Florence sacred representations
Sacre rappresentazioni a Firenze
Medieval sacred representations in the churches of Florence with mechanical devices
Sacre rappresentazioni Medioevali, nelle chiese di Firenze con dispositivi meccanici
check two main descriptions written by Domenico Mellini, a man of letters of the Medici court
“The stage for the representation was constructed under the Cupola […] and Paradise appeared open and full of stupendous splendour, and in it God the Father amidst a multitude of Angels and Cherubim, and told the Angel Gabriel to descend to earth and announce to the Virgin Mary the Incarnation of his Son. Then the Angel Gabriel in a beautiful mandorla all full of lights descended slowly to earth, and above him then was a Choir of Angels that descended with him half way then stopped, and the mandorla where the Angel Gabriel was then went down slowly by itself to earth, and when it arrived there he stepped out of the mandorla and immediately all the lights and splendour of the mandorla were displayed, and moving slowly with most beautiful grace he went before the Virgin, and with a voice that was almost divine, he told her of God’s message”