Churches of Florence: Orsanmichele with Dr. Alessandra Becucci

 Together we'll discover the church of the guilds of Florence – an encyclopedia of Renaissance sculpture, and a former grain warehouse. This conversation will illustrate the role of Orsanmichele in the context of Florentine history, and artistic patronage in the 1300s and 1400s, presenting some of the masterpieces that adorn the external niches of the church as well as the perfectly preserved decoration inside it. Masterminds such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco, Donatello, Verrocchio, and Brunelleschi (amongst others)created here their most celebrated works. 

The church of Orsanmichele, in the center of Florence, was reconstructed out of a smaller oratory in the first half of the 1300s. Sponsored by the Arti, the powerful Florentine trade and craft guilds, Orsanmichele quickly became the stage for artistic competition amongst the most prominent sculptors in town – who engaged in the decoration of the niches surrounding the ground floor of the church. 

Led by Florentine art historian Alessandra Becucci, this conversation will present this unique monument of Renaissance art, one of the most ancient and best-preserved churches in Florence. More than any other, this church was instrumental in the developing cultural, economic, and political power structure of the Florentine guilds in the Renaissance era.