The imposing building - with an unusual shape - was built in 1337 originally as a municipal granary, near a vegetable garden named after San Michele Arcangelo; the loggia on the ground floor was subsequently closed and transformed into a church at the end of the fourteenth century, frescoed and decorated inside by the grandiose tabernacle in marble and mosaics, a fourteenth-century work by Andrea Orcagna.
The four sides of the building are characterized by numerous tabernacles, mainly created by medieval arts and crafts guilds: many of the niches contain sculptures depicting their respective patron saints; these are mostly works from the Early Renaissance, among which we admire masterpieces by Donatello, Ghiberti, Verrocchio; most of the originals of these works are found elsewhere (such as Donatello's San Giorgio, at the Bargello) or in the Orsanmichele museum set up on the top floor of this splendid building, with two souls: both civil and religious.
Chiesa e Museo di Orsanmichele
Via dell'Arte della Lana, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
The church is accessible by a ramp. The museum is not accessible for people in wheelchairs.
Visitors with visual impairments or blindness can touch architectural pieces and statues in a guided tour thanks to the help of the “Amici dei Musei” members.
