Florence’s newly renovated Orsanmichele, a church and former barn that houses some of the world’s most important Renaissance sculptures, had more than half the number of visitors in the first three weeks after reopening than in all of 2022.
The landmark, which was closed for 14 months for a €1.1m refurbishment, had 8,000 visitors through its doors in the first 21 days after it reopened to the public on January 19, compared to 13,000 in all of 2022, the last complete year was open. Increasing the number of visitors, and putting the Renaissance structure back at the top of the Florentine itinerary for art lovers, was one of the great ambitions of the reform.
Orsanmichele is located in the center of the city, between Piazza della Signoria and the Duomo. Originally built in 1336 as a grain market, it soon became a church, with grain stored on the upper floors; this connection between the spiritual and the secular was central in its place within the origin story of the Renaissance. Throughout the country in the 14th century, the city guilds were then invited to order sculptures for 14 niches on the facade, for which they sought to employ the great practitioners of the time. The resulting works include Donatello’s San Marco, an early example of a figure no contrasted a pose that, in its naturalism, refers to the sculpture of antiquity.
In the 14th century, the guilds of Florence were invited to commission sculptures for the niches around the facade of Orsanmichele.
Photo: Nicola Neri, loaned by Musei del Bargello
From the 19th century, concerns about safety and pollution meant that the statues were moved inside the building, replaced in the niches by copies. “What we have is the largest number of important Renaissance sculptures in one room,” says curator Benedetta Matucci. But the way they had shown themselves since moving in had left much to be desired.
“They were on low platforms, so they didn’t have the perspective that the sculptors intended,” says Matucci. “Now we’ve raised them on a series of plinths to give the viewer more of the original point of view.” The lighting has also been greatly improved and the sculptures are shown to reflect the way they were placed in the outer niches.
As part of the renovation, the Renaissance sculptures were exposed to reflect the way they were placed in the exterior niches.
Photo: Lorenzo Mennonna. Courtesy of Bargello Museums
“We wanted to make the sculptures more accessible, and also more understandable. In medieval times, this was one of the most important buildings in Florence and we want to make sure its story is properly told,” he says. “What you see today may not be exactly what it would have been like in the 14th century, but it’s as close as you can get.” .
The church, where mass is still celebrated every Sunday, is dominated by a tabernacle so vast that it contains a secret staircase. The piece was created by the artists Andrea di Cione in 1352 to house the house of the Renaissance painter Bernardo Daddi. Virgin and Child with Angels, painted a few years earlier. The renovation included a proper cleaning of the tabernacle and new glass doors allow a glimpse of the church from the street.
In recent years, the museum has been open only one or two days a week, and only for small groups: in the future it will be open six days a week like most other major attractions in Florence.
