• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Your Contact in Florence

Helping you to plan your holiday in Florence

  • Home
  • What to do
  • Where to stay
  • Books
  • Blog
    • News and Events
    • Attractions
    • History
    • Food and Wine
  • Contact
  • About

Donatello’s Marzocco – Symbol of Florence

December 17, 2015 By Andrea 1 Comment

Donatello's MarzoccoDonatello’s Marzocco is a statue on display at the Bargello Museum, overlooked by most people. And I can’t say it’s in an unfortunate position because it stands exactly in the center of the most important room of the museum. The fact is that, unfortunately, that room displays such great works, like Donatello’s Bronze David, Verrocchio’s David, Donatello St George and the panels by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti that competed to be awarded the Baptistery North Doors, that it’s hard to focus on the statue of a lion. Furthermore, Donatello’s Marzocco is a statue in pietra serena, the typical sandstone of Florence, and its gray color doesn’t attract like bronze or shining marble.

That said, the Marzocco is an incredibly important work because it’s the artistic synthesis of the symbols of Florence: the lion and the red lily.

 

  • Florence Sightseeing Tour with Galleria dell' Accademia - Skip the Line!
  • Price: $59.58
  • The Best of Florence - Private Tour
  • Price: $78.60
  • Best of Florence Walking Tour including Accademia Gallery & Duomo!
  • Price: $61.83

 

 

The symbology of Donatello’s Marzocco

Florence once was named Florentia: it was one of the many new towns founded after the 59 b.C. reformation by Julius Cesar. Not yet Emperor, but Consul of the Republic of Rome, with this act Julius Cesar promoted the redistribution of land to the veteran soldiers. Florentia, built by former legionaries, was consecrated to the God Mars, whose symbol was a lion.

During the Middle Ages Florence started to flourish, adopting a new symbol, the lily, which was used by the Florentine army in the first crusade, but didn’t forget about his origins: a lion was kept in a cage close to the Baptistery, and later another larger cage with more than twenty lions was placed behind Palazzo Vecchio, in the street that today is named via Dei Leoni (Lions Street).

Lions are everywhere in Florence if you look around: even in religious buildings, like for example in the decoration of Giotto’s Bell Tower, but a very large number of them is in Piazza Della Signoria: they adorn the entrance to the Loggia Dei Lanzi, the pillars of the same Loggia, and also the main entrance of Palazzo Vecchio. Then, in front of the palace, there is a copy of Donatello’s Marzocco. This (in front of the city hall), was the original location of the statue, which was moved inside in 1855. The copy doesn’t have luck either, overshadowed by the huge fountain of Neptune on one side and by Michelangelo’s David replica on the other side. Donatello’s Marzocco was executed between 1419 and 1420, originally to be placed in the apartment of Pope Martin V in the convent of Santa Maria Novella.

Donatello's MarzoccoOnly a genius like Donatello could join the two symbols of the city in what today would be considered a great logo. The lion is in a quiet stance, not aggressive: his front right paw is holding the red lily. It clearly is a warning, for any enemy of Florence. The lion (or the God Mars) is protecting this city. Since I consider this statue as the perfect symbol of Florence, I decided to change the logo of this website with a stylish Marzocco. Brunelleschi’s Dome (my current logo) is the most important monument, setting the skyline of the city, but the Marzocco better represent Florence and its history. Of course, my logo is not nearly as beautiful as Donatello’s Marzocco, but hey: it’s a logo, not a work commissioned by the Republic of Florence for the apartments of a Pope! You can preview my future logo here, it should be done in few days. I hope you like it.

 

  • Florence in a Nutshell; Uffizi, Galleria Accademia, Duomo & More!
  • Price: $123.66
  • The Best of Florence - Private Tour
  • Price: $78.60
  • Skip the Line - Galleria dell' Accademia and Renaissance Florence Walking Tour
  • Price: $61.83

 

Summary
Donatello's Marzocco - Symbol of Florence
Article Name
Donatello's Marzocco - Symbol of Florence
Description
The lion, holding the coat of arms of Florence: that's Donatello's Marzocco, a great work by the first Renaissance sculptor.
Author
Andrea

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susan McKinney says

    November 28, 2016 at 6:13 pm

    My husband and I bought some beautiful plates in San Gimignano. A couple of our plates have the lion of Florence on them. We were just in Florence and we were unaware of the Donatello Marzocco -Symbol of Florence. Your article is very helpful with the history of the symbol and bout the museum it is in. Thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Best tours reviewed by a professional tour guide

Private day trips to Florence

Best tours in Florence

  • Florence in a Nutshell; Uffizi, Galleria Accademia, Duomo & More!
  • Description:See all the sites of Florence including skip the line entrance to the Uffizi and Accademia galleries
  • Price: $122.74
 
  • Skip-The-Line Brunelleschi Tour – Florence Duomo
  • Description:Discover the genius of the architect Brunelleschi when you climb the Florence Cathedral dome
  • Price: $83.68
 
  • Small-Group Palazzo Vecchio Secret Passages Tour with Lunch
  • Visit the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio, as seen on "Inferno".
  • Price: $42.70

Insider tips for lodging in Florence

where to stay in florence

Best Luxury hotels

Booking.com

Best Bed & Breakfast

Booking.com

Best Countryside Villas

Booking.com
  • Privacy & Cookie policy
  • Copyright
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Copyright 2014 © 2023 · yourcontactinflorence.com · All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT