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Empoli
Art and history of the city
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Mentioned as early as the 8th century as the site of a castle, the city of Empoli can boast very ancient origins and a rich historical and cultural legacy. This is reflected in the historic city centre, which is concentrated around Piazza Farinata degli Uberti.
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Facing onto the square, also known as Piazza dei Leoni, is Palazzo Ghibellino, which houses the Museo Civico di Paleontologia and the Archivio Storico Comunale; Palazzo Pretorio; and the city’s most noteworthy building, the Collegiata di Sant’Andrea.
There is mention of the Collegiata in a document dating to the year 780, but the current building was erected in 1093. With its green and white marble façade, the church marks the western boundary of the spread of the Florentine Romanesque tradition in the region.
Adjoining the Collegiata is the Museo della Collegiata di Sant’Andrea, one of the oldest ecclesiastical museums, which houses some genuine masterpieces of 14th–16th century Tuscan art.
The museum starts in the atmospheric Baptistery, which contains all the frescoes (including one by Masolino) and an imposing baptismal font attributed to Bernardo Rossellino. This is followed by a sculpture room (Tino di Camaino, Mino da Fiesole).
On the first floor is the Pinacoteca, with works produced by Florentine botteghe active in the 14th and 15th centuries, two triptychs by Lorenzo Monaco, a small Maestà by Filippo Lippi, works by Antonio Rossellino, Francesco Botticini and his son Raffaello covering the whole of the 15th century, and other 16th- and 17th-century paintings. Finally, in the upper section of the cloister, there are a number of works by Della Robbia. |
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The Church of Santo Stefano (14th–15th century) and the adjoining Convento degli Agostiniani (16th century), home to the local library, are a short distance away. The church houses some fine fragments of frescoes and sinopie by Masolino da Panicale, a marble Annunciation by Bernardo Rossellino and some pleasing 17th-century Tuscan paintings. In the nearby Piazza della Vittoria is the Birthplace of Ferruccio Busoni, the famous pianist and composer, who was born in Empoli in 1866. The house has now been turned into a museum and study centre.
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One of the outlying areas of Empoli is Pontorme, where the painter Jacopo Carucci known as Pontormo (1494–1556) was born. The artist’s birthplace is in the centre of the hamlet. Here visitors can see a facsimile edition of his Diary and copies of preparatory drawings for panel paintings depicting Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Michael Archangel, the originals of which are in the nearby Church of San Michele. Executed in 1519, the work contributes to the definition of Pontormo as one of the exponents of the “modern style”. |
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The artist’s birthplace also contains, by kind concession of the Soprintendenza of Florence, the Madonna del Libro, an ancient copy of a painting by Pontormo. Exactly what the original was like is unknown.
A modern, industrial city, Empoli still has a number of important traditional factories. Glassmaking is a centuries-old artistic and craft tradition in these parts, and is still one of the major production activities in Empoli and the surrounding area. Local glassworks turn out items in white and coloured glass, in crystal, and in the traditional green glass of Empoli.
Comune di Empoli
Via Giuseppe del Papa, 41 -
50053 Empoli (FI)
tel. 0571 757999; fax 0571 98033 - mail: urp@comune.empoli.fi.it
Population: 46,017
Size of area: 63 km2
Altitude: from 28 m above sea level |
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