The first place we went to was the San Lorenzo Church. It was one of the biggest churches I had ever been in! However, when it was originally built around the 4th century it was a lot smaller. Giovanni Medici sponsored the reconstruction of the Church. In 1420, Brunelleschi began with The Old Sacristy for reconstruction. Since the Medici's had sponsored this reconstruction, they had a lot to do with the decorations inside The Old Sacristy. The family coat of arms were on the walls and everything was done in mathematical perspective. Perfect cubes and hemispheres were in the main design of the room. In the dome of the room, there were 12 beams which represented the 12 disciples. In the very center of the room is the tomb of Giovanni and Piccarda de' Medici. They are both buried inside that church, as well as Cosimo the Elder and Piero. Piero's tomb is within the wall between The Old Sacristy and the Medici family chapel while Cosimo's is directly in front of the alter. He was believed to be the heart of Florence so he was buried in the heart of the church. The tomb is in the floor and not really recognizable unless you're looking for it. You can see the crypt if you walk around the building and down into the basement of the church. It's huge and quite fascinating. In most of the Medici sponsored and owned buildings, you will notice red, green and white, marble and granite. Thy're much more rare versions of these stones, especially the red granite, I just can't remember the name for it. These were specifically used by the Medici family to represent strength and power, as well as wealth because of their rarity.
The second church we went to was the Santa Maria Novella Church, which was also really pretty. It was the first Florentine Gothic Church built in the 13th century. The stain glass windows were very well detailed and the were risen very high up on the walls. The walls were actually white washed and redone during the 16th century when the Reformation took place. If you look at the construction closely enough, you will notice that the pillars that line each side of the church become closer and closer together in distance as they approach the alter. This gave the building the look of much larger space then there actually is. Behind the alter, there is the Tornabuoni family owned chapel. The coat of arms on both pillars to the entrance was split in half. Half Tornabuoni and half Medici. All three walls have HUGE painted murals, which were done by Domenico Ghirlandaio, who actually painted himself into one of the paintings. On the left and right side of the alter, as well as directly behind, the paintings are done from sitting level, all the way to the ceiling. Behind the alter are a few stain glass windows but the paintings to the left are the story of Mary. The paintings to the right are the story of John the Baptist. Giovanni Tornabuoni and much of his family were painted within some of these paintings considering they were the chapel sponsors. On the ceiling of the chapel, the Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the 4 Evangelists were painted in great detail.
The very front (outside) of the church was finally completed in 1470.
sorry, it had to be off google
The third place we went to visit today. It was the Palazzo Medici Riccardi; the home of the Medici family during the 1460's-1530's. The original part of the palace was smaller at first until the Riccardi family added on to the north side. We didn't get to see much of the palace, just a few rooms, but they were beautiful and the ceilings were all very tall. I even felt important standing in those hallways and chambers.
In the Private chapel, they were given the right to have a private alter. This is something that VERY FEW people were allowed to have. Benozzo Gozzoli painted "The Journey of Magi" throughout every wall so it wrapped around the entire room. Over the alter (which is no longer the original- the original is in Berlin) was a painting of Madonna with child and young st. John. Looking like this
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In the gallery room, the Riccardi Family hired a roman artist to paint over the entire ceiling and dedicate it to the Medici family. This painting contained a series of mythological stories that represented passage of time,the youth and elderly, life, death, and virtues that corresponded to beliefs of the Medici's.
Not too much more to say about the Palace. It's more of a thing you have to see rather then be explained to. There is a lot of history behind it, however, it was also just the typical home for the Medici family. Also considering there was a limited number of rooms we were allowed in, I have little to say about the palace altogether. Something I definitely found interesting though, was that The David originally sat in the middle of the private courtyard of this palace and people were able to walk by and peer through their fence to see him. I still have yet to see the David. I think that may be something I do this weekend.
Oktoberfest details soon!!
