Benozzo Gozzoli Museum

Benozzo Gozzoli is the “genius loci” of the Valdelsa. From San Gimignano to Certaldo to Castelfiorentino, he depicted the venerable bell towers and proud civic towers that populate his native land.

 

The Museum of Benozzo Gozzoli was born in Castelfiorentino to collect the frescoes and the sinopies of two large tabernacles that the artist frescoed at the end of the 15th century: Tabernacolo della Madonna della Tosse in 1484 and Tabernacolo della Visitazione in 1491. The frescoes  were not in a good state of conservation so they were detached from the tabernacles and put into safety in the Museum, a structure specifically designed by the architect Massimo Mariani to accommodate them.

Benozzo was very appreciated for his paintings which were both cultured and “popular”, capable of charming and educating with grace and knowledge. More than five centuries have passed, but Benozzo still lives in the hearts and minds of the locals. He used to work for the Pope in Rome and the Medici family in Florence, but he was also attracted by the rustic beauty of this valley.