Not far from where we live in Florence are the San Marco church and convent.
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| San Marco church and convent |
In fact, the section of Florence where we live is called San Marco.
We recently toured San Marco and were truly amazed by the art there. Here is some background about San Marco.
• A Benedictine church and monastery first occupied the site in the 1100's.
• In the mid-1400's, the Benedictines were moved out and Dominicans moved in.
• Cosimo d'Medici the Elder was responsible for recruiting the Dominicans and rebuilding San Marco.
• Two famous Dominicans lived at San Marco:
Renaissance artist Guido di Pietro, better known as Fra Angelico; and
Girolamo Savonarola, preacher and de facto ruler of Florence, 1494-1498.
San Marco's convent has been transformed into a museum where you can view great Renaissance art and also see how the Dominicans lived. Throughout the museum are works by Fra Angelico (who lived at San Marco 1436-1445), along with works by other artists, such Fra Bartolomeo.
Below are some highlights of our tour.
Two of the most famous paintings at San Marco are frescoes by Fra Angelico. They are pictured below. Each fresco was intended to inspire the Dominican brothers. Each is located where the brothers would see them in their daily life--in the cloister where they would walk daily in silent contemplation and in the entrance to the dormitory they would pass through every day.
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| The Annunciation by Fra Angelico (1450) |
The painting above is considered a great masterpiece. For that reason, the museum provides a tactile version that visitors with limited or no sight can touch, together with a braille description.
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| The Crucifixion by Fra Angelico (1442) |
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| The Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1486). The painting above is a fresco on the wall of a refectory (or dining hall) of the convent. The subject matter of the painting is appropriate for a refectory. What seems inappropriate is that the refectory now doubles as a gift shop. No joke. Check out the next photo. |
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| The gift shop |
Fra Angelico's body of work at San Marco is extensive. His frescoes appear throughout the convent, including in each cell of the dormitory. In addition, he illuminated manuscripts. He lived at San Marco for nearly a decade and he must have been painting every waking moment. Apparently, he had help with some of the painting from others working under his supervision. Otherwise, he might have never slept.
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| A 500-year-old fresco by Fra Angelico in a dormitory cell |
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| Another Fra Angelico fresco in a cell. Greg especially liked this painting because of the depiction of hell's defeated minions. |
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| Another Fra Angelico fresco in a cell--St. Dominic and the cross |
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| "Sister Susan" in the convent |
The convent's patron, Cosimo d'Medici the Elder, was apparently very religious and had his own cell in the dormitory (pictured below). It was a retreat from his very large palazzo just down the street.
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| A view from the convent--the top of the nearby cathedral seen through antique window glass |
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| The bell tower as seen from inside the San Marco convent |
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| A small courtyard in the convent |
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| Lovely roses in bloom in the convent. |
Next Up: The Library.
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