Florence: Santissima Annunziata

The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is the church of the Servites in Florence. This Order of Servants of Mary was founded in 1233 by seven Florentines who had simultaneously experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. The church adjoins the beautiful Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, where we also find the equestrian statue of Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany between 1587 and 1609. The statue was designed by Giambologna (ca. 1529-1608) and ultimately cast by Pietro Tacca (1577-1640). The two fountains in the large piazza are also by Tacca. The church of the Santissima Annunziata has a conspicuous façade with a loggia, a richly decorated interior and a circular choir with nine chapels. The aforementioned Giambologna designed the central choir chapel, named the Cappella del Giambologna after him, as his funerary chapel. Unfortunately this chapel was just being restored when I visited the church in April of 2023. Other parts of the complex were also regretfully off-limits.

History and exterior

In 1250 the Servites founded the oratory of Cafaggio on this spot. Two years later, at least according to tradition, a friar named Fra Bartolomeo was working on a fresco of the Annunciation here. The fresco proved to be a challenge, as Fra Bartolomeo simply did not succeed in painting the beautiful face of the Virgin Mary. The friar fell asleep, and when he woke up again, the painting had been miraculously completed. This must have been the work of an angel! Obviously this tale belongs to the realm of pious fables. The tale is far from unique, as we have also heard it with regard to other churches in Italy. Moreover, the aforementioned Annunciation does not look one bit like a work from 1252. It is definitely several decades younger and may have been painted in the first half of the fourteenth century. Some sources state that the Annunciation is a work of Pietro Cavallini (ca. 1259-1330), a famous painter from Rome. Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) supposedly attributed the work to Cavallini in his biography of the painter, but the problem is that Vasari never even mentions the Santissima Annunziata in this biography.

We are therefore dealing with an anonymous Annunciation from the first half of the fourteenth century, which nonetheless almost immediately started drawing hordes of pilgrims to the oratory. The fresco was held responsible for multiple miracles, and as a consequence the oratory was re-dedicated to the Most Sacred Annunciate (i.e. the Virgin Mary). Rich pilgrims often had life-size wax statues of themselves made to implore prosperity or healing from the Virgin. The condottiero Erasmo da Narni (1370-1443), nicknamed Gattamelata (“speckled cat”), for instance commissioned a wax statue of himself on horseback, while his older colleague Pippo Spano (1369-1426) ordered a wax statue to be made of himself in full armour.[1] Later a wax statue of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo Il Magnifico, made by Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488), was added to the collection. At one point the church became so crammed with statues that its stability was threatened. Unfortunately none of the wax statues have been preserved. At the end of the eighteenth century they were all melted down to make candles.

The current complex, that is the church and adjacent cloisters, dates from the fifteenth century and arose between 1444 and 1477. The first architect was Michelozzo (1396-1472). Later work was done by the architects Antonio Manetti (1423-1497) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). The circular choir with the concrete dome – which is best viewed from a high vantage point in Florence – is Alberti’s work. The church was consecrated in 1516 and its characteristic loggia was added in 1601-1604 by Giovanni Battista Caccini (1556-1613). The architrave of the loggia mentions Alessandro and Roberto Pucci, scions of a rich Florentine family, so it seems likely that they financed the work. According to the inscription they were FRATRES DEI GENITRICI, “brothers of the mother of God”. Two escutcheons feature the Pucci family coat of arms: the head of a Moor. Above the central arch of the loggia we see the remains of a fresco by Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557), while above the middle entrance there is a mosaic by Davide Ghirlandaio (1452-1525).

Chiostrino dei Voti

Visitors to the church first enter a small cloister or atrium in front of the church. This was once a space without a roof, but at present the cloister is closed off with a glass cover (which is very convenient when it is raining). The name Chiostrino dei Voti refers to the aforementioned tradition of leaving behind wax votive statues. The cloister is especially famous for the twelve frescoes that have been painted in the lunettes and that tell stories from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Filippo Benizzi. Filippo Benizi (1233-1285) was general superior of the Servites. He was beatified in 1516 and then canonised in 1671. The frescoes were painted between 1460 and 1517 by various painters. They were thoroughly restored between 2013 and 2017 and, as a consequence, regained much of their original splendour.

The oldest fresco was painted in 1460-1462 by Alesso Baldovinetti (1427-1499). It represents the Nativity. The fresco featuring the Calling of Filippo Benizi was painted next, in 1476, by Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507). Most frescoes in the cloister are the work of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), who painted another five scenes from the life of Filippo Benizi (1509-1510) and then added two scenes from the life of the Virgin, i.e. her Birth (1514) and the procession of the Magi (1510-1511). The last three frescoes in the cloister were painted by Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) and Franciabigio (1482-1525). All three of them had been students or assistants of Andrea del Sarto for a while.

Interior

The interior of the church dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with chapels from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Directly to the left of the entrance we find the miraculous Annunciation from the fourteenth century in a tabernacle from 1449. The tabernacle was designed by Michelozzo, but made by the sculptor Pagno di Lapo Portigiani (1408-1470 of 1487). Although the story of Fra Bartolomeo (see above) is hogwash, and the style of the Annunciation definitely rules out that it is a work by Pietro Cavallini, there is no denying that the fresco is magnificent. Especially the face of the Virgin – which according to tradition was such a challenge – has been done beautifully. The face looks like it is glowing and the Virgin appears to be caught in a moment of bliss. Remarkably, the Latin words to the left of her head are mirrored. The text reads ECCE ANCILLA D[OMI]NI, “behold the handmaiden of the Lord”.

Another highlight in the church is a fresco by Andrea del Castagno (ca. 1421-1457) in the third chapel on the left, the Cappella Montauti. It represents the Holy Trinity with Saints Jerome, Paula and Eustochium. Jerome can be identified by a number of attributes: the lion behind him, the red cardinal’s hat at his feet and the rock in his hand. Paula and Eustochium were two of his followers. The other frescoes in the chapel are by Alessandro Allori (1535-1607).

More modern work can be found in the fifth chapel on the left, the Cappella dell’Assunta. The large frescoes in the chapel featuring the Ark of the Covenant and David and Goliath were painted by Luigi Ademollo (1764-1849). They date from 1828. A corridor in the left transept then gives access to the choir. And perhaps more importantly for visitors who want to empty their bladders: the corridor also gives access to the toilets of the complex, which can be used for free! Let us now focus on the choir. Of the nine chapels the central Cappella del Giambologna is the most interesting, but I already mentioned that it was covered in scaffolds when I visited the church. I therefore switched my attention to the impressive dome fresco by Baldassare Franceschini, nicknamed Il Volterrano (1611-1689). The theme of the fresco is the Assumption of the Virgin.

The left transept is said to also give access to the large cloister (Chiostro Grande) next to the church. This cloister is famous for a fresco by Andrea del Sarto known as the Madonna del Sacco (image here). Other frescoes in this cloister were painted by Bernardino Poccetti (1548-1612). Unfortunately the Chiostro Grande was closed during my visit, and so was the Cappella di San Luca. Saint Luke is of course considered the patron saint of painters and other artists. That is why in the crypt of this chapel several Florentine artists have been buried, including Pontormo and the sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571).

Sources

• Capitool travel guide Florence & Tuscany (2010), p. 98;
• Ross King, The Bookseller of Florence, p. 192;
• The Churches of Florence – East – Santissima Annunziata

Note

[1] Ross King, The Bookseller of Florence, p. 192.