Via dei Pescioni
The tabernacles of florence
THE STREET
From Via delle Stelle to Via dei Pescioni
Before becoming Via dei Pescioni, this street was known as Via delle Stelle (Street of Stars), named after a covered passageway whose ceiling was painted to resemble a blue sky scattered with stars. The street, once narrower and more irregular than it is today, connected Via degli Strozzi, formerly known as Via de' Ferravecchi, to Piazza della Padella, a small square that has since disappeared. Its present name comes from the Pescioni family, who owned several properties in the area and whose coat of arms featured four fish. Although the family line died out in 1626, its name lives on in the street.The Vanished Florence
At the end of the 19th century, major redevelopment projects transformed Florence's historic centre, dramatically changing the appearance of Via dei Pescioni. The old Volta delle Stelle (Vault of Stars), later known as Volta dei Pescioni, was demolished along with the buildings on the eastern side of the street's first section. The Hotel Helvetia & Bristol was subsequently built on this site. The tabernacle survived the demolitions and remained in its original position, at the corner with Via degli Strozzi, until at least the early 20th century. It was later moved further along the same street, onto the rear façade of Palazzo Tornabuoni Corsi, where it can still be seen today. Its presence offers a valuable glimpse into Florence's historic urban landscape.THE TABERNACLE
A Renaissance Madonna in Florence’s Street of Stars
On the rear façade of Palazzo Tornabuoni Corsi, in Via dei Pescioni, stands a tabernacle housing a finely crafted polychrome plaster relief depicting the Madonna and Child with Angels, dating from the 16th century.
At the centre of the composition, the Virgin Mary sits enthroned, holding the Christ Child in her arms, while two cherubs in the background share in the joy of the scene.
Recent restoration work has revealed precious traces of the original colours: blue on the Virgin's mantle, vermilion on the figures' hair and flesh tones and on Mary's dress, and gilding on the cherubs' wings. These details offer a glimpse of the relief's original vibrancy.
The relief, probably rectangular in its original form, was later adapted to fit the present oval plaster frame, decorated with foliage motifs. Both the frame and the ornate metal canopy above it date from the late 19th century.
The Artist and the Original Model
The relief in Via dei Pescioni reproduces a celebrated composition by the Florentine sculptor Antonio Rossellino, originally carved in marble during the third quarter of the 15th century and now held at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.
The original work enjoyed considerable success and became a widely reproduced model, copied both by Rossellino's workshop and by other artists over the following centuries. Numerous versions can still be found in museums and street tabernacles throughout Florence.
The Via dei Pescioni relief, created in the 16th century by an unidentified artist, stands out for the refinement of its craftsmanship and is considered one of the finest surviving copies of Rossellino's composition among Florence's street tabernacles.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Palace and the Birth of Opera
The tabernacle is located on Palazzo Tornabuoni Corsi, a building whose history dates back to the Renaissance. Its earliest section was constructed between 1466 and 1469 to a design by Michelozzo, commissioned by Giovan Battista Tornabuoni. The palace was subsequently extended and remodelled over the centuries. The building is also associated with a landmark moment in musical history. During the 1590s, Jacopo Corsi, a musician and patron of the arts, brought together Florence's first Academy of Music at his residence. The palace's Music Room hosted a private performance of Dafne, considered the first opera of the modern era, with music composed by Jacopo Peri and Corsi himself to a libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini. A commemorative plaque in Via de' Corsi still recalls this important event.The Fantastic Figures of Palazzo Sertini
Just a short walk from the tabernacle, at the corner of Via dei Pescioni and Via de' Corsi, stands Palazzo Sertini, renowned for its richly decorated sgraffito façades. Created between approximately 1515 and 1520 by Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini, these decorations feature winged putti, griffins, harpies, grotesque masks, human and animal figures, together with ornamental motifs and vases overflowing with flowers and fruit. Praised by Giorgio Vasari, these works reflect the Renaissance taste for grotesques, a decorative style combining fantastical creatures, mythological figures and plant motifs. The decorations visible today are the result of successive restoration and reconstruction campaigns, particularly during the 20th century.PHOTO GALLERY
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Historical details: Lorenzo Manzani
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