Project
San Vivaldo
Site
San Vivaldo
Location
Montaione (Florence, Italy)
Lighting and Casambi Solution
ZR Light
Lighting Design
Maurizio Morelli, ZR Light
Commissioning
Manuela Masini, ZR Light
Client
Municipality of Montaione
Products
Salvador 2016
Photography
Corrado Fulvi
The Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo, known as the “Jerusalem of Tuscany,” is located near Montaione in a wooded area called Boscotondo or Selva di Boscolazzeroni. The site dates back to the early 1300s, when the Franciscan hermit Vivaldo Stricchi from San Gimignano lived and died there. An ermitage was later built on the site, and in 1497 the Franciscan friars turned it into a convent.
Between 1500 and 1515, Fra Tommaso da Firenze designed the “Jerusalem of Tuscany” to give people the chance to make a symbolic pilgrimage without having to travel to Jerusalem, which was then under Turkish rule. The complex originally had 25 chapels, and 18 of them still exist today. They were arranged to represent, in a smaller scale and different orientation, the Jerusalem of the late 15th century.
Inside the chapels are terracotta sculptures and paintings from the 16th century linked to the Robbia school, depicting important places along the Via Dolorosa.
The lighting design for the first seven chapels was developed to replace the existing system, which had become outdated. This work forms part of a wider restoration project covering both the interiors and exteriors of the entire complex. The project is also aligned with a broader long-term vision. Each chapel has its own independent lighting system, designed according to its specific theme, while still allowing all systems to be interconnected and managed centrally.
Because the site is visited through guided tours, functioning like an open-air museum where each chapel acts as a room telling part of the story of Jesus, the lighting needed to support and enhance the narrative experience.
The main objectives were:
- Reducing the visual impact of lighting fixtures
- Using 48V micro-tracks with high color-rendering projectors with adjustable optics to precisely direct light onto the artworks
- Installing a DALI control system with Casambi Salvador 2000 units for dimming and for creating both static and dynamic lighting scenes
- Meeting the conservation lighting standards defined by CIE 157 to protect the artworks
- Lighting the sculptural groups from multiple angles to either soften or emphasize shadows, depending on the dramatic intent of each scene
Overall, the project aims to modernize and enhance the sense of wonder that visitors already felt when experiencing this site in ancient times.
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