Cultural landscape essay

 Chruch of Orsanmichele: The Chameleon Church

The Renaissance brought about change, warping the people’s perspective on art, religion, and core values. Change is evident in the city of Florence as it is one of the major landmark cities when it comes to the Italian Renaissance. Change is brought about by economic, political, environmental, and social factors. All of this can be seen in The Church of Orsanmichele. The Church of Orsanmichele is an example of a repurposed landscape. This church is a prestigious place of worship in the heart of Florence. It is down the street from Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Florence Baptistry, and the Medici Palace. The Church of Orsanmichele is predicted to be constructed in the 700s as a private chapel for worship. It was later demolished in the late 1230s, because of a family feud. The building was torn down due to social interaction; that being the disagreement. In 1285, The building was reconstructed but rather than be a church, it was made into a loggia to store grain. This change was brought about because of economic opportunity, stemming from growth in population size. One of the columns of the loggia had a painting of the Virgin Mary. This column became a hot spot for worship as it was said to heal people blighted by the plague. In the early 1300s, a fire broke out which destroyed the building once more, and reconstruction was set for 3 years later. This shows how this building was affected by the environment. During construction, there were multiple times when the building threatened to collapse. By the end of construction, there were multiple statues commissioned of patron saints by the major and minor guilds. This shows how as the Church became more popular, the amount of money invested in the church also increased.

Major and minor guilds can be easily differentiated because of the wealth disparity. Minor guilds were only able to commission their statues made from marble, while the major guilds could glorify and commemorate their patron saints by commissioning a piece made of bronze. Some of the prominent statues commissioned were Donatello’s Saint Mark made of marble. This piece was commissioned by the minor guild, Linen Drapers and Peddler's Guild. Another influential piece is Saint John the Baptist by Ghiberti made of bronze on the behalf of the major guild, the Merchants Guild.

The Church of Orsanmichele’s past is filled with change and modification. It is affected by the social, economic, political, or environmental climate at the time, including the time in its early history when it was perceived as an eyesore by the public. When the building failed to serve a meaningful purpose, it was changed. When the public wanted to have a separate place to worship Madonna, the building added two upper stories to accommodate for the bottom floor being a dedicated church. This was so the building could continue to serve a religious and economic purpose. The increase in storage space can also be linked to the economic needs of the time. The extra grain storage aided in the growing grain market, brought about by population growth. Because there were more mouths to feed, more grain was sold therefore requiring more grain storage. The time in which the population was growing lines up with around the time before the Bubonic Plague, which eviscerated the Florentine (and overall European) population. Before the Black Plague, Florence's population was doubled. This was a time where most of the emphasis was on the grain market. Food was more important and immediately relevant because if more people were in a family, more food was needed in that household.

Fast forward to the mid 1300s, when the church was ornamented with patron saints. It was converted into a place that emphasized worship. This shows a priority of religion. It was a place for the guilds to show off their wealth and prestige. It makes sense that there is more of an increased interest in religion at the time as the Bubonic plague only lasted from 1346-1353. In the context that people believed that the Madonna painting was able to heal the sick and infected persons, it is not hard to see why more people began to flock to the Church. The Black Plague was a time of intense fear, so people might look to divine intervention to help them as a last resort.

During the time of the Black Plague, there was also economic strain. Trade plummeted and borders between countries were closed. This made people isolated in their towns, and many people lost their jobs. This is a time of economic recession. Thankfully after recessions hit their trough, they enter a time of expansion. This means people would have more jobs equating to more money to spend. There would be growth in the number of people in guilds, leading to more guild prestige, funds, and reliance. Some guilds would become more influential and wealthier than others, which is why only some major guilds were able to commission bronze statues. This lines up with a movement going on at the time, where guilds, merchants, and bankers were some of the most politically and socially motivating people.