Close to the Small Refectory, a beautiful 15th-century staircase leads you to the upper floor of the convent where with an unusual but delightful solution, Michelozzo arranged the friars' cells: numbered from one to thirty-nine, they are connected by long corridors that wind along three sides of the cloister. Here you will go on an enchanting tour thanks to Fra Angelico's frescoes in each of the cells and along the corridors. A sequence of scenes of pure beauty painted just before the mid-1400s, they are partly by Fra Angelico and were partly painted by his students based on their master's drawings.
At the top of the staircase you're immediately greeted by a masterpiece: the large Annunciation placed in a Renaissance portico with architectural features similar to those of the convent itself. You'll immediately understand that the charm of the frescoes comes from how perfectly they belong in the building they were painted in, as well as the way they are illuminated and placed along the path. This will be confirmed in the amazing Madonna of the Shadows painted in a corridor: the capitals in the background of the scene project shadows that correspond to the way the light comes in from the windows.
To the left of the Annunciation you can go down the first corridor. The nine cells on the left host an extraordinary series of Gospel-inspired scenes, all painted directly by Fra Angelico. I strongly suggest going to see all of them, each one is more beautiful than the last!
The master had some of his students help with the frescoes in the second corridor. In the cells reserved for novices facing the cloister, San Domenico at the Foot of the Cross of Christ is a repeated theme.
The prior's apartment is at the end of the second corridor; he was the leader of the religious community. Here you can see the celebrated portrait, folding chair, and various other memories of the famous Girolamo Savonarola, the austere preacher who first led the convent and then the city, and then burned at the stake in 1498.
But that's not all! The third corridor is even more fascinating: the library designed by Michelozzo still stands, which is a bright room divided by columns. Some 15th-century miniature codices are displayed on the desks, including some wonderful early works by Fra Angelico.
FUN FACT: in 1984, Angelico was actually proclaimed "blessed" by the Catholic Church as requested by Pope John Paul II, who made him the patron of painters.
Language: English