Memorials

S. Croce 278a tomb of Guaspare da Ghiacceto and descendants March 4 1433 (o.s.)

Situated In

circa 1440 (date is approximate) to present

Alternate Names

Tomb of [Guaspare di] Francesco di Lapo da Diacceto e famiglia
Tomb of Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo Diacceto

Rosselli Number	278.0
Memorial Type
Status	extant
Current Repository	in situ
Primary Installation	floor
Secondary Installation	with wall component(s)
Tomb Form	rectangular
Liturgical Orientation	SE
Length	2.78
Width	1.29
Documented Types	sepoltura lapida lastrone pila tassello
Component Parts	slab a water font b
Decorative Elements
Material	Carrara marble type of marble quarried in the area around Carrara, Tuscany, Italy (Luna in antiquity), characterized by a fine, compact grain and varies in color from pure white to creamy white, sometimes with a bluish tinge; a favorite stone of sculptors from antiquity to the present, including Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) Getty ID: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300011576 verde di Prato A soft Italian verd antique from Prato, Italy that is deep olive green with dark green spots and veins of clear green and white. It was first used by the ancient Greeks and Romans and continues to be used in modern times; it was notably used for much of the exterior decoration of the cathedral in Florence. Getty ID: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300011640
Database ID	11426

Dates

circa 1418 (date is approximate) c
March 4th, 1433 (o.s.) d	inscription
circa 1440 (date is approximate) to circa 1450 (date is approximate) e

Inscriptions (2 total)

938	Ꞩ GVASSPARE DA GH / IACCETO M CCCC XVIII	The tomb of Guaspare da Ghiacceto 1418
940	S. {GVASPARRIS} / FRANCISCI • Q • LAPI DE CHIACETO / ET SVORVM / OBIIT DIE IIII MARTII M CCCC XXX III	The tomb of Guasparre di Francesco of the late Lapo da Ghiacetto and of his own. He died on day four of March 1433 (o.s.)

Individuals (5 total)

da Ghiacceto, Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo di S. Francesco di S. Giovanni	circa 1418 (date is approximate) to March 4th, 1434	f
da Ghiacceto, Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo di S. Francesco di S. Giovanni	circa 1440 (date is approximate) to present	g
da Ghiacceto, Francesco di Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo di S. Francesco		h
da Ghiacceto, Lapo di Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo di S. Francesco		i
da Ghiacceto, Paolo di Guasparre di Francesco di Lapo di S. Francesco		j

Groups (1 total)

da Ghiacceto

circa 1440 (date is approximate) to present

Related Memorials (1 total)

S. Croce 278b pila di Guaspare da Ghiacceto

circa 1440 (date is approximate) to present

Sources (6 total)

R. Iacopino, Le lapidi terragne di Santa Croce, II, 1418-1488	pp. 308-9
ASF, Manoscritti, 619, Sep. S. Croce 1439	fol. 18
ASF, Manoscritti, 624, Rosselli, Sepoltuario Fiorentino, 1657 (copy)	pp. 341
ASF, Manoscritti, 618, Sep. S. Croce 1596 (copy)	fol. 62v-63
ASF, Manoscritti, 249, Priorista Mariani II	fol. 263v
D. S. Pines, “Tomb Slabs of Santa Croce”, Columbia University	pp. 560-6

Notes

[a] While Iacopino measured the slab as 2.78x1.29 meters, Pines gives the dimensions as 2.38 x 0.89.
[b] For more on the da Ghiacceto emblazoned holy water stoup see memorial 578.
[c] The earliest extant sepoltuario dated 1439 states that the tomb of Guaspare di Francesco was not yet embellished, only bricked and at the foot of the water font that bore his name, family coat of arms, and the date 1418 as did the marker in the pier above them.
[d] The tomb's inscription includes Guaspare's date of death according to the Florentine-style calendar, March 4th, 1434 on the modern calendar. The tomb was not yet installed in 1439 as attested by its description as "ammatonata" in the sepoltuario compiled that year. It was likely commissioned between 1440 and 1450 by his widow Martinella and/or one or more of his sons. The eldest, Cristofano and Francesco, would have been 33 and 24 respectively in 1440, while his sons Lapo and Paolo were still minors. Lapo reached age 18 in 1444 and Paolo in 1445. Pines dates the tomb to circa 1450. It is unclear why it took at least six years to complete the gravevsite that Guaspare had secured in 1418.
[e] Given that the 1439 S. Croce sepoltuario indicates that Guasparri's tomb was unfinished, the tomb must have been manufactured and installed in 1440 or later. Pines suggests it was installed around 1450 based on stylistic grounds.
[f] The marker installed in the pier over the tomb carries Guasparre's name and the date 1418, suggesting that it marked the grave at the foot of the water font he installed in the same year.
[g] Guaspare had rights to the gravesite from at least 1418, the date on the tomb's pier marker and water font. His name, originally along the top edge of the slab, has worn away, confusing some sepoltuarists and later scholars to believe that the tomb honored his father Francesco di Lapo. Though the inscription carries Guaspare's date of dath (March 4, 1433 o.s.), it was not installed until at least 1440, as attested by the 1439 sepoltuario.
[h] The tomb's inscription states that it is for Guaspare di Francesco di Lapo da Ghiacceto and his descendants. His second oldest son Francesco (b. 1416) may have been involved in the tomb commission.
[i] The tomb's inscription states that it is for Guaspare di Francesco di Lapo da Ghiacceto and his descendants. His second youngest son Lapo (b. 1426) may have been involved in the tomb commission.
[j] The tomb's inscription states that it is for Guaspare di Francesco di Lapo da Ghiacceto and his descendants. His youngest son Paolo (b. 1427) may have been involved in the tomb commission.