Museo Marino Marini in Florence opens on weekends thanks to consecrated chapel

The Museo Marino Marini in Florence can remain open on weekends due to a unique loophole: the museum is housed in the deconsecrated Church of San Pancrazio, which contains the Cappella Rucellai, a still-consecrated chapel designed by Leon Battista Alberti. While Italian museums are currently only allowed to open on weekdays in yellow zones, the chapel's sacred status exempts it from these restrictions. Museum president Patrizia Asproni announced on Facebook that on Sunday, February 7, 2021, the museum will be open from 10 am to 6 pm exclusively for visits to the Cappella Rucellai. The chapel, built between 1457 and 1467 for Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, is a Renaissance masterpiece inspired by the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It features a rectangular plan based on the golden ratio, Corinthian pilasters, marble inlays, frescoes by Giovanni da Piamonte, and a statue of the recumbent Christ. In 1471, Pope Paul II granted it sacramental status, offering plenary indulgence to visitors on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The chapel has influenced contemporary artists such as Alvar Aalto and Pablo Bronstein.