Church and Museum of Orsanmichele — Attraction in Florence

Orsanmichele (pronounced [orsammiˈkɛːle]; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word orto) is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele which no longer exists.

Located on the Via Calzaiuoli in Florence, the church was originally built as a grain market in 1337 by Francesco Talenti, Neri di Fioravante, and Benci di Cione. Between 1380 and 1404, it was converted into a church used as the chapel of Florence's powerful craft and trade guilds. On the ground floor of the square building are the 13th-century arches that originally formed the loggia of the grain market. The second floor was devoted to offices, while the third housed one of the city's municipal grain storehouses, maintained to withstand famine or siege. Late in the 14th century, the guilds were charged by the city to commission statues of their patron saints to embellish the facades of the church. The sculptures seen today are copies, the originals having been removed to museums (see below).

Inside the church is Andrea Orcagna's bejeweled Gothic Tabernacle (1355–59) encasing a repainting by Bernardo Daddi's of an older icon of the "Madonna and Child".

The facades held 14 architecturally designed external niches, which were filled from 1399 to around 1430. The three richest guilds opted to make their figures in the far more costly bronze, which cost approximately ten times the amount of the stone figures.

Orsanmichele's statuary is a relic of the fierce devotion and pride of Florentine trades, and a reminder that great art often arises out of a competitive climate. Each trade hoped to outdo the other in commissioning original, groundbreaking sculptures for public display on Florence's most important street, and the artists hired and materials used (especially bronze) indicate the importance that was placed on this site.

Today, all of the original sculptures have been removed and replaced with modern duplicates to protect them from the elements and vandalism. The originals mainly reside in the museum of Orsanmichele, which occupies the upper floor of the church, and can be seen on every Monday, the only day when the museum is open. Two works by Donatello are in other Florentine museums: St. George and its niche are in the Bargello, and St. Louis of Toulouse is in the museum of the Basilica di...

On September 17, 2022, I was visiting Florence for half a day as a tourist. I saw this cute little church around the corner and followed the line assuming it was the ticket office for this specific location. The man sitting inside the ticket office started yelling at me when it was my turn: "which one do you want to visit ?" I asked him politely besides this church what other place he referred to. He then rolled his eyes and had such a hateful look on his face, again yelling at me: "I sell tickt for another place too. which place do you want to visit?" So I told him I would visit the one the ticket office is located. He threw the ticket at my direction after I made the payment. One can feel his anger in his yelling tone of voice and contempt on his angry face.

He seemed very friendly to a white woman before me (smiling and allowing her to ask him questions and not getting agitated quickely). It did make me wonder whether it was because I am a colored person ? My ticket was for 10:30 am so I decided to walk around town to wait for my group time. unfortunately it started raining heavily as I walked across the bridge. When I managed to return in the rain it was a little after 10:30 so the back door for the tour was closed. I walked to his window and explained the situation. This time he obviouly was furious. He threw the ticket at my direction at the mercy of his "kindness" after he decided to let me join a later group. Such insult did not serve me well so I decided to visit other sites in town. I just told myself considering the money as a donation to the church.

The ticket agent works at a religious site which is faith based yet it seems he has tremendous amount of anger and hatred in him. I am only here for half a day to visit a city supposed to be a place of appreciation of Italian arts. The ticket agent's poor service made those who was mistreated by his bad behaviors felt like dealing with an angry mob. I beleive the poor behavior of this specific church's ticket agent is not a good representation of Florence. World travelers share their experience upon returning home. Hope the management address this problem so other customers won't have to be abused by...

There was a church dedicated to Saint Michael (San Michele) on the site in 750. The "or" part of the name comes from "orto" which means "vegetable garden", and back then that's what was around. In the late 13th century the church was knocked down and a covered area (loggia) built for the grain market. That burnt down and in the 1370's the current building was erected. Around the outside there are 14 alcoves for sculptures of each patron saint of each of the major guilds. The current ones are copies with the originals in the museum upstairs. The building is 4 storeys (40 metres) high and includes a church on the ground floor, with a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary. Originally, there was a miraculous fresco on a pillar. After the fresco was destroyed in the fire Bernardo Daddi created a replacement (the miraculous properties transferred over) in 1346. It sits enshrined in a magnificent tabernacle created by Andrea di Cione (known as Orcagna) in 1359. The church is quite lovely with vaulted ceilings and original frescoes (some quite damaged).

Upstairs on the first floor is the museum (only open on Monday) with twelve of the 14 original statues. Most are from the first decades of the 15th century. They are in bronze or marble and sculpted by heavyweights such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco, Donatello and Andrea del Verrocchio. It was fascinating to see the difference in style that two and a half centuries made to the work of Bernini. The museum is set up very well - it is light and there are many seats for students to sit and sketch...