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The facade of San Lorenzo in Florence was commissioned in the early 16th century, and then put on hold. Should it be finished?500 years later, Michelangelo’s ‘greatest work of art’ may be completedI don't think I have a problem with finishing it. As it mentions in the article, the facade of the Florence Cathedral was a product of the 19th century, yet it sits as the centerpiece in the most Renaissance of all Italian towns. Architecture may be a product of the past, but it needs to operate in the present by necessity.
I'd say yes, it can be completed. Even if this is happening years after the initial work, following Michelangelo's project, the completion shall respect what was planned at the time. Even if few sketches and a wood model are all that remain of Michelangelo’s 500-year-old plans, there will certainly be a scrupulous board to supervise the work.When you look at the unfinished facade, there is no obvious reason (aesthetic, historic) to keep it like that. Other buildings were often completed throughout centuries; the cathedral of Koln being a famous example."But Anna Hudson, an art history professor at York University, said completing the façade would change the church’s relationship with its parishioners and local residents."I don't think there will be many PTSD among the population; except for few "purists" maybe.
Yes, I agree. Even if people are supposedly against it at the moment, it will eventually be adopted by the masses and will then be identified with “modern” Florence, though in a very Renaissance way. I think that older European towns enjoy having modern notoriety via their architecture. Although the facade is obviously not a “modern” work in design, it is similar in a sense to the museum at Bilbao in Spain or the Ara Pacis museum in Rome.
