St. Mark's Museum renovates some of its spaces. New layout for the Small Refectory

Several interventions to enhance the collections, as well as the visitor route, have been completed at the San Marco Museum in Florence.

The most important intervention was made possible by the relocation of the museum’s bookshop from the Small Refectory, where Domenico Ghirlandaio’s large fresco of theLast Supper is located. In this version, executed perhaps after the frescoes in the Sassetti Chapel in Santa Trinita in Florence completed in 1485, the collaboration of his son Davide and Bastiano Mainardi can be recognized in the pictorial drafting. The large room has been completely refurbished, totally regaining its preeminent museum function. Thanks to the new lighting and the possibility to observe it from the right distance, the large fresco can be admired by dwelling on its bright colors and pictorial pieces, including still life.

In addition to some of the Della Robbia paintings that have already been on display for some time, three paintings of considerable interest and quality are now hanging on the side walls, although they are little known because they were recovered from the museum’s storerooms: a large canvas by the Florentine painter Filippo Tarchiani depicting theOration of Christ in the Garden (circa 1615), signed by the artist; the grand canvas depicting Saint Mark the Evangelist Enthroned, a replacement copy of the original by Fra’ Bartolomeo, formerly in the church of San Marco, which Ferdinando de’ Medici had transferred to the Pitti Palace (where it still stands), and executed by Antonio Franchi, known as il Lucchese. No less important and of remarkable quality is the centered panel depicting Saint Augustine Blessing Enthroned (ca. 1515-20), placed above the door to the stairs to the former Refectory, attributed to Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio.

“The Small Refectory was originally intended for the temporary guests of the convent, and therefore can be said to have partially recovered its original function,” explains San Marco Museum director Angelo Tartuferi. “It is easy to imagine that visitors will very willingly stay in this room characterized by a ’spiritual’ solemnity, which also induces contemplation, favored no doubt by the comfortable benches with espaliers arranged on three sides.”

The new bookshop, designed by Opera Laboratories, is now housed in a room near the museum exit. The light-filled environment has a more bookshop-oriented look, which is also open to the themes of this area of the city that includes, in addition to the St. Mark’s complex, other notable historical and cultural realities. The vast corridor of the Foresteria that leads to the bookshop and the museum exit has also been equipped with new LED lighting, which, in addition to providing significant energy savings, offers the public the opportunity to easily admire the vestiges of the old center of Florence placed along the side walls. The curtains on the windows of the southern corridor of the former dormitory, which overlook St. Mark’s Square, were then removed and replaced with light-filtering panels affixed to the window frames. The perspective view of the corridor culminating in the painted terracotta bust of Savonarola has thus acquired an added appeal.

Finally, the new App is now available for free download from Google Play or available via QR code. The App, in Italian, English and French, developed by A.N.D Ambienti Narrativi Digitali, edited by Laura Pellegrini and Anna Soffici, was made possible thanks to the contribution of the Fondazione CR Firenze. Again with the contribution of the Fondazione CR Firenze, the coordinated image of the museum was restyled with the creation of the brand book, by Stampa in Stampa Srl, which has already been the basis for the creation of the information apparatus of the various rooms for some time, ensuring uniformity.

“The Museum of San Marco never ceases to amaze,” comments Stefano Casciu, regional director of the Museums of Tuscany, “by constantly proposing new features and improvements to the museum itinerary. The new graphics gradually expand in the rooms of the ancient convent; the App allows visitors a modern and qualified accompaniment to the visit (and for these initiatives I must thank the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, always close to our museums); and last but not least, the beautiful recovery of the Refettorio piccolo, dominated by Ghirlandaio’s Last Supper, a refined and elegant environment that has been restored to its 15th-century spatial balance, enriched with new works and appropriately illuminated. Sincere thanks go to the museum staff, directed by Angelo Tartuferi, with architect Andrea Gori and art historians Anna Soffici and Laura Pellegrini.”

St. Mark's Museum renovates some of its spaces. New layout for the Small Refectory

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