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Pitti Palace: Oltrarno and Brancacci Chapel |
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The Pitti Palace was once a stately home and now houses several museums and a fine collection of paintings. It also boasts a magnificent view of the Boboli Gardens from the palace windows. On our visit to the Pitti Palace we will take in the collections of the Galleria Palatina, which features works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens and Velasquez.
We then continue our trip by visiting the adjoining Silver Museum, in a wing of the Palace previously used by the Medici for their summer apartments, where a precious collection of jewels and outstanding baroque frescoes are on display. The tour continues, on request, with a visit to the artisans’ workshops in the Oltrarno district. The Santo Spirito neighbourhood, on the west bank of the river Arno, features a lively mix of high and local culture. The district is filled with tiny streets and craftsmen’s workshops. This area is a real Florentine district where we can meet the locals. We will enter the Carmine Church with its famous Brancacci Chapel by Masaccio and Masolino. The chapel became the school of the Florentine Renaissance painters including Michelangelo. The frescoes depict the stories of Saint Peter’s life with the utmost realism. Masaccio placed real humans in a real setting, as seen from a single viewpoint, using new knowledge of the rules of perspective for the first time in art history. Masaccio tells us where we stand, we are no longer detached spectators, we are part of the scene. Details:
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This unique setting was used by the Medici from the 16th-18th century for their apartments and audience rooms. As we walk through the state apartments, recently reopened to the public after painstaking restoration, we get a flavour of the Medici times.