Thursday, April 17, 2008

Florence Cenacoli – Last Suppers

Ognissanti Cenacolo - Florence Santa Croce Cenacolo - Florence Santo Spirito Cenacolo - Florence
There are a number of last suppers (called “cenacolo” or plural “cenacoli”) around Florence. Many are free. Here is a list. The ones we saw recently are:

- Cenacolo di Santa Croce. Part of admission ticket to church complex. Location: Piazza Santa Croce. Artist: Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1340)

- Cenacolo di Santa Apollonia. Free. Location: Via XXVII April 1. Artist: Andrea del Castagno (c. 1450)

- Cenacolo di Ognissanti. Free. Location: Borgo Orgnissanti, 42. Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (c. 1480)

- Cenacolo di Santo Spirito. 2,20 Euro entrance fee. Location: Piazza Santa Spirito, 29. Artist: Orcagna.

- Cenacolo di San Marco. Part of admission ticket to San Marco Museo. Location: Piazza San Marco, 1. Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (c. 1482)

All cenacoli are located in what was the refectory or dining hall. After seeing a few, reading the signs and being on a couple of good tours I learned the following (which is no small feat for me considering I skipped most of my Wednesday catechism classes way back when):

- if there is a guy sleeping, it’s probably St. John the Evangelist
- if there is a guy on the opposite side of the table from everyone else, it’s probably Judas
- if there is a guy with no halo, it's probably Judas
- if there is a cat, whoever it is near, you guessed it, is probably Judas (wow, bad rap for cats)
- a peacock is a symbol of ressurection
- citrus trees are a symbol of paradise
- cypress trees are a symbol of death (hence you typically find them in cemeteries)
- a dove represents peace
- a bunch of birds flying around, one is probably sacrificing itself to a falcon to save another
- red food on the table like cherries are a symbol of the blood of Christ
- the apostles shared cutting boards?

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