Lo Scheggia and Mariotto di Cristofano in Valdarno

Lo Scheggia and Mariotto di Cristofano in Valdarno - Visit Arezzo, Hotel, Rooms, Accomodation, Churche
San Giovanni Valdarno, originally known as San Giovanni in Altura and later as Castel San
Giovanni, was founded by the Florentines in 1299, and constructed to a design traditionally
attributed to the great architect Arnolfo di Cambio. The itinerary starts in the main street, Corso
Italia, lined with elegant Mediaeval and Renaissance mansions, one of which, at number 83,
was the dwelling of the family of the great Valdarno artist, Masaccio.
From Corso Italia we continue as far as the large square, actually divided into two smaller
squares, Piazza Masaccio and Piazza Cavour. In the centre of this vast rectangle stands the
elegant Palazzo Pretorio, now the Town Hall, a mediaeval building remodelled on various
occasions, originally designed by Arnolfo di Cambio.
The most striking aspect of this ancient
building, surrounded by a portico, is the facade emblazoned with numerous coats of arms in
stone and in della Robbia style terracotta.
Following the left side of Piazza Masaccio we come to the church of San Lorenzo
(fourteenth-century), with a facade in stone and brick. Recent restorations in the interior have
brought to light remarkable and interesting fragments of frescoes which have made it possible
to extend our knowledge of the pictorial activity of Lo Scheggia in his home town of San
Giovanni. In the south aisle, the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
, St. Anthony Abbot enthroned and eight scenes from his life, St. Lawrence
and the Stigmata of St. Francis
, and in the north aisle St. Anthony of Padua
and the
St. Bernardine of Siena
. On the high altar an elegant triptych by Giovanni del Biondo
(Florence, documented from 1356, died in 1398) shows the Coronation of the Virgin with Saints
(c. 1374).
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Lo Scheggia and Mariotto di Cristofano in Valdarno - Visit Arezzo, Hotel, Rooms, Accomodation, Churches
Leaving the church, again on the left, we come to the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie,
built at the end of the fifteenth century, with an imposing nineteenth-century facade which
dominates the side at the end of Piazza Masaccio. In the lunette is Our Lady giving the girdle to St. Thomas the Apostle, with saints John the Baptist and Laurence
, a glazed terracotta by Giovanni della Robbia
(c. 1513). The very spacious interior houses a sixteenth-century tabernacle containing a fresco
of the Madonna delle Grazie
, attributed to a fourteenth-century Florentine painter.
From the church the itinerary continues in the Museum of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle
Grazie, displaying works by artists including Lo Scheggia, Mariotto di Cristofano, Giovanni
da Piamonte, Domenico di Michelino, Jacopo del Sellaio, Beato Angelico and Giovanni
Mannozzi, known as Giovanni da San Giovanni
.
We can also admire two panel paintings by Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, known as Lo Scheggia: a
Madonna and Child
(1440-1450) originally in the church of San Lorenzo in San Giovanni Valdarno, and a tempera
on panel showing a Choir of Angel Musicians
, part of an organ panel originating from the sacristy of the Oratory of San Lorenzo (1440-1450).
In the same museum we can admire two works by the Valdarno artist Mariotto di Cristofano,C
hristus patiens between the Virgin and St. Lucy
(1420-1425) (originally in the church of Santa Lucia in San Giovanni Valdarno) and a Madonna and Child with Saints
(1453) originating from the church of San Lorenzo.
Having visited the museum, we cross Piazza Masaccio into Piazza Cavour. Opposite the
entrance to Palazzo d’Arnolfo stands the parish church of San Giovanni Battista
dating to the first half of the fourteenth century. In front of the facade is a portico, constructed
later and adorned with della Robbia medallions.
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Lo Scheggia and Mariotto di Cristofano in Valdarno - Visit Arezzo, Hotel, Rooms, Accomodation, Churches
If you have a few minutes left to devote to the town, we recommend a visit to the chapel of the
Augustinian monastery
to admire one of the most beautiful panel paintings by the Maestro della Natività di Castello
, a Madonna and Child
(fifteenth-century).
Having left San Giovanni Valdarno the itinerary leads on towards Castelfranco di Sopra, and
in particular to the Vallombrosan Abbey of Soffena
, following one of the most characteristic roads of the Arezzo Valdarno, the Provincial road no.
1, commonly known as the "
Strada dei Setteponti
", or the seven bridges road.
The building, laid out in the form of a Greek cross and dating to the fourteenth century, as well
as frescoes by Bicci di Lorenzo, Liberato da Rieti and Paolo Schiavo, also houses a preciousAn
nunciation
by Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, known as Lo Scheggia, and a Madonna and Child enthroned between St. Lazarus and St. Michael Archangel
by Mariotto di Cristofano.
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