As part of an ongoing facelift to Florence’s Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the piazza’s two, 500-year-old marble obelisks have been restored. The project, which cost 95,000€, began in December 2015 and was funded by the Florence I Care project, a collaboration between the city government and private groups that helps promote and protect the artistic, social and scholastic history of Florence. The obelisks have now been cleaned and re-grouted, and a new security system has been installed. They were last restored nine years ago, and had since shown signs of wear, including cracks and discoloration.
The obelisks, made of Italian Seravezza marble and standing atop four bronze turtles, were constructed by Italian architect and sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati and commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Grand Duke Cosimo II to Maria Maddalena of Austria.
When Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici created the Palio dei Cocchi, an annual chariot race that recalled ancient Roman times, in 1563, the original wooden obelisks at either end of the piazza marked the spot where the chariots would turn. In 1608, the marble obelisks replaced the original structures. Though the palio stopped running in the 1800s, the obelisks remain as a reminder of an event that is little-known today but was much-celebrated for centuries.
By Kathy McCabe
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