If we talk about the Art of Renaissance, thoughts immediately run to Florence, the undisputed cradle of the Renaissance.

Although Florence had a central role in the art of the Renaissance, we must recognize that other places and Tuscan territories had a moment of their glory thanks to the work of the Renaissance artists.

Siena, Arezzo and Pienza are just some of the places in Tuscany where you can enjoy the most beautiful art works and monuments of the Renaissance.

Perhaps not everyone knows that Mugello is home to many art works of the greatest Renaissance artists.

Mugello between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Art

About 35 km from Florence, Mugello is a geographic region of Tuscany which is characterized by its typical environmental and its local culture.

In fact the culture in Mugello has always been alive, since the Middle Ages. Giotto di Bondone was born in Vicchio, a beautiful village in the Mugello Valley.

But even during the Renaissance, the role of the Mugello was not marginal. Not only it was the birthplace of Beato Angelico, Mugello has hosted many artists that lived and worked there leaving Renaissance art masterpieces that we can still admire today.

The Renaissance in art and the role of the Mugello

The tourist who is in search of Renaissance art testimonies outside the Tuscan capital, therefore can not make a stop in Mugello.

It is because in addition to the beautiful nature of its forests and the typical gastronomic specialties that have helped make famous the country, Mugello also offers a wealth of history, art and culture and is a land that for centuries has been able to inspire.

In fact, visiting the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence you can admire the Journey of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, famous fresco metaphor of saving role of the Medici family. The Tuscan landscape in the background is that of the Mugello.

The protagonists of Renaissance Art in Mugello

Mugello in over the centuries has therefore given an incomparable contribution to the historical and artistic heritage Italian, being the homeland of great personalities such as Giotto, Fra Angelico and Andrea del Castagno.

Example of Renaissance art in Mugello are the numerous works by Fra Filippo Lippi.

Among the many artists who worked there we can remember also other famous authors such as Perugino, Cosimo Rosselli, Andrea del Sarto and later Bronzino.

In the seventeenth century Francesco di Filippo Furini painted in the church of Santa Felicita in Falterona canvases by the incredible beauty as the Annunciation and St. Francis receiving the stigmata.

A great exhibition on the Renaissance artists who has worked in Mugello

To investigate the relationship between Mugello and the Renaissance Art in 2008 was held a big exhibition entitled “Mugello Cradle of the Renaissance”. A great event in four venues in Mugello (San Piero a Sieve, Scarperia, Borgo San Lorenzo, Vicchio) in the sign of Giotto, Fra Angelico, Donatello and the Medici dynasty.

For those wishing to follow an itinerary in search of the Renaissance in Mugello we recommend to visit these wonderful testimonies:

• The Medici Loggia at Barberino di Mugello built by the Renaissance architect Michelozzo Michelozzi
• Brunelleschi’s clock, Palazzo dei Vicari in Scarperia
• Bosco ai Frati Convent in San Piero a Sieve and the Sacred Art Museum which houses a wooden crucifix attributed to Donatello (1460).