Orsanmichele

Tuesday we decided to take our chances and try to visit Orsanmichele. This church was formerly the granary for the city, eventually being transformed into a church. It is only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and at three specified times each day, with a limit of 30 people per visit. Fortunately, when we got there, we were able to get tickets and entered at 9:30, the first opening. There were probably about 20 people altogether, so we picked a good time.

My first impression was that this is an enormous space. And it is almost perfectly square. There are two altars at the front, as if it is divided into two congregations, with three aisles. The ceiling has large iron rings suspended, which were used for pulleys to move the grain. There also were holes in some of the side pillars that served as chutes to send grain down from the upper stories.

One of the notable things about this building is that it was used to display the patron saints of the various guilds in Florence (cloth, wood, silk, etc.). There are niches on all four outside walls where the statues were placed. Now there are copies, with the restored originals on display on the upper floors.

The altar on the left is topped with a statue of St. Anne with Mary and Jesus.

On the right there is an enormous carved marble tabernacle by Orcagna over the altar, with a painting of the Madonna by Bernardo Daddi. As was true almost everywhere, the lighting made photos of paintings very difficult.

There were quite a few stained glass windows; these were above the left-side altar.

We were told we would be escorted to the upper floors, and we soon found out why. I had noticed a small door in one corner, which obviously was a stairway going up (it would have been extremely narrow). Fortunately, the entrance was actually across the street in another building, with a walkway to cross back over. The views were great; this building was quite close, with elaborate tracing on the walls.

Looking toward the center of town and the Duomo, we could see the Giotto Tower. We are pretty high up; there were 87 steps from the street to the upper floor. (Tomorrow:  63 more steps to the top floor!)