10%

3 days in Firenze - Day 2

The Bargello, San Lorenzo, The Medici Chapel, San Marco, Palazzo Medici & Santa Maria Novella

By Emma-Jane Browne

November 28^th, 2017

The Bargello museum

One of the great things about florentine museums - other than the sheer beautifulness of the works of art - is that they open super early, so after a quick breakfast and walk past Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchnio, I headed to the Bargello Museum.

The oldest public of Florence, the Bargello was built in the mid-13th century as the Palazzo del Popolo, to house the Capitano del popolo, then later the chief magistrate of the city. In the 16th century, it was the seat of the chief of the city police, and became known as the Bargello (the police chief himself was called the bargello). It served as a prison and execution site.

It fainlly became an art museum in the 19th century, and now houses works by Michelangelo, Donatello and Cellini.

The building itself served as inspiration for the Palazzo Vecchio.

Leonardo da Vinci sketched the hanging of Bernardo di Bandino Baroncelli, strung from the first story windows of the inner courtyard of the Bargello.

Basilica San Lorenzo

One of the oldest churches in Florence (the original church was consecrated in the 4th century), the former duomo of the city - until it was transfered to Santa Repara (that later became Santa Maria del Fiore), San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family. Famous artists worked on the complex, including Donatello, Michelango and Brunelleschi.

Michelangelo had a tumultuous with the city of Florence and the Medici family, and during one of the tense periods, he hid in a secret room under the Medici champ for several months, and spent his days drawing on the walls.

The Medici Chapel

San Marco Monastery

In the 12th century, San Marco was already the site of a monastery, but by the 15th century, it was in a state of disrepair. Cosimo di Medici commissioned architect Michelozzo to rebuild the complex.

San Marco was the home of several renowned monks: Artists Fra Angelico (whose frescoes decorate the monks cells) and Fra Bartolomeo, and religous reformer and de facto ruler of Florence Girolamo Savonarola.