In the past it was used to serve a meal to women who could not get out of bed after giving birth. We are talking about “L’Impagliata” or “puerpera cup,” a majolica container with very ancient origins, to the point of being depicted in many works of art. This is the theme of the initiative scheduled for Sunday, May 18 (4:30 p.m.) at the Monastery of Santa Maria della Marca (free admission).
The evening, promoted by the Association “Sveliamo La Marca” under the patronage of the Municipality of Castelfiorentino, will be dedicated precisely to the history of this ancient artifact, expertly illustrated by Ebe Ciampalini, who will also dwell on its representation in the “Birth of Mary” that appears in a famous fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli, related to the Tabernacle of the Visitation, now preserved in the Be.Go Museum.
The meeting will end with refreshments in the old courtyard of the Marca in which a refurbishment of the “nuns’ garden” curated by the same “Sveliamo la Marca” association will be inaugurated.
“We are very pleased,“ observes the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina, ‘to sponsor this evening, renewing our full support to the ’Sveliamo La Marca” association, which in recent years has worked hard to revitalize this monastic complex, an important 13th-century Franciscan hub with frescoes by Niccolò Pietro Gerini and Cenni di Francesco, with a view to its full functional recovery. A commitment that is repaid by the funding obtained for the Church of Santa Chiara (900 thousand euros, 400 of which date back even to the Renzi government and 500 thousand thanks to funding from the PNRR), which will make it possible to carry out the structural consolidation and restoration works, to restore the Church to its former glory.”
