The name of Pietro da Cortona is undoubtedly a synonym of the Baroque in painting, and not only for the artist's activity in Rome but also as regards that in Florence: he worked for long periods on several occasions between 1637 and 1647 in the chief grand-ducal town, leaving his mark mainly as a fresco painter in the famous rooms of Palazzo Pitti. A key figure for Pietro da Cortona during his stays in Florence was Michelangelo the Younger, the owner of Casa Buonarroti, where the artist lived and where he left, as a sign of gratitude to his generous friend and host, important examples of his art, the starting point for this exhibition.
The event is particularly important given its unusual, in part innovative layout, which helps to understand Pietro Berrettini's role in Florence. The exhibition displays a remarkable selection of paintings and drawings dating to the artist's Florentine period, which come from Italian and foreign museums and illustrate the decade in which Florence embraced the Baroque and began, in the field of figurative art, to follow the new directions indicated by Rome and destined to spread all over Europe.

Useful information
Site: Casa Buonarroti, Firenze, via Ghibellina 70
Open to the public: 23 June-11 October 2010
Admission: € 6,50; concessions € 4,50; schools € 2,25; € 8,00 combined ticket with Santa Croce Monument Complex
Catalogue: Silvana Editoriale
Opening hours: 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., every day except Tuesdays

Guided tours for students and groups also out of hours

Information
tel +39 055 241752 - fax +39 055 241698 - fond@casabuonarroti.it - www.casabuonarroti.it

Press office
Susanna Holm, Sigma C.S.C. - tel +39 055 2340742 - fax +39 055 244145 - susannaholm@cscsigma.it