But I mean, really, is there such a thing? Walking down a new avenue in Florence recently with friends we spotted an open front door on a lovely old palace. Of course we entered and had a quick look. The exact address is Via Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi 21, Firenze.

A monumental staircase in the foyer.

Stone tracery,

The fresco paintings I would judge to be from the late 19th, early 20th century and there is one painting, seen above, that records a name and date! This is not always the case. Aldo Nanni, built this, in 1912 it says. At the bottom it says he was the architect.

The central female figure in the vault painting is adorned with a sash that carries Latin words which I can barely make out in my photograph, unfortunately. I can read “hosts hisser aeibus ___?__” which in English would say “goes of these homes __?__”. If I am ever lucky enough to go back there, I will take a better picture, but I think we get the point, it is a welcoming message.

Pride of place

In Latin is written “human labori, astern laus” which in English reads “Eternal praise to human labor.”

Written in Latin is “ubi labor” and “obi uber” which in English means “where there is labor, there is fruit.”

High over this simple but stunningly stone encased doorway is a fresco that provides the name of the painter and the year of its execution. Translated it reads: In the year 1912 Guido Nincheri was the painter.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/christmas-stained-glass

“The Art and Passion of Guido Nincheri,” a 2018 book by Mélanie Grondin,

An exhibit of Nincheri’s work, “From The Secular to The Sacred” at Montreal’s Château Dufresne museum 2023

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Born in 1885 to a wealthy textile merchant in Tuscany, and educated at Florence’s Academy of Fine Arts, Nincheri came to Montreal via Boston in 1914.