Monument to George Washington

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Monument to George Washington, 1932
Piazzale Kennedy
Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park)
Florence, January 2025

“The monument was built in 1932 at the behest of the Americans residing in Florence, on the occasion of the second centenary of the birth of the first President of the United States of America. The work is located in piazzale Kennedy, in the central area of the Cascine Park, the largest green area in the city. The restoration was funded by: Florence Lions Club; Lions Club Florence Impruneta San Casciano; Lions Club Florence Cosimo de ' Medici; Giotto Florence Lions Club; Barberino Montelibertas Lions Club; Lions Club Le Signe. George Washington was an American politician and military. He was commander of the army in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and became the first President of the United States of America. It is considered one of the great founding fathers of the American nation. Between the 19th and 20th centuries Florence became one of the favorite places for American artists and writers.” (Monument to George Washington, Art@Site)

Cappella Pazzi

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Cappella Pazzi (Pazzi Chapel)
Largo Piero Bargellini
Florence, January 2025

“The Pazzi Chapel (Italian: Cappella dei Pazzi) is a chapel located in the ‘first cloister’ on the southern flank of the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. Commonly credited to Filippo Brunelleschi, it is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture. Though funds for the chapel were assembled in 1429 by Andrea Pazzi, head of the Pazzi family, whose wealth was second only to the Medici, construction did not begin until about 1442. The chapel was completed in 1478. The building is considered to be an Early Renaissance masterpiece. Formerly considered a work of Filippo Brunelleschi (d. 1446), it is now thought that he was responsible for the plan, which is based on simple geometrical forms, the square and the circle, but not for the building's execution and detailing. The most common argument for crediting Brunelleschi is the chapel's clear similarity to the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo; others argue that his style had developed in the twenty-year interim and that the Pazzi Chapel would represent a retrograde step. The first written mention of Brunelleschi as the architect was written by an anonymous author in the 1490s. Scholars now consider the chapel as possibly the work of Giuliano da Maiano or Michelozzo. A façade thought to have been begun by Brunelleschi, of which only the lower register can be seen, was partially obscured by the addition of a porch. The main inspiration for this piece was the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria Novella, also located in Florence.” (Pazzi Chapel, Wikipedia)

Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino

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Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino
Via San Gallo
Florence, January 2025

“The Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino, also called the Oratorio dei Pretoni, is a Roman Catholic prayer hall or oratory found on the corner of Via San Gallo and via degli Arazzieri in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Formerly the church of San Salvatore, it belonged to the confraternity of that name, until in 1313 the bishop Antonio d’Orso instituted a hospice for pilgrim priests. The church was later dedicated to St James, and under the sainted Archbishop Antoninus, the confraternity set up a hospice for elderly priests. In 1585 to 1588, commissioned by Alessandro di Ottavione de' Medici, Pope Leo XI, restructuring was directed by Giovanni Antonio Dosio. In the interior are a fresco cycle and three altarpieces with episodes from The Life of Christ (1590) by the mannerist painter Giovanni Balducci. On the counterfacade is a recently restored organ. In the nave close to the entrance is the tomb of a famous parish priest, Arlotto Mainardi (1396–1484).” (Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino, Wikipedia)

Palazzo degli Affari

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Palazzo degli Affari by Pierluigi Spadolini, 1974
Piazza Adua
Florence, January 2025

“The Palazzo degli Affari is located in Piazza Adua in Florence, next to the Santa Maria Novella station. The Palazzo degli Affari was designed by architect Pierluigi Spadolini and is used for conferences. Inaugurated in 1974, it is a modern 4,000 m² structure with a total capacity of 1,800 people. It hosts conferences and exhibitions, poster sessions, press rooms, high fashion shows, as well as business lunches and gala dinners. From the attic of the building you can admire the panorama of Florence and the large centuries-old park that connects the structure of the Congress Palace.” (Palazzo degli Affari, Wikipedia)

Blue triceratops

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Blue triceratops
LuisaViaRoma Kids
Viale Don Minzoni
Florence, December 2024

“For LuisaViaRoma, 2024 is proving to be a crucial year in its retail expansion plan. The company opened its New York store on Via Bond in July. With LuisaViaRoma Kids, the number of stores now stands at three. The space, located at Viale Don Minzoni 31/a, extends over three levels with a total surface area of approximately 400 square meters: they are dedicated respectively to the Baby (0-2), Kids (4-10 years), and Teen (10-18 years) worlds. The store also features a play area where children can play while their parents shop. ‘This unique space is aimed at modern and ever-evolving families,’ explain LuisaViaRoma, underlining that the offering is thus extended to babies, children and adolescents with a wide selection of toys, baby care, design and furniture for all ages.” (LuisaViaRoma opens to the world of kids with a new store, InToscana)

Church of San Giuseppe

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Church of San Giuseppe
Via San Giuseppe
Florence, December 2024

“San Giuseppe is a Baroque architecture, Roman Catholic church building located on Via San Giuseppe, near Piazza Santa Croce, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy, and is one of two churches and an oratory in the city dedicated to Saint Joseph. The church was built on a site that once held the oratory of the Confraternity of St. Joseph, and the present church was designed by Baccio d'Agnolo. In 1583, the complex was deeded to the Minims of Saint Francis of Paola. A new façade was completed in 1759. When the Minim order was suppressed in 1784, the convent was put to new uses.” (Church of San Giuseppe, Wikipedia)

Carlo Maggiorelli

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Monument to Carlo Maggiorelli, 1966
Anconella water treatment plant
Via Villamagna
Florence, December 2024

“The Monument to Carlo Maggiorelli (Italian: Monumento a Carlo Maggiorelli) is a memorial dedicated to Carlo Maggiorelli, an aqueduct worker and the first victim of the devastating 1966 Florence flood (Alluvione di Firenze). It honors his heroic sacrifice during the disaster. Maggiorelli (1915–1966) was an operaio (worker) employed by the municipal aqueduct service in Florence. On the night of November 3–4, 1966, during his night shift at the Anconella water treatment plant (Impianto di Potabilizzazione dell'Anconella) on the banks of the Arno River, the river burst its banks, flooding the city with up to 6 meters (20 feet) of water and mud in some areas. Instead of fleeing, Maggiorelli stayed at his post to secure the facility and protect the water supply for Florence. He was tragically swept away by the torrent and drowned, becoming the flood's first confirmed casualty. Unveiled in 1996 at the initiative of the association Firenze Promuove, the monument is a simple yet poignant bronze plaque and bust sculpture depicting Maggiorelli in his work uniform, symbolizing labor and heroism. It was created to preserve his memory as a local hero. Situated at the main entrance to the Anconella Water Treatment Plant. Originally inside the adjacent Parco dell'Anconella, it was relocated and restored in 2016—marking the 50th anniversary of the flood—to improve visibility from the street. The site overlooks the Arno, tying directly to the events of his death.” (Monument to Carlo Maggiorelli, Grok)

Taras Shevchenko

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Taras Shevchenko by Oleg Pinchuk, 2021
Biblioteca delle Oblate
Via dell'Oriuolo
Florence, January 2025

“Florence has a long-standing relationship with Kyiv, having been twinned with the capital of Ukraine since July 27, 1967, when Catholic Mayor Piero Bargellini sought diplomacy with his Communist counterpart during the Cold War, a year after the devastating Florence flood of 1966. Sharing a history based on culture, in 2015, Florence gave a statue of Dante to Kyiv and, in 2021, the capital of Ukraine reciprocated by gifting a statue of the poet Taras Shevchenko to Florence, which continues to stand in the courtyard of the Oblate library. Just step through the gate and turn to the right. The base bears the powerful inscription: ‘Great Ukrainian poet, painter, thinker and humanist. Defender of freedom and civic duty. Fight and you will win’.” (Florence and Kyiv stand side by side, The Florentine)

Casa-galleria Vichi

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Casa-galleria Vichi by Giovanni Michelazzi, 1911
Via Borgo Ognissanti
Florence, January 2025

“The Casa-galleria Vichi (Vichi house-gallery) is an Art Nouveau building in Florence, located in via Borgo Ognissanti, a few steps from the church of Ognissanti. The house was built according to a design by the architect Giovanni Michelazzi on commission from Argia Marinai nei Vichi and is, in addition to the most representative work of this architect, one of the few Liberty style buildings in the centre of Florence, certainly the most representative for the programmatic desire to adhere to the new style, proposed in a very personal way and without any compromise with local tradition. Since it appears to have been registered in the Old Urban Cadastre in 1913, it can be considered completed in 1911: in the years 1913-1914 Michelazzi himself lived there and probably also set up his studio there. In 2009, given the precarious state of conservation of the façade and its evident value, both for the overall design (the building has been subject to architectural constraints since 1965) and for the quality of the fake travertine (of extraordinary chromatic and material verisimilitude as can be seen by comparing it with that of the nearby church of Ognissanti), the front was subjected to careful restoration based on the design and direction of the works by the architect Renzo Funaro and the high supervision of the competent Superintendency (architect Lia Pescatori). Restorer Francesca Piccolino Boniforti worked on the artificial stone elements.” (Casa-galleria Vichi, Wikipedia)

Hercules and the Lion

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“Ercole e il Leone” (Hercules and the Lion) by Romano Romanelli, 1935
Piazza Ognissanti
Florence, January 2025

“At the centre of the square there is currently a bronze group by Romano Romanelli depicting ‘Hercules and the Lion’, created in 1935 and placed here in 1937, replacing a previous monument depicting Daniele Manin (work by Urbano Nono from 1890) moved to Piazzale Galileo along Viale dei Colli, in the Arcetri area.” (Piazza Ognissanti, Wikipedia)

Arno and its Valley

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‘Arno and its Valley’ by Italo Griselli, 1935
Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“On the side facing via Valfonda, the Palazzina is preceded by an exedra originally intended for the manoeuvring of vehicles in front of the entrance portico, surrounded by a wall punctuated by pilasters. In this space there is a long basin covered in blue tiles and bordered in marble, in which the white statuary group of the ‘Arno and its Valley’, the work of Italo Griselli, is reflected, leaning against the ‘full’ sector of the portico of honour. The fountain is composed of a male and a female figure in a seated position, typical of the representation of rivers, in front of a large basin-pool.” (Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, Wikipedia)

Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella

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Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, 1935
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“The building was inaugurated together with the station on 30 October 1935 in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III and Minister Costanzo Ciano. Intended as a temporary residence and rest stop for the King and his court (who no longer had access to the Pitti Palace after it had been opened as a museum), the building, whose ‘style’ architecture appears ‘far from the fluid rationalism of the Fabbricato Viaggiatori’, is characterised by the preciousness of the covering materials, the sophistication of the details and the finishings.” (Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, Wikipedia)

Monumento alla pace

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Monumento alla pace (Peace Monument) by Sauro Cavallini, 1979
Giardino di Valfonda
Via Valfonda
Florence, January 2025

“This is the garden of Villa Vittoria, a building designed in 1520 probably by Baccio d'Agnolo. According to historical sources, this green space stretched over a large area extending from Via Valfonda to Fortezza da Basso and Via della Scala, later downsized to make room for the Santa Maria Novella train station.” (Giardino di Valfonda, Florence by Tram)

Church of San Giuliano

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Church of San Giuliano
Via Faenza
Florence, January 2025

“The church of San Giuliano is a Catholic place of worship located in Via Faenza in the historic center of Florence. The church belonged to the female monastery of San Giuliano, founded in the 14th century by Bartolo Benvenuti, and was also known as the ‘Monache di Montaione’ monastery. At the beginning of the 16th century the monastery was inhabited by Dominican nuns dependent on Santa Maria Novella who in 1514 left with the permission of Pope Leo X to place themselves under the dependence of the Archbishop of Florence. In those years the monastery, in particular its church, was embellished with notable works of art: on the high altar there was an altarpiece by Mariotto Albertinelli with the Madonna and Child with Saints Giuliano, Domenico, Nicola and Girolamo and on the one on the right another by the same Albertinelli with the Trinity, both dating back to around 1510 and today in the Galleria dell'Accademia.” (Chiesa di San Giuliano, Wikipedia)

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

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“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God)
Lutheran Evangelical church by Riccardo Mazzanti, 1901
Lungarno Torrigiani
Florence, December 2024

“‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God’ (originally written in German with the title ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’) is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the hymn tune between 1527 and 1529. It has been translated into English at least seventy times and also into many other languages. The words are mostly original, although the first line paraphrases that of Psalm 46.” (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Wikipedia)

Automat revisited

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‘Smartworking alla tavola calda’ (Smartworking at the Diner) by Maurizio Rapiti
Via de' Guicciardini
Florence, December 2024

“‘Automat’ by Edward Hopper (1927) revisited by Maurizio Rapiti.”

The Modest Painter

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‘Il Pittore Pudico’ (The Modest Painter) by Maurizio Rapiti, 2019
Piazza della Passera
Florence, December 2024

“‘The Birth of Venus’ by Sandro Botticelli (1486) revisited by Maurizio Rapiti.”

Church of San Francesco

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Church of San Francesco by Vincenzo Micheli, 1932
Piazza Savonarola
Florence, December 2024

“The church of San Francesco is a Catholic place of worship located in Piazza Savonarola in Florence. The archive of the convents of the Minor Observant Fathers of the Tuscan Province is kept in the annexed convent. It was built in neo-Gothic style in 1887 by the architect Vincenzo Micheli for the Carmelite nuns of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi, who had left their convent in Borgo Pinti. The latter then moved to via dei Massoni and were replaced in 1928 by the Franciscans, who decided to expand the church, according to the project of the architect and brother Fra' Raffaello Franci. On 15 April 1930 the church in Piazza Savonarola became a canonical parish with an Archbishop's decree and was consecrated in 1932. The building underwent a final renovation in 1971, when it was expanded with the opening of new spaces and repaved.” (Chiesa di San Francesco, Firenze)

Monument to Savonarola

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Monument to Savonarola by Enrico Pazzi, 1875
Piazza Savonarola
Florence, December 2024

“The Monument to Savonarola in Piazza Savonarola is an outdoor marble statue on a plinth in honor of the 15th-century Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola; it is located in a piazza of the same name a few blocks outside of the Viali di Circonvallazione, in Northeastern Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. This monument has a colorful history of migrations. The statue was completed circa 1875 by Enrico Pazzi, a native of Ravenna, at a time, when anti-papal feelings ran high in Italy. However, Savonarola has always been a polarizing historic figure, maniacal in his faith, and the perpetrator of the original Bonfire of the Vanities. His theology was not compatible with contemporary liberal thought. The statue was conceived by Pazzi in 1861, who habitually created public monuments before they were requisitioned. A committee was formed in 1869 to commission a monument to Savonarola, which was to be placed in the convent of San Marco; however, they did not choose Pazzi's model, but instead chose one by Giovanni Duprè, a former mentor of Pazzi. This was to lead to fierce conflict between the two sculptors. In 1870, another committee, chaired by Prince Ferdinando Strozzi, selected to commission Pazzi's more grandiose and more anti-papal statue, and obtained the Commune's permission to site the sculpture in the first cloister of the Florentine convent. However, the drop in revenue caused by the transfer of the capital of Italy from Florence to Rome, cancelled this project. By 1873, Duprè completed his contribution: a simple plaque and relief bust placed in the cell of the friar in San Marco. Pazzi's work, completed only in 1875, did not find enough subscribers, and was donated ultimately to the Town Hall. It remained in studio till 1882, when it was installed, to much criticism, into the niche of the southern end of the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio. One justification for this placement was that Savonarola had commissioned the creation of this large hall in 1497. There was still rumors that it would be moved in the future to the precinct of San Marco. The statue had displaced none other than a Michelangelo statue, placed here by Vasari.” (Monument to Savonarola in Piazza Savonarola, Wikipedia)

Four hooded crows

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Four hooded crows
Piazza Savonarola
Florence, December 2024

“The hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix), also colloquially called just hoodie, is a Eurasian bird subspecies of the carrion crow (Corvus corone) in the genus Corvus. Widely distributed, it is found across Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East. It is an ashy-grey bird with black head, throat, wings, tail, and thigh feathers, as well as a black bill, eyes, and feet. Like other corvids, it is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager and feeder.” (Hooded crow, Wikipedia)