Summary From the time of Dante through the 17th century and beyond, Florence had a special relationship with the Biblical Jerusalem?with the idea, that is, of a city chosen by God to be a sign of human peace. This collection of essays traces the development of this 'Idea of Jerusalem' from the Divine Comedy and medieval Holy Land pilgrimages through the 1439 Council of Florence, Savonarola's end of the 15th-century preaching, and the astonishing project of Grand Duke Ferdinand I to transfer the Holy Sepulcher from Jerusalem to Florence. The volume also recalls the city's 19th- and 20th-century Jerusalem image. TABLE OF CONTENTS Timothy Verdon, Foreword Timothy Verdon, Introduction: Earthly City and 'Coelestis urbs'. Florence and the Idea of Jerusalem PART I: Biblical, historical, and cultural Background Timothy Verdon, Jerusalem in the Bible: Theology, Poetry, Identity Andrew Frisardi, Dante and Jerusalem Franco Cardini, Three 'Synoptic Journeys' to Jerusalem, 1384-1385 Shulamit Furstenberg-Levi, Solomon's Temple in the Writings of Jewish Humanists in the Renaissance Alexei Lidov, The Florentine Hierotopy of the Holy Land: Lo Scoppio del Carro and Re-Enactments of the Jerusalem Miracle of the Paschal Fire Gerhard Wolf, Jerusalem(s) in Florence: A Walk PART II: The 'Jerusalem moment' of the Florence Council Davide Baldi, Florence as New Jerusalem in the Documents of the Council (1439-1442) Marcello Garzaniti, The Council and the City of Florence as Seen by Russians in the 15th and 16th Centuries Alessandro Diana, Florence Between Athens and Jerusalem: Myth, Image, Reality Luca Calzetta, ?That Most Holy Although Unmovable Relic?: Ferdinando I and the Holy Sepulcher PART III: The Arts Ben Quash, ?In England's green and pleasant land?, The New Jerusalem in London Annette Hoffman, Wood, Water and Earth. The Legend of the Holy Cross in Santa Croce in Florence Lorenzo Gnocchi, Man in Heaven and the Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth: The St. John the Evangelist Sacristy in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence Diane Apostolos Cappadona, ??The smell of her consecrate lily?: The Madonna and Child as Conduit between the Earthly City and the Heavenly City in Florentine Medieval and Renaissance Art Maria Lidova, The Mosaic Icon of Maria Orans in San Marco and Byzantine Imagery in Florence Stefano Garzonio, The Image of Florence in Russian Poetry. From the Beautiful to the Sacred PART IV: Monastic Roots Martin Shannon CJ, The New Jerusalem as Compelling Vision: Monasticism and the Liturgy of Hope Giulio Conticelli, Florence and Jerusalem. Giorgio La Pira: A 20th-Century Witness for the Third Millennium Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni OSB, The 'Vocation and Mystery' of Florence. A Prophetic Look at the New Jerusalem from San Miniato al Monte PART V: The Exhibition Timothy Verdon, The Exhibition New Jerusalem: A Contemporary Sacred Art Exhibition by Filippo Rossi and Susan Kanaga List of Abbreviations Author and Contributor Biographies Image Credits