For centuries, on an ordinary corner in Florence, people walked by without suspecting what stood before them. On Via Pietrapiana, tucked into a niche between a shop and a weathered facade, a depiction of the Virgin and Child silently watched over the city. It looked like so many others. Beautiful, yes, but anonymous—one of those religious images placed for protection or devotion, without much artistic importance. But everyone was wrong.
The First Donatello Hypothesis
The story took a turn in 1986, when art historian Charles Avery stopped to take a closer look. What many assumed was a simple decorative terracotta turned out to be, according to his analysis, a genuine work by Donatello, one of the great masters of the Renaissance. Despite the discovery, the sculpture remained in place, exposed to the elements—rain, wind, and pollution—for more than two more decades. It was as if Florence had been walking past a treasure every day without truly recognizing it.
And there was something even more curious: the Madonna didn’t belong to the state or to a church, but to the owners of the building where it was embedded. For generations, the residents of that property lived with a masterpiece on their facade, without fully understanding its worth.
Confirmation of an Original Donatello
It wasn’t until 2009 that the authorities decided to remove the original sculpture to protect it, replacing it with a replica. The terracotta piece was carefully restored and stored away from the daily bustle, while its final destination was determined. That year also marked the moment when Avery’s attribution was confirmed by another art historian.
Finally, in 2021, the Italian state exercised its right to acquire the piece officially. In November 2023, the Madonna di Via Pietrapiana was installed in the Bargello Museum—literally just around the corner, only 600 meters from its original location. Today, it sits in the room dedicated to Donatello, under controlled lighting and far from street moisture. At last, the sculpture receives the respect it deserves.
And so, one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art spent centuries hidden in plain sight, overlooked by generations until it was rediscovered in one of art history’s most fascinating twists. A living lesson in how, even in a city overflowing with beauty like Florence, miracles can sometimes be hiding in the most ordinary places.