Towers and Gold

Tuesday 20th May 2025 at 18:00

This lecture takes us inside the churches and towers of Duecento Florence for a look at how the visual arts and architecture were evolving during this transformational century. The skyline of the city was dominated by numerous, soaring tower houses—we will explore these iconic structures inside and out to get an idea of their function in everyday life. On the religious front, shifts in styles of worship meant that devotional images were changing as well. Altarpieces shimmering with gold and featuring the Virgin and Child, Crucifixions, and episodes from the lives of saints were meant to instruct and welcome the faithful who were going in droves to worship in the enormous churches being built for the brand new (and revolutionary) mendicant orders that were taking the city by storm.