A painted crucifix by medieval master Cimabue is ready to be returned to Florence’s Santa Croce Basilica after it was damaged in the Great Flood of 1966. The painted crucifix, executed in 1280, came to heightened fame when muddy waters, which swelled the banks of the Arno and inundated the entire city, swept into the church and wiped most of the paint off.
Category: Arts
Uffizi smartphone app puts collection in context
Visitors to Florence’s hugely popular Uffizi Gallery will soon be able to access information about the origins of the artworks contained in the collection on their mobile phones thanks to a project aiming to better contextualise the local cultural heritage. Le Vie degli Uffizi (‘The Roads of the Uffizi’) is an initiative of local culture authorities, in conjunction with the cultural and environmental foundation Florens.
Michelangelo, Donatello, Brunelleschi crosses united
Famed Florentine Renaissance crucifixes by Michelangelo, Donatello and Filippo Brunelleschi will go on show together for the first time in the Florence Baptistery from November 2 to 11. The crosses are being united for a heritage biennial organised by the Fondazione Florens.
The art of scagliola, alchemy of colors
Alchemy of colours, an exhibition dedicated to the particular scagliola technique, all to be admired this autumn. What is scagliola? It is made from a mineral called selenite, which gives life to incredible artifacts. Scagliola has been known since ancient times as it was used to embellish architectural elements in sacred art and has become part of Florentine handicrafts.
Gearing up for Florens 2012
The International Week for Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Florens 2012, is scheduled to take place in Florence from November 3 to 11. Cultural directors include Mauro Agnoletti, Andrea Carandini and Walter Santagata, with Davide Rampello as artistic director.
Palazzo Strozzi, a great house in Florence
The Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi has set up this small permanent exhibition to give the public insight into the history of the Palazzo where the Foundation is housed. Eight panels give an account of the fortunes of the Strozzi from the fourteenth century to the present day while a genealogical tree helps the visitor understand the complexity of the family’s various noble connections.
Wassily Kandinsky and the other exhibits of the week
The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy’s art exhibitions of the week. Palazzo Blu in Pisa: Wassily Kandinsky, From Russia to Europe; until February 3; Lucca Center of Contemporary Art: David LaChapelle, 53 photos; until November 4. Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence): Art Returns Art; contemporary masters including Bacon, Klein, Burri, Kounellis, Picasso and Warhol; until November 4.
Adoration of the Magi marred by debris
Restorers say they will need two years to undo botched efforts of the past on Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. But when their work is finished, the painting will be luminous, they say. The first step for the restoration team from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure is to eliminate the debris left by numerous earlier attempts to restore the famous work.
A statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi damaged
Today, at 8 am, a body monitoring (“Friends of the Earth”) in the Loggia dei Lanzi found the phalanx of a finger of the left hand of the sculpture by Pio Fedi depicting “The Rape of Polyxena” had been removed. All fingers of this hand are product additions made necessary by repeated acts of vandalism (the last in March 2009).
Mona Lisa, insects to provide date information
Researchers digging for the remains of Leonardo da Vinci’s model Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo, known as Mona Lisa, said Tuesday that one of the most important burdens of proof lies with the insects found in the tomb. Researchers have been digging in the basement of a former Ursuline convent in central Florence for months where they believe Mona Lisa was buried.