Orsanmichele

Orsanmichele

A unique Florentine site blending commerce and faith, featuring sculptures by Donatello and others, with a Gothic tabernacle as a devotional centerpiece.
Orsanmichele is one of Florence’s most unusual buildings, having evolved from a grain market into a church while retaining something of both functions. Its exterior niches were entrusted to the city’s guilds, which commissioned sculpture from artists including Donatello, Ghiberti and Verrocchio. Inside, Orcagna’s Gothic tabernacle forms the principal focus of devotion. The building is a concise expression of how commerce, faith and art interacted in Florence.