One of the major reasons The Florence Academy of Art placed its roots in this city is because of its rich artistic history and tradition. It feels as though around every corner and down every alley in Florence is a secret gem, an artwork worthy of notice, and there are many more places and artworks to discover in the surrounding hills and cities! In this lecture Richards takes us on a tour, not only around some of Florence’s landmarks, but also to the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, not far outside of Siena, and Bologna.

Our journey begins with ‘entering’ Santa Trinita, a church in Florence that is home to beautiful frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1448-1494), who, although rarely credited by the famous student was Michelangelo Buonarroti’s (1475-1564) teacher. The fresco cycle, found in the Sassetti Chapel of the church is known as The Stories of St. Francis and depicts the life and miracles of the saint. Also found in Santa Trinita is a sculpture by Desiderio Da Settignano (1428-1464), the Maddalena penitente, and we are shown how it compares to the also well known Maddalena sculpture by Donatello (1386-1466) which is found in the Opera del Duomo Museum in Florence.

Continuing in the Opera del Duomo, we further explore the museum through two different artworks that depict the same scene. The Deposition (The Florentine Pieta) by Michelangelo, found in the museum, and Titian’s (1490-1576) Pietà which is housed in the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia.

Next we travel just outside Siena, to Buonconvento where we find a monastery, Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore. It is here that we are shown frescoes that depict the story of St. Benedict and scenes of the ideal monastic life. Two of the artists mentioned during the ‘tour’ of the monastery are Luca Signorelli (1445-1523) and Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, 1477-1549).

We then move to Bologna, the city that hosts the first university of the western world, founded in 1088 CE.We take a quick look at a room where anatomy was taught and also the Pinacoteca Nazionale, where we can view some of Guido Reni’s (1575-1642) work. Also in Bologna we visit the Church of Santa Maria della Vita where we view Compianto sul Cristo morto by Niccolò dell’Arca (1435-1494)- a series of life-sized terracotta figures that exude expressive power.
Richards ends the lecture by taking us back to Florence, to the church and convent of San Salvi, also known as San Michele a San Salvi. Here we are taken to the refectory and can view the Cenacolo by Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). Around Florence there are many “last suppers”, this example by del Sarto is less popular than for example the Ghirlandaio’s The Last Supper, but it is no less beautiful.