Convent San Marco
Located in Piazzo San Marco, the Convento di San Marco was home to more than one Renaissance monk/artist, but probably the most humbly famous of them all was Fra Angelico, who painted a number of frescoes on the convent’s walls.
Now a museum, this former Dominican convent was commissioned by Cosimo de Medici I in 1436, and soon after it was completed the Dominican monks from Fiesole moved in. Designed by the architect Michelozzo, it was probably also at Cosimo’s prodding that Fra Angelico set to spearhead the painting of the frescoes throughout the convent.
For Fra Angelico, the move from Fiesole brought him down from the hill town and into the very heart of the Renaissance Florence and one of its most popular technical manifestations – fresco painting. The first painting that is known to be by him is his Madonna of the Linen Guild done in 1433. Among the other works at the convent that are considered to be by him are the Crucifixion with St. Dominic in the Cloisters and the great Crucifixion in the Chapter House. In the Convent are
frescoed Noli mi Tangere, the two Annunciations, Transfiguration, Mocking of Christ, Presentation in the Temple, Virgin and Child with Saints, and others.
Probably the most famous frescoes outside of the Vatican, Fra Angelico’s two versions of The Annunciation are displayed, one at the top of the stairs on the way to the cells, and the other in Cell 3. 
The beauty of both of The Anunciation frescoes are their simplicity and delicate nature. There is nothing dramatic about these paintings, no flashes of light, no fluttering of wings or suspension of angels in the air. No pointing, no crying , no awe. All is quiet. Only Mary in her bare surroundings, listening piously to the Angel Gabriel informing her, and her acceptance of her blessed fate, that she was going to have child. The entire story is told in the moment of the painting.
The Convent of San Marco also holds an important collection of 16th century paintings, including numerous works by Fra Bartolomeo and The Last Supper fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio. The cells are kept sparse to get the feeling of what it was like when the monks lived in them, and to make better viewing of the individual frescoes.
Another monk that is associated with the Convent of San Marco is the infamous Savonarola, but his is another story.
Painting above : The Annunciation by Fra Angelico in Cell 3
But it is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, who was
so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were
painted with such facility and piety. – Vasari
Painting: The Annunciation, circa 1438-45 by Fra Angelico at the top of
the stairs
Convent of San Marco
Piazza San Marco 3, 50121 Firenze
Visiting Hours:
Monday to Friday: 8:15 – 13:50
Saturday and Sunday: 8:15 – 19:00
Closed: On the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday and the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month,
New Year’s Day, May 1st and Christmas Day.
Tickets: Full price: € 4,00; Reduced: € 2,00
The Last Supper, by Domenico Ghirlandaio
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