The Basilica of Florence San Marco is one of the churches of the city center. It rises in a crowded area, dominating the surrounding countryside. Initially, the temple was part of the Dominican monastery of the same name, which at one time served as a home for many important representatives of the clergy and culture of the fifteenth century: Cosimo il Vecchio, Fra Angelico, Ambrogio Catarino Politi, Fra Bartolomeo, Tommaso Caccini and Girolamo Savonarola. Since 1869, the former monastery has housed the National Museum. But neither the church nor the adjacent monastery of San Domenico are part of it. The basilica and museum complex coexist in Florence on Piazza San Marco (Italy).
Early story
The former Dominican monastery occupies the place where, from the 12th century, there was a cloister of the Wallomasbrosian order, which later went to the Sylvestrin monks. Both groups are branches of the Catholic Order of St. Benedict. At the time of the Sylvestrins, the Church of Florence San Marco was used both for monastic services and for parish functions. At that time the area was called Cafaggio, so in the early documents the basilica is referred to as San Marco al Cafaggio. Recently, traces of frescoes belonging to that initial period were found below the floor.
Transfer to the Dominican Order
In 1418, the Silvestrins were accused of non-compliance with monastic rules and the poor maintenance of the monastery. They had to leave the monastery, however, this required the direct intervention of Pope Eugene IV and the decision of the Basel Cathedral before, in 1437, the buildings were finally vacated and the monastery was transferred to the community from the monastery of San Domenico of the city of Fiesole. The decisive moment was the intervention of Cosimo de Medici, the senior founder of the dynasty, the most influential person in Florence, who was very favored by the current Pope. The Medici made it clear that they wanted the monastery to be hosted by the Dominican community. In addition, Eugene IV also belonged to this order.
When the Silvestrins left, moving to the smaller monastery of San Giorgio alla Costa, Dominican monks occupied the buildings of San Marco. The monastery of Florence, however, was in poor condition. The new inhabitants were forced to live for two years in damp closets or wooden huts.
Medici Charity
In 1437, the richest Italian merchant and banker Medici Cosimo, at the suggestion of the Florentine archbishop Antonio Pierozzi, decided to begin the transformation of the entire complex, including the cloister and the basilica. In Florence, the Cathedral of San Marco and the monastery were in the area of ​​greatest influence of the Medici family, as they were located in the center of the northern region of central Florence. This quarter, which included the family palace (the modern name Palazzo Medici Riccardi) and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici owned completely. In those years, the influence of Cosimo as head of state was at the very peak of power, and the “Great Season for the Medici Patronage” as the “father of the people” and philanthropist reached its peak, especially in connection with the transfer of the Pontifical Council to Florence in 1438 and its holding here in 1439 year of the Ecumenical Council. Cosimo invested a significant amount in the reconstruction of the monastery, exceeding 40,000 florins, as Giorgio Vasari pointed out in his biography .
Updated monastery
Architectural work was entrusted to Mikelozzo, who also erected the Medici Palace. The mural was created between 1439-1444 by the Dominican monk Fra Angelico along with his assistants, among whom was the painter of the Florentine school Benozzo Gozzoli. The Church of Florence San Marco consecrated the Cardinal and Archbishop of Capua Niccolo d'Accapaccio under Pope Eugenius IV on the night of Epiphanius in 1443.
The living quarters of the monks were ready by 1442, but the work continued for another ten years. The monastery is made with elegant simplicity and functionality inherent in the early Renaissance. 44 brothers' cells were located along the U-shaped corridor on the second floor. Among them was a room where Cosimo de Medici would retire from time to time.
The center of the monastery is a courtyard, surrounded by a covered gallery along the perimeter, and one side adjacent to the church. The first floor combines the chapel room, two refectory, guest rooms, library. The white plastered walls of the rooms, almost all the cells, halls and galleries of the courtyard contain a unique mural. The architect Mikelozzo also designed the garden, arranged a water and drainage system.
Library
The perfection at that time seemed to be a spacious ground floor library. Its space with two graceful colonnades was divided into three aisles. Multiple windows gave plenty of natural light, making it easier to read, study and copy manuscripts. It housed a collection of priceless books and scrolls from the largest private collection owned by the humanist Niccolo Niccoli, who bequeathed his library to Cosimo Medici, who, in turn, donated this gift to the monastery.
Further fate of the monastery
During the reign of Napoleon, the monastery was first expropriated, but again returned to the monks from 1808. According to the royal decree of 1866, the complex was finally alienated in favor of the state and partially transformed into a museum.
Since 1979, the Arrigo Levasti library was created in San Marco in Florence under the auspices of the great Catholic scholar. Church manuscripts, books and copies of rare copies are collected here. This is the world's largest museum of works by Fra Angelico. Here is the largest number of frescoes and tempera paintings on the board, created by him and his students. Many paintings by Beato Angelico from other Florentine museums and churches are brought here.
Until recently, there was still a small community of Dominican monks in San Marco Florence, which occupied the western part of the complex adjacent to the larger cloister. In 2014, the few remaining brothers joined the community in Santa Maria Novella.
Basilica
Michelozzo restored the sacristy and apse, but the rest of the reconstruction took place much later. The facade of the church of San Marco was redone from 1777 to 1778 in the neoclassical style of fra Batista Paladini, as the inscription on the window reminds. Divided into three levels, the facade is decorated with pilasters, two niches with statues, stucco ribbons and scallops, with the only gates topped by a window. The upper level is decorative bas-relief and tympanum with an iron cross. The church bell tower was built in 1512 according to the design of Baccio Agnolo. The tribune and carved ceiling were erected at the end of the XVII century. Significant reconstruction was carried out in 1678 by the architect Pierre Francesco Sylvani.
In the church plan you can see one nave with numerous side chapels designed in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. The counter-facade represents the best remnants of paintings of the fourteenth century, including the great work of 1365, “Crucifixion,” the Orkany school and the “Annunciation” of 1375. The crucifix of 1425-1428 by Fra Angelico also belongs to the most ancient works of art in the basilica.
Fresco painting
The former cloister and basilica are attracted not so much by architecture as by wall paintings and paintings by famous Italian masters. For several years, since 1976, the restoration of frescoes in the cells and halls of the monastery took place. Purified from subsequent coatings, the images revealed a bright palette, image clarity and emotional transmission of religious subjects inherent in the great Angelico. The entire series of monastery frescoes of San Marco Florence corresponds to a single concept in which the style of this artist is tangible. However, the performance technique, according to experts, indicates the participation of several more painters, among which, most likely, Benozzo Gozzoli and Zanobi Strozzi.
And if the monastery represents the painting stage only of the Early Renaissance, then in the chapel, where additions and reconstructions took place later, you can see sculptural, picturesque masterpieces and delicious stucco molding of the High Renaissance, mannerism (the transitional period to the Baroque), as well as Baroque art of the 17th and early 18th centuries . It harmoniously combined the frescoes of Fra Angelico with the wall painting of Alessandro Gerardini in 1717 and the grisaille technique of 1588, owned by Alessandro Allori, a representative of mannerism. Giovanni Giambolonia, Giovanni Battista Naldini, Santi di Tito, Bernardino Pozzetti, Passignano, Francesco Kurradi, Alessandro Gerardini - this is not a complete list of craftsmen who worked at different times on the decoration of the San Marco church. Despite the difference in styles and directions used in decorating the church, the interior of the Basilica of San Marco remains harmonious and gives the impression of a single ensemble.