Events in Florence and surroundings: detail
From May 25 2008 To November 30 2008
MUGELLO CRADLE OF THE RENAISSANCE: 4 EXIHIBITIONS IN THE FLORENTINE PROVINCE
Giotto, Beato Angelico, Donatello and the Medici dynasty are the focus of four exhibitions. Presented under the single title Mugello cradle of the Renaissance, they highlight the origin of the three famous painters as well as the family that ruled Tuscany for two centuries, making arts and science the main instrument of their own politics and the emblem of their own fortune.
The visit to Mugello, the cradle of the Renaissance actually begins in Florence, at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the dynasty's first palace. Specifically, it begins with Benozzo Gozzoli's Procession of the Magi, the famous fresco which represents metaphorically the salvific role of the Medici family. In the lavish procession one recognizes the ancestors of the family and the typical Tuscan countryside in the background is Mugello.
The four exhibitions are (May 25th - November 30th, 2008):
1) In S. Piero a Sieve (convent of Bosco ai Frati) Donatello, Brunelleschi and the Man on the Cross offers a comparison of the famous crucifixes that were at the center of a legendary dispute between the two artists. The curators are Anna Bisceglia and Antonio Paolucci.
2) By the same curators, at the Beato Angelico Museum of Vicchio, Mugello and the Arts: Giotto, Beato Angelico and Andrea del Castagno presents a series of precious paintings from some of Florence?s greatest museums (Beato Angelico?s famous Mugello Altarpiece) and private collections. Note the two panels by Giotto (St. Francis and St. John the Baptist) recently acquired by the Ente Cassa.
3) In Borgo S. Lorenzo (Museo della Manifattura Chini) Isabella Lapi Ballerini is the curator of The Medici Villas, which includes a portrait of Bianca Cappello, exhibited here for the very first time, and the three Bronzino portraits of Cosimo il Vecchio, Pierfrancesco il Vecchio and Francesco I. Not to be missed, also the three lunettes by Justus van Utens depicting the Medici villas of Trebbio, Cafaggiolo and Pratolino, drawings of the same properties by Giorgio Vasari, poems of Lorenzo il Magnifico, rare ceramics and various objects that witness the ties between the Medici and their lands of origin.
4) Finally, in Scarperia (Palazzo dei Vicari), Medici in Arms recalls the military feats of the dynasty: with portraits (painted by Giovan Battista Naldini and Bronzino) of the heroic Giovanni delle Bande Nere and his son Cosimo I, and with a rich selection of armours and spears, pikes and swords, bows and harquebuses, springalds and culverins (curator: Mario Scalini).
A special entrance ticket is offered: the Mugello Culla del Rinascimento Card (5 euros, reduced 3.5 euros) guarantees access to all four exhibitions, to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi Museum and to the various Mugello museums, as well as a Sunday shuttle bus service (from June 8) and important discounts in restaurants, hotels and shops in the area.
Free Coach Service
From 8 June onward, there will be a free coach service leaving from Florence to visit the scattered exhibition in one day. Departure at 9 a.m. from Florence Central Station of Santa Maria Novella, return around 7 p.m. Tour program: Palazzo dei Vicari in Scarperia, Convent of Bosco ai Frati in San Piero a Sieve - Lunch break - Museo della Manifattura Chini in Borgo San Lorenzo e Beato Angelico Museum in Vicchio.
The coach service is only for the holders of the MUGELLO CULLA DEL RINASCIMENTO CARD and will be every Sunday in June, July, September, October and November 2008.
Booking is mandatory: tel. +39 055 8468165.
Guided tours
On Saturdays and Sundays, for the whole period of the exhibition, free guided tours will be organized in the four exhibition seats.
The meeting point is at the ticket offices of the museums housing the scattered exhibition at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
On any other day a guided tour in each exhibition seat, for groups of a maximum of 25 visitors costs 60 euros; for guided tours at four different exhibition seats the price is 180 euros. Booking is mandatory for groups.
Opening hours 10am-1pm and 3pm-7pm, closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
For further informations:
Mugello Culla del Rinascimento
Ph.: +39 055 8468165
web: www.mugellorinascimento.it
Back
