Tabernacles of Florence
Via del leone corner of via della chiesa
THE TABERNACLE
Madonna in trono col Bambino
The Virgin, supporting the Child resting on her lap, sits on a tall throne of Gothic style, on which is spread an ornate drape, the folds of which are realistically highlighted. Eight angels flank the throne; an apt and attentive San Giovanni Battista turns toward the viewer and points to the sacred group. A compact and devout San Romualdo contemplates it in silence. Reminding us of the fate of the infant Jesus we find the overshadowed and melancholy gaze of the Mother and the absorbed but unsmiling expressions of the angels.
Tabernacle
The tabernacle has a protective stained glass window, agile in form and "Gothic-like" in its acutangular termination. However, it responds to modern canons of construction and form. The new shrine redevelops this corner of the popular Florentine Oltrarno, bringing back to it, if only "in image," one of the best-known and most prestigious urban furnishings still present in the city.
THE STREET
VIA DELLA CHIESA
The street is named after the vanished church of San Salvatore in the former convent of the Nunziatina, which gave its name to the stretch of street from Piazza Tasso to Via dei Serragli. The church dated back to 1517 and was equipped with a hospice, which Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo transformed into a school for poor girls in 1778, which now houses a municipal school. A plaque of the Otto di Guardia e di Balia has remained at number 89, forbidding games of "palla, ruzzola, pallottola, pallone, pillottola" in the vicinity of the convent, so as not to disturb the quiet of the nuns.The tabernacle is located on the corner with Via del Leone.
AUTHOR
Giottino
(Florence, about 1324 - Florence, about 1372) Giottino, pseudonym of Tommaso or Maso di Stefano, was a 14th-century Italian painter. He was one of Giotto's many followers (protogiotteschi); his skill earned him the appellation Giottino and it was widely believed that he was Giotto's son.
The artist
(Florence, about 1324 - Florence, about 1372) Several works were attributed to the artist such as the “Apparizione della Vergine a san Bernardo” (“Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard”) or the tabernacle of the Maestà in Piazza Tasso in Florence. Also attributed to him were two fragments of frescoes with heads of saints from the church of San Pancrazio and now in the Museo degli Innocenti. Vasari particularly praises Giottino for his light and shade use, from the "sweet way and so united”.
Curiosity
It is said that the tabernacle painted by Giottino was originally in the Piazza di Santo Spirito, and that the image was made as a vow for the cessation of the plague of 1348.
OTHER INFORMATION
Info
AMICI DEI MUSEI FIORENTINI ODV - COMITATO PER IL DECORO E IL RESTAURO DEI TABERNACOLI - File by Bruno Santi - Restorer: S.I.R.E., Florence (1995) - Director of works: Carlo Francini, Litta Medri - Financier: City of Florence
Tabernacle owned by the City of Florence
Tabernacle owned by the City of Florence
PICTURES
Tabernacle
Via del Leone corner of Via della Chiesa
Tabernacle
Via del Leone corner of Via della Chiesa
Fresco
Via del Leone corner of Via della Chiesa
