Il Cinquecento in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi

Il Cinquecento in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi

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Till January 21, 2018, Palazzo Strozzi is celebrating the art of the 16th century in Florence, an era of outstanding cultural and intellectual talent that was to spawn a heated debate between the «modern manner» and the Counter-Reformation, between the art patronage of the Medici and the Church. Curated by Carlo Falciano and Antonio Natali, the exhibition showcases over seventy works of painting and sculpture, seventeen of which have been restored for the occasion, and hosts pieces by Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Bronzino, Vasari, Jacopo Zucchi and Giambologna, to name but a few of those involved in the commissions for the Studio of Francesco I de’ Medici in Palazzo Vecchio and the Tribune of the Uffizi.
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Museo degli Innocenti: one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture

Museo degli Innocenti: one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture

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The Ospedale degli Innocenti was a children’s orphanage designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1419. Following a long period of renewal, the new Museum degli Innocenti has finally opened to the public in June 2016. It verses on the theme of welcoming and caring for children, telling the visitor about the essence of the institution during six centuries, through historic documents as well as its artistic heritage. The lower level narrates the history and evolution of the Institute of the Innocents through the biographies and personal memories of the «Nocentini» (the children hosted here); the ground floor focuses on the architectural approach, describing also the evolution of the old hospital. Finally, but most importantly, the second floor houses a gallery with Renaissance treasures by Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Bartolomeo di Giovanni, Piero di Cosimo, Neri di Bicci, Luca della Robbia and Andrea and Giovanni del Biondo. The terrace-café of the Quattrocento open to the public crowns the building.
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Museo Effimero della Moda: fashion at Palazzo Pitti

Museo Effimero della Moda: fashion at Palazzo Pitti

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Il Museo Effimero della Moda (The Ephemeral Museum of Fashion), produced by the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery in collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Palais Galliera, is placed in the spaces of the Galleria del Costume at Palazzo Pitti and curated by Olivier Saillard. The peculiarity of The Ephemeral Museum lies in its novel conceptions of staging and thematic content. The exhibition, in eighteen rooms, showcases nearly two hundred items – clothing and accessories – dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. There were created by the world’s most prestigious dressmakers and fashion ateliers, including the House of Worth, Mariano Fortuny Venice, Maison Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli,  Nina Ricci, Gianfranco Ferré and Christian Lacroix. Contemporary fashions are also well represented with recent acquisitions by the Palais Galliera, and the show includes a foray into the world of today’s fashions with selections from the latest collections by Gucci, Margiela, Fendi, Armani, Valentino, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, John Galliano and Lanvin.
Until October 22

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Sala della Niobe, a passage not to miss at Uffizi Gallery

Sala della Niobe, a passage not to miss at Uffizi Gallery

PHOTOS & SPANISH VERSION BELOW

Room 42 or Sala della Niobe is my favourite area at the Uffizi. An spectacular frame created in 1781, during the Neoclassical period, to house the ancient sculptures of the Villa Medici in Rome. The pieces represent the Greek myth of Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion, who witnessed the murdering of her seven children in the hands of Apolo and Artemisa as an act of revenge to their mother, whom Niobe had previously mocked. The ones at the hall are Roman copies of Hellenistic originals, moved to Florence after their discovery in 1583. The walls at Niobe also display some canvases; two signed by Rubens, in baroque style. The decoration of this notable room was by Peter Leopold of Lorraine.

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