Cells of Art

I don’t have any classes on Tuesday, which gives me the opportunity for more exploration. Today I returned to San Marco church since it was closed on Saturday when I was developing the “In the Footsteps of the Medici” walking tour. Unfortunately, it was closed once again (opening hours in Florence can be sporadic!), but the San Marco Museum, adjacent to the church, was open. What an amazing experience! The building at one time housed a monastery that was commissioned by Cosimo de’Medici and built by the Medici architect Michelozzo between 1437 and 1452. The courtyard is beautiful, as you can see here, but what’s really fascinating are the monks’ cells on the first floor (which we would call the second floor in the U.S.). I wasn’t, however, allowed to take pictures.

The monks’ cells line three sides of the first floor, which is the cloister of St. Antonino. Now keep in mind that these cells were not prison cells; rather, they were private places where the monks could go to meditate and contemplate. And what wonderful spaces these were! You see, the artist Fra’ Angelico was hired to paint frescoes in each cell that would aid and encourage meditation. Each cell contains a unique fresco, all of biblical scenes, including Annunciation, Crucifixion, Transfiguration, Crowning With Thorns, Coronation of Mary, and Madonna of the Shadows. Cosimo the Elder and Savonarola even kept cells here, although both were much larger than the monks’ cells. They were no fools!

It was really an amazing sight to see and really gives a whole new meaning to the term “cell.”