VIA dell'Agnolo 32
The tabernacles of florence
THE STREET
In the heart of Santa Croce district
If you are walking along Via dell’Agnolo, in the section closest to the ring roads (viali di circonvallazione), you find yourself in an area that still preserves the most authentic spirit of Florence’s popular neighborhoods. In the past, this first stretch of the street was called Via Santa Verdiana, later Via delle Fornaci, due to the presence of brick kilns in the area. Only later was the entire street unified under its current name, linked to the “agnolo” — the Archangel Michael sculpted on the corner with Via delle Conce, opposite the tabernacle. It is here, among the row houses and the sober façades, that one encounters this small yet meaningful sign of devotion.THE TABERNACLE
The Tabernacle and the Crucifixion
The tabernacle itself was created at the end of the seventeenth century—apart from the later wooden aedicule—and was most likely commissioned by the Lotteringhi della Stufa family, owners of the palace. Below the shrine, an alms box remains visible, reminding passersby of the charitable function associated with the image. A finely decorated wrought-iron lantern once illuminated the tabernacle and the street corner, extending its protective presence into the night. The name of the family, and of the street itself, derives from the ancient public baths of San Lorenzo—the “stufe”—which the Lotteringhi owned and managed from the late thirteenth century. These baths, possibly fed by a branch of the Mugnone stream that once flowed through this part of the city, were divided into separate areas for men and women and played an important role in the everyday life of the neighborhood.
The Artist and the Pictorial Language
The work is attributed to a Florentine painter from the late 16th century, probably connected to the school of Andrea del Sarto. If you observe the figures closely, you will notice the composure of the gestures and the balance of the composition: there is no excessive drama, but rather a restrained intensity. Here the Crucifixion is not presented as spectacle, but as prayer. Christ appears suspended in a conscious silence, while the two saints embody devotion and faithful adoration.
DID YOU KNOW?
A Monastery That No Longer Exists
The presence of Saint Verdiana points to a place that once stood nearby: the ancient Vallombrosan monastery of Santa Verdiana. Founded at the end of the 14th century thanks to a bequest from Ser Niccolò di Manetto di Bonagiunta, it welcomed its first nuns in 1400 and was placed under the protection of the Florentine Republic. Over the centuries the complex was expanded, suppressed, reopened, and eventually transformed into a women’s prison in the 19th century. Since 1983 it has been home to a university campus. Verdiana herself, who lived between the 12th and 13th centuries in Castelfiorentino, spent 34 years in voluntary enclosure in a small oratory dedicated precisely to Saint Anthony Abbot. This is why the two saints appear together here: their closeness in the fresco reflects an ancient spiritual bond.PHOTO GALLERY
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FURTHER INFORMATION
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Historical details: Lorenzo Manzani
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