Steps and a viewing platform in front of Domenico di Michelino’s prolific painting
Editorial Staff
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In Florence Cathedral, steps and a viewing platform have been added to enable an up-close look at Domenico di Michelino’s 1465 painting,
Comedy Illuminating Florence. Part of the celebrations to mark the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, the initiative sees three of the city’s top institutions - Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, Opera di Santa Croce e la Certosa di Firenze - Comunità di San Leolino – partner for the first time in Florentine history.
“Domenico di Michelino’s painting is perhaps the most famous portrait of Dante Alighieri,” commented Antonio Natali in a press release. “It’s no coincidence that many exhibitions have requested it on loan in 2021, including shows that are enjoying the most attention from the press. However, it seemed unacceptable, during this year of Dante, to deprive Florence Cathedral for several months of a creation that the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore commissioned to celebrate the poet’s birth in the fifteenth century.”