Entering the Santa Croce space, you leave the bustling city centre behind and find yourself in the serene Franciscan monastery that strives forward in its function as a place of meditation and reflection, urging us towards a much-needed sense of calm, regardless of religion. The reason for our visit is to view the temporary exhibition that opened on December 3 and that will remain on show until March 30: La croce che fiorisce e le stimmate di Francesco (The Cross that Blooms and the Stigmata of St. Francis), created to mark the 800th anniversary of the miracle. For those unfamiliar with the event, in Catholicism, Saint Francis of Assisi received bodily wounds that correspond to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, which are said to have occurred on Mount Alverna in September 1226, the occasion from which Franciscan spirituality developed.
The detailed display that was carefully curated by Sonia Chiodo, Giovanni Giura, Anna Pegoretti and Federico Rossi is situated in the winter refectory. Beginning with part of the permanent display in which the sprawling complex and its various functions are illustrated in the bird’s-eye view painting of the monuments that dates to 1718, Santa Croce is contextualized before we move on to the temporary display consisting of paintings and manuscripts that recount the evolution of the iconography of the Stigmata of Saint Francis. Covering almost a century, we are brought from one of the earliest known representations of the stigmata through to two panels by Taddeo Gaddi, a student of Giotto, which directly link Christ and Saint Francis, thus definitively establishing his importance.
A key turning point is the illustration found among the pages of the famous Franciscan Bible of Cesena illuminated by the Master of Bagnacavallo, on loan from the Malatestiana Library, which by showing the stories of Genesis, the Crucifixion and the stigmata together on one page represents a fundamental precedent for the narrative construction of Taddeo Gaddi’s series that parallels Francis and Christ. The 14th-century painter is particularly present in the exhibition with a remarkable portable tabernacle (60x70cm when open) on display for the first time, on loan from a private collection. Make sure to get closer to notice the minute details that reveal important developments in how the subject matter was portrayed, with time spent peering into the panels much rewarded.
Written testimonies and a Papal bull confirm the miracle of the stigmata, with the artistic representations in the eight works on show linked in various ways to the Franciscan basilica, returning to their home of origin after centuries. The display sees the plans for a new approach to Santa Croce being put into action, bringing visitors to explore beyond the Basilica in more depth and encouraging a deeper understanding about the sacred site’s ongoing function as a place of Franciscan worship. From the spring, visitors will no longer enter directly into the Basilica, but will instead enter into the courtyard, firstly being brought to the striking Cenacolo with Gaddi’s Tree of Life and Last Supper, before entering into the winter refectory with its two walls devoted to the stigmata, made up of loans from the Arezzo Diocesan Library of the Episcopal Seminary, the Malatestiana Library in Cesena, Rome’s Pontifical University Antonianum Library, and Florence’s Laurentian Library, Accademia Gallery and Uffizi Galleries. Having obtained a greater understanding about the significance of the stigmata, the itinerary weaves into the Cerchi Chapel, another space in which Franciscan iconography gives the sense of the edifice’s importance, with the complex having hosted the Tribunal of the Inquisition from 1254 to 1782.
A number of notable collaborations brought about the exhibition, making it even more significant for art history scholars and not only, working with the University of Florence, University of Messina and the University of Roma Tre. The resulting display is a comprehensive arc in terms of how the visual and textual representation of the stigmata evolved over a century, leading to a deep understanding of Santa Croce’s beauty and solemnity, two aspects that inspire awe and the respect that the centuries-old site deserves. Weaving together art, faith, spirituality and history, we are reminded of what a privilege it is to be able to walk among these walls.
800 years of the Stigmata of St. Francis
Opera di Santa Croce, Florence
Until March 30
