Agnolo Bronzino

Agnolo Gaddi

Ambrogio Lorenzetti

Andreadi di Bonaiuto

Andrea del Castagno

Andrea del Sarto

Andrea di Bartolo

Andrea Mantegna

Antonello da Messina

Antonio del Pollaiuolo

Bartolo di Fredi

Bartolomeo di Giovanni

Benozzo Gozzoli

Benvenuto di Giovanni

Bernard Berenson

Bernardo Daddi

Bianca Cappello

Bicci di Lorenzo

Bonaventura Berlinghieri

Buonamico Buffalmacco

Byzantine art

Cimabue

Dante

Dietisalvi di Speme

Domenico Beccafumi

Domenico di Bartolo

Domenico di Michelino

Domenico veneziano

Donatello

Duccio di Buoninsegna

Eleonora da Toledo

Federico Zuccari

Filippino Lippi

Filippo Lippi

Fra Angelico

Fra Carnevale

Francesco di Giorgio Martini

Francesco Pesellino

Francesco Rosselli

Francia Bigio

Gentile da Fabriano

Gherarducci

Domenico Ghirlandaio

Giambologna

Giorgio Vasari

Giotto di bondone

Giovanni da Modena

Giovanni da San Giovanni

Giovanni di Francesco

Giovanni di Paolo

Giovanni Toscani

Girolamo di Benvenuto

Guidoccio Cozzarelli

Guido da Siena

Il Sodoma

Jacopo del Sellaio

Jacopo Pontormo

Lippo Memmi

Lippo Vanni

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Lorenzo Monaco

Lo Scheggia

Lo Spagna

Luca Signorelli

masaccio

masolino da panicale

master of monteoliveto

master of sain tfrancis

master of the osservanza

matteo di giovanni

memmo di filippuccio

neroccio di bartolomeo

niccolo di segna

paolo di giovanni fei

paolo ucello

perugino

piero della francesca

piero del pollaiolo

piero di cosimo

pietro aldi

pietro lorenzetti

pinturicchio

pontormo

sandro botticelli

sano di pietro

sassetta

simone martini

spinello aretino


taddeo di bartolo

taddeo gaddi

ugolino di nerio

vecchietta

 

             
 
Sandro Botticelli and Bartolomeo di Giovanni, La historia de Nastagio degli Onesti (third episode, detail), 1483, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado


Travel guide for Tuscany
       
   

Sandro Botticelli | La historia de Nastagio degli Onesti

   
   

In the 1480s Botticelli gained commissions from the families in high society. Increasingly they chose classical themes for the luxurious decoration of their town houses, but they also included some from contemporary literature. In order to be able to carry out his multiple commissions, Botticelli had to work together with other painters as well as members of his own workshop. The four panels conveying the Story of Nastagio degl Onesti, the eighth novel of the fifth day of Boccaccio's Decameron, were produced with the aid of Bartolomeo di Giovanni.
The Story of Nastagio degl Onesti is the story of Nastagio, a young man from Ravenna who was rejected by the daughter of Paolo Traversari and abandoned the city to settle on its outskirts. Nastagio degli Onesti, whose beloved initially refused to marry him, finally weds her after all. First of all, however, he must remind her of the eternal agony in hell of another merciless woman, one who had also refused marriage, her rejected lover had to pursue her until he had caught up with her, killed her, torn out her heart and intestines and fed them to his dogs.

In the second Panel, Nastagio runs away in fright after witnessing the scene, while the persecution begins again in the background. After his initial sense of repulsion, Nastagio decides to take advantage of the story and invites his beloved to come there for a meal with her family.

The third panel shows the guests' reaction to the events, and how Nastagio's beloved uses a maid to indicate that she is willing to marry him. The fourth panel depicts the wedding banquet.

The fourth painting naturally represents the woman saying sweetly: "In that case, I'll marry you", and we are present for the marriage of Dona Lucrezia Bini and Ugolino degli Onesti. A considerable contribution to the execution of this panel by Jacopo del Sellaio is assumed.
The fourth panel belongs to a private collection, the three others are kept in Madrid, Prado.

The paintings were commissioned in 1483 by Antonio Pucci for the marriage of his son, Giannozzo, with Lucrezia Bini. The coats of arms of both families flank those of the Medici on the third panel. Specialists see Botticelli's hand in the overall design and in certain figures. They also detect the participation of his assistants, Bartolomeo di Giovanni and Jacopo del Sellaio.

   
   
Sandro Botticelli and Bartolomeo di Giovanni, first episode of La historia de Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado


     
Sandro Botticelli and Bartolomeo di Giovanni, second episode of La historia de Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

 

 
Sandro Botticelli and Bartolomeo di Giovanni, third episode of La historia de Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

   
Sandro Botticelli and Bartolomeo di Giovanni, fourth episode of Nastagio degli Onesti series, private collection in Palazzo Pucci, Florence (1483)

 
   
[1] The Pucci family was a major political family in Florence. The family surname derives from an ancestor named Jacopo, abbreviated to Jacopuccio, then to Puccio, who was considered wise and frequently called upon to settle disputes - there are records of two such interventions in 1264 and 1287. Their former surname seems to have been Saracini, which explains the presence of a maure or moor's head on their crest and coat of arms.
The first Pucci family members to be mentioned date to the 13th century with their subscribing to the Arte dei Legnaioli. These early members include Antonio Pucci, who worked as an architect on the construction of the Loggia della Signoria. His son Puccio Pucci was a merchant who became rich thanks to trade and financial activities in medieval Florence. The first Pucci residences were in the Santa Croce district of Florence, before they moved to that of the church of San Michele Visdomini. They were Guelphs and so they were expelled and their houses demolished after the battle of Montaperti in 1260, though they were soon able to return upon the Ghibellines' explusion from the city. With wealth came political offices such as magistracies, priors and gonfalonieres - the Pucci family produced a total of 23 priors 8 holders of the post of confaloniere di giustizia.
Constant allies of the Medici during the Renaissance, the Pucci were among the families Cosimo de'Medici called upon as a means of indirectly pursuing his own political interests - trusted Medici allies from the Pucci family included Puccio Pucci, who provided Cosimo with money to improve his living conditions in prison whilst Cosimo was imprisoned prior to being exiled. In the early 16th century the Pucci family's prestige rose yet higher, with it producing three cardinals (Roberto, Lorenzo and Antonio Pucci) within a few decades of each other and continuing to be trusted figures in the Medici's ducal and then grand-ducal courts.
However, a momentary bitter break with the Medici came in 1559 when Pandolfo Pucci was ousted from the court of Cosimo I for various slanderous accusations of immorality or (according to other sources) for dreaming of restoring the ancient Republic of Florence. Thus, for revenge or ideological reasons, he conspired against Cosimo with the support of other noble Florentine families, intending to fire an arquebus at Cosimo as he and his retinue walked along the corner of Palazzo Pucci and Via de' Servi to get to the basilica della Santissima Annunziata. The plan had already been shelved, but the Medici intelligence network got wind of it, Pandolfo was hung from a window of the Bargello and the Pucci's properties were seized. As a memorial to the quashing of the plot, or perhaps out of prudence or superstition, it was decided to brick up the window at the corner where the attack was to have occurred, as can still be seen. The Pucci later made peace with the Medici and Niccolò Pucci regained the Palazzo Pucci and its furnishings.
In 1662 Orazio Roberto Pucci acquired the fiefdom of Barsento (Bari) for 4,000 scudi and obtained the title of Marchese di Barsento, the noble title which has since been handed down through the family. The most recent notable family member has been Emilio Pucci, founder of the eponymous post-war fashion house, who became famous (above all in the 1960s and 70s) for more and more fancy but still refined designs. He designed the traditional uniform of the Italian Vigili Urbani with large white gloves and oval beret. His brother Puccio Pucci was also notable, as a sports official for CONI and other organisations. In the 1960s the two brothers split the Palazzo Pucci between them, with Emilio taking the left hand half as the main base for his fashion house and Puccio rebuilding the interior of the central part as a commercial gallery with small craft shops, as it still is today.

The Santa Trinita church in Florence has several interesting works of art, but the piece de resistance is without doubt one of the finest and most complete remaining Renaissance chapels - Ghirlandaio's Capella Sassetti. The Sassetti Chapel was frescoed between 1482 and 1485 by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Puccio Pucci began the patronage of arts in the early Renaissance.

 


Domenico Ghirlandaio, Confirmation of the Rule
(Detail), Fresco Santa Trinità, Florence.


Portrayed (ltr): Antonio di Puccio Pucci, Lorenzo de' Medici and Francesco Sassetti

In 1404 Antonio di Puccio Pucci acquired the chapel of San Sebastiano in the church of Santissima Annunziata, in which he placed the precious Piero del Pollaiolo painting of the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (now in the National Gallery, London). Puccio Pucci bought the Cappella della Madonna del Soccorso a few decades later.
The family palazzo still contains one of the four paintings commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent from Sandro Botticelli as a gift to Giannozzo Pucci on Giannozzo's marriage to Lucrezia Bini in 1483. These paintings tell the story of Nastalgio degli Onesti and the first three in the narrative are now in the Prado in Madrid. The painting still in Florence shows the use of forks, which were traditionally adopted for the first time in Florence by the Pucci and whosa use Catherine de'Medici then spread right across Europe. It also shows the use of precious tableware and silver vessels, which really existed and were said to be from the workshops of Verrocchio and Pollaiolo.

The Pucci commissioned several works for the churches neighbouring their palazzo. For the church of San Michele Visdomini, in 1518 Francesco Pucci commissioned Pontormo to paint the Holy family with saints, which was described by Vasari as one of the best paintings by an empolese painter. Whilst he was archbishop of Bologna, cardinal Antonio Pucci commissioned Raphael to paint a scene of The Ecstacy of Saint Cecilia - still in Bologna, it is now at the city's Pinacoteca. At the end of the 16th century Lorenzo Pucci commissioned Alessandro Allori to paint a Marriage at Cana as an altarpiece for the church of Sant'Agata (completed 1600).

The family's palazzo was rebuilt by the grand-ducal architect Bernardo Buontalenti in the second half of the 16th century. Between 1585 and 1595 abbot Alessandro Pucci built the Villa di Bellosguardo, to designs by Giovanni Antonio Dosio - it remained a family property until 1858. The Pucci completed the portico of the church of Santissima Annunziata, in a stylistic unity with the piazza outside (the Pucci device is to be seen on the pavement in front of the entrance and on both sides of the portico) - an inscription on the frieze and a plaque on Via Gino Capponi gives its completion date as 1601.

Palazzo Pucci is located in Via dei Pucci, 6, close toVia Cavour which leads to Piazza di San Marco. The design of the magnificent palace was commissioned by the Pucci family, in the second half of the 16th century, to the celebrated Tuscan mannerist architect and sculptor Bartolommeo Ammanatti (1511-1592).

Art in Tuscany | Palazzi in Florence
 


Sandro Botticelli, Nastagio degli Onesti, fourth panel


Sandro Botticelli, The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti | Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrido

Domenico Ghirlandaio | The Sassetti Chapel in the Santa Trinita church in Florence


Tuscany is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Known for its enchanting landscapes, its fantastic and genuine food and beautiful towns as Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Siena.
Podere Santa Pia, a 19th century stone house has been carefully and beautifully restored with tiled floors, beamed ceilings, the internal stone and wood structures an the the wood-burning inside pizza-oven.
The villa is located approximately 2,5km fromCastiglioncello Bandini and is divided into two units, each enjoying private gardens and terraces. Santa Pia is set in an extremely panoramic spot, dominating over the valleys, the countryside, up to the Tyrrhenian coast. For those seeking a peaceful, uncontaminated environment, yet be just a short drive from some one of Tuscany's most intoxicating cities, Santa Pia is the perfect choice.

Travel guide for tuscany | Art, history, hidden secrets and places |Tuscan Holiday houses | Podere Santa Pia

   
   

Podere Santa Pia
Castiglioncello Bandini
Century-old olive trees, between Podere Santa Pia and Cinigiano
         


Tombolo di Feniglia
Crete Senesi, Asciano
L'eremo di Montesiepi (the Hermitage of Montesiepi)
         

Sovicille
Monte Oliveto Maggiore abbey
Sunsets in Tuscany

         


   
The valley below Santa Pia is a classic example of the Tuscan landscape, with endless hills, cypresses, wine, corn fields and streams, with strking view over the countryside, the Tyrrhenian coast and Monte Christo