The church facade ~ I have often wondered if there’s a good solution to ‘finishing’ Santo Spirito’s façade. After centuries in an unadorned state (save for the painted architectural details from the eighteenth century, long since obscured), it’s difficult to visualize an alternative. Santo Spirito’s ideal form seems to be così—just as it is—continuing to be one of those topics that provokes an ongoing dialogue among both locals and visitors. A project organized by artist Mario Mariotti in the early 1980s provided a chance for citizens to partake in this dialogue. Art assumed its natural role as part of the community when the artist invited people from all walks of life to use the the church façade’s outline as the basis for designs that were projected onto the actual façade during summer nights filled with music, dancing, poetry and theatre. The results ranged from whimsical to clever and political, and the original drawings can still be seen on the walls of Caffè Ricchi. Santo Spirito’s façade expresses itself in many forms throughout the neighborhood: embroidered on the linen curtain of a trattoria, printed on the paper sacks and menus of local businesses, interpreted on artists’ canvases, as a point of reference in student projects. The blank façade continues to inspire, most recently in the form of computer-generated images by architecture students from the local university; their designs were shown in a slideshow in the piazza one night last summer and can be found on flickr.http://www.flickr.com/photos/25413290@N03/2517745347/shapeimage_8_link_0
Click here for selected excerpts from the Piazza del Duomo chapter.The_Piazzas_of_Florence_In_the_spotlight_Piazza_del_Duomo.htmlshapeimage_14_link_0
HOME Introducing the book The piazzas Why this book Favorite piazzas In the spotlight Contact - Orderlisa-mcgarry.com_HOME.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_book.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_Piazzas.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_story_behind_the_book.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_Notes_on_the_Piazzas.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_Contact_%26_Order.htmlshapeimage_15_link_0shapeimage_15_link_1shapeimage_15_link_2shapeimage_15_link_3shapeimage_15_link_4shapeimage_15_link_5shapeimage_15_link_6
HOME Introducing the book The piazzas Why this book Favorite piazzas In the spotlight Contact - Order © 2009-2010 Lisa McGarrylisa-mcgarry.com_HOME.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_book.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_Piazzas.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_The_story_behind_the_book.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_Notes_on_the_Piazzas.htmlThe_Piazzas_of_Florence_Contact_%26_Order.htmlshapeimage_16_link_0shapeimage_16_link_1shapeimage_16_link_2shapeimage_16_link_3shapeimage_16_link_4shapeimage_16_link_5shapeimage_16_link_6
Click here for selected excerpts from the Piazza Pitti chapter.The_Piazzas_of_Florence_In_the_spotlight_Piazza_del_Duomo.htmlshapeimage_17_link_0
Click here for more from my Santo Spirito chapter on “Florence from the Heart,” a website dedicated to articles written by locals in love with this city.http://www.florencefromtheheart.com/article.php?d=2009-02-20&t=dailylife&p=2shapeimage_22_link_0