Florence - Florence and Tuscany - page 158

di Orsanmichele and now within a tabernacle at the hall's far end, Donatello's wonderful
St George (1416-17) brought a new sense of perspective and movement to Italian sculp-
ture. Also look for the bronze bas-reliefs created for the Baptistry doors competition by
Brunelleschi and Ghiberti.
Yet it is Donatello's two versions of David , a favourite subject for sculptors, which
really fascinate: Donatello fashioned his slender, youthful dressed image in marble in
1408 and his fabled bronze between 1440 and 1450. The latter is extraordinary - the more
so when you consider it was the first freestanding naked statue to be sculpted since clas-
sical times.
Criminals received their last rites before execution in the palace's 1st-floor Cappella del
Podestà , also known as the Mary Magdalene Chapel, where Hell and Paradise are frescoed
on the walls, as are stories from the lives of Mary of Egypt, Mary Magdalene and John the
Baptist. These remnants of frescoes by Giotto were not discovered until 1840, when the
chapel was turned into a storeroom and prison.
The 2nd floor moves into the 16th century with a superb collection of terracotta pieces
by the prolific della Robbia family, including some of their best-known works, such as
Andrea's Ritratto idealizia di fanciullo (Bust of a Boy; c 1475) and Giovanni's Pietà
(1514). Instantly recognisable, Giovanni's works are more elaborate and flamboyant than
either father Luca's or cousin Andrea's, using a larger palette of colours.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
HIDDEN BEHIND DOORS
Just what is behind the average Florentine's front door? Take a peek with Andrew Losowsky's The
Doorbells of Florence ( http://losowsky.com/doorbells ), a collection of photographs of doorbells in
Florence accompanied by a fictional story about the fun and antics that goes on behind them.
TOP OF CHAPTER
1 Oltrarno
Literally 'other side of the Arno', atmospheric Oltrarno is the traditional home of the
city's artisanal workshops. It embraces the area south of the river and west of Ponte Vec-
chio and its backbone is busy Borgo San Jacopo, clad with restaurants, shops and a twin-