tabernacolo via chiara – Luoghi Parlanti

Tabernacles of florence

Via Chiara corner of Via panicale

THE TABERNACLE THE STREET AUTHOR PICTURES

THE TABERNACLE

Sacra Famiglia, santa Elisabetta e san Giovannino

The composition in bas-relief, unfolds on two parallel planes: in the foreground, in the center, the Virgin Mary holds a rosary with one hand and with the other she holds the infant Jesus, who joyfully reaches out toward the little San Giovannino, in a scene of great harmony and affection between the two; the little Battista, on the other hand, is held by Santa Elisabetta, who in the background, in the second plane, seems to be in dialogue with San Giuseppe, placed on the far right of the composition.

Tabernacle

The tabernacle consists of two niches, one on top of the other: the upper one, the main one, bordered by a pietra serena frame, now houses an 18th-century majolica tablet, produced by a Tuscan manufacture, in bright blue and yellow colors and with an elaborate frame, depicting a Sacra Famiglia, santa Elisabetta and san Giovannino. The lower niche of the tabernacle, on the other hand, also made of pietra serena and decorated with a valuable shell in relief, is an "alms box," a container compartment for collecting offerings for the lamp or lantern that lit the tabernacle in the upper niche.

THE STREET

VIA CHIARA

Originally Via Chiara was "Via delle Marmerucole," named after a thorny plant found in the form of hedges ("marmerucola"). In fact, this area of Florence constituted the so-called "Cafaggio," an area not yet built up but characterized by fields, vegetation, hedges, shrubs and animal pastures. Via Panicale also refers to a plant name: the "panìco," in fact, is a dry grass, a cereal plant. However, the intersection of Via Chiara and Via Panicale is now one of the nerve points for the life and viability of the Central Market and the San Lorenzo district.

AUTHOR

Tuscan manufacture

(18th century)

Curiosity

In the ancient Via Chiara (now Piazza del Mercato Centrale) was born Benvenuto Cellini in the year 1500: the famous artist "saw the light" in a small house that his ancestors bought from the Franciscan nuns of the nearby Sant’Orsola monastery.

OTHER INFORMATION

Info

AMICI DEI MUSEI FIORENTINI ODV - COMITATO PER IL DECORO E IL RESTAURO DEI TABERNACOLI Card by Lorenzo Manzani - Restoration: Martina Calmanti - Restored by: Associazione Insieme per San Lorenzo, Trattoria ZA ZA, Consorzio Mercato Centrale, Associazione I Sopravvissuti del San Lorenzo, Central Market Square residents and operators, project supporters (2020)