num_pages: 96
description: There are few buildings in Florence more enchanting than the former Dominican monastery of San Marco. It was Cosimo Medici, son of Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, who in 1433 commissioned his favourite architect, Michelozzo, to complete the on-going reconstruction San Marco, where Cosimo had installed a group of reformed Dominicans whose protector and financial supporter he became.Within a few years Michelozzo had finished the project which was immediately praised for its practical layout and design, with two large cloisters and two smaller ones, kitchen gardens and orchards, a hospice, two refectories, a chapter hall and a church. On the first floor Michelozzo designed huge dormitories and a large, richly-stocked library - the first in the world to be open to all scholars.Today this former monastery serves as a museum and library, but it still maintains the unique combination of extreme sobriety and sophistication of the original monastery. The combination of pale plaster on the walls of the cloisters and the library, the arches spanning simple ionic columns and the simplicity of line, create a feeling of space and light that accords with the former spiritual role of the building, and which is matched only by Fra Angelico's series of emotive frescoes which decorate the interiors.This beautiful and much needed book, written by the former Deputy Director of the San Marco Museum and illustrated with over 120 newly-commissioned colour photographs, provides a unique insight into the history, art and architecture of this exquisite building. The chapters of the book are arranged according to the different rooms within the monastery, starting with the ground floor chambers before covering the dormitories and library upstairs. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the art and architecture, accompanied by overall shots of the larger rooms, followed by illustrations of selected highlights described in detail by means of extended captions.There are individual chapters on the cells, including Savonarola's, and on the library. The series of frescoes by Fra Angelico are discussed within the context of the various rooms of the building. Finally, floor plans are included to help orientate the visitor and reader.
language: English
title: San Marco Florence: The Museum and Its Art
titlecomplete: San Marco Florence: The Museum and Its Art
ratings_count: 1
publisher: Scala Books