Museum of San Marco: the interlacing between art and religion
In this episode, you will discover another important museum of Florence: the Museum of San Marco. A place where art and religion are linked to each other and that recalls to your mind some important figures of that period: Fra Angelico, Girolamo Savonarola and the artist who realized the most famous portrait of the last one: Fra Bartolomeo.
We have already talked about Florence many times in our episodes of "Walking through Italy", and also in this one we show another important place of this wonderful city: the Museum of San Marco.
It is in a former Dominican friary, the same in which for a certain period the great Fra Angelico and the very famous Girolamo Savonarola (preacher of the return to a pure religiosity through punishments, who was sentensed to death for heresy and burnt in Piazza della Signoria in 1498) retired. Michelozzo, from 1436 to 1446, restored for the will of Cosimo the Elder de' Medici its most old part, the one in which nowadays we can admire wonderful works of art.
We have mentioned Fra Angelico because here he left many of its works, a real cycle of frescoes realized in the cells, representing the Annunciation and Stories of the life of Jesus, which should inspire the friars to preach. Also the cloister was frescoed by him, where the "Calvary with Saint Dominic" is significant, and work of sublime beauty is its Annunciation, where light-blue and gold mingle to give us a suggestive vision. We have to name also its Deposition, the Annalena altarpiece, the Last Judgement and its Crucifixion; the last one is in the Capitular Hall and it is said that during its realization he moved to tears.
The little Refectory houses the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio, and another artist created works of art in this friary: Fra Bartolomeo. He became a Dominican friar, lived here, in the friary, and was considerably influenced by Savonarola, so that he became one of his followers. Infact his most famous portrait represents right Girolamo Savonarola. Other works are "Christ brings the Cross", the "Signoria altarpiece" and a Madonna with the Child.
Among the cells, also the one of Savonarola is visible, where his wtiting desk and some relics, with the famous painting of the "Martyrdom of Savonarola in Piazza della Signoria" are exhibited.
Interesting is to see in the cloister the bell, known as "Piagnona", which called the people during the arrest of the "heretic".
In addition, we can visit the antique Library, the first one of the Renaissance that was opened to public, was constructed by Michelozzo and contained the Italian, Latin and Greek codes, useful for the study and the reading of the friars.
Ilaria Baratta
