FAH337H1 Lecture : The Building and Decoration of Orsanmichele Before Verrocchio, Zervas
Document Summary
Ordered by the florentine government in 1336 to accommodate the economic, civic and religious activities that had developed in its piazza over the course of the previous century. Buildings history: convent> grain market> guild hall. Grain constituted the portray staple of their diet. was increasingly unable to produce adequate supplies of it for its growing population. They eventually only allowed one grain market to exist (at orsanmichele) so the sales would be regulated, so that they could watch out for criminal activity. Interior: frescoed image of the virgin mary in one of the grain loggias piers. Metaphor of mary as the virgin earth that brought forth the divine wheat, man;s spiritual food, in the form of christ, the second adam. The confraternitys popularity (at orsanmichele) began to soar (resulting in more donations) because the virgin of orsanmichele began to perform miracles, healing the sick and crippled. the site was soon transformed into a major pilgrimage center.