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The chapel of the famous Sapiega family in the most beautiful cemetery in Florence is hidden among the mourning sculptures and white marble columbari. It was discovered by Mr. Giovanni Benvenuti, who tells the curious homeless people who visit the cemetery the secrets of this cemetery.
The old Florentine man shows everyone the chapel with the inscription SAPIEHA: in the sixties of the last century he saw for himself how he buried this Polish principle (Lithuanian prince).
Giovanni remembers, as if it were yesterday, how during the ceremony a tablet was solemnly taken from a velvet cushion over a dead coffin and handed it to a male Sapieha descendant who wore a military uniform of some order.
Behind the chapel door, the inscription “ANNA TYZCKIEWICZ WITH PRINCEPS SAPIEHA DOMO, WOLOZYNI NATA MDCCCXVI – DECESSIT FLORENTIAE MDCCCLXXIII” is visible on the inner wall of the chapel. The Roman year tells that he was born in 1816 and died in 1873. In front there is another commemorative plaque with the inscription: “PAUL SAPIEHA, MAY 17, 1900 – JULY 21, 1987. Faith, hope, charity.”
Photo by R.Abaravičiūtė / There is an inscription in the chapel attesting that Prince Sapiega is buried here.
The chapel in 1864. created by the architect Mariano Falcini – a talented nineteenth century. Student of Pasquale Poccianti, architect of the Principality of Tuscany. Its altar is decorated with a copy of Madonna, a Polish city in Coden, suggesting that those buried belonged to the Coden Sapieha line.
The chapel of the Lithuanian nobility repeats the eclectic style of that time, when it was fashionable to combine various styles – classical, Gothic and romantic – in architecture. The columns, a triangular pediment, pink marble striped inserts on a white background, and a two-color mosaic inside are also typical of the adjacent Romanesque Basilica of San Miniato.
The static vaulted ceiling shows the influence of Veneto architecture. On the pediment of the facade is the coat of arms of Tiškevičiai, a hexagonal star with a crescent (Leliwa in Polish) and an arrow with Sapiega with two crosses, called the coat of arms of Lapin (Polish: Lis), Vytis and the cup.
Who were those buried in this chapel and why did they end their paths in Florence?
Photo by R.Abaravičiūtė / Old Florentine Giovanni Benvenuti tells the story of Lithuanian nobles to visitors to the cemetery
According to historical data, Lithuanian and Polish nobles traveled to Italy since the 18th century. Among European aristocrats it was customary to grant academic leave to their descendants. The young people spent the year in Italy or Greece, studying ancient and Renaissance culture.
Surprisingly, Paul Sapieha, who recently left Anapilin, has little knowledge of identity. However, the cemetery database states that Anna Tyszkiewicz returned to the chapel with her husband Leon Sapieha.
His unmarried daughter (?) Pelagia Sapieha married Ferdynand Fryderyk Radziwill. In this way, another blue blood vaccine was joined to the already noble genealogical tree of the family.
Years pass and time leaves its mark on the graves of the noble family. The mosaics on the interior walls of the Chapel of Ona and Leon Sapieha in Florence must be restored and the doors must be repainted.
However, Sapiega can sleep peacefully, as the Florence City Council will take care of, since the ancient Cimitero delle Porte Sante cemetery is an architectural monument of the city, protected by the Italian heritage law.
This object is included in the Lithuania Italy map. See full map.
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