Ceilings of Florence

This week I went to several sites for class including the Medici palace, Santa Maria Novella and Orsanmichele. Each one of these had works of art that absolutely blew me away. To get into the art history a little bit Orsanmichele had a raw groin vaulted ceiling. There was no fresco or painting covering up the original brick ceiling which was one of the coolest things I’ve seen. I am used to see fabulous paintings but seeing the raw brick was almost more interesting. I was able to fully see how each valut and art was created. The Medici palace was incredible. They commissioned so much work for their home and private spaces. The private chapel was my favorite room. Santa Maria Novella was also amazing. I saw Masaccio Holy Trinity and Giotto Crucifix along with the original frescos in the chapel. These frescos are the main event of this church now, however in the past, they would’ve been completely blocked off to the public. Only the elite class could go behind the transepts of the church. This means that even the high altar would be out of site for average worshipers. Masaccios holy trinity was covered in scaffolding but we were allowed to climb onto the scaffolding to view it so that was pretty cool.Read more