Florence 2010 (Around The Duomo)

I forgot to state in my previous post that the stops in Pienza and San Gimignano were the first day of the fourth of final trip of the school year. This last trip takes us those two stops in Tuscany and then finishes with two and a half days in Florence. We come to Florence last as this is about the time Art History is studying the Renaissance. I had how much there was to see in Florence and it's all packed into such a compact small area. There was no way to try and see everything in this one trip so I'll surely be going back on my own as well as coming back with the school next Spring.

The Chiesa Degli Innocenti (1419-1434) was built by the great Florentine architect Brunelleschi. This church was part of a hospital and its significance was that it might be the worlds first orphanage.

Babies could be "dropped off" at this turnstile and the child would be taken care of by the church.

The Duomo of Florence, Brunelleschi's architectural masterpiece. The Museo dell' Duomo has an exhibit about how Brunelleschi solved the architectural problems of constructing what is still the world's largest brick dome. Alas, I never had the chance to go into either the Duomo itself of its Museo. Next time.

The Florence Baptistry is just to the West of the Duomo and is known for its North, South and East doors.

Here are the north doors. In a competition sponsored by the wool merchants guild, 21 year old Ghiberti beat out the other finalist Brunelleschi to win the commission.

There are 28 quadrafoil panels each depicting a scenes from the New Testament. What is of note here is the return to classicism.

Ghiberti, after finishing the north doors, was given the commission for the East doors. The east doors are particularly significant because they open up on the to Duomo. The idea being once you were baptized, you left through East doors and stepped both physically and metaphorically into the the world of the church.

Michelangelo dubbed these 10 panes the "Gates of Paradise" and the name has stuck. The artistic significance of these panels is Ghiberti's introduction and mastery of perspective. The arches show us that there is a world beyond and behind what we see. Because of this, Ghiberti was able to tell more than one story per panel.

Florence was a economically wealthy because of the Medici family (banking) but also because of the guilds (wool, fur, etc) who also used their money to commission art. The Orsanmichele (the tall building in the middle between all the modern stores) was originally a grain market and storage facility.

The niches on the side of the building were assigned to different guilds who commissioned artists to install statues within. Here is four martyrs (can't you just imagine them in conversation!) created by Nanni di Banco and commissioned by the wood and stone workers guild.

St. Mark by Donatello commissioned by the linen weavers)

The Duomo dominates the psyche of Florence. It seems like you can always see it and it always takes your breath away. More to come...