LLEI D'ART 11

Palazzo Vecchio. Foto Jebulon. della Signoria, with the Fountain of Neptune (Ammannati, 1575), and Orcagna’s Loggia dei Lanzi (1382), where works like Cellini’s Perseo (1554) and Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women (1583) can be seen. Piazza della Signoria is home to the Palazzo Vecchio (1332). A few minutes’ walk towards to the north brings us to another part of the city with a great focus on art – the surroundings of the famous Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo (or House of God). Flanked by Giotto’s bell-tower and the Baptistry of Saint John on the other, the Duomo ’s spectacular dome, Bruneschelli’s unprecedented masterpiece, took sixteen years to complete, and documents the entire history of Florentine sculpture. Nearby, the Bigallo Museum is a small gem that is home to the oldest known representation of the city. Perhaps before continuing our walk to the north, we might try a fabulous Florentine steak washed down with a good Tuscan Chianti in any of the welcoming trattorias speckled around the city. Le Mossacce , close to the Duomo, is a good choice. A Vin Santo with cantuccini for dessert is a temptation that is difficult to resist. After a good ristretto we shall carry on our wander to the north until we reach Piazza San Lorenzo, the site of one of the city’s largest and most popular markets around the Central Market building, a 19 th century creation of wrought iron and glass. In the same square we can find the Basilica of San Lorenzo, also by Filippo Brunelleschi, one of the largest churches in Florence, as well as the Biblioteca Laurenciana, by Michelangelo. Very close by I might suggest a visit to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi and the Medici Chapel Museum, both stuffed with works from the Medicis’ patrimony. Here, amongst others, you can find the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the Duke of Urbino, whose sepulchres bear statues by Michelangelo. Two blocks to the west you will find the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, home to the famous Masaccio Trinity – and the Museum that includes the cloisters that were part of the old Dominican convent. Next door, occupying the old headquarters of Santa Maria Novella’s Leopoldine schools, we can find a modern hall: the Alinari National Museum of Photography, which represents something of a gap in what the city’s general artistic direction might suggest. The museum takes the visitor through a history of photography from the first daguerreotypes (1839) to the current digital age. From here, we can head once more towards the north towards the Piazza San Marco, home to the San Marco church and convent and the Holy Annunciation church, which brings together the historical and artistic legacy of the old Hospital of the Innocents, built by Brunelleschi and designed to home abandoned children. Especially valuable is the building’s historical archive, one of a kind. Close to San Marco is the Palazzo Pandolfini, designed by Raphael in 1516. As a final point on our route through the historic area on this side of the Arno we must visit the Galleria dell’Academia, or the Michelangelo museum. The main heart of the collection was formed from a collection of paintings donated by the Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor to the Academy of Fine Arts to be used as models. In 1873 Michelangelo’s David (1501-1504) was moved here from Piazza della Signoria, where a copy was placed. Various other pieces by the artist had the same treatment during the 19 th century, such as the Slaves , Saint Matthew or the Palestrina Pietà . Perhaps a second day would allow us to visit the Palazzo Pitti and its surroundings in the area of Oltrarno, on the south side of the river. There we find the Modern Art Gallery, exhibiting by and large works from the Neoclassical and Romantic period: the Palatine Gallery and the Royal Chambers, where many of the masterpieces from the Medicis’ collection were started in 1620; the Museo degli Argenti, which shelters gorgeous frescoes or the Porcelain Museum, in the upper part of the Bóboli Gardens in the midst of rose bushes (in the palace itself). Southwest of the cathedral we come to the Piazza della Repubblica and nearby the magnificent Palazzo Davanti and the imposing Palazzo Strozzi, a true masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, built by the Strozzi family, who were the Medicis’ rivals. The Palazzo often puts on magnificent displays of modern art. 133