, 1962-1967), where one of the side walls and the staircase structure are faced in pietra serena, a source of considerable interest for visitors. Pietraforte characterises the extension of the Biblioteca Nazionale on via Magliabechi (1962), creating a strong material connection between Bazzani’s building and the rustic walls of the convent of Santa Croce; and it is masterfully combined with the prefabricated units of the ‘La Nazione’ headquarters (P. Spadolini, 19611965), which, almost recalling the colour and material of the city walls destroyed to create the broad avenues of Florence at the time of Unification, overall takes on a warm, golden-brown colour. The same colour also dominates the technological and functional image of the nearby Archivio di Stato (1972-1988) (6), where Gamberini also used pietra serena: a leitmotif which from the external paving in rough slabs, to the entrance steps in large smooth slabs, to the floor of the inner courtyard – a sort of covered square joining the two east and west blocks of the building on which stone-paved galleries and passages converge – evokes the road network of the historic city. It is an arduous task to reduce to just a few examples the use of historic materials in the Florence of the 1980s and 1990s. Pietra serena was used extensively for interior paving and facings: noteworthy in this regard is the Coin department store in via Calzaiuoli (B. Sacchi e Laboratorio Associati, 1988-1992) and the ‘Centro Uffici’ in via Pier Capponi (Studio Archea, 19901996). In some cases recourse was made to historic materials to justify the creation of new structures that were later the object of bitter controversy.

Emblematic in this sense is the bus terminal of the Stazione di Firenze Santa Maria Novella (1987-1990), recently demolished, which aspired to blend in with the rest of the city with its characteristic bichrome facing in bands of Prato green marble and bardiglio chiaro, and with cornices in Veronese pink marble; materials used again by C. Toraldo di Francia and A. Noferi in the bridge of the Station of via dello Statuto (1987-1991). We may conclude this short account by mentioning various other constructions in the contemporary city whose visual and material impact are particularly significant: the imposing mass of the Nuovo Palazzo di Giustizia (L. Ricci, 1988-2010), which initially anticipated the external facings in an artificial stone of a grey colour similar to pietra serena, an idea subsequently dropped in favour of the warm tones of natural Santafiora stone, a material already present in the city in the facing of the piazza Vittoria underpass (2000-2003), and in the interior of the Teatro della Compagnia (A. Natalini, 1984-87); the Meeting Point of Firenze Nord (7), entirely faced in pietraforte (designed for the Jubilee of 2000); the successfully discreet insertion of the so-called “Casa della finestra” in piazza Tasso, the front part of the renovated monastery of San Salvatore a Camaldoli, whose stone facing blends harmoniously with the adjacent city walls (P. Zermani, with F. Capanni, L. Landi, P. Osti, G. Pirazzoli, F. Rossi Prodi, 1997-2005); and finally, the new entrance to the Uffizi (8), better known to Florentines as the “pensilina Isozaki” from the name of the Japanese architect who won the competition of 1998, which, when built, will appear as a free-standing loggia 23.6 metres above the ground entirely faced in pietra serena, and thus evoking at least in its construction material the outer appearance of Vasari’s Gallery.

architecture walks

*Emilia Daniele

7 Meeting point of Firenze nord

8 Project for the new entrance

to the Uffizi via Palagio degli Spini construction: 1999-2000 piazza Castellani project: Fabrizio Rossi Prodi, Francesco Re, project: Arata Isozaki, 1988 Fabio Terrosi exterior: pietra serena exterior: pietraforte

63

People and Technology www.bassilichi.it

Florence • Siena • Bologna • Cagliari • Milan • Padua • Palermo • Pisa • Rome • Sassari • Turin

every goal

we have reached

is an important stone laid in the building

of our common history.

Let us move

together

toward the future

with the certainty

of a solid past