Orsanmichele looks like rather as castle than church. Its name church got from the old “San Michele ad Hortum” which stood at the garden of the abbey.
Near 1290 next to the abbey was constructed loggia for grain trade. Abbey has been demolished but the remains of the garden’s church have been preserved thanks to great and revered icon of The Virgin Mary which has been kept inside. Next decades this loggia has been redeveloped few times and in 1380 its first level was converted to the church. The rest of the building continued to serve as granary.
In 1339 the decoration of the Orsanmichele was given to the Florence’s guilds.
Each of the guilds was responsible for hiring master and payment of his work. But guilds did not hurry to undertake their responsibilities. Only a 70 years after they began to heed to it. And may be it’s not bad because their activity matched up with flowering of Renaissance in Florence.
Total in niches of Orsanmichele there are 14 statues; some of them is a modern copies. First what attracts your attention when you come inside of Orsanmichele – are amazing murals which portray the saint backers of the guilds.
