Always Look Up: The Heights of Santa Croce

This may seem like a strange image in a post about looking up. But it tells a story, a story of the 1966 flood that devastated Florence, destroying or damaging millions of books and manuscripts and countless works of art.

Look up to the highest label on the wall. That is the high water mark, about 22 ft., on November 4, 1966. Lower sections of buildings and damaged art works are still undergoing restoration.

The frescoes in the chancel above the high altar and its vaulte dome are beautiful.

The Baroncelli Chapel, by Taddeo Gaddi, shows scenes from the life of Mary. The three following photos show details from the frescoes.

Transept and side chapels have ceiling frescoes depicting the lives of the saints and the four evangelists.

The central dome of the Pazzi Chapel and its chancel dome. Designed by Brunelleschi but not finished until after his death, (1443-1478), the chapel is one of the earliest Florentine Renaissance structures.

The giant crucifix wooden by Cimabue (c. 1265) was heavily damaged in the flood. Over 60 percent of the paint was lost. Even after extensive restoration, damage is still visible. It is considered one of greatest losses from the flood. It now hangs high in the sacristy.

The Renaissance arches of the second cloister.

Always Look Up

Transept dome, Basilica di S. Croce, Lecce, Puglia, Italy.

Contrails and Clouds

Join Hammad’s Weekend Sky #10 – December 12, 2020

Square Tops #7: Under A Big Top

Dome Stories

Frescoed Dome, mid-17th century, Giovanni Battista Carlone, Basilica of Saint Siro, Genoa, Italy

Join Becky’s April Squares: SquareTops. There are only two rules: the photo must be square and it must relate to the theme of the month.

The theme for April Squares is ‘top‘, and Becky has listed five idioms to choose from;

  1. On Top of the World – summit, crown, peak (tiptop) or uppermost part of something.
  2. Under the Big Top – topping or covering (or if you are really lucky a circus!)
  3. Room at the Top – first or highest in position
  4. Cherry on Top – something made even more wonderful by becoming square
  5. Top and Tail – or maybe you’d prefer to play around with word combinations such as top dog, top stitch, top hat, top secret, top knot, top drawer or top dollar!

The main tag is #SquareTops but you may also want to add a second tag using the idiom your square is coming under.

Florentine Abstracts

Always Look Up

Skylight over Michelangelo’s David, Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, Florence, Italy. Designed by architect Emilio de Fabris and completed in 1882.as part of move of statue into the Galleria.in 1873. 

Side chapel ceiling, Baroncelli Chapel, by Taddeo Gaddi between 1328 and 1338, Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, Italy.

Crossing Dome, The Duomo, Florence, Italy.  The painting in the enormous dome, The Last Judgment,  covers 3,600 metres (38 750 ft) of painted surface. It was started in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and completed in 1579.

Join Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #74: Abstract

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