The Basilica Santa Reparata, a walk about Florence and the Piazzale Michelangelo
29 Oct 2009
Before leaving the inside of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, I noticed stairs going down to a lower level below the cathedral. My curiosity brought me down that flight of stairs to a gift shop, next to the site of an excavation that took place from 1965 through 1973.
Back in the early 5th century, Florence had grown to be a fairly large city with a population that out grew the original Florence Cathedral that was the Basilica di San Lorenzo as noted and shown previously. A larger facility was needed and a new basilica was built only six meters or about 20 feet away from the northeastern limits of the city walls in a popular and working class quarter. The existing buildings, that were houses and artisan workshops, were torn down for the new construction to begin.
The Basilica Santa Reparata became the new seat of the Florentine Bishop and was reconstructed in the later part of the 8th century into the 9th. That reconstruction was most likely the result of having been sacked and possibly devastated during the The Gothic-Byzantine war of the 5th century. The last alterations to Santa Reparata were in the 13th century to keep the crumbling basilica functional while the new Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was being built around the existing cathedral. In 1375, the closure of the nave of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral forced the demolition of the Basilica Santa Reparata.
See an artist's conceptual drawing below showing Santa Reparata being encapsulated by the walls of the new cathedral as construction had begun. Also shown below is the floor plan of the new cathedral that surrounded Santa Reparata.
Above illustrations courtesy of Oberlin College
Getting back to present day Florence, the following are photographs taken of the restoration and what remains of the Basilica Santa Reparata below the colored marble tiles of Florence's Cathedral.
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The altar of St. Zanobus
Ornate Cross embossed with early Florentine frescos
The Crypt which hosts the tombs of Popes Nicholas II and Steven IX, Giovanni Benelli, Filippo Brunelleschi, Giotto di Bondone, Giovanni di Alamanno de' Medici and Conrad II of Italy
The next shot is of the baptistery which shows the mosaic tiled floor that completely covered the pavement of the church and the sunken font where baptism was performed. Look closely in the center of the font. There appears to be the head of a baby with part of its back showing. Can this be an apparition or is it just the way the camera's flash may have refracted within the baptismal font? You be the judge...
The walk from the Piazza Duomo to the Piazzale Michelangelo was about 2 miles through the heart of the old city and over the River Amo.
Say Cheese
The walk to the Piazzale di Michelangelo included 159 steps up a steep incline.
I counted the stairs on the way down which was considerably easier than the trip up.
Going up, I thought I was going to die. After three or four stops to rest, I made it to the top where I was greeted by a restaurant and bar of which I took immediate advantage and ate a seafood salad with a couple of glasses of red wine.
The plaza offered tremendous views of the city.
Tomorrow morning, I'll be leaving Florence for the trip to Venice. See you there. Click Here
