The Bosco ai Frati Convent at Tenuta Schifanoia

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Nestled within the enchanting grounds of Tenuta Schifanoia, the Bosco ai Frati Convent stands as a testament to centuries of rich history, art, and spiritual significance. Founded around 600 by the noble Ubaldini family, this sacred site has witnessed cycles of habitation and abandonment, each chapter leaving an indelible mark on its storied walls. Its connection to St. Francis of Assisi, the flourishing period supported by the influential Medici family, and the artistic treasures, including Beato Angelico's renowned "La pala di Bosco ai Frati," contribute to its profound cultural legacy. Today, the convent, with its serene surroundings, invites visitors to explore the captivating interplay of history and spirituality in this timeless sanctuary at Tenuta Schifanoia.

The settlement was founded around the year 600 (7th century) by the Ubaldini family, described as "most noble and powerful," owners of vast territory during the feudal period. The location was offered to the monks of San Basilio, who built a small chapel and a space for pilgrims.

The Basilian monks lived on this site until the year 1012, according to the memory of Fra' Giuliano Ughi della Cavallina. Then, Bosco ai Frati remained abandoned for about 200 years until 1209-1012 when the Ubaldini invited the Franciscan friars to reside there.

"In loco de Nemore" There is no document certifying the presence or visits of St. Francis to Bosco ai Frati. However, a reconstruction written by Beato Bartolomeo da Pisa around a century later vaguely attests to his passage. This quote is from the text "De conformitate vitae Beati Francisci ad vitam Domini Iesu," written between 1380 and 1385. It is the earliest temporal reference available today, influencing subsequent chronicles and histories of Franciscanism.

In July of the year 1273, Fra' Bonaventura da Bagnoregio, later canonized as a saint and Doctor of the Church (Doctor Seraphicus), received the cardinal insignia from Pope Gregory X's emissaries in the convent's garden. The official story recounts Fra' Bonaventura, while washing dishes in a large stone basin still present in the convent, requesting the insignia be hung on a branch of a dogwood tree. This moment is immortalized by an existing dogwood tree in the convent's garden.

Around the year 1349, the Black Death spread in Tuscany, leading the Franciscan friars to abandon the convent for the first time of three instances (the subsequent ones were from 1810 to 1815 due to Napoleonic and Grand Duchy impositions and from 1866 to 1870 due to the laws of the Kingdom of Italy suppressing religious orders and requisitioning their assets).

In 1420, the de' Medici family, through Cosimo "the Elder," acquired extensive land in Mugello, including Bosco ai Frati. In 1427, with a papal bull from Pope Martin V, approximately 80 years after abandonment, the Franciscan friars returned to the convent. This marked the golden period of Bosco ai Frati, lasting for at least two centuries. The Medici family's patronage and generosity brought significant artworks to the church and convent, including altarpieces, paintings, and invaluable illuminated volumes for a grand library. From 1427 to 1436, perhaps 1438, renovation and reconstruction were carried out by the architect Michelozzo.

The most famous altarpiece, painted between 1450/1452, is the so-called "La pala di Bosco ai Frati," titled "Sacra conversazione," a work by Giovanni da Fiesole, known as "Beato Angelico." Unfortunately, due to Grand Duchy regulations in 1777, this masterpiece was transferred first to the Uffizi Galleries and later to the San Marco museum in Florence.

Another well-known work is the triptych by Nicolas Froment, "Resurrezione di Lazzaro," also transferred to Florence, initially to the San Niccolò in Cafaggio monastery in 1810, and later in 1841 to the Uffizi Galleries.

Currently, only four significant paintings are housed within the church walls. The first is a canvas by Jacopo Ligozzi, dated 1589, titled "Allegoria del cordone di San Francesco." Then, two paintings on canvas, the first being "La deposizione" by Lodovico Cardi, known as "il Cigoli," dating from the early 1600s, and the second by an unknown author, "La Madonna che porge il Bambino Gesù a San Francesco," initially attributed to the late Mannerist period of the Florentine school, and more recently, based on Dr. Bruno Santi's evaluation (former director of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure), to the Sienese school of Casolani and Rustici, precisely to Vincenzo Rustici, also from that same period. Lastly, the oldest is a wood panel by Antonio del Ceraiolo, dated 1510/1515, depicting the "L'Annunciazione."

In the ancient room called the "sala del Capitolo," where the third General Chapter of the Observant Friars took place in 1449, a small museum of sacred art has been set up. Here, the wooden crucifix attributed to Donatello is preserved. The only reference date we have is June 13, 1542, during a strong earthquake in Mugello. In the "Relazione" written in 1565 by Fra' Giuliano Ughi della Cavallina, the guardian at the convent during those years, it is mentioned that the "large crucifix on the main altar fell to the ground and broke a leg, an arm, and the right side of the head." It was then transported to Scarperia for restoration by a craftsman, "a painter," who received three gold ducats for his work.

During the early years of the 20th century, inexplicably, the crucifix, removed from one of the side altars of the church, was placed in the crypt excavated beneath the church's floor. It was there that Alessandro Parronchi (art historian and critic) and Piero Bigongiari (poet) rediscovered it in 1953. They found the Christ with a crown of thorns on his head and a cloth covering the private parts of the body. However, two non-original elements were identified. After 19 years of restoration, the crucifix returned to the convent in its original form, depicting the naked Christ.

It is a work in wood and gypsum, 168 cm tall, 160 cm wide. We do not know if the gypsum is part of the original sculpture or if it was introduced during the 1542 restoration by the "painter" from Scarperia.

Overall, there is no certainty that it is a work by Donatello, as no document or account from that time has been found. However, there is a belief that during that period, the Renaissance, with the Medici family's generosity, the main altar of the church, next to or in front of Beato Angelico's altarpiece, could not house a sculpture by an unknown or of low value artist.

Scholars have mostly attributed the crucifix to Donatello. A few attribute it to Desiderio da Settignano or Michelozzo. Initially, a reconstruction of the work's origin was made by Parronchi, drawing inspiration from what is contained in Giorgio Vasari's "Le vite," where the artistic challenge between Donatello and Brunelleschi is described. Donatello sculpted a crucifix and asked Brunelleschi for an opinion. Brunelleschi looked at it and said, "It seems to me that you have put a peasant on the cross." In turn, a irritated Donatello replied, "If it's so easy to carve a Christ from wood, why don't you try to sculpt one." Brunelleschi accepted the challenge and sculpted his own Christ, then called Donatello to hear what he thought. Donatello looked at Brunelleschi's work with admiration and asserted, "Yes, I believe that you are allowed to sculpt Christ, but as for me, only peasants."

Thus, following this account, between history and legend, it was thought that the wooden crucifix from Bosco ai Frati was indeed a work by Donatello. Recent studies have pushed the date further, attributing the work to an elderly Donatello and his workshop.

Finally, the role of the Gerini family, redemption, and donation. As mentioned, in 1866, the Franciscan friars were expelled from the convent. The properties were seized by the State, the Kingdom of Italy, and later auctioned in 1869 with an estimated value just over 9000 lire. The Gerini family made an offer of 30100 lire, securing the entire lot. In 1870, they asked the Franciscan friars to return to the convent, and in 1949, following a donation deed, the church, the convent, and all other buildings became the property of the Order of Friars Minor - Tuscan Province of Saint Francis Stigmatized (OFM Tuscany).

From Gianni Frilli, "La chiesa, il convento e il museo di San Bonaventura al Bosco ai Frati - Una presenza di fede, nella storia" - Edizioni Noferini, 2015 - second edition 2018 - third edition 2021