The Medici Family; Santa Maria Novella

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

We began the day with an hour-long talk on the Medici family, a truly fascinating insight into the transition from the bishop-run city-state to the wealthy merchant-run hereditary fiefdom, the Duchy of Florence.  According to our lecturer, politics and economics were significantly better before the Renaissance, with a rudimentary democracy in the city-states of the north of Italy.  The golden age of crafts and economy was pre-Renaissance, in the 1100s and 1200s.  Most city-states were taken over by a family, and in Florence it was the Medicis.  We heard stories of Cosimo, the Medici who cared for the common people, and of his grandson Lorenzo (the Magnificent) who bankrupted the family.  It was a lively and entertaining portrait of an intriguing bunch of people.

In the late morning we walked to the nearby Santa Maria Novella church, another Florence gem.  Built starting in 1279 as a Gothic Dominican basilica, it received its façade from 1456-1470, a Renaissance completion, designed by Alberti. 

The façade is very geometric, harkening back to ancient Rome, and at the apex is a pediment with the Dominican solar emblem:

The interior is vast:

Above the entrance is a beautiful rose window:

And a Botticelli nativity fresco:

Originally there was a rood screen—a curtain separating the elevated persons in the front of the church from the ordinary ones in the back.  Hanging above where the rood screen was is a giant crucifix by Giotto:

On one wall is what our docent claimed is one of the five most important frescos in Florence, the Trinity of Masaccio from 1424.  We stood in front of this work for at least ten minutes hearing of its importance in iconography, but mostly in its use of perspective, something totally new when it was created:

The altar is beautiful, and has Ghirlandaio frescos from 1485-1490 behind it:

One entire side is the life of Mary; here’s a very large panel depicting Mary’s marriage to Joseph.  According to our (young and pregnant) guide, the depiction of Joseph as an old man fits nicely with the concept of Mary’s virginity, assuming impotence in an old man.  There were no comments from the group.

In the adjacent Spanish Chapel we heard the concept that Jesus spent the three days between his death and his resurrection in Limbo, a place where people since Adam and Eve had waited to be set free to go to heaven (or hell).  Jesus’ freeing those stuck in Limbo, including Adam and Eve (who had been waiting a long time) is depicted in this fresco by Andrea di Bonaiuto, created between 1365-1367.  To the right are demons waiting to escort those not deserving heaven to hell.

On another wall in a line of saints was this depiction of Moses as a saint with a halo.  This representation of rays of splendorous light coming from him has been repeated in many works of art and has led to much misinterpretation and trouble.  Many know of the famous Michelangelo statue of Moses with horns in Rome.

We will have a big new year’s banquet this evening, and then, up early tomorrow for a day into the Chianti region with a walk through the medieval hill town of San Gimignano.  A number of years ago we drove from one hill town to another over a few days while staying at an inn based in rural Tuscany.  We remember San Gimignano as our favorite, so we’re excited to visit again.

Happy new year to everyone!