Sarcophagus of Piero Farnese

Author
Ancient roman sculptor
Date
2nd, 14th cent.
Collocation
Sala delle navate
Original location
Cathedral, south aisle, above the Bel Tower Door
Dimensions
Height: 160 cm ca.; Width: 213 cm; Depth: 70 cm;

Funeral monument to Piero Farnese, a condottiere in the service of Florence who died in June 1363. The tomb, set on a mensola with lions heads, is a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century AD The tomb contained the remains of Piero Farnese, a captain of the Papal States in the service of Florence from February 1363, and was originally in the south aisle of the Cathedral above the Porta del Campanile. Farnese had recently entered the city in triumph, after defeating Pisa in the Battle of Bagno alla Vena, but just a few months later, in June of the same year, he died of the plague in Castelfiorentino. Florence dedicated a sumptuously innovative memorial to him to commemorate his feat. The sarcophagus is inscribed with both the Farnese and Florentine arms in a field of lilies and supported by a mensola with lion heads. The monument was originally crowned by an equestrian statue, possibly in wood and papier mâché, dismantled in 1841. When the monument was removed in 1936 the front of the tomb was discovered to be actually the rear of a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century AD, depicting the myth Phaeton. 

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Sala delle navate