Church of Or San Michele

The Church of Or San Michele, or sometimes spelled Orsanmichele, is situated in Florence, Italy. It can be found half-way between the Palazzo della Signoria and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Today it is a church with a museum inside, but it has not always been a church.

It was originally built as the oratory of St. Michael, surrounded by a garden (orto) of a Benedictine monastery, which is where it gets its name from.

In 1290, Arnolfo di Cambia built a loggia there, which was used as a wheat market and grain store. The loggia soon became a place of devotion for people, who went there to see the painting of the “Madonna of the Graces,” which was done on a pillar of the loggia, and which worked as something miraculous for them.

The loggia, however, was destroyed by a fire, but replaced by an even larger version in the early 13^th century. The painting of the “Madonna of the Graces,” due to its believed healing power, was also replaced. In 1347, Daddi’s “Madonna and Child” was the second replacement of that painting. The artist Andrea Orcagna was commissioned to create a tabernacle to protect the painting, and he completed the tabernacle in 1359. Both the painting and the tabernacle are still in place today. Or San Michele remained Florence’s central grain market for some years, but in 1380 the loggia was enclosed and became a church.

Or San Michele is famous for the sculptures placed in the niches on all four sides of the church. The sculptures were provided by the various guilds of Florence. Some of the best works to be found there are Donatello’s St. Mark, which was commissioned by the Linen Draper’s Guild, and the Statues by Ghiberti of St. John the Baptist and of St. Matthew. Most of the original sculptures from the exterior, however, are on the first floor inside the Museum today, to protect them from the elements. Their places in the niches are filled with copies.

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