Florence By Area >> City Centre West
Museo Marino Marini (San Pancrazio) |
Piazza San Pancrazio
Tel. 055 21 94 32
The former church of San Pancrazio has been turned into a museum devoted to the work of Italy's best known abstract artist, Marino Marini (1901-80). Marini was born in Pistoria, where more of his work can be seen in the Palazzo del Comune and in the newly opened Centro Marino Marini. Marini studied art in Florence before moving on to teaching in Monza and at the prestigious Brera Academy in Milan. He is noted for rugged and elemental bronzes, many of them on the theme of horse and rider, which express a range of moods and experiences, from sombre weariness to joyous eroticism. San Pancrazio itself is one of the oldest churches in Florence. It was founded in the 9th century, though its most attractive features are from the Renaissance period, including a graceful Classical façade and porch (1461-7) by Leon Battista Alberti.
Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia |
Piazza Santa Maria Novella 14a.
Tel. 055 21 63 10
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The Alinari brothers began taking pictures of Florence in the 1840's, soon after the invention of photography. The firm they set up in 1852 specialised in supplying top quality prints, postcards and art books to foreigners who flocked to the city during the 1800's. Today, this archive provides a fascinating insight into the social history of Florence over the last 150 years. The museum also houses a collection of cameras, documents and objects that illustrate the history of photography. There are around six temporary exhibitions a year held here. |
Via Porta Rossa 13.
Tel. 055 238 86 10
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Also known as the Musei dell'Antica Casa Fiorentina, the Palazzo Davanzati is preserved as a typical house because of wealthy Florentines of the 14th century. The entrance courtyard was designed to trap unwanted visitors; pelting holes in the vaulted ceiling were used for dropping missiles. In the more peaceful inner courtyard, a staircase links all the floors. In one corner is a well and a pulley system so buckets of water could be raised to each floor- this ingenious mechanism was quite a luxury since most households had to fetch all their water from a public fountain.
The main living room on the first floor looks plain, but hooks beneath the ceiling show that the walls would have been hung with tapestries. Many rooms have bathrooms attached, and are decorated with frescoes of scenes from a French romance.
After a long period of restoration, the Salone Madornale, where large gatherings would have been held, and the Sala dei Pappagalli (Parrots Room), with its frescoes and rich tapestries, are once again open to the public.
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