August 23, 2016
A giant on the move: Michelangelo's David - part 2
In the previous post we told the story of a Carrara marble block more than of a statue. But in 1501 - finally! - Michelangelo is at work on that block: the David is on its way.
Categoria
Oddities
August 16, 2016
A giant on the move: Michelangelo's David - part 1
One of the most important works by Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, 1475 - 1564), the David statue, now one of the symbols of Renaissance and of Florence as well had quite a troubled history: the David started its “career” with two “reboots”, a thirtyseven years delay and a short but definitely dangerous and complicated journey…
July 27, 2016
The (not completely) impossible interview to Giorgio Vasari about the Florence Cathedral
Do you really want to know more about the Florence Cathedral? And about Florence in The Renaissance? Well: ask whom was there, “in the making”! This post is an “interview” to Giorgio Vasari, the “father of art history”, a friend of Michelangelo and part of the Florentine arts establishment.
May 09, 2016
Florence cathedral visit: travel planning in the Dark Ages, Renaissance and pre-industrial age!
But can you imagine the hurdles that people had to face when the horse was the fastest means of land transport and low cost flights didn’t exist even in the most bizarre Leonardo’s dream? The history of the making of the Florence cathedral itself is influenced by extraordinary travels: travels of people, travels of ideas, and… travels of stones.
May 06, 2016
Duomo di Firenze hours: stone calendars and upside - down clocks
Santa Maria del Fiore is the Duomo (the Cathedral) of Florence. Ok: no news about that. But the Florence cathedral is somehow a stone calendar as well, and it houses a very...
April 29, 2016
Visiting the Florence Cathedral: snakes, lions and scorpions
The Duomo is, literally, a masterpiece made of masterpieces. Some of that masterpieces captured the imagination of the Florentines, while others give a glimpse into the real life of the artists. So: while visiting the Florence Cathedral, enjoy the Florentine Renaissance but beware the animals!
April 26, 2016
Renaissance Florence: Giorgio Vasari’s chronicles
Giorgio Vasari is for many aspects the first “modern” art historian. But he was also a lot more than that, and, for sure, one of the most important witness of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in its making and a privileged spectator of the Renaissance Florence.
January 11, 2016
Ghiberti’s Golden Door: one of the greatest masterpieces from the Renaissance
When Michelangelo saw Lorenzo Ghiberti’s bronze doors for the Baptistery in Florence, he called them the Gates of Paradise.