Florence, restoration of San Miniato al Monte ciborium ends

After a good 14 months, the restoration of the ciborium of San Miniato al Monte in Florence has been completed. Carried out thanks to the contribution of the Friends of Florence Foundation, the restoration work took place on the occasion of the Basilica’s Millennium, which fell on Friday, April 27, 2018, celebrated with a program of more than 50 events distributed throughout the year.

Daniele Rapino, area officer for the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Metropolitan City of Florence and the Provinces of Prato and Pistoia, emphasized, “The intervention immediately proved to be complex both because of the heterogeneity of the constituent materials and the suboptimal state of preservation due also to the tampering that has occurred over the centuries that have, in part, modified its original layout. We have thus recovered and safeguarded another of the many jewels of art and faith preserved in the precious casket of the Benedictine basilica.”

Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda, president of Friends of Florence, commented, "The Abbey of San Miniato is a true gateway to the sky above Florence. The Basilica, with its works, with all its community of peace, teaching, reflection, is always a symbol for all citizens of the world. The Foundation’s thanks go first of all to the many donors who immediately contributed so that the project could be realized, to all the restorers who with great skill worked on every work contained in the ciborium, and to Daniele Rapino who, together with the Superintendent’s Office, was the guarantor of the protection of the works of the proper conduct of the work."

The ciborium was commissioned by Piero de Medici for the art of Calimala and was created by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (Florence, 1396 - 1472), an architect held in high esteem by the Medici family, who had the collaboration of Maso di Bartolomeo (Capannole Valdambra, 1406 - Ragusa of Dalmatia, c. 1456) and Luca della Robbia (Florence, 1399/1400 - 1482).

The purpose of the aedicule was to house the Crucifix by Giovani Gualberto, which was later transferred in 1671 to the church of Santa Trinita in Florence, and the polyptych with stories of the Passion of Christ executed between 1394 and 1396 by Agnolo Gaddi (Florence, c. 1350 - 1396). Michelozzo created as early as 1448 the small temple with classical forms decorated with robbiane of the finest quality executed by Luca della Robbia, while the two bronze eagles that were placed on the roof of the aedicule are by Maso di Bartolomeo.

Pictured: the facade of San Miniato al Monte. Ph. Credit

Florence, restoration of San Miniato al Monte ciborium ends

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