In 1431 the Opera del Duomo commissioned Luca della Robbia to erect a large marble Cantoria (singers' gallery) over the entrance to the north Sacristy in the Cathedral. Two years after Luca della Robbia began his work, Donatello was commissioned to design another Cantoria to be placed over the south Sacristy where it could form a counterpart to the one made by Robbia. Both were completed in 1439. On the occasion of the marriage of Ferdinando de' Medici in 1688 the two structures were found to be too small to accomodate all the singers, and they were replaced by wooden balconies. Later stone ones were substituted and are still in place today. Not until 1891 were the two cantorie reassembled in the museum, after having been kept dismantled at the Bargello.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 9 minutes): Josquin Desprez: Motet (In principio erat verbum)

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Cantoria 1439 Marble, 348 x 570 cm Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	966*699 True Color 118 Kb
	Cantoria 1439 Marble, 348 x 570 cm Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	1409*900 True Color 202 Kb
	Cantoria 1439 Marble, 348 x 570 cm Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	883*732 True Color 196 Kb
	Cantoria (detail) 1439 Marble Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	890*468 True Color 136 Kb
	Cantoria (detail) 1439 Marble Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	888*474 True Color 146 Kb
	Cantoria (detail) 1439 Marble Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	551*820 True Color 165 Kb
	Cantoria (detail) 1439 Marble Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	583*820 True Color 175 Kb
	Cantoria (detail) 1439 Marble Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence	796*590 Grayscale 97 Kb