Florence | Memmo di Filippuccio | Podere Santa Pia, Holiday house in the south of Tuscany

Memmo di Filippuccio

In the fourteenth century, heated chambers in patrician houses that served as both bedroom and living room were often elaborately painted, but the standard decorations were trees, plants of all kinds, coats of arms, and imaginary patterned draperies. One rarely finds an actual narration of the sort appropriate, for example, even for a bridal chamber. Even more uncommon are cycles representing either episodes or whole narrative sequences from the lives of actual lovers as opposed to fictional ones. An example is in the Palazzo del Podestà in San Gimignano. Here the erotic scenes were executed in a vaulted room in a tower, and they reflect the ideals and the way of life of a courtly society.

Memmo di Filippuccio was an Italian painter and illuminator. He was the son of the goldsmith Filippuccio (active 1273-1293). In 1948 Longhi attributed a fresco of the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Sts James and John the Evangelist in the church of San Jacopo, San Gimignano, and others in the tower of the Palazzo del Popolo there to Memmo, who is documented as having lived and worked in the town from 1303 to 1317. A document of 1303 also records him as having worked in the upper church of San Francesco, Assisi, and Longhi suggested this might have been on the frescoes of the St Francis cycle, which would account for the Giottesque influence he had noted in the frescoes in San Gimignano. Further attributed to Memmo are the frescoes of Carlo d'Angio Administering Justice (1292; San Gimignano, Palazzo del Popolo, Sala dell'Udienza), an altarpiece of the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints (Oristano, Palazzo Arcispedale), which also shows the influence of Giotto's work at Assisi, a Virgin and Child (Pisa, San Francesco) and a polyptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, formerly in the convent of S Chiara, San Gimignano (San Gimignano, Pinacoteca Civica).
Memmo is also documented in 1305 as having worked in the Collegiata Pieve, San Gimignano, and it has been suggested that the lunette of the Virgin with Saints on the inside of the entrance wall and frescoes of the Annunciation and the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Sts Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene in San Pietro, San Gimignano, should also be attributed to him; and that given their fluid, gentle style these should be dated before 1321, when Memmo was recorded in Siena.














Palazzo Comunale (San Gimignano)
Designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the enchanting hill town of San Gimignano is one of the best preserved medieval sites in Europe. During the Middle Ages, it prospered as a major stop on the pilgrimage route to Rome. The "City of Beautiful Towers," where local merchants built impressive campanili (towers) as symbols of their wealth and prestige, became one of the richest communities in Tuscany. Today, 14 of the original towers line the Piazza della Cisterna (the town's central square), and the city continues to thrive as a center of the local wine trade. The city's impressive highlights include Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), the remarkable 166-foot-high tower of the Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà, built in 1239; the stately Palazzo del Popolo (Town Hall), where city business has been conducted since the 13 th century; and the Museo Civico (Civic Museum), a small but remarkable museum featuring an exquisite collection of Renaissance frescoes by Memmo di Filippuccio and Lippo Memmi. The Palazzo Comunale of San Gimignano is in the Piazza del Duomo close to the Collegiata church. Also known as the Palazzo del Popolo, the palazzo has been the seat of civic power in the comune since the 13th century. The building contains a museum and gallery with works of the Florentine and Sienese schools of art - including works by Coppo di Marcovaldo, Lippo Memmi, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Il Sodoma and Pinturicchio. Palazzo courtyard The palazzo dates from the late 13th century, and was built on the ruins of an existing building between 1289 and 1298.[1] Further expanded in the 14th century,[2] the facade is characterised by arched windows, with the lower half of the frontage built with stone, and the upper part in brick. On the ground floor is a courtyard, which was built in 1323[3] and is decorated with the coats of arms of those who have held public office in the municipality.[1] The main civic offices of the town council are now located on this ground floor.[4] On the first floor is a stepped gallery from which dignitaries would address the gathered crowd in the square. The battlements date from a restoration of the nineteenth century,[2] and the structure is capped by the "Torre Grossa” (great tower). This tower was completed in 1300[4] and (at 54 meters) is the highest tower in the walled town.[1] Museum The upper stories of the palazzo house the Sala del Consiglio, and (since 1852) the civic museum and gallery. Hall The "Sala del Consiglio" is a large reception hall which was used as the council chamber.[1] It is commonly known as the "Sala di Dante" and is named for the noted poet Dante Alighieri who visited San Gimignano in 1300 as an ambassador of the Florentine Republic.[5] Lippo Memmi's Maestà in the Sala di Dante The room is decorated with a Maestà by Lippo Memmi. Commissioned in 1317 by Nello de Mino Tolomei (then podestà of San Gimignano), the fresco is believed to have been inspired by Simone Martini's Maestà from the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena.[6] The fresco shows Mary seated on a throne surrounded by adoring saints and angels (including patron Nello de Mino Tolomei).[6] Just off the great hall is a meeting room which was originally used for private meetings. Gallery The gallery itself is on the second floor and contains works by Coppo di Marcovaldo, Lippo Memmi, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Il Sodoma and Pinturicchio. The first room is called "The Trinity", from the work it contains by Pier Francesco Fiorentino dated to 1497. It also houses a "Madonna and Child with Saints" by Leonardo da Pistoia and a "Pietà" by Bastiano Mainardi. Other rooms contain a Maestà from the late thirteenth century, altar decorations by Memmo di Filippuccio, a "Madonna and Child" by Vincenzo Tamagni (1528), several Gothic altarpieces (including one showing scenes from the life of Saint Gimignano), a "Madonna with Saints Gregory and Benedict" by Pinturicchio, and two medieval crucifixes of the Florentine school. The Podestà apartments (Camera del Podestà) are frescoed with matrimonial scenes of a couple taking a bath and going to bed. (An unusual work by Memmo di Filippuccio dated to the early fourteenth century.)[4] References Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Palazzo Comunale (San Gimignano) [1] Official website of Comune di San Gimignano - About the Palazzo Comunale, Pinacoteca, and Torre Grossa (Italian) [2] Lonely Planet - San Gimignano sights - Palazzo Comunale [3] Travelingo guide - Museo Civico and the Torre Grossa [4] SanGimignano.com - Comune tourism site - People's Palace [5] SanGimignano.com - Comune tourism site - History [6] Art in Renaissance Italy By John T. Paoletti, Gary M. Radke


Podere Santa Pia seemsto be the ideal choice for those seeking a peaceful, uncontaminated environment
Podere Santa Pia is located in south of the ‘Crete Senesi’, a beautiful clay hills landscape which is an ideal starting point to discover Tuscany. The guesthouse is located in Castiglioncello Bandini, a charming medieval village situated on a hill, which offers a spectacular view on the Alta Valle dell’Ombrone and the Maremma. Montalcino, the abbey of Sant'Antimo, Pienza and are within easy reach. Holiday homes in the Tuscan Maremma \| Podere Santa Pia

Podere Santa Pia	Century-old olive trees, between Podere Santa Pia and Cinigiano	Pienza


Bagni San Filippo	Rocca d'Orcia	Pitigliano


San Gimignano	Montefalco	Cipress road near Montichiello


This article incorporates material from the Wikipedia article and Palazzo Comunale (San Gimignano), published under the GNU Free Documentation License.