The restoration works of the external part of the Loggia del Bigallo in Piazza San Giovanni are finished: the first part of the interventions that will allow the Bigallo to return to shine in the center of Florence. On this occasion, now it is possible to see again the fresco that is located on the first floor of the history of San Pietro Martire and the devil. The Loggia del Bigallo was built between 1353 and 1358 instead of the Torre degli Adimari house, driven out of Florence during the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The loggia was built for the Bigallo company and for the Compagnia della Misericordia, two institutions founded by San Pietro Martire who dealt with orphaned and abandoned children. The name “Bigallo” derives from two cockerels on the company’s coat of arms. According to the legend, the loggia rises at the point of the miracle that St. Peter Martyr made in Florence.
The saint had come to preach in the Tuscan city and a small crowd had gathered to listen to his words with admiration. The devil, upset and angry due to the presence of man and for the attention with which the faithful listened to him, turned into a large black horse and, without control, decided to lash out against the crowd to unleash the panic and let the sermon. St. Peter put himself in front of the faithful and made the gesture of the cross; This was enough to force the horse to surrender and jump over the crowd, without creating damage or injured. This legend is narrated in the frescoes of Ventura di Moro and Rossello by Jacopo Franchi who still decorate the pointed arches of the Loggia. According to some sources of the time, the episode of San Pietro and the horse did not take place between Piazza San Giovanni and via dei Calzaioli, but at the point where the Giabologna Devil at the corner of via Strozzi stood.
If you like discover other originals tour and legged of Florence, come with us. We are making a tour totally free based on tips. Our Florence Free Tour, start from Santa Maria Novella square in front of Minerva hotel. our guide are there, happy to show the beauty of Florence with all its myth and legend. Please visit our page and book your spot for the tour.
