Giorgio Vasari, 450 years after his death

Giorgio Vasari was born in Arezzo in 1511 and died in Florence in 1574, exactly 450 years ago. Between these two dates, the activity of such an important personality for the history of art, the city ofFlorence and Tuscany in general.

Undoubtedly,  his greatest work was the compilation of Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori etarchitettori italiani, essentially the first text on the history of art: in his portraits of the greatest painters andsculptors of the past (from the 13th century) to the 16th century and therefore his contemporaries, he reports episodes in the life, artistic and character traits of his 'colleagues' sometimes in sarcastic tones.

But Vasari, from 1554 in the service of Duca Cosimo I dei Medici, also imprinted important transformations on the city of Florence; a very important union between the two, curiously linked by the same date of death. The Medici commissioned him  three major works: the renovation of Palazzo Vecchio (the palace of political power), to adapt it to the residence of his family and the power achieved by the city;  the design of a gallery suitable to house the offices, also called 'Magistrature', of the Granducato di Toscana, which today is known as Uffizi Gallery; and then the construction of a corridor that, rising above the streets, would connect Palazzo Vecchio ( the palace of power ) with the new ducal residence, Palazzo Pitti.

With these three works the capability of Vasari was alredy very substantial. Vasari's styles are evident in the Palazzo Vecchio - the inner courtyard, staircase, Salone dei Cinquecento, Studiolo di Francesco I, Sala di Leone X, Sala di Clemente VII, Sala di Cosimo il Vecchio, Sala di Lorenzo il Magnifico and other rooms, all frescoed by the artist. In the Uffizi Gallery, beyond the elegant (and functional) architecture, is the portrait of Lorenzo il Magnifico (1553). The Corridor, to which the architect's name has remained inextricably linked, is a masterpiece of brilliance and it will be soon open to everybody.

Another Vasari's ''imprint'' on the city is the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, founded on the former Compagnia di San Luca. In 1563, Cosimo I de' Medici approved the statute of the Accademia et Compagnia dell'Arte del Disegno, redesigned by Giorgio Vasari to guarantee the value of artistic activity.

Another colossal work for which Vasari was commissioned in 1568 was the decoration of the interior of Brunelleschi's Dome. Cosimo I commissioned it again, but, like Vasari, he died in 1574. The new Grand Duca Francesco I then entrusted the commission to the painter Federico Zuccari from Marche province. Frescoed with scenes of the Last Judgement, the cupola was completed in just 10 years.

The artist architect was also active in the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, where he carried out major interior alterations according to the new spirit of the Controriforma; in Santa Croce he conceived Michelangelo's funeral monument and painted the Last Supper, which was damaged in the 1966 flood in Florence and afterwards brought back to life.

To facilitate his work in Santa Croce Vasari received a place to live from his patron, Cosimo I, in 1561. The Sala Grande of the apartment in Borgo Santa Croce was completely frescoed by Vasari and can be visited, like a museum, after a careful restoration has restored it to its former glory.

Vasari died in this house in 1574.