The Romanesque parish church of San piero in Campo
The parish church is an important example of Romanesque architecture as it one of the best preserved and it has not been modified either inside or out.
Information about the baptismal church starts from 846, but its current layout is the result of complete reconstruction between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. Of the original structure there remains only fragments (for example, the two white limestone caaapitals in the blind loggia of the facade).
The building has a nave and two aisles divided by nine monolithic columns in stone, a pilaster faced with wood and brick with five trusses over the nave (restored in 1907); the aisles have a pitched ceiling and there is one apse. References to the compositions and decorations that charcterise its aarchitecture are found in the church of Sant’Alessandro and in San Michele in Foro in Lucca.
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church inFlorence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the Duomo. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such asMichelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as theTemple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell’Itale Glorie).
The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteenchapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12 May 1294[1], possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city’s wealthiest families.
It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The building’s design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau cross (a symbol of St Francis), 115 metres in length with a nave and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns. To the south of the church was a convent, some of whose buildings remain.
In the Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, there is the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house, completed in the 1470s. Filippo Brunelleschi (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned.
In 1560, the choir screen was removed as part of changes arising from the Counter-Reformation and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari. As a result, there was damage to the church’s decoration and most of the altars previously located on the screen were lost.
The campanile was built in 1842, replacing an earlier one damaged by lightning. The neo-Gothic marble façade, by Nicolò Matas, dates from 1857-1863.
A Jewish architect Niccolo Matas from Ancona, designed the church’s 19th century neo-Gothic facade, working a prominent Star of David into the composition. Matas had wanted to be buried with his peers but because he was Jewish, he was buried under the porch and not within the walls.
In 1866, the complex became public property, as a part of government suppression of most religious houses, following the wars that gained Italian independence and unit.
The Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectory, also off the cloister. A monument to Florence Nightingalestands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the inner cloister, completed in 1453.
In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.
Today the former dormitory of the Franciscan Friars houses the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School)[1]. Visitors can watch as artisans craft purses, wallets, and other leather goods which are sold in the adjacent shop.
A spectacular series of ancient ships unearthed near Pisa and the city’s vanished past as a thriving port are the subject of a new exhibition in Rome .
Pisa, Un Viaggio nel Mare dell’Antichita (Pisa, A Journey Into The Sea Of Antiquity) features the reconstructions of two ancient ships and numerous finds testifying to Pisa’s long maritime history and its links with the Mediterranean over 2,000 years .
The exhibit was inspired by the unexpected discovery of Pisa’s ancient harbour in 1998, when workmen uncovered the remains of an ancient boat while digging the foundations of a new State Railways building .
Since then, an astonishing 20 ships have been unearthed in the area, as well as a host of other items, including navigational instruments, human and animal bones, ropes, incense burners, oil lamps, and writing implements .
The exhibition features a selection of these finds, as well as reconstructions of two of the boats, displayed in the order in which they were uncovered .
The first of these is the Alkedo (‘The Seagull’), a six-person rowing boat that sank when the River Arno flooded in around 10AD .
Archaeologists uncovered over 90% of the original structure, now kept underwater in a special wood preservation centre in Pisa .
The next vessel is a river canoe, nearly half of which was still in perfect shape when it was dug up .
This is followed by the reconstruction of a fishing hut from the 1st century AD, displayed with a selection of the plates, pans, oil-lamps, amphorae and terracotta jars that were found inside .
After looking at the flora and fauna from the area, the exhibit then features a series of sections exploring different archaeological aspects to emerge from the digs .
These first of these, “Life On Board”, showcases a range of cooking equipment and baggage uncovered from the boats, while “River Life” includes a selection of baskets, fishing equipment and wickerwork .
The next two sections look at items imported and exported by Pisa during its maritime heyday, including amphorae that archaeologists believe contained sparkling wine, as well as a variety of pottery products, in which Pisa did a brisk international trade
The final section looks at the process of unearthing the finds and explains a project to build a permanent museum in Pisa, expected to open by 2009 .
Il Porto delle Meraviglie’ (the Port of Wonders) as the archaeological site has been dubbed, lies some ten kilometres inland, near the Tuscan town of San Rossore .
Although the cache of boats dates back to between 200BC and 500AD, archaeologists have also found an Etruscan-built stone pier and wooden breakwater from the 5th century BC. Other remains suggest the port may even have been operational as much as 300 years earlier .
From this, experts have deduced that the Pisan port was operational for about twelve centuries, acting as a gateway for routes to Naples, southern Italy, Marseilles and Carthage .
This was a particularly surprising discovery given that scholars were completely unaware of its existence before the ships were unearthed. The port is not in fact mentioned in any surviving documents .
The other remarkable aspect of the Porto delle Meraviglie is the excellent condition of the boats .
Although hundreds of wrecked Roman vessels have been found over the years, only sections buried under cargos of amphorae are usually protected from decomposition. More often than not this leaves only the base of the ship, which tends to yield little new information .This has also meant that scholars usually only have mercantile vessels to work with, as warships or fishing boats rarely carried the pottery jars .
However the situation at the Porto delle Meraviglie is unique .
In the 5th century AD, devastating floods repeatedly swept the area – once a harbour connected to the sea by river – silting up the site so rapidly that the ships were preserved in outstanding condition .
The conservation process was further aided by the mineral content of the damp sand in which they were buried, together with several strata of clayey soil. These prevented oxygen from reaching the wrecks and triggering decomposition .
The show will run in the San Michele a Ripa Grande complex, where the Culture Ministry is also housed, until May 31, after which it travels to San Sebastian in northwest Spain .
The Brancacci Chapel (in Italian, “Cappella dei Brancacci”) is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the “Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance” for its painting cycle, among the most famous and influential of the period. Construction of the chapel was commissioned by Pietro Brancacci and begun in 1386.
Public access is currently gained via the neighbouring convent, designed by Brunelleschi. The church and the chapel are treated as separate places to visit and as such have different opening times and it is quite difficult to see the rest of the church from the chapel.
The patron of the pictorial decoration was Felice Brancacci, descendant of Pietro, who had served as the Florentine ambassador to Cairo until 1423. Upon his return to Florence, he hired Masolino da Panicale to paint his chapel.
Masolino’s associate, 21 year old Masaccio, 18 years younger than Masolino, assisted, but during painting Masolino left to Hungary, where he was painter to the king, and the commission was given to Masaccio. By the time Masolino returned he was learning from his talented former student. However, Masaccio was called to Rome before he could finish the chapel, and died in Rome at the age of 27.
Portions of the chapel were completed later byFilippino Lippi. Unfortunately during the Baroque period some of the paintings were seen as unfashionable and a tomb was placed in front of them.
Lardo di Colonnata: Tuscan Treat
Regional Cuisine from Tuscany for Marble Workers
One of the most unusual traditional Italian foods is Lardo di Colonnata. This is a type of cured pork fat, which comes from the little village of Colonnata, high up in the Apuan Alps in Northern Tuscany. Colonnata is close to Carrara, famous for its fine marble, and lardo was the food of the marble quarriers: cheap and filling. Today lardo di colonnata is a delicacy, rather like a fine ham. It might sound horrible but it’s said to be silky, smooth and very tasty.
Traditional Tuscan cuisine uses up all scraps of food – nothing is wasted. And this dish is a prime example. It probably dates back to Roman times. Pigs used to be kept in the area, fed on the acorns that fell from the oak trees that grew on this unfertile mountain ridge. Lardo di Colonnata is made from very thin strips of pork fat, taken from the back of the pig.
It’s traditionally made in a marble vat, called a conca or conche – the inside of which is rubbed with garlic. The strips of fat are placed inside the vat in layers, and seasoned with salt. Each layer of fat alternates with a layer of herbs and spices. Every local producer has their own special combination of flavourings: but they generally involve seasonings like black pepper, rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sage, oregano and even aniseed.
The vat is then sealed and traditionally left in a cave, where the cool mountain air passes around it. The salt dries the pork fat, and the flavours of the herbs and spices seep in. Some say that it’s important that Carrara marble is used for the vats, as this is free from lime. After 6 to 8 months the vat is opened and the lardo is ready to eat. You can buy it from one of the larderie in Colonnata, though these days it is made under different conditions due to new hygiene laws.
Leslie Halloran
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