![Rotonda del brunelleschi view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Rotonda_del_brunelleschi_view.jpg)
Santa Maria degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels) is the former church of a now-defunct
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
of that name in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It belonged to the
Camaldolese congregation
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
, which was a reformed branch of the
Benedictines. The congregation is based on the hermitage which was founded in 1012 by the hermit
St. Romuald at
Camaldoli, near
Arezzo, hence the name. Very little of the medieval building exists today.
The monastery was a major center of studies in the early
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
and its
scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes an ...
was a noted producer of
manuscripts of high quality. Many of the
illustrations from its work are found in museum collections around the world. The late
High Gothic
High Gothic is a particularly refined and imposing style of Gothic architecture that appeared in northern France from about 1195 until 1250. Notable examples include Chartres Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral, Beauvais Cathedral, and ...
painter,
Lorenzo Monaco, was a monk here for a time, while he tested his
vocation
A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...
, but ultimately he left. Nevertheless, he executed a series of artworks for this monastery and other Camaldolese institutions, both during his time in the Order and afterwards.
The so-called Rotonda degli Scolari, partially built by
Filippo Brunelleschi, is part of the complex. The church once housed a series of artworks now located elsewhere, such as the ''
Coronation of the Virgin'' by Lorenzo Monaco.
The Rotunda
In 1434,
Filippo Brunelleschi was commissioned by the
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...
family to design an
oratory for the monastery. It was located at the corner of the property, along the outer wall. Though construction was rapid, it was halted due to funding problems in 1437. In 1503, the shell was given a simple wooden roof, but the structure deteriorated rapidly. The building, which was used for various purposes, was patched up and given its modern appearance in the 1930s. It was given to the university and thus its more modern name ''Rotonda degli Scolari'' ("Scholars' Rotunda").
Copies of original plans and descriptions give us a good indication of Brunelleschi’s intentions. The building was to have an octagonal, domed space at its core, surrounded by eight ancillary spaces.
[.] Though the outside - as it was restored - has little similarity with what Brunelleschi intended, on the inside one can see how some of the original spaces were arranged.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florence, Angeli
Florence, St Mary
Camaldolese monasteries in Italy
Filippo Brunelleschi church buildings
Monasteries in Tuscany
Maria Angeli