Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities

Crest of Pope Urbano VIII Barberini
who became Pope in 1623. The noble Barberini
family was originally from the county of Florence
(Semifonte, Barberino Val d'Elsa, Italy).

"Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities" (17 September 2011-22 January 2012)


This is the title of one of the several beautiful exhibitions that are organized at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. Sometimes during the year, I get to visit Florence and I am probably going to accept the invitation of a new friend of mine from Piegaro to visit Florence again before wintertime. I love Florence and for me, it is a source of inspiration every time I go.
Regarding this exhibition in particular I recall that at the end of my visit, while walking back to the train along with the streets of downtown Florence I was feeling drawn back to the Renaissance times and it was a wonderful feeling, I could appreciate everything around me with so much pleasure, Renaissance scenes were still lively around me thanks to marble details, names of banks, arches, family crests, as if I had gone through a voyage back in time.
In times of recession for many of us, the temptation of destroying the wealth of others is very strong, the Vatican is running great risks these days, Pope Benedict XVI would be better off keeping silent, staying home, and inviting his followers and crews to pray for the peace in the world, stressing out what nuns and friars do every day among other obligations serving other people with welcoming homes for the poor, schools and retirement homes. Many people in Italy and in the world are currently pointing the finger at the wealth of the Vatican and the contradictions between their ethical comments about what is happening in our corrupted society and what they do bad and especially own: wealth, money, and at least one huge bank: The Bank of the Vatican known as IOR.

The famous "Last Judgment" by Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope PAUL III Farnese. 

In the Renaissance one of the representatives of the Catholic Church, Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) incited rich people in Florence to get rid of their wealth, repent of their sins and give up on beauty and money, it is said that the artist Botticelli himself had some of his paintings fired in the so-called Savonarola's "Bonfire of the Vanities", which was one of the subjects of the exhibition in Florence, indeed the culmination of the story of the evolution and flourishing of the patronage of arts supported by banks in the city of Florence.

Urbano VIII born Maffeo Barberini (Florence
1568-Rome 1644) was elected Pope in 1623
and is buried in the Basilica of St. Peter in
Rome. 

Nowadays the process of condemnation seems to be reversed, the Church is being for the moment "verbally" attacked, in times when popes are no longer patrons of the arts despite the wealth they have accumulated in centuries of power. These days popes are no longer supported by the fact of preserving art and culture because it comes from their education, in the past being patrons of the arts was protection for themselves and their cortege in the first point. Art and beauty are a blessing for everybody while vile money is not a reason for being respected especially if popes are not coming from noble families like in the past, where their wealth had noble origins or at least what they made through the Church was being camouflaged by the respectability of their nobility. 

Among the Popes of the past, one of the most important Patrons of the Arts was Paul III born Alessandro Farnese, whose family owned a palace in Caprarola, Italy which is one of the best examples of Renaissance residences in Italy. Pope Paul III used to stop in Piegaro, Italy to rest during his travels from Rome to Perugia. He stayed in Piegaro five times at the end of which he named Piegaro "Terra" (Latin word for "estate") which was the highest title for a place as a thank you to the Piegarese for being welcoming and kind.  Pope Paul III is remembered for commissioning the "Last Judgement" (painted between 1536 and 1541) to Michelangelo Buonarroti. He honored Piegaro with his gifts in 1547 because the appointment "Terra" was accompanied by the public clock for the bell tower and the exemption from a tax for the 18 years to follow.

On the contrary the Barberini family, a Pope's family whose crest reproductions are numerous in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome (three golden bees over a blue background), where the most important member of their family is buried, Pope Urbano VIII, they were known for the saying "Quod non fecerunt Barbari, fecerunt Barberini" (Latin for "what the Barbarians didn't do was perpetrated by the Barberini family") and is referred to their destroying attitude towards the arts (such as the fusion of bronze antique girders of the Pantheon to make the baldachin of the Cathedral of St. Peter) and towards the city planning in Rome which during their papacy underwent major remodeling. Nevertheless, in recent years, art critics have reinstated the Barberini family affirming that the saying was a slander of opponents of the Barberini family, propaganda that put the shame on the Barberini family to politically destroy them. Indeed Pope Urbano VIII, born Maffeo Barberini, was a great patron of the arts, the first sponsor of the famous Italian architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini who became famous all over Europe thanks to the intuition of this pope and is the author of the questioned baldachin, which we still admire in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome.

Sandro Botticelli, The Calumny of Apelles (1494) Uffizi Gallery
Slander is today's most used weapon in politics, religions, and many attacks on opponents in private life. 

As nobility is concerned especially these days popes should belong to noble families, this is the other shield against attacks because once you are deprived of nobility, you end up being on the same level as the people you are praying to, as alternative holiness maybe your other shield but only in case, you are a saint. And if you are a saint you have no money to defend yourself from the attacks of other people. Saints are the richest people among the poor (we are all poor compared to the wealth of a few people in the world) and thank goodness there is no money involved, we would be attacked likewise.

A Swiss guard at the Vatican
seen through a kid's eye. 

Art and beauty with strong roots add warmth and love to our lives, they were part of the Renaissance period as main themes, in a period which was exclusively Italian and created in Florence. If we think of the 17th century as a transition - the Baroque Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome is probably the greatest example of this period - the century that followed, the Enlightenment, was deprived of humanity; science may be right and perfect but forgets about the fact that mankind has a soul, indeed the 18th century gave vent to Romanticism which is likewise a period without balance concerning the feminine and the masculine in nature. Art and beauty are also the cure, panacea of our uproarious feelings, no matter how bad our feelings can be and regardless of their origins. Long-life to the Italian Renaissance and to those who appreciate it as a tradition of the Italian talented artists longing for peace, kindness, and love, this is one reason why in Italy we are very talented for uniforms!

It is probably a legend that the uniforms of the Swiss guards of the Vatican were designed by Michelangelo but we like to think this is a true story, as a matter of fact, these uniforms were inspired by Renaissance paintings and they are very fascinating especially in the drawing herewith displayed. The Swiss guards have been to the service of the Popes in the city of Rome since 1506, the year in which Leonardo finished his "Monna Lisa".

The Monna Lisa edited by my friends at Sezione Aurea, The writing is sarcastic for these
times and "L'agio conta" translates "wealth matters". 

A note from the Desk of Roberta Niccacci 

Dear Readers, 

Thank you very much for your patronage. I wish to know all of you one day, maybe by serving you with products and services. Today the blog has reached 30,000 visits with a steady flow of 3,000 visits a month in the past quarter. I see your statistics, the keywords you use to find my blog but I am not receiving any comments or feedback from your side. Well, maybe this is just how blogs work. Anyway, if you wish to receive more of my posts you may "like" my Facebook page at the following address: www.facebook.com/friendsofcama. This would be much appreciated. 

With Affection and Warm Greetings from Italy, 

Roberta Niccacci

-------------

Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!

Now on Twitter