An Art Lover's Guide to Florence

6. Orsanmichele: A Multipurpose Architectural Masterpiece

Chapter 6 OrSaNmIChELE A Multipurpose Architectural Masterpiece hISTOrY OF ThE BuILdING N owhere in Florence do city politics and religious fervor intertwine as closely as in the multipurpose building known as Orsanmichele. Part shrine, part grain storehouse, and part showplace for the wealth and political power of the city’s guilds, it covers a square block. This imposing and unique three-story structure towers over neighboring buildings and stands roughly halfway between the two focal points of Florentine religious and civic life: the cathedral and the city hall. Its curious name derives from the original building on the site: a small Benedictine monastery founded around 750 and dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Because it was near a stretch of land used for market gardens, the monastery acquired the name san Michele ad Hortum, or st. Michael in a Garden. As Latin developed into Italian, the name became san Michele in Orto, and this finally contracted into Orsanmichele. The monastery was destroyed in 1239 during an outburst of factional fighting. Because it had occupied a site at the heart of medieval Florence, near the city’s two principal grain markets, the government saw an opportunity to appropriate the property and put it to communal use. In 1240 it became the site of the city’s municipal grain market. By concentrating the sale of grain and flour at Orsanmichele, communal officials transformed the piazza into a place where citizens could always turn for sustenance in times of need. Orsanmichele 97 The open space of the square remained in use until 1284, when the city government commissioned a loggia to cover the area, in order to protect both the merchants and their products from bad weather. It was a large structure, almost the size of the area occupied by the present building, with a wooden roof raised on sturdy brick supports. In memory of the vanished monastery, an image of st. Michael was painted on one of the brick piers, and another Orsanmichele, corner view of exterior. 98 aN arT LOVEr’S GuIdE TO FLOrENCE carried an image of the Madonna. special devotion to the image of the Virgin developed, and in 1291 a lay religious group called the Confraternity of the Madonna of Orsanmichele was founded to sing laude (hymns) in front of the painting. soon afterward miracles began to be attributed to the image, and the area around it became crowded with gifts and votives. But the Virgin failed to intercede in Florence’s endless internal warfare. In 1304 the grain loggia and its miracle-working image, along with a good portion of the city center, fell victim to a fire started during one of those conflicts. The city finally decided to rebuild in 1336, during a period of peace and relative prosperity. The government attached great importance to the rebuilding of Orsanmichele, stating in its legislative decree that it was “located in the very heart of the city, in the place where the image of the glorious Virgin Mary is worshiped, and serving many uses and needs of the commune of Florence.” The new structure, where the Virgin could be more suitably honored and grain better stored, “would contribute greatly to the city’s honor, beauty, and appearance,” all considerations of great importance to the image-conscious Florentines. The government put the politically prominent silk Guild in charge of supervising the construction of the new building, following the plans of a team of three architects: Francesco Talenti, Neri di Fioravanti, and Benci di Cione. The new building was a much more ambitious structure than the previous one, designed to fulfill several purposes. The ground floor would become a worthy home for the miracle-working image of the Virgin. The two upper floors would be used to store grain for times of military emergency or famine. When the first stone was laid in 1337, people threw gold medals and coins into the foundations to ensure good luck. As construction was going on, an important political development increased the already deep devotion to the Madonna of Orsanmichele and added devotion to another saint: Mary’s mother, st. Anne. On July 26, 1343, Florence freed itself from the rule of the French nobleman Walter of Brienne, known as the duke of Athens. In 1342 the city’s ruling class of wealthy merchants had invited Walter to run the city in hopes that he might be able to break the grip of...