The Medici Chapels

The Medici crest in the Cappella di Principi

It is impossible to think of Florence without thinking of the Medici family.  From Cosimo the Elder in the early 1400’s, to Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruler of the Florentine Republic and key figure during the Renaissance period, to the Grand Dukes from Cosimo I to the last Medici ruler Gian Gastone, the Medici family had an enormous impact over the centuries of their  rule.  Bankers, Rulers, Tyrants, Popes, Assassins, Queens, and patrons of the arts, their influence is impossible to overstate.  The family crest, a gold shield with five red palle (balls) and one blue palle with three fleur-de-lis, can be seen on buildings throughout Florence. 

Following the death of the last ruler, Gian Gastone, in 1737, his sister Anna Maria Luisa transferred the family’s art and treasures to the city of Florence with the caveat that the collection always remains in Florence.  And so it has, filling the Uffizi Gallery as well as many other museums and palazzi.

Anna Maria Luisa, the last heir of the ruling Medici family

It is no surprise that such an important family would have a dedicated mausoleum.  The Medici Chapel, an addition to the church of San Lorenzo, is where the Medicis were laid to rest.  It is a spectacular place to visit, especially the Cappella di Principi (Prince’s Chapel), an octagonal room filled with decoration in marble, granite, mosaics, and semi-precious stones. 

High up on the walls are the cenotaphs, each one dedicated to a Medici luminary (Cosimo I, Francesco I, Ferdinando I, Cosimo II, Ferdinando II, and Cosimo III).  They are composed of sculpted “caskets”, each topped with a crown.  Above each is an arch designed for a statue, though only two were completed –those of Cosimo 1 and Ferdinando 1.  The others stand empty.   No physical remains are present in the Cappella di Principi, the bodies were interred in the crypt. 

Around the perimeter are the coat of arms of various Tuscan cities which were under Medici control.  They are stunning - crafted from mother of pearl, quartz, alabaster, lapis lazuli and other stones. 

Behind the altar are rooms containing the Treasure of San Lorenzo.  This is a vast collection of reliquaries and other artifacts including an intact processional banner, beautifully embroidered, that belonged to the Medici Pope Leo X. 

On the same level is the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy) designed by Michelangelo in 1520.  The actual tombs of brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano di Medici are here, under the altar. Two monuments to them are adorned with sculptures representing Day and Night (Guiliano’s monument) and Dawn and Dusk (Lorenzo’s).  Small and intimate, the sacristy is beautiful in its simplicity, especially placed so near to the ornate Cappella di Principi.

Almost hidden beside the altar is a simple staircase leading down to what was a storeroom.  That is where wall drawings made by Michelangelo can be found.  No entrance to that space is possible though – it requires a separate ticket for which there is a two month wait.   I’ll save that for a future visit.

The crypt contains the actual tombs of the Medici

Blessing The New Wine

Even Lady and the Tramp had a fiasco on their dinner table

It is easy to recognize the classic bottle of a Chianti wine – a fiasco (flask) with a rounded base wrapped in straw.  After all, is there an Italian restaurant in the US that doesn’t have a fiasco on the table, usually topped with a candle and covered in dripping wax?  A fiasco even made an appearance in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp!

Chianti wine is produced in an area of Tuscany that stretches roughly from Florence south to Siena, a specially designated region since the time when the Medici family ruled Florence.  Historically, the classic straw wrapped bottles were made in the city of Florence, creating a special relationship in which the Florentine bottles were sent to the wineries outside of the city where the new Chianti was bottled, and then the filled bottles were sent back to merchants in Florence.  Of course, this transport began long before there were trucks to move the bottles back and forth, so how did the wine bottles return to Florence after they were filled? 

The Carro Matto arrives to Florence’s Duomo

In centuries past, the new wine was brought from the countryside on an ox cart.  Once in Florence, the wine was blessed by the church and the first bottles presented to city leaders.  Then It was time to celebrate.

Today, the tradition of blessing the new Chianti is celebrated on the last Saturday in September when the Carro Matto (crazy cart) procession takes place.  Once pulled by oxen, this year it was a tractor that pulled the cart which was piled high with over 1000 bottles of wine in the classic fiaschi. 

The procession began in front of the Duomo and moved down Via Calzaiuoli.  Along the way it made a brief stop at the small Church of San Carlo dei Lombardi, very near the part of the city where a traditional maker of the flasks (a fiascaio) would have had his workshop.  The procession ended in Piazza Signoria where a fiasco was presented to city leaders.  In the 1400 and 1500’s the first bottle might have gone to a Medici – today it was given to the elected mayor. 

Accompanying the Carro Matto were people dressed in historic costumes, helmeted guards, musicians, and the Bandierai degli Uffizi (traditional flag bearers) who delighted the crowd with their flag-throwing.  Women carried individual fiaschi to be presented to the dignitaries. 

Crowds watched as the cart made its way along the route, looking as if the bottles could topple at any minute.  A crazy cart indeed.   Fortunately, the bottles remained in place, the wine was blessed, and the celebrations continued.  Time to toast the new wine with a glass of Chianti!    

Hard to believe this doesn’t topple over!

Rothko in Florence

As if the beauty, pageantry, history, art, and architecture that is Florence every single day were not enough, the city also frequently hosts special art exhibits. There are many exhibit venues in Florence; one of the best is the Palazzo Strozzi.  Built around 1500, the palazzo is a stunning example of Renaissance architecture.  The building is a wonder, especially its central courtyard with its columns and arches, open to the windows and loggia of the upper floors.  After centuries of ownership by the Strozzi family, today the palazzo is the property of the city of Florence.  The courtyard often hosts small art installations, with the major exhibits displayed on the floor above, the piano nobile.

This month, and through August 23, the Strozzi is host to a presentation of works by Mark Rothko, one of modern art’s most well known painters.   The exhibit, curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, spans Rothko’s career and includes works gathered from both private collections and museums from around the globe.

Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz in what is now Latvia, emigrated as a child, arriving in the US with his family in 1913.  His art career began in New York in the 1920s and over the course of his lifetime was shaped by many influences – surrealism, impressionism, war, religion, Greek mythology, spirituality, Italian classical art (especially that of Fra Angelico and Michelangelo), and his own, sometimes turbulent, life. 

 I was not familiar with Rothko’s early works which include portraits, city scenes, watercolors, and drawings.  I was drawn to them in a different way than to his later works. Above: Untitled (Woman in Subway, 1938; Untitled (Cityscape) 1936, and Room in Karnak, 1946)

I have a friend who, when visiting a gallery or museum, often asks “If you could take home one piece, which one would it be?”. For me, it would be the one below, an untitled watercolor, ink, and graphite piece from 1945.

This piece seems to dance across the paper; it is the one I would take home and be enchanted by every day.

As with many artists, Rothko’s style evolved over time. His later works are quite different from his early pieces.  The one constant seems to be his use of color as a form of expression.

It is his abstract art, known as Multiforms, which began in the late 1940’s, that was a later step in his evolution and which produced the works for which he is best known.  These are large pieces which feature dramatic blocks of color. Gone are the people, buildings, or indeed any figures at all. Below from left to right are works from 1951 (#12), 1953 (untitled), and another from 1953 (#2). Interestingly, Rothko did not name his paintings, leaving each person viewing the work to have his own reaction, without the influence of a name.

In the 1950’s and 60’s Rothko worked on several commissions, including a series of murals for a chapel in Texas (named the Rothko Chapel after the artist’s death). He also painted the Seagram Murals, a series originally intended for a restaurant in New York’s Seagram building.   Realizing that a restaurant was not the appropriate setting for his work, he instead donated several of the pieces to London’s Tate museum.  Sadly, they arrived on the same day that Rothko took his own life. None are included in the Strozzi exhibit as they are a permanent exhibit in the Tate Museum and only displayed as a group. Some sketches for them can be seen in the Laurentian Library as part of the exhibit in Florence. There are also some additional small works in Museum of San Marco, a link to Rothko’s appreciation of Fra Angelico.

Below are pieces from 1955, 1958, 1964, about the same time as the Seagram works.

The chronological presentation of Rothko’s paintings at the Strozzi allow the observer to follow Rothko’s evolution as an artist, being drawn in to what seems to be an increasingly dark mood as his colors change from bright yellows, vibrant greens and blues, to more somber dark reds and browns and finally to gray and black.  The two below are from 1969.

Rothko a Firenze is a well curated exhibit, with detailed information in both Italian and English, and a must see for those with an interest in modern art.  The gift shop has posters and cards with many of the paintings as well as books about the artist.

Daydreaming of Spring in Italy

Cloudy and cold in Albuquerque. I need some spring!

Most years I am well into February before the “winter blahs” hit me, but for some reason they’ve come early this year.  It might just be the weather - the last 24 hours have brought cold, rain, hail, gray skies, and overnight snow to New Mexico where I am visiting my family this month. 

Today it is cold, windy, and overcast with intermittent snowflakes. Usually snowy days in New Mexico are gorgeous, especially once the sun comes out and makes everything sparkle. But today there is not enough snow to create a pretty winter scene and no clearing skies to bring the sparkle.  It is just cold and dreary.  It is a good day to stay inside, sip some chai, write a blog post, and daydream about spring – sunshine, green leaves on trees, flowers – along with spring travel plans.  And that is exactly what I am doing today.  

These little yellow blossoms are one of the first signs of spring along Lucca’s walls

As for travel, I am finalizing plans for spending two weeks in Trieste in early March with a friend from Albuquerque. It is a part of Italy that I have never visited, with a unique culture that is part Italian and part Eastern European.  I have been warned that it will still be chilly and quite windy, so may not quite bring me the dose of spring I am craving but it does give me something to look forward to. The trip is centered around some time in a special language program for seniors age 60+ and it includes several excursions into the surrounding areas. I’ll let you know how it goes!

March is the time for Camellias, especially in the small village of Sant’Andrea di Compito

Flower art in Spello for the Infiorata (photo from the Le Infiorate website)

I will get the taste of spring I need in the first week of June when I will do a few days of cooking classes on an agriturismo outside of Perugia in Umbria.  That program will include a visit to the famous Infiorata in Spello, a celebration of the Feast of Corpus Domini, where the streets are paved in designs made from flower petals. .  Visiting Spello for the Infiorata has long been on my list of things to experience, and this is the first time the opportunity has worked out for me.  Definitely a spring event to look forward to.

April poppies in Umbria last spring

In the meantime, I am looking back on springtime photos from a variety of places in Italy.

The Iris garden in Florence is opened for just a few weeks in May each year

They are chasing away this gloomy, cold day and making me smile. 

I hope these hints of spring in Italy make you smile too.  And just maybe they will get you started planning some travel!

Parma is lovely in Spring, especially in the Giardino Ducal

Spring Tulips in Lucca

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

One of many statues in the courtyard of the Bargello, this one, from 1579 by Domenico Poggini, is particularly lovely

I could spend the next 20 years in Florence and still not have studied all the art that can be found there.  There is so much to experience - in public buildings, palaces, churches, and museums - that it can be overwhelming, especially if trying to see as much as possible on a short visit. How fortunate it is to spend most of the year just an hour or so away in Lucca, making it easy to return over time, taking in a new museum, seeing just a few artistic highlights, or returning to a favorite place.

One place that I have returned to over the years is the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.  There are many things to love about the Bargello; it is one of my favorite museums anywhere in the world.

First, the history.  Constructed in the 13th century as Florence’s first public building, it began its existence as a place to protect the rights of the people.  Over its long history it has served many purposes and experienced many periods of destruction and rebuilding. After its noble beginning, the palazzo was later used as a justice hall and later a prison.  Political prisoners were tried, jailed, and executed here up until the late 1700’s when the death penalty was banned. Perhaps the most famous political convict was Dante. He received a death sentence here in the year 1302; luckily he had fled Florence and the sentence was never carried out. Instead, he was exiled from Florence.   

The courtyard, looking up to the loggia

Since 1865 the palazzo has served as a museum, housing treasures created by some of Italy’s most famous artists.  Even before viewing the art, the palazzo is magnificent for its architecture.  Standing in the courtyard, with it’s central well, coats of arms, and grand staircase, and looking up toward the first-floor loggia, is a wonder.  Many of the pieces here are recreations of works that had been destroyed during the years when the Bargello served as a prison. 

Ammannati’s Juno Fountain, 1555. (Juno and the peacocks are copies)

Detail, courtyard ceiling

Other pieces were relocated here from various buildings in Florence, including the Juno fountain which was originally meant for the Palazzo Vecchio. Over time it was deconstructed and the 8 statues scattered to different locations. Now, with all the figures reunited, it is a perfect fit in the Bargello’s grand courtyard. 

The courtyard is a peaceful spot to sit and enjoy the start of a visit to this wonderful and generally uncrowded museum. Informational signs, in English, provide an overview of the buildings history, a good beginning to any visit.

The floors above the courtyard hold an abundance of treasures.  I think of the Bargello as primarily a sculpture museum, for it is the sculpture that pulls me back time and again.  The sculptures include a who’s who list of Italy’s most famous artists – Bernini, Donatello, Cellini, Michaelangelo, Verrocchio, Giambologna. 

Bronze Birds by Giambologna, c. 1570

Many of the most famous works can be found in the Donatello Room, originally the palazzo’s grand hall, including both a bronze and a marble David by Donatello. While this room showcases several works by Donatello, others are also represented including the competition pieces by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti for the Baptistery doors. The Donatello room is newly refurnished, with this David right in the center.

A bronze David by Donatello, c.1440 (the marble St. George in the background is also by Donatello)

There is much more to see at the Bargello in addition to sculpture.  There are Della Robbia glazed ceramics, paintings, decorative arts, ivories and paintings. 

A small chapel, with frescoes by Giotto, was where prisoners would be given last rites prior to their execution. Today, it houses religious artifacts including an intricate carved choir lectern.

Il Pescatore (The Fisher Boy), Vincenzo Gemito 1877

The photos here are just a hint of what can be found in the Bargello.  So many visitors to Florence head to the Accademia to see the David and the Uffizi for the famous paintings, and both are wonderful.  But to miss the Bargello is a shame. 

The art there can be viewed close up – but don’t be like the tourists I saw reach beyond the rope to touch a marble statue!  The guard was right on that and after she scolded them she looked at me, shook her head, and said “every day there is at least one like that”.  I would hate to see all these wonderful works of art get hidden behind glass enclosures because of visitors who don’t keep their hands to themselves. 

As they are displayed today, it is a joy to be able to walk around each piece, admiring the different angles and perspectives. I am headed back to Florence for a week’s stay at the end of October with a friend who is a first time visitor.  You can bet the Bargello is one of the places we will go.

The Dancing Cherub, a more playful Donatello