of the more than 100 churches in Florence, many of which I think I visited, there are two churches which I liked above all the others and I'm not quite sure why these two are my favorites. bear in mind that of these 100 plus churches, most beautiful, many with priceless works of art, many worthy of first place in "my favorite church" category, picking just one is almost an exercise in futility - too many possibilities. you should go have a look for yourself! as my friends and a former husband once asked in exasperation "don't you ever get tired of looking at churches?!" they can attest, I have rarely passed by a church without going in for a quick look or a long marvel at what artisans were able to accomplish all those years ago. were any churches in Europe built in the past century? surely there were but I prefer to think the one I'm in at the moment is a counterpart of the church in Pillars of the Earth and Tom Builder might have worked on it all those years ago ...
Ognissanti is infinitely more famous for its art such as the freschi of the Cenacolo or Last Supper (1488), St Augustine in His Study (1480) and Madonna della Misericorde (1494) featuring the Vespucci family all by Domenico Ghirlandaio, the crucifix by Giotto (1310 - 13150), St Jerome in His Study (1480) by Botticelli to name perhaps the most well known works.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ognissanti,_Florence
https://sites.google.com/site/aguidetoflorence/churches/ognissanti/last-supper
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/ognissanti_last_supper.html
many frescoes had to be rescued in this way during the devastating flood in November of 1966. I hadn't seen these photos of the flood so threw them in as a bonus!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Flood_of_the_Arno_River
Chiesa di Ognissanti was completed between 1251 and 1260. in 1571 the Franciscans brought their most precious relic, which is still to be seen at Ognissanti: the habit worn by St Francis of Assisi when he received the sacred Stigmata on Mount Verna in 1224.
http://digilander.libero.it/ancilla/english/laverna/saio.html
sorry, mea cculpa: IF the link above had been read CAREFULLY, the author of this post would have seen that the habit of St Francis was actually moved from Ognissanti, quote: "March 23, 2001 at 12:00pm In fact, the same day, the habit of St. Francis is back on Mount La Verna, and was placed in the chapel of the relics." only 12 years ago, so I hadn't caught up on the news in such a short time seeing it had been in Ognissanti for 442 years!
the church was extensively remodeled and reconstructed in 1582 and then about 1627 it was almost completely rebuilt in the Baroque of Bartolomeo Pettirossi. the façade by Matteo Nigetti (1637) conserved the grand glazed terracotta lunette over the doorway. it is in the manner of the artist Della Robbia but is attributed to Benedetto Buglioni
over the years this wonderful 15' crucifix had been left in a side room of the church. recently cleaned, removing years of grime, most experts are convinced that the crucifix was painted by Giotto di Bondone between 1310 and 1315. there is a short article in the "Italian Notebook" about the crucifix, http://www.italiannotebook.com/art-archaeology/ognissanti-crucifix/ (you can subscribe for the daily posts to your email.) |
Giotto's celebrated Madonna and Child with Angels, now in the Uffizi, was painted about 1310 for Ognissanti's high altar. I saw this painting in the Uffizi and it is huge, 10.5' high by 6.5' wide. photo 1 is from the internet, for better clarity, photo 2 is one I surreptitiously shot at the Uffizi, "surreptitiously": read illegally. readers, you're lucky I'm not in jail deprived of pen, paper and computer ... or maybe you're unlucky that I am able to continue! |
the aritist Sandro Botticelli was born in 1445 on (street) Via Borgo Ognissanti at the modern number 28 and is buried in his church at the feet of his beloved Simonetta Vespucci who died at age 18. | Simonetta Vespucci posed for Botticelli's "Primavera" and "Birth of Venus", both in the Uffizi Gallery. (Simonetta was a renowned beauty and seems to have been the toast of Florence) |
St Jerome in their studies in these frescoes from 1480, now detached and transferred to canvas.
I'm not sure what this ceremony or rite was celebrating; a friend, Sarah Mullen, and I happened into the church about 10:00 PM on a Good Friday night and witnessed the priests and altar boys chanting and performing a ceremony with very tall candles and a small fire in the courtyard. I have searched the know-all of the internet but can't find an answer. does anyone have any idea?