Address: Via San Salvi, 16
The Cenacolo of San Salvi is possibly the one which most
easily lends itself to the transformation into a museum, with its
fairly large interiors on the ground and first
floors. It was part of a Vallombrosan convent and it passed to
the Ladies of Faenza. In 1511 a contract was drawn up with Andrea
del Sarto for the decoration of the Refectory.
Although commissioned at the beginning of his career, it was
carried out slowly and was completed between 1520-25, a
particularly fine period of the work of Andrea del Sarto
(1486-1530). Miraculously spared during the Siege of Florence in
1529-30, the fresco measures 5.25 x 8.71 metres and is placed
under a large arch containing painted medallions with the Trinity
and four Saints, protectors of the Vallombrosan Order. Andrea's
personality and background are evident in the fresco's
innovations; he appears to be influenced by Leonardo, Dueren and
the Roman work of Michelangelo and Raffaello, revealed in a work
of magnificence and pre-baroque spontaneity.
