Chapel by Bernardo Buontalenti, 1580
Park of Pratolino, Villa Demidoff
Via Fiorentina, Vaglia
Florence, May 2022
“The Chapel was built in 1580 and is one of the last constructions made in Pratolino by Bernardo Buontalenti. Erected on the margins of the Park behind the Villa on an artificial earthwork mound, it can be reached by climbing up a staircase. It covers a total surface of 300 m2. Initially delimited by high firs, it is now surrounded by a broadleaf forest. The central-plan building was originally composed of a hexagonal room with a side of 4.20 m, surrounded by an ring-shaped porch of eighteen columns made of pietra serena (a grey Tuscan sandstone); four of them were later included in the walls forming the sacristy. Inside there are some pieces of furniture, among which the wooden stalls and the altar, with a big altarpiece and other decoration elements. The survey enabled to study the geometry of the dome (Arenga and Velatta 2012), coated with lead sheets and ending with a lantern, for a total height of 15.60 m., which in the previous surveys had been drawn only through patent approximations” (Geomatics for Knowledge and Conservation of Cultural Heritage: The Pratolino Park Case-Study, University of Florence)
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