Category: Florence

Life of Fra Bartolommeo Di San Marco, Painter of Florence

Near the territory of Prato, which is ten miles distant from Florence, in a village called Savignano, was born Bartolommeo, known, according to the Tuscan custom, by the name of Baccio. He, having shown in his childhood not merely inclination, but also aptitude, for drawing, was placed, through the good services of Benedetto da Maiano,…


Life of Raffaello Da Urbino, Painter and Architect

How bountiful and benign Heaven sometimes shows itself in showering upon one single person the infinite riches of its treasures, and all those graces and rarest gifts that it is wont to distribute among many individuals, over a long space of time, could be clearly seen in the no less excellent than gracious Raffaello Sanzio…


Life of Leonardo Da Vinci, Painter and Sculptor of Florence

The greatest gifts are often seen, in the course of nature, rained by celestial influences on human creatures; and sometimes, in supernatural fashion, beauty, grace, and talent are united beyond measure in one single person, in a manner that to whatever such an one turns his attention, his every action is so divine, that, surpassing…


Life of Lorenzo Ghiberti, Painter of Florence

There is no doubt that in every city those who, by reason of any talent, come into some fame among men, are a most blessed light and example to many who are either born after them or live in the same age, not to mention the infinite praise and the extraordinary rewards that they themselves…


Life of Donatello, Sculptor of Florence

Donato, who was called Donatello by his relatives and wrote his name thus on some of his works, was born in Florence in the year 1403. Devoting himself to the arts of design, he was not only a very rare sculptor and a marvellous statuary, but also a practised worker in stucco, an able master…


The Life of Filippo Brunelleschi, Sculptor and Architect

Many men are created by nature small in person and in features, who have a mind full of such greatness and a heart of such irresistible vehemence, that if they do not begin difficult—nay, almost impossible—undertakings, and bring them to completion to the marvel of all who behold them, they have never any peace in…


Life of Sandro Botticelli

At the same time with the elder Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Magnificent, which was truly a golden age for men of intellect, there also flourished one Alessandro, called Sandro after our custom, and surnamed Di Botticello for a reason that we shall see below. This man was the son of Mariano Filipepi, a citizen of…


Rick Steves’ Europe: The Church of David

Entering Florence’s Accademia Gallery is like entering the Church of David — a temple of humanism. At the high altar stands the perfect man, Michelangelo’s colossal statue of David. Like a Renaissance Statue of Liberty, David declares, “Yes, I can.” This 500-year-old slingshot-toting giant-slayer is the symbol of Florence. The city’s other treasures are largely…


Serving God, Sculpture by Sculpture

Some 18 years ago, Minnesota-born Cody Swanson arrived in Italy on a two-way ticket as a fresh-faced 18-year-old keen to discover more about traditional art. That he did. But his trip wasn’t quite what he had envisioned. He’s lived in Italy ever since, having never used his return flight. Swanson settled in Florence, where he…


The Medici: Patrons of the Florentine Renaissance

Their artworks are icons of Italy and their names are among the most well-known in the art world: Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Michelangelo. Eager viewers stop and snap photos of the instantly-recognizable paintings, sculptures, and buildings. Displayed in museums around the world, the immortal paintings invite a popular following. What remains obscured in the history books,…