The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



59. Masaccio and San Giovanni Valdarno

Christmas is nearly upon us and after limping to the end of the school term we have finally broken up with an extra reward of 19 days of paid holiday!

So what to do on our first day off... Not another art exhibition! Yes, of course, but first a trip to our local shopping mall, Gillli at Prato. We've decided to spend Christmas in England this year, as Annette's sister, Ruth, has had a new baby, Elise. So some last minute shopping for presents to take back.

While we're on the road we decide to check out the Masaccio exhibition on in San Giovanni Valdarno which finishes in two days.

San Giovanni Valdarno is a small town in the province of Arezzo to the south east of  Florence. It is also the birthplace of early Renaissance painter Masaccio. (See my earlier post on Masaccio here:   http://leestuscanodyssey.blogspot.com/search/label/Masaccio)

It's a beautiful sunny December day and we enjoy our drive out to San Giovanni for the first time. This special exhibition is bringing together 38 masterpieces by Masaccio and other early Renaissance artists, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi. The exhibition is entitled: 'Masaccio e le Origini del Renascimento' (Masaccio and the origins of the Renaisasance).





None of Masaccio's works are usually here, so it's quite a treat for the town...


Some of the highlights include: Two wooden crucifixes by Brunelleschi and Donatello, normally in Santo Spirito and Santa Croce in Florence. It's interesting seeing them side by side.










The centrepiece of the exhibition is the beautiful 'Madonna del Sollecito,'  again usually in Florence in the Ufizzi, but here looking radiant and colourful.














Fra Angelico's 'Imposizione del nome al Battista' (Imposition in the name of John the Baptist) normally in the San Marco museum also in Florence.




Here's a link to the exhibition notes:











Our entrance ticket also allows us to visit the main Basillica, Santa Maria della Grazie in San Giovanni, where there is a very special 'Annunciation' by Fra Angelico, so we go and check it out...











(Original journal entry 19/12/02)
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