Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sented to Cosimo I de'
Medici by Giorgio Vasari,
the artist, author and critic.
The
Arringatore
(Orator) was
found c.1566 near Lake
Trasimeno in central Italy and
is inscribed with the name of
an Etruscan aristocrat, Aulus
Metullus. The sculpture dates
from the 1st century BC, and
the figure, splendidly dressed
in a Roman toga, appears to
be addressing his audience.
Part of the Egyptian collec-
tion was acquired during a
joint French and Tuscan ex-
pedition in 1829. It is espe-
cially rich in wooden, cloth
and bone artifacts, which
were well preserved in the
dry atmosphere of the desert
tombs in which they were
found. They include a near-
complete chariot of bone and
wood found in a tomb near
Thebes (dating to c.15th cen-
tury BC), along with textiles,
hats, ropes, furniture, purses
and baskets.
and greens. The main chapel,
decorated with coloured
marble by Ciro Ferri (1675),
is one of the best examples
of the High Baroque style
in a Florentine church. In
1492 Giuliano da Sangallo
designed the church's
unusual and striking
portico, with its square-
topped, Ionic-style arcades.
The François Vase, covered in
figures from Greek mythology
Tempio Israelitico
u
Via Farini 4
.
Map
2 F5.
Te
l 055 24
52 52.
Synagogue and Museum
#
Museo
Archeologico
t
Via della Colonna 36.
Map
2 E4
.
Tel
055 23 57 50.
Oct-Mar: 10am-1pm, 2-4pm
Sun-Thu, 10am-1pm Fri; Apr-Oct:
10am-1pm, 2-5pm Sun-Thu,
10am-1pm Fri.
^
¢
Jewish hols.
2-7pm
Mon; 8:30am-7pm Tue, Thu;
8:30am-2pm Wed & Fri-Sun.
¢
#
1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec.
&
6
7
The Archaeological Museum
is in a palazzo built by Giulio
Parigi for the Princess Maria
Maddalena de' Medici in
1620. It now exhibits
outstanding collections of
Etruscan, Greek, Roman and
ancient Egyptian artifacts.
A section on the second
floor is dedicated to Greek
vases, with a room given over
to the François Vase, found in
an Etruscan tomb at Fonte
Rotella near Chiusi
(see p228)
.
Painted and signed in 570 BC,
it is decorated with six rows
of black and red figures
depicting scenes from Greek
mythology. The Etruscan
collection was very badly
damaged by the 1966 floods
in Florence
(see p57)
and
restoration of some
pieces is still ongoing.
In addition to the
splendid series of
bronze Etruscan
statues, on the
first floor of the
museum there are two
famous bronzes. The
Chimera
(see p42)
,
sculpted in the 4th
century BC, is a
mythical lion with a
goat's head imposed
on its body and a ser-
pent for a tail, shown
here cowering in terror.
It was ploughed up in
a field near Arezzo
in 1553 and pre-
Santa Maria
Maddalena dei
Pazzi
y
Borgo Pinti 58.
Map
2 E5.
Tel
055
247 84 20.
Church and chapter
house
#
9am-noon, 3-7pm daily.
Interior of the Tempio Israelitico
¢
for mass 5:30-6pm.
6
The green copper-covered
dome of Florence's main
synagogue stands out on the
horizon as you look down on
the city from the surrounding
hills. As elsewhere in Europe,
Jews in Florence were
alternately welcomed and
persecuted over the years. In
the early 17th century they
flocked to Livorno and then
to Florence when it was freed
from its strong political ties
with Spain by Grand Duke
Ferdinando I (1549-1609).
In the Inquisition, Grand
Duke Cosimo III (1642-1723)
passed laws forbidding
Christians to work for Jewish
families and businesses. In the
1860s the Jewish ghetto was
cleared to make way for the
Piazza della Repubblica
(see
p112)
. The synagogue was
built by Marco Treves in 1874-
82 in Spanish-Moorish style. It
has a museum of ritual objects
dating to the 17th century.
This former convent has been
restored following the floods
of 1966. Originally run by the
Cistercian order, it was taken
over by Carmelites in 1628,
and Augustinian monks have
lived here since 1926. The
chapterhouse, which is
entered from the crypt,
contains the famous
Crucifixion and Saints fresco
painted in 1493-6 by
Perugino (his real
name was Pietro
Vannucci), who
was one of the
founders of the Umbrian
School of artists. This
beautiful and well-preserved
fresco is regarded as a
masterpiece, bearing all
Perugino's trademarks, most
notably the background,
which is a detailed land-
scape of wooded hills
and winding streams
painted in soft blues
Bronze Etruscan
warrior
