PICTURES FROM ITALY (Est. 2001)
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art
Private Tours of Florence

The Master Goldsmith

1/6/2019

 
Walking Tours of Florence
Monument to Benvenuto Cellini by Raffaello Romanelli, Ponte Vecchio, Florence
Monument to Benvenuto Cellini by Raffaello Romanelli

When the goldsmiths (orafi) of Florence decided to honour the 400th anniversary of the birth of their great predecessor and fellow Florentine, Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71), where better to place the monument than on the Ponte Vecchio, where the orafi had been doing business for centuries.

The shops on Florence's oldest bridge (1345) haven't always been occupied by goldsmiths. Until the end of the 16th century they were home to a much less refined set of professionals, the city's butchers. All this changed in 1593 when Ferdinando I de' Medici (r. 1587-1609) issued an edict ordering the butchers to be replaced by goldsmiths.

The monument takes the form of a fountain, which is surmounted by a magnificent bronze bust of Cellini. It was created by locally-born sculptor Raffaello Romanelli (1856-1928). ​

Comments are closed.

    Blogging about Florence:
    its art, history and culture.


    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.

    Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run
    ​ private tours of Florence, Rome &
    Venice.


    Search Pictures From Italy:

    Blog Posts

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018


Follow Pictures From Italy on Facebook

Private Tours of Rome, Florence & Venice

Copyright © David Lown 2001-2019. All Rights Reserved. 
  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
    • Private Tours of Venice
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art