On Monday morning Cinzia and I went to visit the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. It’s right around the block. We pass by it every day. It was time we had a look inside. It’s still used as an administrative building by the city of Florence. In some rooms you’ll find the unusual combination of a modern city council lecture hall set inside a room with Renaniance tapestries hanging from the walls or stunning frescos on the ceilings. The big draw is the cappella whose frescoed walls are the masterpiece of Benozzo Gozzoli.
The cappella is famous for the series of wall paintings by Benozzo Gozzoli known as the "Journey of the Magi". Painting began in 1459 under the direction of Cosimo and Piero de' Medici. The sumptuous and varied costumes with their princely finishings make this pictorial series one of the most fascinating testimonies of art and costume of all time. Among the followers of the magi there are numerous family portraits.
In a 21st century adaptation, viewers can stand in front of a large video screen and navigate the fresco with their hand movements. Images are enlarged and you hear detailed narratives about the masterpiece. Absolutely wonderful! It would be something if museums in Florence could offer visitors iPads with headsets as they toured the artworks. We’d probably never get through some of the larger museums. Hearing the details bring the art to life, especially with so much symbolize in the Renaissance pieces.
In a 21st century adaptation, viewers can stand in front of a large video screen and navigate the fresco with their hand movements. Images are enlarged and you hear detailed narratives about the masterpiece. Absolutely wonderful! It would be something if museums in Florence could offer visitors iPads with headsets as they toured the artworks. We’d probably never get through some of the larger museums. Hearing the details bring the art to life, especially with so much symbolize in the Renaissance pieces.