1.
Siena
–
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena, the historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nations most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008, Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year. Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans when it was inhabited by a called the Saina. A Roman town called Saena Julia was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus, the first document mentioning it dates from AD70. Some archaeologists assert that Siena was controlled for a period by a Gaulish tribe called the Senones, according to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their fathers murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants. Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to the Balzana, some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family name Saina, Siena did not prosper under Roman rule. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade and its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until the Lombards invaded Siena and the surrounding territory that it knew prosperity. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams of pilgrims passing to, the oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards surrender in 774 to Charlemagne. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena, the Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the late 11th century until the year 1555. During the golden age of Siena before the Black Death in 1348, in the Italian War of 1551–59, the republic was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17 April 1555, the new Spanish King Felipe II, owing huge sums to the Medici, ceded it to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century. A Republican government of 700 Sienese families in Montalcino resisted until 1559, the picturesque city remains an important cultural centre, especially for humanist disciplines. The city lies at 322 m above sea level, the Siena Cathedral, begun in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380, the original plan called for an ambitiously massive basilica, the largest then in the world, with, as was customary, an east-west nave. However, the scarcity of funds, in due to war and plague, truncated the project
Siena
–
View of downtown Piazza del Campo (Campo Square), with the Mangia Tower (Torre del Mangia) and Santa Maria Church
Siena
–
Piazza del Campo.
Siena
–
Capitoline Wolf at
Siena Duomo. According to a legend Siena was founded by
Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus. When they fled
Rome, they took the statue of She-wolf to Siena, which became a symbol of the town.
Siena
–
Siena Cathedral
2.
Sculpture
–
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. It is one of the plastic arts, a wide variety of materials may be worked by removal such as carving, assembled by welding or modelling, or molded, or cast. However, most ancient sculpture was painted, and this has been lost. Those cultures whose sculptures have survived in quantities include the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, India and China, the Western tradition of sculpture began in ancient Greece, and Greece is widely seen as producing great masterpieces in the classical period. During the Middle Ages, Gothic sculpture represented the agonies and passions of the Christian faith, the revival of classical models in the Renaissance produced famous sculptures such as Michelangelos David. Relief is often classified by the degree of projection from the wall into low or bas-relief, high relief, sunk-relief is a technique restricted to ancient Egypt. Relief sculpture may also decorate steles, upright slabs, usually of stone, techniques such as casting, stamping and moulding use an intermediate matrix containing the design to produce the work, many of these allow the production of several copies. The term sculpture is used mainly to describe large works. The very large or colossal statue has had an enduring appeal since antiquity, another grand form of portrait sculpture is the equestrian statue of a rider on horse, which has become rare in recent decades. The smallest forms of life-size portrait sculpture are the head, showing just that, or the bust, small forms of sculpture include the figurine, normally a statue that is no more than 18 inches tall, and for reliefs the plaquette, medal or coin. Sculpture is an important form of public art, a collection of sculpture in a garden setting can be called a sculpture garden. One of the most common purposes of sculpture is in form of association with religion. Cult images are common in cultures, though they are often not the colossal statues of deities which characterized ancient Greek art. The actual cult images in the innermost sanctuaries of Egyptian temples, of which none have survived, were rather small. The same is true in Hinduism, where the very simple. Some undoubtedly advanced cultures, such as the Indus Valley civilization, appear to have had no monumental sculpture at all, though producing very sophisticated figurines, the Mississippian culture seems to have been progressing towards its use, with small stone figures, when it collapsed. Other cultures, such as ancient Egypt and the Easter Island culture, from the 20th century the relatively restricted range of subjects found in large sculpture expanded greatly, with abstract subjects and the use or representation of any type of subject now common. Today much sculpture is made for intermittent display in galleries and museums, small sculpted fittings for furniture and other objects go well back into antiquity, as in the Nimrud ivories, Begram ivories and finds from the tomb of Tutankhamun
Sculpture
–
The Dying Gaul, or The Capitoline Gaul a Roman marble copy of a
Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BCE
Capitoline Museums, Rome
Sculpture
Sculpture
–
Michelangelo 's
Moses, (c. 1513–1515), housed in the church of
San Pietro in Vincoli in
Rome. The sculpture was commissioned in 1505 by
Pope Julius II for his
tomb.
Sculpture
–
Assyrian
lamassu gate guardian from
Khorsabad, c. 721–800 BCE
3.
Ilaria del Carretto
–
Ilaria del Carretto was an Italian noblewoman and the second wife of Paolo Guinigi, the lord of Lucca from 1400 to 1430. Ilaria del Carretto was born in Zuccarello, the daughter of Carlo, in 1403 she married Paolo Guinigi and they had two children, Ladislao Guinigi, and a daughter, also named Ilaria. She died in Lucca at the age of twenty-six after giving birth to her daughter, upon her death, Paolo commissioned the sculptor, Jacopo della Quercia, to create a marble sarcophagus now located in the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca. In the finished work, she reclines peacefully with a dog, symbol of fidelity, the sarcophagus was not actually used and Ilaria del Carretto is buried in the Guinigi chapel of Santa Lucia in San Francesco. In 1991, James Beck an American art historian and authority on the sculpture of Jacopo della Quercia severely criticized a 1990 restoration of the tomb which removed the patina and he was unsuccessfully sued for defamation by the conservator. The sarcophagus features some of the earliest putti in sculpture since classical antiquity, the Monument of Ilaria del Carretto in the Cathedral of Lucca
Ilaria del Carretto
–
The face of Ilaria del Carretto from her tomb, sculpted by Jacopo della Quercia.
Ilaria del Carretto
–
Tomb and monument of Ilaria del Carretto by
Jacopo della Quercia, ca. 1413 (plaster cast in Moscow)
4.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
5.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
6.
Filippo Brunelleschi
–
Filippo Brunelleschi was an Italian designer and a key figure in architecture, recognised to be the first modern engineer, planner and sole construction supervisor. He was one of the fathers of the Renaissance. He is generally known for developing a technique for linear perspective in art. Heavily depending on mirrors and geometry, to reinforce Christian spiritual reality and it also had the most profound – and quite unanticipated – influence on the rise of modern science. His accomplishments also include other works, sculpture, mathematics, engineering. His principal surviving works are to be found in Florence, Italy, unfortunately, his two original linear perspective panels have been lost. Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy, little is known about his early life, the only sources being Antonio Manetti and Giorgio Vasari. According to these sources, Filippos father was Brunellesco di Lippo, a notary, Filippo was the middle of their three children. The young Filippo was given a literary and mathematical education intended to enable him to follow in the footsteps of his father, a civil servant. Being artistically inclined, however, Filippo enrolled in the Arte della Seta, the silk merchants Guild, which also included goldsmiths, metalworkers and he became a master goldsmith in 1398. It was thus not a coincidence that his first important building commission, in 1401, Brunelleschi entered a competition to design a new set of bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery. Seven competitors each produced a bronze panel, depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac. Brunelleschis entry, which, with that of Lorenzo Ghiberti, is one of two to have survived, made reference to the Greco-Roman Boy with Thorn. Brunelleschis panel consists of several pieces bolted to the back plate, Brunelleschi is considered a seminal figure of the Renaissance. Around 1400, there emerged a cultural interest in humanitas, or humanism, however, this interest was restricted to a few scholars, writers, and philosophers before it began to influence the visual arts. It was in period that Brunelleschi and his friend Donatello visited Rome to study its ancient ruins. Donatello, like Brunelleschi, was trained as a goldsmith, though he worked in the studio of contemporarily well-known painter Ghiberti. Although the glories of Ancient Rome were a matter of popular discourse at the time, it seems no one had studied the physical fabric of its ruins in any detail until Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi
–
Presumed depiction in Resurrection of the Son of Theophilus,
Masaccio
Filippo Brunelleschi
–
The
Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in
Florence possesses the largest brick dome in the world, and is considered a masterpiece of European architecture.
Filippo Brunelleschi
–
Nave of the Santo Spirito, Florence, 1441–1481
Filippo Brunelleschi
–
Chapel of the Pazzi family, one of his last works
7.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Trained as a goldsmith and sculptor, he established an important workshop for sculpture in metal. His book of Commentari contains important writing on art, as well as what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist, Ghiberti was born in Pelago,20 km from Florence. His father was Bartoluccio Ghiberti, an artist and goldsmith, who trained his son in goldsmithing and he then went to work in the Florence workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, where Antonio del Pollaiolo also received his training. When the bubonic plague struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti emigrated to Rimini, Ghibertis career was dominated by his two successive commissions for pairs of bronze doors to the Florence Baptistery. They are recognized as a masterpiece of the Early Renaissance. Ghiberti first became famous when as a 23-year-old he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors, the original plan was for the doors to depict scenes from the Old Testament, but the plan was changed to depict scenes from the New Testament instead. However, the piece made was of the sacrifice of Isaac. To carry out this commission, he set up a workshop in which many artists trained, including Donatello, Masolino, Michelozzo, Uccello. Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a different style. These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject, dubbed The Gates of Paradise by Michelangelo, this second set remains a major monument of the age of Renaissance humanism. As recommended by Giotto, Andrea Pisano was awarded the commission to design the first set of doors at the Florence Baptistery in 1329, the south doors were originally installed on the east side facing the Duomo, and were transferred to their present location in 1452. These proto-Renaissance doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels, with the twenty top panels depicting scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, the eight lower panels depict the eight virtues of hope, faith, charity, humility, fortitude, temperance, justice and prudence. Pisano took six years to them, finishing in 1336. In 1453, Ghiberti and his son Vittorio were commissioned to add a door case to Pisanos existing panels, Ghiberti died in 1455, eight years before the frame was finished leaving a majority of the work to Vitorrio and other members of his workshop. There is a Latin inscription on top of the door, Andreas Ugolini Nini de Pisis me fecit A. D. MCCCXXX, the South Doors were undergoing restoration during September,2016. In 1401, the Arte di Calimala announced a competition to design doors which would eventually be placed on the side of the baptistry. These new doors would serve as an offering to celebrate Florence being spared from relatively recent scourges such as the Black Death in 1348. Many artists competed for this commission and a jury selected seven semifinalists which included Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, at the time of judging, only Ghiberti and Brunelleschi were finalists, and when the judges could not decide, they were assigned to work together on them
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Gates of Paradise.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Lorenzo Ghiberti on Gates of Paradise, modern copy
Florence Baptistery
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
In Flagellation, one of the panels on the North Doors.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
The story of
Joseph, a panel from the second set of doors to the
Baptistery
8.
Donatello
–
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax, and had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Though his best-known works were mostly statues in the round, he developed a new, very shallow, type of bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was larger architectural reliefs. Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine Arte della Lana, Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family. He apparently received his artistic training in a goldsmiths workshop. While undertaking study and excavations with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome, work that gained the two men the reputation of treasure seekers, Donatello made a living by working at goldsmiths shops. In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade and this work marks a decisive step forward from late Gothic Mannerism in the search for naturalism and the rendering of human feelings. The face, the shoulders and the bust are still idealized, while the hands, in 1411–13, Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the guild church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the Saint George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers, the elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statues base, executed in schiacciato is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture. From 1423 is the Saint Louis of Toulouse for the Orsanmichele, Donatello had also sculpted the classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Verrocchio. Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, also known as the Duomo. These works are the Beardless Prophet, Bearded Prophet, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Habbakuk, and Jeremiah, from the late teens is the Pazzi Madonna relief in Berlin. In 1425, he executed the notable Crucifix for Santa Croce, this work portrays Christ in a moment of the agony, eyes and mouth partially opened, the body contracted in an ungraceful posture. From 1425 to 1427, Donatello collaborated with Michelozzo on the monument of the Antipope John XXIII for the Battistero in Florence. Donatello made the recumbent bronze figure of the deceased, under a shell, in 1427, he completed in Pisa a marble relief for the funerary monument of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci at the church of SantAngelo a Nilo in Naples. In the same period, he executed the relief of the Feast of Herod, the relief is mostly in stiacciato, with the foreground figures are done in bas-relief. Around 1430, Cosimo de Medici, the foremost art patron of his era and this is now Donatellos most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. Also from this period is the disquietingly small Love-Atys, housed in the Bargello, some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artists own orientation
Donatello
–
16th-century portrait
Donatello
–
Statue of St. John the Baptist in the Duomo di Siena
Donatello
–
In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist.
Donatello
–
Donatello David head and shoulders front right
9.
Michelangelo
–
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since described as one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of Michelangelos works of painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence and he sculpted two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, before the age of thirty. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library, at the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peters Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan so that the end was finished to his design, as was the dome, with some modification. Michelangelo was unique as the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive, in his lifetime he was often called Il Divino. One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, the attempts by subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelos impassioned and highly personal style resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, at the time of Michelangelos birth, his father was the Judicial administrator of the small town of Caprese and local administrator of Chiusi. Michelangelos mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, the Buonarrotis claimed to descend from the Countess Mathilde of Canossa, this claim remains unproven, but Michelangelo himself believed it. Several months after Michelangelos birth, the returned to Florence. There Michelangelo gained his love for marble, as Giorgio Vasari quotes him, If there is good in me. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, as a young boy, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to study grammar under the Humanist Francesco da Urbino. The young artist, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from churches, the city of Florence was at that time the greatest centre of the arts and learning in Italy. Art was sponsored by the Signoria, by the merchant guilds and by patrons such as the Medici. The Renaissance, a renewal of Classical scholarship and the arts, had its first flowering in Florence, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti had laboured for fifty years to create the bronze doors of the Baptistry, which Michelangelo was to describe as The Gates of Paradise. The exterior niches of the Church of Orsanmichele contained a gallery of works by the most acclaimed sculptors of Florence – Donatello, Ghiberti, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Nanni di Banco. The interiors of the churches were covered with frescos, begun by Giotto. During Michelangelos childhood, a team of painters had been called from Florence to the Vatican, among them was Domenico Ghirlandaio, a master in fresco painting, perspective, figure drawing, and portraiture who had the largest workshop in Florence at that period
Michelangelo
–
Portrait of Michelangelo by
Daniele da Volterra
Michelangelo
–
The
Madonna of the Stairs (1490–92), Michelangelo's earliest known work
Michelangelo
–
Michelangelo's
Pietà, St Peter's Basilica (1498–99)
Michelangelo
–
The
Statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance.
10.
Madonna of humility
–
Madonna of humility refers to artistic portrayals of the Virgin Mary which depict her as a Madonna sitting on the ground, or sitting upon a low cushion. She may be holding the Child Jesus in her lap, the term Virgin of humility is also used to refer to this style of depiction. The earliest known painting of this dates to 1346 and is at the Museo Nazionale in Palermo. It represents a Madonna seated on a small cushion just above the ground, the Child Jesus that she holds partially looks at the viewer. The painting bears the inscription Nostra Domina de Humiltate, with the low cushion intended to express her humility and this painting in Palermo is, however, of a somewhat mediocre quality and was perhaps based on a work of Simone Martini. A similar painting in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, and both paintings were based on a Madonna of humility by Martini. A Virgin of humility fresco by Simone Martini survives in the Palais des Papes in Avignon, an altar was dedicated to the Madonna of humility in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence in 1361. This style of painting spread quickly through Italy and by 1375 examples began to appear in Spain, France and it was the most popular among the styles of the early Trecento artistic period. Domenico di Bartolos Madonna of humility, painted in 1433, was described by art historian Andrew Ladis as one of the most innovative devotional images from the early Renaissance. The formal symmetry of the strips below her feet and those hovering above her express the duality of her nature. Despite the low seating position, the star and the gems as well as the halo signify her regal status, in this painting, which is at the Pinoteca Nazionale in Siena, Domenico does not use cast shadows as he does in other works such as the Madonna Enthroned. Filippo Lippis Madonna of humility, painted between 1431 and 1437, is also an important work and illustrates Lippis early style, when he was attentive to Masaccios use of large and round figures. It was painted during a period when Lippi had dropped out of sight, a miracle attributed to the fresco of the Madonna of humility painted in about 1370 gave rise to the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, in Tuscany, Italy. The fresco is attributed to Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani, but was perhaps done by a local painter from Pistoia. The basilica, built by architect Ventura Vitoni, is an important example of high Renaissance architecture, giorgio Vasari built the octagonal dome atop the basilica in 1562. The original fresco remains within the basilica, other key examples include Bernardo Daddis central panel in the De Carlo Triptych in which the Madonna is shown sitting in a very low chair, rather than on a cushion. Fra Angelicos representation of about 1430 is notable in that Jesus is approached from above, Giovanni di Paolos depiction of about 1456 represents a transition in the perception of nature, with the visual landscape forming itself around the seated Madonna. Marian art in the Catholic Church Williamson, Beth, Madonna of Humility, Development, Dissemination and Reception, for a larger gallery, please see, Madonna of humility gallery
Madonna of humility
–
Madonna of humility by
Domenico di Bartolo, 1433.
Madonna of humility
–
Fra Angelico, c. 1430.
Madonna of humility
Madonna of humility
–
Lorenzo Monaco, c. 1410
11.
Nicola Pisano
–
Nicola Pisano was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture and his birth date or origins are uncertain. He was born in Apulia, as the son of Petrus de Apulia, Nicola Pisano was probably trained in the local workshops of the emperor Frederick II, and he attended his coronation. Here he was trained to give to the traditional representations more movement and emotions, intertwining Classical and his only remaining works from this period are two griffon heads with a soft chiaroscuro effect. Around 1245 he moved to Tuscany to work at the Prato Castle, the lions on the portal of this castle are probably by his hand. The head of a girl, cut in hardstone of Elba, is also ascribed to Nicola Pisano in the same period. He moved to Lucca, working at façade of the Cathedral of Saint Martin, resulting in the relief Deposition from the Cross and he moved to Pisa between 1245 and 1250, where his son Giovanni Pisano was born. Around 1255 he received a commission for the pulpit in the baptistery of Pisa and he finished this work in 1260 and signed with Nicola Pisanus. He was aided by several assistants, among which were Arnolfo di Cambio, Vasari relates that Nicola Pisano constantly studied these Roman remains and the Roman sculptures from Augustan times seem to have marked a deep impression on him. In the panel Representation the Madonna reminds us of the bearing of goddesses in late Roman sculpture. The pulpit rests on a column, raised on an octagonal pedestal. This central column rests on sculptures of animals and telamons and is surrounded by six columns of different height, the columns came from remains at Ostia. The Corinthian capitals support trefoil Gothic arches, richly decorated with Prophets and Evangelists in the spandrels and these arches are separated by sculptures of St. John the Baptist, St. Michael and the Virtues and, surprisingly, a nude Hercules. The backgrounds of scenes were originally painted and enamelled, while the eyes of the figures were coloured. This contributed to a depiction of these religious scenes. All these scenes, except the last two, reflect his knowledge of the style on the sarcophagi, the figures wear tunics in a Roman fashion. The Virgin wears a pallium over her head in the manner as a Roman matron. The scene The Last Judgement was probably based on a Byzantine ivory and he must have found his inspiration for this pulpit in the triumphal arches he had seen in Rome when travelling to Ostia
Nicola Pisano
–
Posthumous portrait statue of Nicola Pisano at the
Uffizi in Florence
Nicola Pisano
–
Pulpit (detail): the "Nativity" and Annunciation to the Shepherds
Nicola Pisano
–
Pulpit in the baptistery of Pisa
Nicola Pisano
–
Dome of the baptistery of Pisa
12.
Arnolfo di Cambio
–
Arnolfo di Cambio was an Italian architect and sculptor. Arnolfo was born in Colle Val dElsa, Tuscany and he was Nicola Pisano’s chief assistant on the marble Siena Cathedral Pulpit for the Duomo in Siena Cathedral, but he soon began to work independently on an important tomb sculpture. In 1266–1267 he worked in Rome for King Charles I of Anjou, portraying him in the famous statue housed in the Campidoglio. In this period he worked on the presepio of Santa Maria Maggiore, on Santa Maria in Aracoeli, on the monument of Pope Boniface VIII. In 1294–1295 he worked in Florence, mainly as an architect, the surviving statues are now in the Museum of the Cathedral. While the design of the Church of Santa Croce has been attributed to Arnolfo, Vasari also attributed to him the urban plan of the new city of San Giovanni Valdarno. The monumental character of Arnolfos work has left its mark on the appearance of Florence and his funerary monuments became the model for Gothic funerary art. Giorgio Vasari included a biography of Arnolfo in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, old basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence Cathedral St. Peter Enthroned inside St. Peters Basilica, is often attributed to Arnolfo. Lo stil novo del Gotico italiano, Arnolfo di Cambio in the History of Art
Arnolfo di Cambio
–
The
ciborium over the high altar of
St. John Lateran is derived from a design by Arnolfo di Cambio and decorated with paintings by Barna da Siena in 1367–1368. The cage above contains silver reliquaries which are said to hold the heads of SS. Peter and Paul.
Arnolfo di Cambio
–
The sculpture of St. Peter found within
St. Peter's Basilica,
Rome
Arnolfo di Cambio
–
Detail of the tomb of Riccardo Cardinal Annibaldi, at
St. John Lateran. This was the first major work of Arnolfo in
Rome.
Arnolfo di Cambio
–
Tomb of Honorius IV
13.
Duomo di Siena
–
Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Previously the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, from the 15th century the Archdiocese of Siena, the cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome, the dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary citys founders, Senius and Aschius. The origins of the first structure are obscure and shrouded in legend, there was a 9th-century church with bishops palace at the present location. In December 1058 a synod was held in this resulting in the election of pope Nicholas II. In 1196 the cathedral masons’ guild, the Opera di Santa Maria, was put in charge of the construction of a new cathedral. Works were started with the north - south transept and it was planned to add the main, larger body of the cathedral later, by 1215 there were already daily masses said in the new church. There are records from 1226 onwards of the transport of black and white marble, probably for the construction of the façade, the vaults and the transept were constructed in 1259-1260. In 1259 Manuello di Ranieri and his son Parri carved some wooden choir stalls, in 1264, Rosso Padellaio was paid for the copper sphere on top of the dome. A second massive addition of the body of the cathedral was planned in 1339. It would have more than doubled the size of the structure by means of a new nave. The construction was begun under the direction of Giovanni di Agostino, construction was halted by the Black Death in 1348. Basic errors in the construction were already evident by then, however, the outer walls, remains of this extension, can now be seen to the south of the Duomo. The floor of the nave now serves as a parking lot and museum, and, though unfinished, the remains are testament to Sienese power, ambition. Underneath the choir of the Duomo, a narthex containing important late 13th-century frescoes was found, the frescoes depict scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Christ. This was part of the entrance of an earlier church, but when the baptistry was built, this under-church was filled with rubble
Duomo di Siena
–
Siena Cathedral
Duomo di Siena
–
Upper façade mosaic - Coronation of the Virgin.
Duomo di Siena
–
Gargoyles and Saints on façade.
Duomo di Siena
–
Siena Cathedral façade
14.
Lucca
–
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio, in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Lucca and it is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls. Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC, the rectangular grid of its historical centre preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum. Traces of the amphitheatre still may be seen in the Piazza dellAnfiteatro, at the Lucca Conference, in 56 BC, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus reaffirmed their political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. Frediano, an Irish monk, was bishop of Lucca in the sixth century. At one point, Lucca was plundered by Odoacer, the first Germanic King of Italy, Lucca was an important city and fortress even in the sixth century, when Narses besieged it for several months in 553. Under the Lombards, it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins, the Holy Face of Lucca, a major relic supposedly carved by Nicodemus, arrived in 742. During the eighth-tenth centuries Lucca was a center of Jewish life, Lucca became prosperous through the silk trade that began in the eleventh century, and came to rival the silks of Byzantium. During the tenth–eleventh centuries Lucca was the capital of the margraviate of Tuscany, more or less independent. After the death of Matilda of Tuscany, the city began to constitute itself an independent commune, for almost 500 years, Lucca remained an independent republic. There were many minor provinces in the region between southern Liguria and northern Tuscany dominated by the Malaspina, Tuscany in this time was a part of feudal Europe, dante’s Divine Comedy includes many references to the great feudal families who had huge jurisdictions with administrative and judicial rights. Dante spent some of his exile in Lucca, in 1273 and again in 1277, Lucca was ruled by a Guelph capitano del popolo named Luchetto Gattilusio. In 1314, internal discord allowed Uguccione della Faggiuola of Pisa to make himself lord of Lucca, the Lucchesi expelled him two years later, and handed over the city to another condottiero, Castruccio Castracani, under whose rule it became a leading state in central Italy. Lucca rivalled Florence until Castracanis death in 1328, on 22 and 23 September 1325, in the battle of Altopascio, Castracani defeated Florences Guelphs. For this he was nominated by Louis IV the Bavarian to become duke of Lucca, Castracanis tomb is in the church of San Francesco. His biography is Machiavellis third famous book on political rule, in 1408, Lucca hosted the convocation intended to end the schism in the papacy. Occupied by the troops of Louis of Bavaria, the city was sold to a rich Genoese, Gherardino Spinola, then seized by John, Lucca had been the second largest Italian city state with a republican constitution to remain independent over the centuries. In 1805, Lucca was conquered by Napoleon, who installed his sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi as Princess of Lucca, from 1815 to 1847 it was a Bourbon-Parma duchy
Lucca
–
View of Lucca from the
Torre Guinigi
Lucca
–
Coat of arms
Lucca
–
Duomo di San Martino (the Cathedral).
Lucca
–
Palazzo Pfanner, garden view.
15.
Piazza dei Miracoli
–
Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner, the square is dominated by four great religious edifices, the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, which houses the Sinopias Museum, the square is sometimes called the Campo dei Miracoli. In 1987, the square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The heart of the Piazza del Duomo is the Duomo, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Pisa. The cathedral has two aisles on either side of the nave, the transept consists of three aisles. The church is also as the Primatial, the archbishop of Pisa being a Primate since 1092. Its construction began in 1064 by the architect Buscheto and it set the model for the distinctive Pisan Romanesque style of architecture. The mosaics of the interior, as well as the pointed arches, the façade, of grey marble and white stone set with discs of coloured marble, was built by a master named Rainaldo, as indicated by an inscription above the middle door, Rainaldus prudens operator. The massive bronze doors were made in the workshops of Giambologna. The original central door was of bronze, made around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano, however, worshippers have never used the façade doors to enter, instead entering by way of the Porta di San Ranieri, in front of the Leaning Tower, built around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano. Above the doors are four rows of galleries with, on top, statues of Madonna with Child and, on the corners. Also in the façade is found the tomb of Buscheto and an inscription about the foundation of the Cathedral, the interior is faced with black and white marble and has a gilded ceiling and a frescoed dome. It was largely redecorated after a fire in 1595, which destroyed most of the Renaissance art works, fortunately, the impressive mosaic of Christ in Majesty, in the apse, flanked by the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, survived the fire. It evokes the mosaics in the church of Monreale, Sicily, although it is said that the mosaic was done by Cimabue, only the head of St. John was done by the artist in 1302, his last work, since he died in Pisa the same year. The cupola, at the intersection of the nave and transept, was decorated by Riminaldi showing the assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Galileo is believed to have formulated his theory about the movement of a pendulum by watching the swinging of the lamp hanging from the ceiling of the nave. That lamp, smaller and simpler than the present one, is now kept in the Camposanto, the granite Corinthian columns between the nave and the aisle came originally from the mosque of Palermo, captured by the Pisans in 1063. The coffer ceiling of the nave was replaced after the fire of 1595, the present gold-decorated ceiling carries the coat of arms of the Medici
Piazza dei Miracoli
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Piazza dei Miracoli
–
Pisa Cathedral façade
Piazza dei Miracoli
–
Pisa Cathedral with the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Piazza dei Miracoli
–
Pisa Cathedral interior and Galileo's Lamp
16.
Gothic style
–
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
Gothic style
–
Façade of
Reims Cathedral, France
Gothic style
–
The interior of the western end of Reims Cathedral
Gothic style
–
Overview of Reims Cathedral from north-east
Gothic style
–
South side of
Chartres Cathedral.
17.
Florence
–
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
–
A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
–
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
18.
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)
–
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto, the Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and 1128 in the Florentine Romanesque style. The Baptistry is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures, the south doors were created by Andrea Pisano and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The east doors were dubbed by Michelangelo the Gates of Paradise, the Italian poet Dante and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistry. It was long believed that the Baptistry was originally a Roman temple dedicated to Mars, the chronicler Giovanni Villani reported this medieval Florentine legend in his fourteenth-century Nuova Cronica on the history of Florence. It is, however, certain that a first octagonal baptistry was erected here in the fourth or early fifth century. It was replaced or altered by another early Christian baptistry in the sixth century and its construction is attributed to Theodolinda, queen of the Lombards to seal the conversion of her husband, King Authari. The octagon had been a common shape for baptisteries for many centuries since early Christian times, the number eight is a symbol of regeneration in Christianity, signifying the six days of creation, the Day of Rest, and a day of re-creation through the Sacrament of Baptism. The earlier baptistry was the second basilica after San Lorenzo, outside the northern city wall. It was first recorded as such on 4 March 897, when the Count Palatine, the granite pilasters were probably taken from the Roman forum sited at the location of the present Piazza della Repubblica. At that time, the baptistry was surrounded by a cemetery with Roman sarcophagi, the present much larger Baptistry was built in Romanesque style around 1059, evidence of the growing economic and political importance of Florence. It was reconsecrated on 6 November 1059 by Pope Nicholas II, according to legend, the marbles were brought from Fiesole, conquered by Florence in 1078. Other marble came from ancient structures, the construction was finished in 1128. An octagonal lantern was added to the roof around 1150. On the corners, under the roof, are monstrous lion heads with a head under their claws. Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, three double doors were added, with bronze and marble statues above them. This gives an indication that the Baptistry, at time, was at least equal to the neighbouring cathedral in importance. The Baptistry has eight sides with a rectangular addition on the west side
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)
–
Florence Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni).
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)
–
Mosaic -covered interior of the
octagonal dome
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)
–
Illustration from Villani's
Nuova Cronica, showing
Totila razing the walls of Florence in the 6th century, leaving the Baptistry intact
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence)
–
Octagonal plan
19.
Ferrara
–
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 kilometres north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, the town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, when it hosted the court of the House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance it has qualified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Modern times have brought a renewal of industrial activity, Ferrara is on the main rail line from Bologna to Padua and Venice, and has branches to Ravenna, Poggio Rusco and Codigoro. Ferrara appears first in a document of the Lombard king Desiderius of 753 AD, Desiderius pledged a Lombard ducatus ferrariae in 757 to Pope Stephen II. Obizzo II dEste was proclaimed ruler of Ferrara five hundred years later. He also became seignior of nearby Modena in 1288 and of Reggio in 1289, in 1452 the Este rulers were created Dukes of Modena and Reggio, and in 1471 Ferrara also became a duchy. In 1597, when Alfonso II died without heirs, the House of Este lost Ferrara to the Papal States. Ferrara remained a part of the Papal States from 1598 to 1859, with an interruption during the Napoleonic period, in 1859 it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. A fortress was constructed by Pope Paul V on the site of the castle called Castel Tedaldo, at the south-west angle of the town, all of the fortress was dismantled following the birth of the Kingdom of Italy and the bricks used for new constructions all over the town. On August 23,1944, the Ferrara synthetic rubber plant was a target of Strategic bombing during World War II, the town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometres of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th-centuries. Along with those of Lucca, they are the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy, the imposing brick Castello Estense sited in the very centre of the town is iconic of Ferrara. The castle, erected in 1385, is surrounded by a moat, the pavilions on the top of the towers date from the 16th-century refurbishment. The City Hall, renovated in the 18th century, was the residence of the Este family. Close by it is the former Cathedral of San Giorgio, The Romanesque lower part of the main façade, according to a now lost inscription the church had been commissioned by Guglielmo I of Adelardi. The sculpture of the portal was signed by a Nicholaus. The upper part of the main façade, with arcades of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century, the recumbent lions guarding the entrance are copies of the originals, now in the narthex of the church. An elaborate 13th-century relief depicting the Last Judgement is found in the story of the porch
Ferrara
–
The Castle Estense
Ferrara
–
Ferrara City Hall.
Ferrara
–
The Renaissance walls.
Ferrara
–
The
Castle Estense.
20.
Paolo Guinigi
–
Paolo Guinigi was a lord of Lucca from 1400 until 1430. Paolo was born in Lucca in 1372 and he was the youngest son of Francesco Guinigi, member of one of the most outstanding families of Lucca. He was sent to London in 1389 and then to Flanders to care for the familys affairs, in 1392, he entered Luccas General Council and later held the position of Anziano. He fought against his brother, Antonio Guinigi, who had killed the head of the family, another brother Bartolomeo and others died in a plague which had struck Lucca. Paolo became the lord of Lucca on 21 November 1400 when he received the titles of Capitano e Difensore del Popolo. However, she died childless, and Guinigi married Ilaria del Carretto, a member of a noble Ligurian family and she too died early, in 1406, and Paolo Guinigi commissioned to sculptor Jacopo della Quercia a funerary monument, now housed in the Cathedral of Lucca. As a lord, Paolo strengthened the fortifications of Lucca and, in 1401, began the reconstruction of the Augustan Fortress built by Castracani in 1322 and dismantled in 1370. He also boosted the commerce of Carrara marble, the bank activities, to obtain this, he held peaceful relationships or alliances with the other Italian states, including the Papal States. In 1429, the Republic of Florence attacked Lucca due to its alliance with Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan, the Florentine troops, led by Niccolò Piccinino, ravaged the Lucchese countryside and besieged the city. Only the intervention of Ladislao Guinigi and Francesco Sforza saved the city, however, a popular revolt followed, causing Guinigis fall in 1430 and the restoration of the Republic. He was sentenced to death and arrested and he died captive in Pavia in 1432
Paolo Guinigi
–
Funerary monument of Ilaria del Carretto.
21.
Duomo di San Martino
–
Lucca Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Martin in Lucca, Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca, construction was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm. Of the original structure, the apse with its tall columnar arcades. In the nave a small temple or chapel shrine contains the most precious relic in Lucca. This cedar-wood crucifix and image of Christ, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, Christ is clothed in the colobium, a long sleeveless garment. The chapel was built in 1484 by Matteo Civitali, the most famous Luccan sculptor of the early Renaissance. The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia of Siena, the earliest of his extant works was commissioned by her husband, there is a legend to explain why all the columns of the façade are different. According to the tale, when they were going to decorate it, every artist made a column, but then the inhabitants of Lucca decided to take them all, without paying the artists and used all the columns. The labyrinth or maze is embedded in the pier of the portico and is believed to date from the 12th or 13th century. Its importance is that it may well pre-date the famous Chartres maze, the rustic incised Latin inscription refers to ancient pagan mythology, This is the labyrinth built by Dedalus of Crete, all who entered therein were lost, save Theseus, thanks to Ariadnes thread
Duomo di San Martino
–
Façade and bell tower of Lucca Cathedral
Duomo di San Martino
–
Shrine of the Sacred Face of Lucca
Duomo di San Martino
–
Labyrinth on the portico of the cathedral
22.
Sarcophagus
–
A sarcophagus is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word sarcophagus comes from the Greek σάρξ sarx meaning flesh, since lithos is Greek for stone, lithos sarcophagos means, flesh-eating stone. The word also came to refer to a kind of limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses trapped within it. Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground, in Ancient Egypt, a sarcophagus acted like an outer shell. They are made of clay in shades of brown to pink. Added to the basin-like main sarcophagus is a broad, rectangular frame, often covered with a white slip and then painted. The huge Lycian Tomb of Payava, now in the British Museum, is a tomb monument of about 360 BC designed for an open-air placing. However, there are many important Early Christian sarcophagi from the 3rd to 4th centuries, most Roman examples were designed to be placed against a wall and are decorated on three of the sides only. More plain sarcophagi were placed in crypts, of which the most famous include the Habsburg Imperial Crypt in Vienna. The term tends to be often used to describe Medieval, Renaissance. They continued to be popular into the 1950s, at time the popularity of flat memorials made them obsolete. Nonetheless, a 1952 catalog from the industry still included 8 pages of them, broken down into Georgian and Classical detail, a Gothic and Renaissance adaptation. Shown on the right are sarcophagi from the late 19th century located in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the one in the back, the Warner Monument created by Alexander Milne Calder, features the spirit or soul of the deceased being released. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, waruga are a form of sarcophagus. Mont Allen, Sarcophagus, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Michael Gagarin, R. R. R. Smith, Sculptured for Eternity, Treasures of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Art from Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Ewald, Living with Myths, The Imagery of Roman Sarcophagi, egyptian sarcophagi sarcaphagi in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
–
Stone sarcophagus of
Pharaoh Merenptah.
Sarcophagus
–
Constantinople Christian sarcophagus with
XI monogram, circa AD 400
Sarcophagus
–
Roman-era sarcophagi at
Worms, Germany.
Sarcophagus
–
The limestone relief on this
Roman sarcophagus, c. AD 190, depicts the Triumph of
Dionysus.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore, Maryland.
23.
Putti
–
A putto is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. However, in the Baroque period of art, the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God, a putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino. The more commonly found form putti is the plural of the Italian word putto, the Italian word comes from the Latin word putus, meaning boy or child. Today, in Italian, putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy. It may have derived from the same Indo-European root as the Sanskrit word putra, Avestan puθra-, Old Persian puça-, Pahlavi pus and pusar, all meaning son. Putti, in the ancient classical world of art, were winged infants that were believed to influence human lives. Putti are a motif found primarily on child sarcophagi of the 2nd century. Since then, Donatello has been called the originator of the putto because of the contribution to art he made in restoring the form of putto. He gave putto a distinct character by infusing the form with Christian meanings, putti also began to feature in works showing figures from classical mythology, which became popular in the same period. Most Renaissance putti are essentially decorative and they ornament both religious and secular works, without taking any actual part in the events depicted in narrative paintings. There are two forms of the putto as the main subject of a work of art in 16th-century Italian Renaissance art, the sleeping putto. So many artists have depicted them that a list would be pointless, but among the best-known are the sculptor Donatello, the two relaxed and curious putti who appear at the foot of Raphaels Sistine Madonna are often reproduced. They also experienced a revival in the 19th century, where they gamboled through paintings by French academic painters. The iconography of putti is deliberately unfixed, so that it is difficult to tell the difference between putti, cupids, and various forms of angels and they have no unique, immediately identifiable attributes, so that putti may have many meanings and roles in the context of art. In popular culture, putto is also used as a decorative art found on buildings, gardens, a putto smoking a cigarette served as the cover art for Van Halens album 1984. A putto is the protagonist of the 2000 third person shooter Messiah, in the British TV series Doctor Who, infants of the species Weeping Angels appear as putti. In the 1st-person shooter Team Fortress 2, the Meet the Pyro video has the BLU Team appear as putti in Pyroland, in the 2003 video game Drakengard, a group of malevolent god-like figures known as the Watchers appear as putti. The historiography of this matter is very short
Putti
–
Sleeping Putto, by
Léon Bazille Perrault, 1882
Putti
–
Sarcophagus of the Museo Pio-Clementino (
Vatican Museums).
Putti
–
Putto on the ceiling of
Stirling Castle.
Putti
–
Tomb and monument of
Ilaria del Carretto by
Jacopo della Quercia, ca. 1413 (plaster cast in Moscow)
24.
Piazza del Campo
–
Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europes greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity, the Palazzo Pubblico and its Torre del Mangia, as well as various palazzi signorili surround the shell-shaped piazza. At the northwest edge is the Fonte Gaia, the twice-a-year horse-race, Palio di Siena, is held around the edges of the piazza. Siena may have had earlier Etruscan settlements, but it was not a considerable Roman settlement, the number of divisions is held to be symbolic of the rule of The Nine who laid out the campo and governed Siena at the height of its mediaeval splendour between 1292-1355. The Campo was and remains the point of public life in the City. From the piazza, eleven narrow shaded streets radiate into the city, at the foot of the Palazzo Pubblicos wall is the late Gothic Chapel of the Virgin built as an ex voto by the Sienese, after the terrible Black Death of 1348 had ended. Under the direction of the Committee of Nine, many miles of tunnels were constructed to bring water in aqueducts to fountains and thence to drain to the surrounding fields. The white marble Fonte Gaia was originally designed and built by Jacopo della Quercia, whose bas-reliefs from the basins sides are conserved in the Ospedale di St. Maria della Scala in Piazza Duomo. When they were set up in 1419, Jacopo della Quercias nude figures were the first two female nudes, who were neither Eve nor a repentant saint, to stand in a place since Antiquity. Two Weeks in Tuscany The Sight in the Piazza ItalyGuides. com, Piazza del Campo Many pictures Siena Piazza del Campo English Video Introduction
Piazza del Campo
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Siena's Piazza del Campo
Piazza del Campo
–
Gores of brick paving viewed from the
Torre del Mangia
Piazza del Campo
–
Fonte Gaia
25.
Black Plague
–
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–1353. The Black Death is thought to have originated in the plains of Central Asia. From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europes total population, in total, the plague may have reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million down to 350–375 million in the 14th century. The world population as a whole did not recover to pre-plague levels until the 17th century, the plague recurred occasionally in Europe until the 19th century. The plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, in October 2010, medical geneticists suggested that all three of the great waves of the plague originated in China. In China, the 13th-century Mongol conquest caused a decline in farming and trading, however, economic recovery had been observed at the beginning of the 14th century. In the 1330s, a number of natural disasters and plagues led to widespread famine, starting in 1331. Epidemics that may have included plague killed an estimated 25 million Chinese, the disease may have travelled along the Silk Road with Mongol armies and traders or it could have come via ship. By the end of 1346, reports of plague had reached the seaports of Europe, India was depopulated, Tartary, Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via Genoese traders at the port city of Kaffa in the Crimea in 1347. After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol army under Jani Beg was suffering from the disease, the Genoese traders fled, taking the plague by ship into Sicily and the south of Europe, whence it spread north. Whether or not this hypothesis is accurate, it is clear that several existing conditions such as war, famine, there appear to have been several introductions into Europe. The plague reached Sicily in October 1347, carried by twelve Genoese galleys, galleys from Kaffa reached Genoa and Venice in January 1348, but it was the outbreak in Pisa a few weeks later that was the entry point to northern Italy. Towards the end of January, one of the galleys expelled from Italy arrived in Marseille. From Italy, the disease spread northwest across Europe, striking France, Spain, Portugal and England by June 1348, then turned and spread east through Germany and it was introduced in Norway in 1349 when a ship landed at Askøy, then spread to Bjørgvin and Iceland. Finally it spread to northwestern Russia in 1351, modern researchers do not think that the plague ever became endemic in Europe or its rat population. The disease repeatedly wiped out the rodent carriers so that the fleas died out until a new outbreak from Central Asia repeated the process. The outbreaks have been shown to occur roughly 15 years after a warmer and wetter period in areas where plague is endemic in other such as gerbils
Black Plague
–
A hand showing how acral
gangrene of the
fingers due to
bubonic plague causes the skin and
flesh to
die and turn black
Black Plague
–
Spread of the Black Death in Europe (1346–53)
Black Plague
–
An inguinal bubo on the upper thigh of a person infected with bubonic plague. Swollen lymph glands (buboes) often occur in the neck, armpit and groin (inguinal) regions of plague victims
Black Plague
–
Yersinia pestis (200x magnification). The bacterium which causes bubonic plague.
26.
Tito Sarrocchi
–
Tito Sarrocchi was an Italian sculptor. Sarrocchi was born at Siena to a family, as a boy was orphaned of mother. He had to support his two sisters and his father, who had become nearly blind. At the age of thirteen, he working under Antonio Manetti in the restoration of the facade of the Duomo of Siena. He also worked as a scenographer for a theater company. In 1841 moved to Florence, where he worked for a marble and alabaster merchant. But in his time, he attended courses at the Academy of Fine Arts taught by Lorenzo Bartolini. He later worked as the assistant to Giovanni Duprè. He created his first independent work, The Bacchante before returning to Siena, on the recommendation of Duprè he was chosen in 1855 to complete the monument to Giuseppe Pianigiani in San Domenico, which had been started by Enea Becheroni. Sarrocchi worked for ten years with Giuseppe Partini to replicate the early 15th-century sculptures at Jacopo della Quercias Fonte Gaia, the piece was inaugurated in 1869 with the original, weather-damaged work being moved to local hospital turned museum Santa Maria della Scala. He would go on to several other restoration projects, working on Giovanni Pisanos sculptures in Pisa. He created façades for Basilica of Santa Croce, in 1880 Sarrocchi completed a public monument to Sallustio Bandini, standing at Piazza Salimbeni in Siena. Sarrocchis work was recognised in Paris when his First Prayer won a gold medal, San Giuseppe Hall in Santa Maria della Scala has an exhibition of around two hundred of Sarrocchis plaster of Paris models. He donated the pieces to his city in 1894. In Siena, he sculpted a Civil Monument to those fallen in the wars of independence. And a statue of Sallustio Bandini for the piazza Salimbeni and he sculpted the relief placed over the facade of the church of Santa Croce, depicting the Invention of the Cross. For the English Cemetery in Alexandria, Egypt, he made four figures, for the cathedral of Massa Marittima, he sculpted a Gothic monument for monsignor Traversi, with three statues and a bas-relief. For the suburban cemetery of Pisa he made a monument for the Count Giuseppe Alliata, for the cemetery of Modena he made the monument for the family of marchesi Campori, including a relief of La Morte al Sepolcro
Tito Sarrocchi
–
Fonte Gaia in
Piazza del Campo, Siena.
Tito Sarrocchi
–
Façade at Santa Croce in Florence.
Tito Sarrocchi
–
Statue of Sallustio Bandini.
27.
Effigy
–
An effigy is a representation of a specific person in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional medium. The use of the term is restricted to certain contexts in a somewhat arbitrary way, recumbent effigies on tombs are so called. Likenesses of religious figures in sculpture are not normally called effigies and it is common to burn an effigy of a person as an act of protest. The word first appeared in 1539 and comes, perhaps via French, from the Latin effigies and this spelling was originally used in English for singular senses, even a single image was the effigies of. In effigie was probably understood as a Latin phrase until the 18th century, the word occurs in Shakespeares As You Like It of 1600, where scansion suggests that the second syllable is to be emphasized, as in the Latin pronunciation. The best known British example of a caricature effigy is the figure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plotter Guy Fawkes, found in charge of gunpowder to blow up the King in the House of Lords. On November 5, Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night, his effigy, typically made of straw, in many parts of the world, there are traditions of large caricature effigies of political or other figures carried on floats in parades at festivals. Political effigies serve a similar purpose in political demonstrations and annual community rituals such as that held in Lewes. In Lewes, models of important or unpopular figures in current affairs are burned on Guy Fawkes Night, in Oriental Orthodox Christianity, populace used to burn an effigy of Judas, just before Easter. Now it is considered a custom and there are currently no attempts at revival. Caricature effigies, in Greek skiachtro, are still in use to prevent birds from eating mature fruit and they were shown lying on the coffin at the funeral, and then often displayed beside or over the tomb. The figures were dressed in the clothes of the deceased, only the face, from the time of the funeral of Charles II in 1680, effigies were no longer placed on the coffin but were still made for later display. The effigy of Charles II was displayed over his tomb until the early 19th century, nelsons effigy was a tourist attraction, commissioned the year after his death and his burial in St Pauls Cathedral in 1805. The government had decided that public figures with State funerals should in future be buried at St Pauls. Concerned for their revenue from visitors, the Abbey decided it needed an attraction for admirers of Nelson. In the field of numismatics, effigy has been used to describe the image or portrait on the obverse of a coin. A practice evident in literature of the 19th century, the obverse of a coin was said to depict “the ruler’s effigy”. It can also be the case that the monarchs reign becomes long enough to merit issuing a succession of effigies so that their appearance continues to be current, in the past, criminals sentenced to death in absentia might be officially executed in effigy as a symbolic act
Effigy
–
Double tomb effigies — known as
gisants — in the Christian church of Josselin, France, 15th century
Effigy
–
Christian feast of burning of the New Testament figure of
Judas Iscariot in effigy in
Juiz de Fora,
Brazil, 1909
Effigy
–
Two
gingerbread man effigies served at feasts of
Christmas, Easter etc.
Effigy
–
A burning
Ravana, in
Manchester, England in 2006
28.
Basilica di San Frediano
–
The Basilica of San Frediano is a Romanesque church in Lucca, Italy, situated on the Piazza San Frediano. Fridianus was an Irish bishop of Lucca in the first half of the 6th century and he had a church built on this spot, dedicated to St. Vincent, a martyr from Zaragoza, Spain. When Fridianus was buried in church, the church was renamed Ss. Soon afterwards, a community of Augustinian canons was growing around this church, in the Longobard era, the church and the canon house were enlarged. In 1104, this order was recognized by Pope Paschal II, the prior of St. Frediano was later accorded a rank equal in dignity to that of a bishop. The church acquired its present appearance of a typical Roman basilica during the period 1112-1147, in the 13th-14th centuries the striking façade was decorated with a huge golden 13th century mosaic representing The Ascension of Christ the Saviour with the apostles below. Berlinghiero Berlinghieri designed it in a Byzantine/medieval style, several chapels of the nobility were added in the 14th-16th centuries. These are lavishly decorated with paintings and these same features are found - in a stadium even purer - in the nearby church of St. Inside, the basilica is built in richly carved white marble. It consists of a nave and two aisles with arches supported by columns with Roman and Romanesque capitals, the Roman capitals were recycled from the nearby Roman amphitheatre. The highlight at the entrance is the huge 12th-century Romanesque baptismal font and it is composed of a bowl, covered with a tempietto, resting on pillars, inside a circular basin. It is the craftmanship of master Roberto and two unknown masters, the basin is decorated with The Story of Moses by a Lombard sculptor. Master Roberto did the last two panels The Good Shepherd and the Six Prophets, the tempietto was sculpted by a Tuscan master, representing the months of the year and the apostles. Behind this font, higher on the wall, are two 15th century glazed terracotta lunettes, The Annunciation and St. Bartholomew, both attributed to the school of Andrea della Robbia. There is another font, still in use, carved and adapted from a sacramental altar by Matteo Civitali in 1489. The counterfaçade houses the 16th century organ in the carved, gold-plated choir from the 17th century. On the right hand is the chapel of St. Zita. Her intact mummified body, lying on a bed of brocade, is on display in a glass shrine, on the walls of the chapel are several canvasses from the 16th and 17th centuries depicting episodes from her life. The remains of St. Frediano lie underneath the altar from the 16th century
Basilica di San Frediano
–
Basilica of San Frediano.
Basilica di San Frediano
–
Monumental golden
mosaic on the façade.
Basilica di San Frediano
–
Transportation of the Volto Santo.
29.
Collegiata di San Gimignano
–
The church is famous for its fresco cycles which include works by Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Taddeo di Bartolo, Lippo Memmi and Bartolo di Fredi. The basilica is located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Centre of San Gimignano, the first church on the site was begun in the 10th century. During the early 12th century the importance of San Gimignano, and its church, grew steadily, owing to the towns location on the pilgrimage route to Rome. The present church on site was consecrated on 21 November 1148. The event is commemorated in a plaque on the facade, the power and authority of the city of San Gimignano continued to grow, until it was able to win autonomy from Volterra. The church owned land and enjoyed privileges that were endorsed by papal bulls. It was elevated to collegiate status 20 September 1471, during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, the church was enriched by the addition of frescos and sculpture. The western end of the building was altered and extended by Giuliano da Maiano between 1466 and 1468, with the work including vestries, the Chapel of Conception and the Chapel of St Fina. The church was damaged during World War II, and during the subsequent restoration in 1951 the triapsidal eastern end of the church was discovered lying beneath the nave of the present church. The church possesses the relics of St. Geminianus, the beatified Bishop of Modena and patron saint of the town, on 8 May 1300 Dante Alighieri came to San Gimignano as the Ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany. Girolamo Savonarola preached from the pulpit of this church in 1497, the Collegiate Church stands on the west side of Piazza del Duomo, so named although the church has never been the seat of a bishop. The church has a facade, and chancel to the west. The architecture is 12th and 13th century Romanesque with the exception of the two chapels in the Renaissance style. The facade, which has little ornament, is approached from the square by a staircase and has a door into each of the side aisles. The doorways are surmounted by stone lintels with recessed arches above them, there is a central ocular window at the end of the nave and a smaller one giving light to each aisle. The facade, which is stone, was raised higher in brick in 1340, when the ribbed vaulting was constructed, and the two smaller ocular windows set in. To the north side of the church, in the corner of the transept and chancel, stands a severely plain campanile of square plan, with a single arched opening in each face. To the south side of the church is the Loggia of the Baptistry, a 14th-century arcaded cloister with stout octagonal columns, the chancel is a simple rectangle with a single arched window at the terminal end
Collegiata di San Gimignano
–
View of the Collegiata.
Collegiata di San Gimignano
–
Interior, Collegiate Church
Collegiata di San Gimignano
–
The Creation of Adam by Bartolo di Fredi
Collegiata di San Gimignano
–
Pharaoh and his soldiers are drowned crossing the Red Sea, from the Old Testament cycle by
Bartolo di Fredi
30.
San Gimignano
–
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Within the walls, the buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant Agostino contain frescos, the Historic Centre of San Gimignano, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the 3rd century BC a small Etruscan village stood on the site of San Gimignano. The name of Silvia was changed to San Gimignano in 450 AD after Bishop Geminianus, from 929 the town was ruled by the bishops of Volterra. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, it was a point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome. In 1199, the city made itself independent of the bishops of Volterra and established a podestà, however, the peace of the town was disturbed for the next two centuries by conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines, and family rivalries. This resulted in families building tower houses of increasing height, towards the end of the Medieval period they were 72 in number and up to 70 metres tall. The rivalry was finally restrained when it was ordained by the council that no tower was to be taller than that adjacent to the Palazzo Comunale. While the official patron is Saint Geminianus, the town also honours Saint Fina, known also as Seraphina and Serafina, the Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church houses her shrine and frescos by Ghirlandaio. The house said to be her home stands in the town. On 8 May 1300, San Gimignano hosted Dante Alighieri in his role as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany, the city flourished until 1348, when it was struck by the Black Death that affected all of Europe, and about half the townsfolk died. The town submitted to the rule of Florence, initially, some Gothic palazzi were built in the Florentine style, and many of the towers were reduced to the height of the houses. There was little subsequent development, and San Gimignano remained preserved in its medieval state until the 19th century, the city is on the ridge of a hill with its main axis being north/south. It is encircled by three walls and has at its highest point, to the west, the ruins of a fortress dismantled in the 16th century, there are eight entrances into the city, set into the second wall, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. The main gates are Porta San Giovanni on the ridge extending south, Porta San Matteo to the north west, the main streets are Via San Matteo and Via San Giovanni, which cross the city from north to south. At the heart of the town are four squares, the Piazza Duomo, on which stands the Collegiate Church, the Piazza della Cisterna, the Piazza Pecori and the Piazza delle Erbe. To the north of the town is another significant square, Piazza Agostino, the locations of the Collegiate Church and Sant Agostinos and their piazzas effectively divide the town into two regions
San Gimignano
–
View of the town from the south
San Gimignano
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
San Gimignano
–
Towers in San Gimignano
San Gimignano
–
Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano
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