WHAZHOT · MADE IN FLO' · ONLY IN FLO' · DISCOUNT COUPONS
sections
Booking
.
culture
.
In Palazzo Corsini overlooking the Arno The International Antiques Fair
[Susan Glasspool]
Aunique chance to admire some magnificent antiques is at the 24th International Antiques Fair, which returns to Florence again this year in late September and continues on into October, along with a series of collateral events. It is the oldest antiques fair in Italy, held every two years, as well as being one of the most important of its kind in the world.It will be hosted, as it has for the last few editions, inside the splendid rooms of Palazzo Corsini, dominating the Lungarno Corsini, right in the heart of Florence and only a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio, the Cathedral and all the main hotels and shopping areas.
As usual many well known antique dealers from Italy and abroad (90 in all) will be exhibiting their priceless antiques, offering an incredible range and display of schools and styles from all periods and origins. The event is completed by an Antique Books Fair and another specialised in Prints and drawings.
This fascinating exhibition however is also a very good opportunity to visit the Palace itself, as it is only open to the public on such occasions.
Maria Maddalena Machiavelli, the wife of Marquis Filippo Corsini, bought the original Palazzo Corsini from Grand Duke Ferdinando II in 1649. Her son Bartolomeo began its remodelling and redecoration in 1650, initially on a project by Alfonso Parigi, and later continued by Ferdinando Tacca until 1671.
Bartolomeo’s son, Filippo, had the Palazzo Corsini as we see it today built after his father’s death. The actual construction was directed by Antonio Ferri, a versatile exponent of the late Florentine Baroque culture, theatre designer, engineer and builder of machinery and fortifications, who poured all his creative skill into the palace, turning it into a princely residence. The beautiful decorations in the interior were carried out between 1692 and 1700 by some of the finest artists of the time, among them Anton Domenico Gabbiani, Alessandro Gherardini and Pier Dandini. The Antiques Fair is therefore an even greater ornament to what is anyway a splendid Florentine mansion, especially as it has been arranged by the stage designer Pier Luigi Pizzi, who has created the route through Palazzo Corsini, while carefully respecting the architectural and artistic characteristics of the palace.
All these really unique antiques come supplied with certificates proving their origin and therefore ensure a good investment in whatever happens to be bought here. This is therefore a wonderful opportunity to see some beautiful antiques and paintings which, as they will probably be purchased by private collectors, will rarely be on public view, as well as visit the Palace itself.
MORE