Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi
Encyclopedia
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, including a church and a former convent in Borgo Pinti.
The Pazzi name was added after a Carmelite nun, canonized in 1669, from the Pazzi family, who patronized the church. The original convent had been dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen delle Convertite, the patron of once-fallen, now "converted" women. The Cistercian order from Badia a Settimo took control of the site in 1332, and moved here in 1442, while the convent was transeferred to San Donato in Polverosa. However the church and chapter house were rebuilt between 1481-1500, with initial designs in 1492 by Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo was an Italian sculptor, architect and military engineer active during the Italian Renaissance.He was born in Florence. His father Francesco Giamberti was a woodworker and architect, much employed by Cosimo de Medici, and his brother Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and nephew...
. The 13th-century interiors were redecorated in the 17th and early 18th centuries, which removed prior altarpieces by masters such as Botticelli, Perugino
Pietro Perugino
Pietro Perugino , born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance...
, Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor. He first influenced Leonardo da Vinci and then was greatly influenced by him.-Life:...
, Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Among his many apprentices was Michelangelo.-Early years:Ghirlandaio's full name is given as Domenico di Tommaso di Currado di Doffo Bigordi...
, and Raffaellino del Garbo
Raffaellino del Garbo
Raffaellino del Garbo was a Florentine painter of the early Renaissance.His real name was Raffaello Capponi; Del Garbo was a nickname, bestowed upon him seemingly from the graceful nicety of his earlier works. He has also been called Raffaello de Florentia, and Raffaello de Carolis or Karli...
. They were replaced by new ones, by minor masters such as Carlo Portelli
Carlo Portelli
Carlo Portelli was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Florence. He is also called Porteolli or Carlo di Galeotto Partelli da Loro...
, Alfonso Boschi
Alfonso Boschi
Alfonso Boschi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. He was a pupil of his brother Francesco Boschi.-References:*ULAN entry from Getty museum ....
, Domenico Puligo
Domenico Puligo
Domenico Puligo was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active in Florence. His real name was Domenico di Bartolommeo Ubaldini....
, Santi di Tito
Santi di Tito
Santi di Tito was an Italian painter of Late-Mannerist or proto-Baroque style, what is sometimes referred to as Contra-Maniera or Counter-Mannerism.-Biography:...
, and Francesco Curradi
Francesco Curradi
Francesco Curradi was an Italian painter of the style described as Contra-Maniera or Counter-Mannerism, born and active in Florence....
. In the chapter house is a fresco divided into three lunettes of the Crucifixion and Saints (1493-96) by Pietro Perugino
Pietro Perugino
Pietro Perugino , born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance...
, commissioned by Dionisio and Giovanna Pucci.
The first chapel to the right of the entrance is the Cappella del Giglio (Chapel of St. Mary of the Lily) frescoed with depictions of Saints Filippo Neri, Bernard, Nereo, and Achilleo by the studio of Bernardino Poccetti
Bernardino Poccetti
Bernardino Poccetti , also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker in etching ....
with an altarpiece by Domenico Passignano
Domenico Passignano
Domenico Passignano , born Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Contra-Maniera style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century.- Biography :...
. The fourth chapel on the right has a stained glass window by Isabella, the daughter of Georges Henri Rouault. The choir chapel originally contained a fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio, but was rebuilt in 1685-1701 by Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona.He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace...
and Pier Francesco Silvani
Pier Francesco Silvani
Pier Francesco Silvani was an Italian architect and designer, active during the Baroque period, in Florence and other sites in Tuscany.He is the son of the architect Gherardo Silvani...
. Ferri painted the altarpiece and Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
the flanking pieces. The statues of Penitence and Faith on the right were sculpted by Innocenzo Spinazzi
Innocenzo Spinazzi
Innocenzo Spinazzi was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence.-Biography:Born in Rome to a silversmith, he became the leading sculptor in Florence, where he died. He was trained by Giovanni Battista Maini...
, while Innocence and Religion on the left by Giovanni Monatauti. The bronze reliefs on the altar were made by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi.
The interior also contains works by Giovanni
Giovanni Bizzelli
Giovanni Bizzelli was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist period. He was a pupil of Alessandro Allori. He afterwards went to Rome. On his return to Florence he helped Antonio Tempesta in the decoration of the vaults of the Uffizi Corridor....
and Cosimo Bizzelli, Jacopo Chiavistelli
Jacopo Chiavistelli
Jacopo Chiavistelli was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his native city of Florence. He trained with Fabrizio Boschi and Michelangelo Colonna...
, Ottavio Vannini
Ottavio Vannini
Ottavio Vannini was an Italian artist of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence.Born in Florence to Michele Vannini. He initially apprenticed for four years with a mediocre painter by the name of Giovanni Battista Mercati, but he then trained in Rome under Anastasio Fuontebuoni. He...
, Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence.-Biography:Born in Florence, at the age of fourteen he became a pupil of Neri di Bicci, and in 1460 he worked as assistant to his cousin Bernardo di Stefano Rosselli...
, Cosimo Gamberucci, Leonardo del Tasso, Giuseppe Servolini, and Giuseppe Piattoli among others.