Tiziano Vecelli (ca. 1488-1576) – known in the English-speaking world as Titian – was arguably one of the greatest Venetian painters of all time. When he died of the plague in 1576 and was laid to rest in a simple grave in the church of the Frari in Venice, he…
Although he considered himself first and foremost a sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was also an accomplished painter. Pope Julius II (1503-1513) commissioned him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a project Michelangelo worked on between 1508 and 1512. The great artist later returned to this chapel…
It is the oldest object currently in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence: a crucifix that has been dated to ca. 1180-1200 and that is simply known as Cross no. 432. The painter is unknown and therefore usually just called the Master of Crucifix no. 432. The crucifix was painted on…
When I was little, I used to play a game called ‘Botticelli’. It is quite a simple game: someone has to think of a famous person, and then others have to guess who he or she is by asking questions. These questions can only be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.…
I will not hide the fact that I consider Giotto di Bondone (ca. 1266-1337) one of the greatest painters of all time. Giotto broke with Byzantine formalism and rigidness and started painting people as people again, with natural forms, intricate details and brilliant colours. His year of birth is uncertain,…
The Opera del Duomo was the institution that was founded by the Florentine government in 1296 to oversee the construction of the new cathedral, the Santa Maria del Fiore or Duomo. It was the organisation in which architects, artists and workers collaborated. The Opera has been at its present location…
It has to be said that the church of Orsanmichele does not look much like a church. The building is surrounded by narrow streets, and the best way to observe it from a distance is to find a high lookout point. The tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, some 160 metres…
The Santa Reparata is not a church in Florence: it was a church in Florence. It was in fact the cathedral of the city before the Santa Maria del Fiore (better known as the Duomo) was built at the end of the thirteenth century. Remains of the Santa Reparata can…
The Santa Croce is the principal church of the Franciscans in Florence. It is one of the largest Franciscan churches in the world, perhaps even the largest. The basilica can be found on the Piazza Santa Croce, which is the location of the annual Calcio storico or historical football in…
This huge Dominican church should be on every list for a daytrip to Florence. The church can be found just to the south of the Santa Maria Novella railway station in the city centre, so it is easy to reach even if you have limited time. It is not just…
I had limited time to visit this ancient Benedictine abbey in the centre of Florence, which is more than a thousand years old. We had to catch our train back to Rignano sull’Arno, so I had to hurry. My visit to the Badia Fiorentina was further complicated by the fact…
This small church in the centre of Florence, in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the city, is more of a chapel really. It can be found in a narrow alley, about halfway between the Duomo and the Badia. The Museo Casa di Dante is just a little further down…
I saw the movie Inferno this weekend. Since it is set in Florence for a large part (as well as in Venice and Istanbul), I think it is appropriate to post my review here. Inferno is the movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel of the same name. Story Both the…
No matter how many times I have seen it, Florence’s cathedral continues to impress me, and for many reasons. The Duomo is simply huge, with a length of some 153 metres and a nave width of 38 metres (90 metres at the crossing). It can accommodate at least 20.000 people.…
An old legend claims that Florence’s beautiful Baptistery of San Giovanni was originally a temple of Mars, the Roman god of war. The Roman emperor Augustus supposedly had it built to celebrate the subjugation of nearby Fiesole (Faesulae in those days) and the early Christians later converted it into a…
In April of 2016, I saw the “art movie” Florence and the Uffizi Gallery at the cinema. It featured the actor Simon Merrells as Lorenzo “Il Magnifico” de’ Medici and discussed the highlights of Florentine Renaissance art. The movie dedicated quite a few minutes to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the…
The Vallumbrosan Order is a branch of the Benedictines that was founded in the eleventh century by Saint John Gualbert (died 1073). The first church of the Vallumbrosans in Florence was built in either 1077 or 1092 (different dates are mentioned in different sources). At that time it was outside…
This post is about the Brancacci Chapel, a famous chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Normally, I would write a post about the church and then add a few lines about the chapels. For the Brancacci Chapel, I am going to turn that around. This post…
The Santi Apostoli is one of the oldest churches in Florence, but it is not as old as some Florentines zealously believe it to be. It is located in the Piazza del Limbo. “Limbo” is a slightly denigrating term for someone from the Dutch province of Limburg, so on my…
The best time to visit the Ognissanti church in Florence is on a Monday, Tuesday or Saturday morning. The church is open to the public on other days of the week as well, but only on the days mentioned are visitors allowed to visit the beautiful cloister next door (Chiostro…