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behind the scenes at Palazzo Medici Riccardi Secret Rooms
[Susan Glasspool]
The last lap of the Stanze segrete or Secret Rooms exhibition takes off again at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. As in the past two editions, the project aims to make the wonderful hidden treasures of the Medici (and later the Riccardi) family mansion known to 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 first to Palazzo Vecchio and later to Palazzo Pitti - the palace continued to be inhabited by lesser members of the family. In 1659, 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. It has belonged to the Province since 1874 and houses several administrative offices including that of the Prefect.
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 is entitled The Artists of the Riccardi - Memories by Luca Giordano and after his time.
The Luca Giordano Gallery hosts ten paintings by Luca Giordano (Naples,1634-1705), that repeat the subjects in his Allegory of Human Life and the Apotheosis of the House of the Medici, that decorate the ceiling, kindly on loan and for the first time in Italy, from the National Gallery in London.
The artist carried the paintings out from memory after completing the ceiling and it is therefore possible to view a reflected reading and dialogue. Paintings by other artists who worked for the Riccardi family complete the exhibition.
The exhibition - Secret Rooms: The Artists of the Riccardi - Memories by Luca Giordano
and after his time - opens on April 15th and will remain open until July 17th.
Hours: 9am to 7pm, closed on Wednesdays. Entrance (including museum) 4 / 2,50 Euro.
Infoline 055.2760340 or visit www.palazzo-medici.it
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http://www.palazzo-medici.it