Florence – Santissima Annunziata square
Thanks to its porticoes and the church, Piazza Santissima Annunziata is a favorite square of the Florentines. Until the 17th century. the Florentine year was beginning 25 brand, on the Feast of the Annunciation - hence the predilection for images of the Annunziata and the fashion for weddings in the Annunziata Church among people. The feast is combined with a great church fair in the square and the streets diverging from it. The last work of Giambologni takes up the middle of the square, equestrian statue of Grand Duke Ferdinand 1; it was cast by his apprentice, Tacca floor, creator of two bizarre fountains: on each of them, a pair of water monkeys spit water at the mustache sea snails.
Hospital of the Innocents
The atmosphere of the square is determined by the Spedale degli Innocenti (House of foundlings) Brunneleschiego, open in 1445 r. as the first shelter for children in Europe — it houses an orphanage to this day, a round ceramiczne Luca della Robbii, depicting babies in diapers, they inform about the function of the building. Monastery, which is entered from two beautiful cloisters, mieści obecnie Museum of the Hospital of the Innocents (in summer mon., wt. and Thu-Sat. 9.00-14.00, Nd. 8.00-13.00; in winter daily. into 13.00; 3000 L, last tickets one hour before closing), a medley of Florentine Renaissance art, including the most charming Madonnas Luca della Robbii and the eventful Adoration of the Magi by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Of course, each harvest from this period must be interesting, but in Florence there are many museums more worth visiting than this.
Santissima Annunziata
Santissima Annunziata is the Mother Church of the Servite Order, funded in 1234 r. by seven Florentine aristocrats. The consecration of the Church of the Virgin Mary from the Annunciation took place in the 14th century., in recognition of the image of the Virgin Mary, which became famous as miraculous: the rumor has it, that the painting, unfinished by the monastic artist, was finished by an angel. So many pilgrims came to pray here, that in the second half of the 15th century. the church was rebuilt, to accommodate them. The architect was Michelozzo (the prior's brother), and the Medici payers. W Cloister of the Vows, atrium, which Michelozzo added to the church, several beautiful frescoes are preserved; were painted mainly in the second decade of the 16th century. and include the Visitation of St.. Elizabeth Pontorm and the cycle by Andrea del Sarto, who, in the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, strikes a perfect balance between spontaneity and geometric order.
Masses at Santissima Annunziata are so frequent, that the interior is open to tourists only from 16.00 into 17.00 except Sundays. Most of the sumptuous gilding and stucco decorations were made in the 17th and 18th centuries., but the richly decorated tabernacle of the miraculous image to the left of the entrance, surrounded by candles and lamps, is the work of Michelozzo. His patron, Piero di Cosimo de'Medici, left no doubt, how much money he drowned in the temple - the inscription on the floor reads "Costó fior. 4 thousand and only marble " (The marble itself cost 4000 florins). The painting, framed by marble, was deprived of all expression as a result of numerous repaintings, anyway, it is rarely shown; much more interesting are the frescoes by Andrea del Castagno in the first two chapels on the left - Vision i. Jerome and the Trinity. Separated from the nave by a triumphal arch, the extraordinary gallery was started by Michelozzo, but completed according to Alberti's designs; chapel at the farthest point of the church (rarely open to visitors) it was transformed by Giambologna into a monument to himself.
Neighboring Chiostro dei Morti, which is entered from the left transept, it is worth visiting for the Madonna del sacco by Andrei del Sarto adorning the telescope.
archaeological Museum
One hundred meters from the church, via della Colonna, is the Museo Archeologico (Tue-Sat. 9.00-14.00, Nd. 9.00-13.00; 3000 L; free guided tours Sat. 11.00 i nd. 10.30). It is the most outstanding collection in Northern Italy, although at the moment it is difficult to say, to make it dazzling - both exhibitions are modernized, and the flood damage is still being repaired 1966 r.
The greatest strength of the museum is the display of Etruscan finds, including many donated by the Medici. On the ground floor is a diverse and well-described exhibition of Etruscan tombstones and Greek sculptures, but the greatest admiration is Franęois vase, Attic goblet from the 6th century. p.n.e. It was under conservation twice - first after it was discovered in 1845 r. in an Etruscan tomb in Chiusi, a w 1900 r. one of the museum staff with wooden hands dropped it on the floor and turned it into 638 pieces. Equally valuable is the Hittite chariot in the Egyptian collection on the first floor, made of bone and wood, from the 14th century. p.n.e.
The rest of this floor and significant parts of the upper floor are devoted to the Etruscan collections, Greek and Roman, arranged with different clarity. Among the Roman monuments, a sculpture called Idolino stands out, probably a copy of the original from the 5th century. p.n.e. A Hellenic horse head in the same hall once decorated the garden of the Palazzo Medici, where Donatello and Verrocchio studied her. The best Etruscan monuments stand in the long gallery: Arranger (Speaker) the only known large Etruscan bronze sculpture from the Hellenistic period and the Chimera, three-headed monster from the 5th century. BC., much admired so much by the entourage of mannerist artists at the court of Cosimo I., and by later connoisseurs of the extraordinary. The adjoining room is a storehouse of Etruscan funerary urns, which are so arranged, to discourage as much as possible from closer contemplation.