450th anniversary of Vasari's death, Vernio Oratory brings original letters from the artist on display

On Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at the Oratory of Vernio, on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the death of Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, 1511 - Florence, 1574), the exhibition Vasari racconta... letters, projects and secrets at the time of Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Bardi di Vernio opens. Through the illusion of “a living picture,” the artist tells about himself, his works at the court of Cosimo I and the letters he learned were found in Vernio itself. The exhibition was made possible thanks to a grant from the Region of Tuscany’s call for proposals for the Celebration of the 450th anniversary of the death of Cosimo I dei Medici and Giorgio Vasari and is a project of the Municipality of Vernio with the scientific curatorship of theBardi Academy and the CDSE Foundation.

The exhibition revolves around the seven unpublished letters written by Vasari in 1564 and discovered in the archives of the Compagnia di San Niccolò di Bari in 1997 by Alessandro Magini president of the Bardi Academy. The display includes the original letters and a series of panels with texts and illustrations created especially for the exhibition by Anita Barghigiani, and will be open to the public from Aug. 3 to Sept. 15. Extraordinary openings are also planned for Apriti Chiostro evenings from 8 to 11 p.m. The seven letters by Vasari, all dating back to 1564 and addressed to Cavalier Marinozzi, concern work on the construction of the façade of the Palazzo dei Cavalieri in Pisa, since 1846 the home of the Scuola Normale Superiore. They thus constitute an important testimony to expand the documentation related to the history of one of the most significant palaces in Pisa, symbol of the Knights of St. Stephen, an order with which Cosimo I wanted to celebrate Pope St. Stephen. Vasari’s letters were written precisely to Leonardo Marinozzi, Knight of Santo Stefano and Camerlengo of Cosimo I, whose daughter married a Bardi. Thus it was that the family’s correspondence ended up in the Company’s Archives, forgotten until Magini’s discovery. Thanks to his many travels and entry into the most prestigious cultural circles, such as that of Cardinal Farnese, and relationships such as that with Pope Julius III, the doors of the court of Cosimo I were also opened, to whom Vasari dedicated the first edition of Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultore e architettori. Devoted to the Medici, he became the director of the many pictorial, architectural and scenographic worksites requested by Cosimo. Among his best-known works commissioned by the Grand Duke were the renovation of the Palazzo Vecchio, the construction of the Uffizi, the palaces of the order of Santo Stefano in Pisa, and the corridor connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti that still bears his name.

“The letters are central to the reconstruction of the historical context involving the Medici, especially Cosimo I, for whom Vasari was the leading artist, and the Bardi family,” explain CDSE director Alessia Cecconi and Alessandro Magini. “Alongside the documents and explanatory panels we also wanted to create an exciting presence, living Vasari who in Vernio, in the Oratory, tries to dialogue with another era.”Actor Nicola Pecci, who plays Vasari, and videomaker Francesco Santillo are the creators of this sort of magic along with the historical costume of the Society of Misery, kindly lent for the occasion by Piero and Marcella Sarti.

The overall project, which continues until Nov. 19, also ranges from exhibitions to children’s workshops, study meetings, visits to the area and to Pisa, discovering the link between the Vernio area and the culture and politics of the Medici and the Renaissance.

Pictured is Nicola Pecci as Giorgio Vasari.

450th anniversary of Vasari's death, Vernio Oratory brings original letters from the artist on display

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