Discovering Fra Angelico in Florence

If you want to breathe in the air of his origins, the territory that gave birth not only to Fra Angelico but also to Giotto, we recommend an excursion to Mugello, more precisely to Vicchio, the small village in the heart of the Mugello countryside, where Fra Angelico was born in 1395 and where, moreover, the Museum of Sacred Art is named after him.

Fra Angelico is the name by which he is best known but at the time, he went by Fra’ Giovanni da Fiesole, in reference to the Dominican Convent in San Domenico, a hamlet of Fiesole, where he took his vows around 1420. In this beautiful church, on the slopes of the Fiesole hills, you can still admire what is known as the Pala di Fiesole (Madonna Enthroned with Child, Angels and Saints, the background of which was retouched by Lorenzo di Credi in 1501), created by Fra Angelico along with other early works. From here, Fiesole can be easily reached on foot, along the route of the charming Via Vecchia Fiesolana.

There is one place in Florence, off the beaten track of mass tourism, that you cannot miss: the San Marco Museum. In this place of rare beauty—a stone’s throw from the more crowded Galleria dell’Accademia—Fra Angelico lived and worked for many years, from about 1449 onward, leaving behind priceless masterpieces. The beauty of his works is founded on the harmony of the architectural complex, rebuilt in the Renaissance period by Michelozzo at the behest of the Medici family.

On the ground floor, in the former guest quarters, is the Sala del Beato Angelico, with an extraordinary collection of works on wood, from numerous Florentine churches. Among them, not to be missed is the great Deposition from the Cross, the Madonna dei Linaioli, The Last Judgment, as well as the San Marco Altarpiece. Equally notable is the touching Crucifixion frescoed in the chapter house. On the upper floor, upon reaching the top of the grand staircase, we are greeted by a beautiful frescoed Annunciation. Along the corridors face the numerous chambers of the Friars, as the true heart of the museum, adorned with small frescoes—intimate, simple insights into spirituality and contemplation, the work of Angelico and his collaborators. Another original, also along the corridor, is the Madonna of the Shadows, completed upon Angelico’s return from his first stay in Rome and Orvieto.

If you want to admire yet another of Fra Angelico’s masterpieces, a sublime work from his mature years, you will find it inside the Uffizi Gallery. The Coronation of the Virgin, originally intended for the Church of Sant’Egidio (Santa Maria Nuova Hospital) is a luminous painting on a gold background, animated by a wealth of saints, angels and musical instruments, with a delicately engraved ray of divine light spreading from the center.