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Behind the scenes at palazzo Medici Riccardi Secret Rooms Part II
[Maddalena Delli]
Like every blockbuster, last year's much-appreciated "Stanze segrete" (Secret Rooms) exhibition at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence has a sequel.The project aims to make the hidden treasures of the Medici family mansion known to the Florentines and visitors alike.
Built in 1444 by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder in via Larga (now via Cavour) in the immediate neighborhood of the family church of San Lorenzo, Palazzo Medici soon became a prototype of Renaissance secular architecture. After 1540 - when Cosimo I became Grand Duke and moved his residence to Palazzo Vecchio first and to Palazzo Pitti later - the palace continued to be inhabited by lesser members of the family until 1659, when Ferdinando II sold it to the Riccardi family, who had many alterations made in Baroque style and joined the former Medici building to their nearby property. When the Riccardi fortune waned in the early 19th century, they sold the palace to the State.
Since 1874 it belongs to the Provincia and houses several administrative offices including the Prefettura. With such a long and varied history, the palace's art collections inevitably include an astonishing range of lesser-known pieces. This year's exhibition goes under the title of "Raccolte per caso" (which roughly translates as 'Randomly assembled') and is divided into two sections.
The first one, "I Medici Santi" draws inspiration from the palace's own famous frescos in the Magi chapel, where Benozzo Gozzoli portrayed several members of the Medici family in the train following the three Wise Men to Bethlehem. On display are several examples of Medici portrays as saints, like the two paintings by Giorgio Vasari depicting Cosimo the Elder as San Cosma (opposite left) and Cosimo I as San Damiano (opposite right), or Giusto Suttermans's paintings depicting the Medici women as Sant'Agnese, Santa Margherita and Santa Maddalena.
The other exhibition section - which is actually accessed through a long-forgotten 15t century secret door - is called Arredi Celati and displays some formerly unseen marble sculptures from the Riccardi collections (including both Roman originals and some 18th century copies) alongside a number of paintings of allegorical or religius subject which once adorned the palace's private quarters.
"Stanze segrete. Raccolte per caso" opens on 25th March and continues until 26th September Hours: 9am to 7pm, closed Wed.
Infoline 055.2760340 or visit www.palazzo-medici.it
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