In our last post, we discussed the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, one of the most beautiful piazzas in all of Florence which is home to several architectural masterpieces. This church is an exceptional building which was designed by some of the most famous architects of the Italian Renaissance, such as Alberti and Brunelleschi, and is home to artworks by some of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance, such as Ghirlandaio and Bronzino. However, it is most famous for one particular work of art and the legend which surrounds it. Find a villa with internet in Florence and you could visit this extraordinary building for yourself.
As noted, the church was founded by the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order in 1250. In 1252, the piece of art which made the building so famous was made. This was a painting of the Annunciation created by one of the founding members of the order, by Fra Bartolommeo. Fra Bartolommeo was a leading artist in the 14th century, and his works can be seen in churches across Florence, Venice and Lucca and his Virgin Appearing to St Bernard hangs in the Uffizi. While he was working in the painting, he found himself struggling to achieve the ethereal beauty of the face of the Virgin. Despairing of ever finishing, it is said that he fell asleep. When he awoke, he was amazed to discover that an angel had completed the work.
A cult quickly developed around the painting and many Florentines even wanted to live around it so that the church became surrounded by houses. Huge crowds came to visit and a new church had to be commissioned in 1444 to replace the existing building. Another by-product of the painting was the vast number of voti, or wax offerings, which began to crowd the building as pilgrims came and went. Initially these were hung on the walls, then from the ceiling of the nave but they became so numerous that a special atrium onto the church, the Chiostrino dei Voti, was built in 1447. This came to house some 600 statues, including a full-sized wax horse but, in 1786, the entire collection was, sadly, melted down to make candles.
Still housed and displayed in an ornate tabernacle designed by Michelozzo, in a chapel near the entrance of the Basilica, the painting is encased in marble and usually covered. Time and dubious repairs have left the work looking a little tattered but it is still worth the visit if you find yourself in Florence – not least of all for the building it is housed in, an extraordinary church in its own right.
Still housed and displayed in an ornate tabernacle designed by Michelozzo, in a chapel near the entrance of the Basilica, the painting is encased in marble and usually covered. Time and dubious repairs have left the work looking a little tattered but it is still worth the visit if you find yourself in Florence – not least of all for the building it is housed in, an extraordinary church in its own right.
Photo credits
Picture 1: Sailko / CC BY 2.5;
Picture 2: Livorno DP / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: Sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0
Picture 1: Sailko / CC BY 2.5;
Picture 2: Livorno DP / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: Sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0
