The Museum
of Fucecchio

VALDELSA

Inaugurated in 1969, the museum conformed with all the needs of that moment: it had a historical, architecturally elegant seat, the ancient Oratory of the former Company of the Cross, located in Fucecchio’s historical centre, and a varied and interesting patrimony, including paintings, silver works, and liturgical paraments from the Collegiate Church as well as from other suppressed churches and institutions.

Over time, the collection increased with the acquisition of archaeological finds. Various problems gradually arose: the inadequate exhibition areas and the need to create separate sectors for the archeological and the historical-artistic assets as well as the need to provide the premises with the proper climatic conditions.

1981 was a turning point for the museum, with the acquisition of the Corsini Farmhouse by the Municipality, a monumental complex in the historical town centre that was converted into a cultural centre for Fucecchio. The main building houses the Fucecchio museums, while the two wings connected to the main building currently house the public library and the historical archives.

The ground floor houses the Archeological Museum with its finds from various epochs, but also with medieval archeological evidence and educational reconstructions of Fucecchio’s medieval center.

The piano nobile, a true picture gallery, is dedicated to the Museum of Sacred Art in which the works are divided into sections and displayed in chronological order: paintings, silver works, and paraments. From the large hall, dedicated to 16th-century works, we enter the small room with the oldest works, such as the left side-panel of the Fucecchio Cross of San Salvatore, by Berlinghiero, and the paraments (a crosier and miter) traditionally assigned to Pietro Igneo. Another room follows that houses 18th century paintings.

The tour continues to a hall frescoed by Fabbrini in the second half of the 18th century that houses the largest core of the silver collection, part of which is also exhibited in the adjacent room, alongside the paintings from the late 17th century and the 18th century. The rooms that display the priceless paraments follow along until arriving at the exhibition of works by the Fucecchio painter, Arturo Checchi (Fucecchio1886-Perugia 1971).

The ornithological collection acquired by the Municipality in1978 is found on the top floor. It was put together between the late19th and the early 20th centuries by Dr. Adolfo Lensi (1855-1930), invaluable evidence of the Fucecchio district’s avifaunal wealth.

Short Bibliography

La chiesa, la casa, il castello sulla Via Francigena. Malvolti A., Vanni Desideri A. (a cura di), Ospedaletto (Pisa), 1996.

La strada Romea e la viabilità fucecchiese nel Medioevo. Malvolti A., Vanni Desideri A., Fucecchio, 1995.

Pala d’altare della cappella battesimale nella Chiesa Collegiata di Fucecchio. Il restauro. Fucecchio, 1995.

Il padule di Fucecchio. La lunga storia di un ambiente “naturale”. Prosperi (a cura di), Roma, 1995.

Nel segno del barocco. Monsummano e la Valdinievole nel XVV secolo: terre, paduli, ville, borghi. Rombai L., Romby G. C. (a cura di), Comune di Monsummano Terme (Pisa), 1993.

La Collegiata di San Giovanni Battista di Fucecchio: una vicenda edilizia complessa, un’architettura modernamente allineata. Roani Villani R., articolo di giornale n. 42, pagine: pp. 42-56, 1990, note: in “Erba d’Arno”.

La pittura a Firenze nel Duecento. Tartuferi A., Firenze, 1990.

Il ponte mediceo di Cappiano. Storia e restauro. Malvolti A., Galletti G., Fucecchio, 1989.

“Relazione delle pitture”: contributo alla conoscenza del patrimonio artistico della diocesi di San Miniato.Roani Villani R., articolo di giornale, nn. 32-33, pagine: pp. 3,44, 1998, note: in “Erba d’Arno”.

Fucecchio. Monastero di San Salvatore delle clarisse a ricordo del millenario dell’Abbazia 986-1986. Spicchio (Vinci), 1987.

The Rank and File of Renaissance Painting: Giovanni Larciani and mail scolar “Florentine Eccentrics”. Waldman L. A., Haggerty Museum of Art, 2001, note: in “Italian Renaissance Masters”, catalogo della mostra.

Visibile pregare. Ciardi R. P. (a cura di), Ospedaletto (Pisa), 2002.

Fucecchio: i luoghi, l’arte e la storia. Malvolti A.(a cura di), Empoli, 2000.

I luoghi della fede. Empoli, il Valdarno Inferiore e la Valdelsa fiorentina. Proto Pisani R. C., (a cura di), Milano, 2000.

Tesori nascosti. Pittura, miniatura e oreficeria nel territorio di San Miniato. Ducci M., Baldassi L., Ospedaletto (Pisa), 1999.

Il fratello di Masaccio. Cavazzini L. (a cura di), Firenze-Siena, 1999, note: catalogo della mostra.

Tra terra e acqua. La bonifica del Padule di Fucecchio frà ‘800 e ‘900. Romby G. C. (a cura di), Comune di Monsummano Terme (Pisa), 1999.

The “Master of the Kress Landscape” unmasked: Giovanni Larciani and the Fucecchio altarpiece. Waldman L. A., articolo di giornale n. 1144, pagine: pp. 456-469, 1998, note: in ” The Burlington Magazine”.

Un nome per il “Maestro dei Paesaggi Kress”: Giovanni Larciani e la pala d’altare di Fucecchio. Waldman L. A., articolo di giornale n. 74, pagine: pp. 22-47, 1998, note: in ” Erba d’Arno”.

I mille anni dell’Abbazia di San Salvatore di Fucecchio. Fucecchio, 1986, note: guida alla mostra.

Archeologia del territorio di Fucecchio. Vanni Desideri A. (a cura di), Fucecchio, 1985.

Momenti dell’arte a Volterra. Burresi M. G., Caleca A., Pisa, 1981, note: catalogo della mostra (Volterra).

Fine di una terra: le Cerbaie e il Padule di Fucecchio. Malvolti P., Firenze, 1976.

Arte Sacra della Diocesi di San Miniato. Bellosi L., Lotti D., Matteoli A. (a cura di), Firenze, 1969, note: catalogo della mostra.

Museo di Fucecchio. Dal Poggetto P., Firenze, 1969.

Fatto istorico del territorio separato di Fucecchio. Rosati G. M., articolo di giornale n. X, pagine: pp. 42-56, 1966, note: a cura di E. Lotti in “Bullettino Storico Empolese”.

Eccentrici fiorentini. Zeri F., articolo di giornale n. XLII, pagine: 216-232, 1962, note: in “Bollettino dell’Arte”.

Umrisse zur Veranschaulichung alterchristicher Kunst in Italien. Ramboux J. A., Koeln, articolo di giornale n., 1866.

Antiperistasi Pisane sul risorgimento e cultura delle Belle Arti. Tempesti R., Pisa, 1812.

Itinerario biografico ed artistico di Arturo Checchi nel panorama culturale toscano e italiano del primo Novecento. Malvolti G., note: Tesi di Laurea in Conservazione dei Beni Culturali e ambientali, Università degli Studi di Pisa, a.a. 2004-2005.

Le Cerbaie. La natura e la storia. Sezione Valdarno dell’Istituto Storico Lucchese (a cura di), Pisa, 2005.

Cimabue a Pisa. La pittura pisana del Duecento da Giunta a Giotto. Carletti L., in Burresi M. G., Caleca A., Pisa, 2005.

La raccolta d’arte sacra nel Museo di Fucecchio. Proto Pisani R. C., Firenze, 2004.

Jacopo da Empoli (1551-1640). Pittore d’eleganza e devozione. Proto Pisani R. C., Natali A., Sisi C., Testaferrata E., Milano, 2004.

A new identification for the Master of the Copenhaghen “Charity”: Bartolomeo Ghetti in Tuscany and France. Waldman L. A., articolo di giornale n. CXLV n. 1198, pagine: pp. 4-13, 2003, note: in “The Bulington Magazine”.

Empoli, Valdelsa e dintorni. Territorio, storia e viaggi. Prontera F., Rombai L., Firenze, 2003.

La fattoria di Fucecchio: dalle proprietà medievali ai Corsini (secoli XIII-XVII). Malvolti A., articolo di giornale nn. 94-95, pagine: pp. 44-60, 2003, note: in “Erba d’Arno”.

L’Abbazia di San Salvatore e la Comunità di Fucecchio nel Dugento. Malvolti A., Fucecchio, articolo di giornale, n.n. d pagine: 59-95, 1987, note: in “l’Abbazia di San Salvatore di Fucecchio e la “Sala Marzana” nel basso medioevo”, Atti del Convegno, Fucecchio.

Baldachin

Date: second half of the 18^th century, ca.1760
Technique and Materials: baldachin
Production: Tuscan
Size: 107 cm. x 157 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista

This fabric is part of a processional canopy. Each side bears a cartouche with the inscription CAPLO indicating the Collegio Capitolo di San Giovanni Battista a Fucecchio. The fringe and tassels in the original gold macramé make each cartouche sumptuous and magnificent even if the decoration of the fabric is thin and uneven, suggesting Uruk fabric from the mid-18^th century.

Chalice

Date: 15^th century
Technique and Materials: gilded silver and copper
Production: Tuscan
Size: foot: 20.5 cm. x 11.8 cm.; cup: 9 cm. (cup)
Provenance: Church of San Gregorio in Torre

Perhaps originally enameled, the foot has six silver tondi, which bears the inscription Ecce homo. The inscription on the shaft, “DELLA CHOMPAGNIA DI GAVILLE”, refers to of Gaville in Valdarno, the chalice’s original location. From there, it was moved to the Padule di Fucecchio in the Church of San Gregorio in Torre, ultimately coming to the museum.

Madonna with Child in Glory with Saints Sebastian, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene and Martha

Date: ca.1450
Technique and Materials: tempera on a wooden panel
Size: 195 cm. x 200 cm.
Artist: Giovanni di ser Giovanni known as Lo Scheggia (San Giovanni Valdarno 1406-Florence 1486)
Provenance: Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista

This painting, together with the Larciani Nativity, is the museum’s most representative. The iconography of this painting is rather unusual. The saints are arranged in the foreground under the watchful gaze of a Madonna enclosed in a mandorla of angels. From the left: Saint Sebastian, carrying arrows, rests on a rock while Lazarus, the Magdalene and Martha are in a boat ready to set sail for Provence.

Nativity with Saints Michael the Archangel, Clement, Peter and Martha

Date: 1523 (on Saint Michael’s lorica)
Technique and Materials: wooden panel
Size: 197 cm. x 159 cm.; lunette: 241 cm. x 110 cm.
Artist: Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani (Florence 1484-1527)
Provenance: Church of San Salvatore

This painting, together with the one by Lo Scheggia, is the Fucecchio Museum’s icon, both for its stylistic originality and for the mystery that enshrouded the artist’s identity for a long time. The most significant and surprising characteristics of this painting are the expressive force of the faces and the bright and luminous chromatic range, rich in contrast.

Reliquary

Date: First half of the 15^th century and second half of the 17^th century
Technique and Materials: rock crystal, copper, partially gilded silver
Production: Florentine
Size: height 33.5 cm. x base 10.5 cm.; crown 9 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista

The reliquary is generally considered a work of the Florentine school from the third decade of the 15^th century. It is one of the most important works in the museum for its importance and execution. It is surmounted by a small bust depicting the Madonna, Our Lady of the Sorrows. Nevertheless, it is a subsequent addition datable to the mid-17^th century.

Corporal burse

Date: second half of the 18^th century
Size: burse: 28 cm. x 28 cm.

Benedictory Eternal Father

Date: 1585-1588
Technique and Materials: wooden panel
Size: 116 cm. x 232 cm.
Artist: Jacopo da Empoli (Florence 1551-1640)
Provenance: Church of San Salvatore

Eternal Father, enveloped in the vortex of a pearl gray mantle, appears amidst clouds and the winged heads of cherubs, carrying in his left hand a book with the alpha and omega. His downward look is explainable by connecting it ideally to the panel that it must have originally crowned: the Allegory of the Conception painted for the third altar to the right in the Church of San Salvatore, where it still is.

Planet or Chasuble

Date: 1720-1730
Technique and Materials: brocade damask in silk and silver
Production: Italian or French
Size: 121 cm. x 79 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista

This chasuble is decorated with a lattice of botanic motifs on a red background.

Madonna in Adoration of the Child

Date: 1460-ca. 1470
Technique and Materials: wooden panel
Size: 77.5 cm. x 58 cm.
Artist: Zanobi Macchiavelli (Florence ca. 1418 – 1479)
Provenance: Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista

Along the gilded edge of the Virgin’s mantle there are some verses from poem 366 of Petrarch’s Canzoniere: “VERGINE (bella che) DI SOL VES (tita) CHORON (ata di stelle) AL SOMO S(ole piacesti sì che ‘n te sua luce ascose) AMOR MI SPINSE A DIR DI TE PAR(ole ma non so ’n) CHOMINCI(ar senza) TUA AITA”, (“O Virgin fair, who in the sun arrayed, And crowned with stars, to a greater Sun didst bring, Such joy that He in thee His light did hide! Deep love impels me that of thee I sing. But how shall I begin without thy aid”).

Planet or Chasuble

Date: ca.1740
Technique and Materials: Lyonnais silk
Production: French (?)
Size 113 cm. x 70.5 cm.
Provenance: Church of the Vergine della Ferruzza

The designs and colours of this chasuble, used for the penitential liturgy, show the influence of the famous and prestigious city of Lyon. Probably imported from China through the East India Company because of its richness and complexity, the fabric underwent a kind of simplification of its designs and models once in the West.

Saint Lawrence and a Female Saint

Date: prior to 1236
Technique and Materials: wooden panel
Size: 25 cm. x 17 cm
Artist: Berlinghiero Berlinghieri (active in the first half of the 13^th century)
Provenance: Church of San Salvatore

The fragment comes from the large painted cross today found at the San Matteo Museum in Pisa. After the 1981 restoration, the inscription with the artist’s name was found: BERLINGERIUS VULTERRANUS PINXIT ME. Finding the signature on an artwork is always important, especially for a period like the 13^th century where documentation on works is very scarce.

Bust reliquary of the Virgin

Date: end of 16^th century and 18^th century
Technique and Materials: engraved and embossed silver lamina
Production: Florentine
Size: Madonna: 28 cm. x 21 cm.; base: 23 cm. x 14 cm. x 16 cm.; halo: 23 cm. x 14 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of Giovanni Battista

The silver bust on an octagonal base houses the relic of the Virgin’s veil, as indicated by the words velo B. me Marie. The refined execution, the subtlety of such details as the neck, typical of the mannerist style, the hair, and the classic features evoke the faces of coeval Madonnas by Bandini and Allori. The base is from a later time.

Madonna and Child

Date: 1385-ca.1387
Technique and Materials: detached fresco
Size: 110 cm. x 90 cm.
Artist: Master of San Martino a Mensola (Francesco di Michele?) active in the last quarter of the 14^th century
Provenance: Town hall of Fucecchio (?)

This fresco, already detached in the 19^th century, was incomplete and became even more fragile after the 1969 restoration that removed the repaintings. After various analyses, the art-historian Fremantle, in 1973, acknowledged its paternity due to its extraordinary similarities to another work. The typical characteristics are clear: the shadow under the lips to highlight the chin and the close-set, elongated eyes that have a special side movement.

Jug

Date: ca. 1550-1560
Technique and Materials: cast brass
Production: Tuscan
Size: 29.5 cm. x 16.5 cm.; foot: diam. 8.5 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of Giovanni Battista

The shape is extremely elegant and it has a circular base and a trefoil mouth. The handle, the most striking element, ends with a lion opening its mouth while on the juncture with the body there is Jar’s mask. The extremely meticulous decoration and originality point to the refinement of a Tuscan workshop from the 16^th century.

Planet or Chasuble

Date: first half of the 17^th century
Technique and Materials: velvet woven with gold
Production: Florentine
Size: 121cm. x 75 cm.
Provenance: Collegiate Church of Giovanni Battista

The chasuble again introduces the classic 15^th century motif of a thistle flower within an ogival stitch-frame that spread throughout Tuscany with great success during the 16^th century. At the centre of the planet is the coat-of-arms of the Freschi family. It belonged to the priest Tommaso who donated it to the Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Glory of Angels

Date: ca. 1755
Technique and Materials: canvas
Size: 281 cm. x 150 cm.
Artist: Giovan Domenico Ferretti (Florence 1692-1768)
Provenance: Church of Santa Maria delle Vedute

The work has been attributed to Giovan Domenico Ferretti, one of the greatest representatives of Florentine painting in the first half of the 18^th century, both for the presence of all his typical stylistic traits and for the similarities to other of his works. One of the most famous is the Sacrifice of Isaac, now in the Uffizi Gallery, where there is a perfect correspondence between the figures of the two painted angels.

Address

The Museum of Fucecchio
Palazzo Corsini , Piazza Vittorio Veneto 27
Fucecchio
Telephone: 0571 268262 – 268229
Website | E-mail

How to get there:
By train: Florence-Pisa railway line. The nearest railway station is San Miniato (4 Km) but there is also public transport to Fucecchio from the Empoli station (12 Km). Empoli station tel. 0571 74297; San Miniato station tel. 0571 400640.
By bus: Lazzi buses (Florence-Empoli-Fucecchio-Pontedera-Pisa), tel. 055 363041; Cpt (Fucecchio-Pontedera-Pisa) 0571-400835.
By car: Florence-Pisa-Livorno highway, exit at San Miniato; Firenze Mare motorway (A11)

Opening hours

Tuesdays – Fridays: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays: 10 a.m.-1 p.m./4 p.m.-7 p.m.

Tickets

Adults: €3.00
Elderly: €1.50
Children 0-6: €1.50
Children 7 – 14: €1.50

Reduced price for families and groups with a minimum of 15 people: €1.50
Reduced price for school groups: €1

Guided visits: €29 (free of charge for school groups)

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