BADIA FIESOLANA

The Badia Fiesolana know that it was the Cathedral of Fiesole in the period from the Middle Ages until 1028, originally dedicated to St. Peter and then to San Romolo, as it built on the site of his martyrdom. residence fiesoleIn the twelfth century, at the hands of the Camaldolese Monks , the church was rebuilt and added there was also a monastic complex (also known as Abbey) dedicated to San Bartolomeo. The structure visible today the Abbey is due to the work ordered in 1456 by Cosimo the Elder de 'Medici, he remained unfinished at his death and executed under the direction of famous architects of the period as Filippo Brunelleschi and Michelozzo di Bartolomeo , as reported in some writings of Giorgio Vasari . It 'was during these operations that the area was enlarged with the addition of new buildings..

The facade of the church, remained raw and unfinished because of the death of Cosimo I, presents the ancient characteristic front of the Romanesque period, in white and green marble, whose architectural motifs are inspired by the Florentine Baptistery and the Church of San Miniato al Monte.

The interior is characterized by a single nave of Brunelleschi imprint, dated between 1461 and 1464 and the ceiling follows a decoration with Medici arms. From the intersection of the four vaults of the nave, transept and apse, we find the coat of arms of the Medici family, placed the center of an elegant ribbed vault. The side walls of the abbey home to numerous chapels, where it is kept a painting of Garbo Raffaellino , Florentine painter of whom Vasari tells the same.

The former convent, now home of the European University Institute , in the very place where Cosimo the Elder built a district dedicated to the collection of codes and rare books, remain the only Renaissance cloister, the refectory and the balcony, which overlooks the garden.

For information and visits contact the Reception.