1.
Piazza della Signoria
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Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio and it is the focal point of the origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political hub of the city. It is the place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Plazzo Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo. The impressive 14th-century Palazzo Vecchio is still preeminent with its crenellated tower, the square is also shared with the Loggia della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia, and the Palazzo Uguccioni. Located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Palace of the Assicurazioni Generali, the Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany, the building acquired its current name when the Medici dukes residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. The Loggia dei Lanzi consists of wide open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals, the wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines, that Michelangelo even proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria. The vivacious construction of the Loggia is in stark contrast with the architecture of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is effectively an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art including the Medici lions, the Tribunale della Mercanzia is a building where in the past lawyers judged in the trial between merchants. Here was a porch painted by Taddeo Gaddi, Antonio del Pollaiolo and Sandro Botticelli, built for Giovanni Uguccioni since 1550, its design has been variously attributed to Raphael, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo Ammannati or Raffaello da Montelupo. The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871, on the ground floor of this palace is the historical cafè Rivoire. Other palaces are the palazzo dei Buonaguisi and the palazzo dellArte dei Mercatanti, various imposing statues ring this square including, Copy of Michelangelos David. At the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, the original by Michelangelo is housed in the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, later there was a church San Romolo, a loggia and an enormous 5th-century basilica. This was shown by the treasures found beneath the square when it was repaved in the 1980s. Even remains of a Neolithic site were found, the square started taking shape from 1268 on, when houses of Ghibellines were pulled down by the victorious Guelphs. The square remained a long time untidy, full of holes, in 1385 it was paved for the first time. In 1497 Girolamo Savonarola and his followers carried out on this square the famous Bonfire of the Vanities, burning in a large books, gaming tables, fine dresses
Piazza della Signoria
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Piazza della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria
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Panorama of the piazza
Piazza della Signoria
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Palazzo Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria
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Loggia dei Lanzi
2.
City hall
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In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, a guildhall, a Rathaus, or a municipal building, is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and it also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, or county / shire. By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a large open chamber formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the hall, has become synonymous with the whole building. The terms council chambers, municipal building or variants may be used locally in preference to town hall if no such large hall is present within the building, the local government may endeavor to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, town halls serve not only as buildings for government functions and these may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or civic centres are designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. As symbols of government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture. City hall buildings may also serve as icons that symbolize their cities. The term town hall may be a one, often applied without regard to whether the building serves or served a town or a city. This is generally the case in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, english-speakers in some regions use the term city hall to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status. This is the case in North America, where a distinction is made between city halls and town halls, and is also the case with Brisbane City Hall in Australia. The great hall of the town-house or municipal building, now commonly applied to the whole building city hall. Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their own councils may have borough halls, in Scotland, local government in larger cities operates from the City Chambers, otherwise the Town House. Elsewhere in English-speaking countries, other names are occasionally used, in London, the official headquarters of administration of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall, signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a small number of English cities the preferred term is Council House, this was also the case in Bristol until 2012, when the building was renamed City Hall. In Birmingham, there is a distinction between the Council House, the seat of government, and the Town Hall, a concert
City hall
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The
Rathaus in
Hamburg,
Germany, completed in 1897
City hall
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New York City Hall, the oldest continuous seat of local government in the
United States, completed in 1812
City hall
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Executive Building (Old City Hall) in
Cagayan de Oro City,
Philippines
City hall
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16th-century town hall in
Fordwich,
Kent, England, closely resembling a
market hall in its design
3.
Florence
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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
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A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
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The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
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Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
4.
Michelangelo
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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
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The
Madonna of the Stairs (1490–92), Michelangelo's earliest known work
Michelangelo
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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.
5.
David (Michelangelo)
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David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a 5. 17-metre marble statue of a male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a subject in the art of Florence. The eyes of David, with a glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria dellAccademia, Florence, in 1873, the history of the statue begins before Michelangelos work on it from 1501 to 1504. In 1410 Donatello made the first of the statues, a figure of Joshua in terracotta, a figure of Hercules, also in terracotta, was commissioned from the Florentine sculptor Agostino di Duccio in 1463 and was made perhaps under Donatellos direction. Eager to continue their project, in 1464, the Operai contracted Agostino to create a sculpture of David, a block of marble was provided from a quarry in Carrara, a town in the Apuan Alps in northern Tuscany. Agostino only got as far as beginning to shape the legs, feet and his association with the project ceased, for reasons unknown, with the death of Donatello in 1466, and ten years later Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to take up where Agostino had left off. Rossellinos contract was terminated soon thereafter, and the block of marble remained neglected for 25 years, all the while exposed to the elements in the yard of the cathedral workshop. This was of concern to the Opera authorities, as such a large piece of marble not only was costly but represented a large amount of labour. In 1500, an inventory of the cathedral workshops described the piece as a figure of marble called David, badly blocked out. A year later, documents showed that the Operai were determined to find an artist who could take this piece of marble. They ordered the block of stone, which they called The Giant, raised on its feet so that an experienced in this kind of work might examine it. Though Leonardo da Vinci and others were consulted, it was Michelangelo, only 26 years old, on 16 August 1501, Michelangelo was given the official contract to undertake this challenging new task. He began carving the statue early in the morning on 13 September and he would work on the massive statue for more than two years. They convened a committee of 30 Florentine citizens that comprised many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, while nine different locations for the statue were discussed, the majority of members seem to have been closely split between two sites. Another opinion, supported by Botticelli, was that the sculpture should be situated on or near the cathedral. In June 1504, David was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatellos bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes and it took four days to move the statue the half mile from Michelangelos workshop into the Piazza della Signoria
David (Michelangelo)
–
David
David (Michelangelo)
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David in the
Galleria dell'Accademia.
David (Michelangelo)
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David, modelling of the marble.
David (Michelangelo)
–
A replica of David now stands outside the
Palazzo Vecchio.
6.
Loggia dei Lanzi
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The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals, the wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines that Michelangelo proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria. Simone Talenti is also well-known from his contributions to the churches Orsanmichele, the vivacious construction of the Loggia is in stark contrast with the severe architecture of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is effectively an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art, the name Loggia dei Lanzi dates back to the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo I, when it was used to house his formidable landsknechts, or German mercenary pikemen. On the façade of the Loggia, below the parapet, are trefoils with allegorical figures of the four virtues by Agnolo Gaddi. Their blue enamelled background is the work of Leonardo, a monk, the vault, composed of semicircles, was done by the Florentine Antonio de Pucci. It was originally placed in the Villa Medici in Rome, on the side of the Loggia, there is a Latin inscription from 1750 commemorating the change of the Florentine calendar in 1749 to bring it into line with the Roman calendar. The Florentine calendar began on 25 March instead of 1 January, the other inscription from 1893 records the Florentines who distinguished themselves during the annexation of Milan, Venice and Rome to the kingdom of Italy. Underneath the bay on the far left is the statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini. It shows the mythical Greek hero holding his sword in his right hand, the well-proportioned muscular body of Perseus stands poised on the right leg. Perseus is reflecting and he seems to be frightened by his same action, blood is gushing from the head and the neck of the dead Medusa. The richly decorated pedestal, also by Cellini, shows four graceful bronze statuettes of Jupiter, Mercurius, Minerva. The bas-relief on the pedestal, representing Perseus freeing Andromeda, is a copy of the one in Bargello, Benvenuto Cellini worked almost ten years on this bronze. His wax design was approved by Cosimo I de Medici. He met numerous difficulties which, according to his autobiography, almost brought him to the brink of death, the casting of this bronze statue was several times unsuccessful. When attempting again, the melting furnace got overheated, spoiling the casting of the bronze, Cellini gave orders to feed the furnace with his household furniture and finally with about 200 pewter dishes and plates, and his pots and pans. This caused the bronze to flow again, after the bronze had cooled, the statue was finished, except for three toes on the right foot
Loggia dei Lanzi
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General view.
Loggia dei Lanzi
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Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus, a much-restored Roman sculpture
Loggia dei Lanzi
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Facade Trefoils with Four Virtues
Loggia dei Lanzi
7.
Republic of Florence
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The Republic of Florence, also known as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda, the Florentines formed a commune in her successors place. The republic was ruled by a council, known as the signoria, the signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. The republic had a history of coups and counter-coups against various factions. The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434, upon Cosimo de Medicis counter-coup against the faction that had sent him into exile the previous year, the Medici kept control of Florence until 1494. Giovanni de Medici re-conquered the republic in 1512, Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the War of the League of Cognac. The Medici re-assumed their rule in 1531, after an 11-month siege of the city, the republican government was disestablished in 1532, when Pope Clement VII appointed Alessandro de Medici Duke of the Florentine Republic, making the republic a hereditary monarchy. The city of Florence was established in 59 B. C. by Julius Caesar, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany before the death of Margravine Matilda in 1115. The city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo, the first official mention of the republic was in 1138 when several cities around Tuscany formed a league against Henry X of Bavaria. The country was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Florence prospered in the 12th century, trading extensively with foreign countries and this, in turn, provided a platform for demographic growth of the city. The growth of Florences population mirrored the rate of construction, many churches and this prosperity was shattered when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa invaded the Italian peninsula in 1185. The Margraves of Tuscany re-acquired Florence and its townlands, the Florentines re-asserted their independence when Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died in 1197. Florences population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants, as has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the citys trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the buildings from the era serve as Florences best example of Gothic Architecture. Politically, Florence was barely able to maintain peace between factions, the precarious peace that existed at the beginning of the century was destroyed in 1216 when two factions known as the Guelphs and the Ghibellines began to war. The Ghibellines were the rulers of Florence. The Ghibellines, who under Frederick of Antioch had ruled the city since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs, the Guelphs led Florence to prosper further
Republic of Florence
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Front and back of a Florentine florin
Republic of Florence
–
Flag
Republic of Florence
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Cosimo de' Medici, founder of the
House of Medici
Republic of Florence
–
Lorenzo de' Medici
8.
Palazzo Pitti
–
The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the side of the River Arno. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the residence of Luca Pitti. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a base by Napoleon. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, the palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The principal palazzo block, often in a building of design known as the corps de logis, is 32,000 square metres. It is divided into several principal galleries or museums detailed below, the construction of this severe and forbidding building was commissioned in 1458 by the Florentine banker Luca Pitti, a principal supporter and friend of Cosimo de Medici. The early history of the Palazzo Pitti is a mixture of fact, Pitti is alleged to have instructed that the windows be larger than the entrance of the Palazzo Medici. Besides obvious differences from the architects style, Brunelleschi died 12 years before construction of the palazzo began. The design and fenestration suggest that the architect was more experienced in utilitarian domestic architecture than in the humanist rules defined by Alberti in his book De Re Aedificatoria. Though impressive, the original palazzo would have no rival to the Florentine Medici residences in terms of either size or content. Whoever the architect of the Palazzo Pitti was, he was moving against the flow of fashion. The rusticated stonework gives the palazzo a severe and powerful atmosphere, reinforced by the series of seven arch-headed apertures. The Roman-style architecture appealed to the Florentine love of the new style allantica, work stopped after Pitti suffered financial losses following the death of Cosimo de Medici in 1464. Luca Pitti died in 1472 with the building unfinished, the building was sold in 1549 by Buonaccorso Pitti, a descendant of Luca Pitti, to Eleonora di Toledo. Raised at the court of Naples, Eleonora was the wife of Cosimo I de Medici of Tuscany
Palazzo Pitti
–
Early,
tinted 20th-century photograph of the Palazzo Pitti, then still known as La Residenza Reale following the residency of
King Victor Emmanuel II between 1865 and 1871, when Florence was the capital of Italy.
Palazzo Pitti
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Luca Pitti (1398–1472) began work on the palazzo in 1458.
Palazzo Pitti
–
Eleonora di Toledo,
Duchess of Florence, bought the palazzo from the Pitti in 1549 for the Medici. Portrait after
Bronzino.
Palazzo Pitti
–
A
lunette painted in 1599 by
Giusto Utens, depicts the palazzo before its extensions, with the
amphitheatre and the Boboli Gardens behind. The red stone excavated from the site was used in extensions to the palazzo.
9.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of art and culture. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule and the exploitation of the poor and he prophesied the coming of a biblical flood and a new Cyrus from the north who would reform the Church. In September 1494, when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, while Savonarola intervened with the French king, the Florentines expelled the ruling Medici and, at the friars urging, established a popular republic. In 1495 when Florence refused to join Pope Alexander VIs Holy League against the French and he disobeyed and further defied the pope by preaching under a ban, highlighting his campaign for reform with processions, bonfires of the vanities, and pious theatricals. In retaliation, the Pope excommunicated him in May 1497, a trial by fire proposed by a rival Florentine preacher in April 1498 to test Savonarolas divine mandate turned into a fiasco, and popular opinion turned against him. Savonarola and two of his supporting friars were imprisoned, under torture, Savonarola confessed that he had invented his visions and prophecies. On 23 May 1498, Church and civil authorities condemned, hanged, Savonarola was born on 21 September 1452, in Ferrara. His grandfather, Michele Savonarola, was a physician and polymath. Savonarolas mother Elena claimed a lineage from the Bonacossi family of Mantua and she and her husband Niccolo had seven children, of whom Girolamo was third. His grandfather was a successful physician who oversaw his education. His family had amassed in his grandfathers footsteps, at some point, however, he abandoned his career intentions. In his early poems, he expresses his preoccupation with the state of the Church and of the world. He began to write poetry of a bent, notably On the Ruin of the World and On the Ruin of the Church. About the same time, he seems to have been thinking about a life in religion, as he later told his biographer, a sermon he heard by a preacher in Faenza persuaded him to abandon the world. True or not, in a letter he wrote to his father when he left home to join the Dominican Order he hints at being troubled by desires of the flesh. There is also a story that on the eve of his departure he dreamed that he was cleansed of such thoughts by a shower of icy water which prepared him for the ascetic life. In the unfinished treatise he left behind, later called De contemptu mundi, or On Contempt for the World, he calls upon readers to fly from this world of adultery, sodomy, murder and envy
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Girolamo Savonarola by
Fra Bartolomeo, c. 1498,
Museo di San Marco,
Florence.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Fantasy portrait of Girolamo Savonarola by
Moretto da Brescia, c. 1524.
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Illustration from Compendio di revelatione, 1496, by Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola
–
Painting of Savonarola's execution in the
Piazza della Signoria
10.
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
11.
Santa Maria del Fiore
–
The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, Italy. The exterior of the basilica is faced with marble panels in various shades of green. The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and these three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italys largest churches, and until development of new materials in the modern era. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed, the cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is currently Giuseppe Betori. Santa Maria del Fiore was built on the site of a cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata. The new church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and approved by city council in 1294, di Cambio was also architect of the church of Santa Croce and the Palazzo Vecchio. He designed three wide naves ending under the dome, with the middle nave covering the area of Santa Reparata. The first stone was laid on September 9,1296, by Cardinal Valeriana, the building of this vast project was to last 140 years, Arnolfos plan for the eastern end, although maintained in concept, was greatly expanded in size. After Arnolfo died in 1310, work on the cathedral slowed for thirty years, when the relics of Saint Zenobius were discovered in 1330 in Santa Reparata, the project gained a new impetus. In 1331, the Arte della Lana, the guild of merchants, took over patronage for the construction of the cathedral. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued di Cambios design and his major accomplishment was the building of the campanile. When Giotto died in 1337, Andrea Pisano continued the building work was halted due to the Black Death in 1348. In 1359, Talenti was succeeded by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini who divided the nave in four square bays. Other architects were Alberto Arnoldi, Giovanni dAmbrogio, Neri di Fioravante, by 1375, the old church Santa Reparata was pulled down. The nave was finished by 1380, and by 1418, only the dome remained incomplete, on 18 August 1418, the Arte della Lana announced an architectural design competition for erecting Neris dome. The two main competitors were two master goldsmiths, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, the latter of whom was supported by Cosimo de Medici. Ghiberti had been the winner of a competition for a pair of doors for the Baptistery in 1401
Santa Maria del Fiore
–
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Italian) Cathedral Sanctae Mariae Floris (Latin)
Santa Maria del Fiore
–
Florence Cathedral
Santa Maria del Fiore
–
Giotto's bell tower (campanile)
Santa Maria del Fiore
–
The Duomo, as if completed, in a fresco by Andrea di Bonaiuto, painted in the 1360s, before the commencement of the dome
12.
Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
–
The Basilica di Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south-east of the Duomo, the site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world and its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself, the construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12 May 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the citys wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV, the buildings design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau cross,115 metres in length with a nave, to the south of the church was a convent, some of whose buildings remain. The Primo Chiostro, the cloister, houses the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house. Filippo Brunelleschi was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple, in 1560, the choir screen was removed as part of changes arising from the Counter-Reformation and the interior rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari. As a result, there was damage to the churchs decoration, the bell tower was built in 1842, replacing an earlier one damaged by lightning. The neo-Gothic marble façade dates from 1857-1863, the Jewish architect Niccolo Matas from Ancona, designed the churchs façade, working a prominent Star of David into the composition. Matas had wanted to be buried with his peers but because he was Jewish, he was buried under the threshold, in 1866, the complex became public property, as a part of government suppression of most religious houses, following the wars that gained Italian independence and unity. The Museo dellOpera di Santa Croce is housed mainly in the refectory, a monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Brunelleschi also built the cloister, completed in 1453. In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce, the water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair, today the former dormitory of the Franciscan friars houses the Scuola del Cuoio. Visitors can watch as artisans craft purses, wallets, and other goods which are sold in the adjacent shop. Sylvester. Henry Moore Andrea Orcagna Antonio Rossellino Bernardo Rossellino Santi di Tito Giorgio Vasari with sculpture by Valerio Cioli, Iovanni Bandini, way to Calvary painted by Vasari. Domenico Veneziano Once present in the churchs Medici Chapel, but now split between the Florentine Galleries and the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum in Milan, is a polyptych by Lorenzo di Niccolò
Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
–
Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.
Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
–
Franciscan symbol on the facade of the temple
Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
–
Interior towards the main entrance
Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze
–
Michelangelo's tomb
13.
Giovanni Villani
–
Giovanni Villani was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the Nuova Cronica on the history of Florence. He was a statesman of Florence but later gained an unsavory reputation. His interest in and elaboration of details, statistical information. His Cronica is viewed as the first introduction of statistics as an element in history. Villani was inspired to write his Cronica after attending the celebration in Rome in 1300. He outlined the events in his Cronica year for year, following a linear narrative format. He provided intricate details on important historical events of the city of Florence and the wider region of Tuscany, such as construction projects, floods, fires, famines. While continuing work on the Cronica and detailing the loss of life during the Black Death in 1348. His work on the Cronica was continued by his brother and nephew, Villanis work has received both praise and criticism from modern historians. The criticism is aimed at his emphasis on supernatural guidance of events, his organizational style. Giovanni Villani was born into the Florentine merchant middle class and he was the son of Villano di Stoldi di Bellincione, who came from an old and well-respected arti maggiori family of merchants. Villani was a member of the Arte di Calimala guild in Florence since 1300, during that year he visited Rome during the jubilee celebration. Traveling abroad as a factor for the company, Villani was paid a salary in addition to his shareholding profits. Villani and his brother Matteo transferred most of their activities to the Buonaccorsi firm by 1322. Giovanni Villani was a co-director of Buonaccorsi in 1324, the Buonaccorsi handled banking and commodity trade activities, spreading their influence throughout Italy, France, Flanders, England and several places in the Mediterranean. Villani returned to Florence in 1307 where he married and settled down for a life of city politics and he became one of the priors of Florence in 1316 and 1317. At the same time, he participated in the crafty diplomatic tactics that resulted in peace with Pisa, as head of the mint beginning in 1316, he collected its earlier records and created a register of all the coins struck in Florence. In 1321, he was chosen prior, and in 1324 was deputed to inspect the rebuilding of the city walls
Giovanni Villani
–
Statue of Giovanni Villani in the
Loggia del Mercato Nuovo
Giovanni Villani
–
A painting by
Giotto di Bondone in the
Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, within the chapel owned by the
Peruzzi bankers; Giotto's artworks were praised by Villani.
Giovanni Villani
–
Villani was the superintendent of the construction of
Andrea Pisano 's bronze doors for the
Florence Baptistry.
Giovanni Villani
–
Coat of arms for the Arte di Calimala, the
guild to which Giovanni Villani belonged
14.
Nuova Cronica
–
The Nuova Cronica or New Chronicles is a 14th-century history of Florence created in a year-by-year linear format and written by the Florentine banker and official Giovanni Villani. In his Cronica, Villani described in detail the many building projects of the city, statistical information on population, ordinances, commerce and trade, education, and religious facilities. He also described several disasters such as famines, floods, fires, and the pandemic of the Black Death in 1348, Villanis work on the Cronica was continued by his brother and nephew after his death. It has been described as the first introduction of statistics as an element in history. The oldest manuscript is Vatican Library BAV Chigiano L VIII296, Giovanni Villanis Cronica is divided into twelve books, the first six deal with the largely legendary history of Florence, starting at conventionally Biblical times to 1264. The second phase, in six books, covers the history from 1264 until his own time, However, his description of such events as the Battle of Crécy in 1346 was fairly accurate according to historian Kelly De Vries. In his Cronica, Villani writes that the Guelph defeat by the Ghibellines at Montaperti in 1260 was a setback to the historical progress of the Republic of Florence. According to Villani, the Florentine Guelphs last stand was in defending the Carroccio, Villani describes the rebuilding of Florence after the 1293 rebellion of one Giano della Bella, he notes that by 1296 conditions were once again in a tranquil state. A new foundation was laid in September of that year, adding new marble, Villani mentions the cardinal legate sent by the Pope in Rome who laid the first stone of the foundation, a significant event since it was the first papal legate to visit Florence. On July 18,1334, work began on the new campanile of the cathedral, the first stone placed by the bishop of Florence in front of an audience of clergy, priors, and other magistrates. Villani notes that the commune chose our fellow-citizen Giotto as the designer of the tower, a man who was the most sovereign master of painting in his time. According to Villani, in 1299, the commune and people of Florence laid the foundation for the Palazzo Vecchio, according to Villani, the Uberti family was not even allowed to return to Florence. In planning for the large expanse of the plaza, the commune of Florence purchased the homes of such as the Foraboschi family. In fact, the tower of the Palazzo was built upon a previously existing tower of the Foraboschi family known as La Vacca or The Cow. Villani boasts of Florences pristine architecture in its monasteries and churches, as well as its ornate houses and his opinion is clear even in the title of the chapter he devotes to this topic, More on the greatness and status and magnificence of the city of Florence. Villani also describes the trend in the early 14th century of affluent Florentine citizens building large country homes far outside the walls of Florence. While holding the signoria of Florence, Robert of Naples had the part of the Bargello in Florence constructed. Villani reports that Florence did not turn away beggars, but cared for anyone who approached the city and was in need of immediate subsistence
Nuova Cronica
–
The crowning of
Manfred of Sicily in a
manuscript of the Cronica; by the 16th century, there were multiple versions of the Cronica in
printed form as well as in illuminated manuscript form.
Nuova Cronica
–
Statue of
Giovanni Villani in the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo
Nuova Cronica
–
Florence Cathedral
Nuova Cronica
–
Palazzo Vecchio
15.
Guelphs and Ghibellines
–
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between two parties formed a particularly important aspect of the internal politics of medieval Italy. The struggle for power between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire had arisen with the Investiture Controversy, which began in 1075, the division between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Italy, however, persisted until the 15th century. Guelph is an Italian form of the name of the House of Welf, the names were likely introduced to Italy during the reign of Frederick Barbarossa. When Frederick conducted military campaigns in Italy to expand imperial power there, the Lombard League and its allies were defending the liberties of the urban communes against the Emperors encroachments and became known as Guelphs. The Ghibellines were thus the party, while the Guelphs supported the Pope. Broadly speaking, Guelphs tended to come from wealthy mercantile families, the Lombard League defeated Frederick at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. Frederick recognized the autonomy of the cities of the Lombard league under his nominal suzerainty. The division developed its own dynamic in the politics of medieval Italy, smaller cities tended to be Ghibelline if the larger city nearby was Guelph, as Guelph Republic of Florence and Ghibelline Republic of Siena faced off at the Battle of Montaperti,1260. Pisa maintained a staunch Ghibelline stance against her fiercest rivals, the Guelph Republic of Genoa, adherence to one of the parties could therefore be motivated by local or regional political reasons. Within cities, party allegiances differed from guild to guild, rione to rione, moreover, sometimes traditionally Ghibelline cities allied with the Papacy, while Guelph cities were even punished with interdict. Contemporaries did not use the terms Guelph and Ghibellines much until about 1250, at the beginning of the 13th century, Philip of Swabia, a Hohenstaufen, and his son-in-law Otto of Brunswick, a Welf, were rivals for the imperial throne. Philip was supported by the Ghibellines as a relative of Frederick I, Frederick II also introduced this division to the Crusader states in the Levant during the Sixth Crusade. After the death of Frederick II in 1250 the Ghibellines were supported by Conrad IV of Germany and later Manfred, King of Sicily, the Sienese Ghibellines inflicted a noteworthy defeat on Florentine Guelphs at the Battle of Montaperti. In that period the stronghold of Italian Ghibellines was the city of Forlì and that city remained with the Ghibelline factions, partly as a means of preserving its independence, rather than out of loyalty to the temporal power, as Forlì was nominally in the Papal States. Over the centuries, the papacy tried several times to control of Forlì. Essentially the two sides were now fighting either against German influence, or against the power of the Pope. In Florence and elsewhere the Guelphs usually included merchants and burghers and they also adopted peculiar customs such as wearing a feather on a particular side of their hats, or cutting fruit a particular way, according to their affiliation
Guelphs and Ghibellines
–
Painting of the Guelph and Ghibelline families, by Ottavio Baussano (
Asti).
Guelphs and Ghibellines
–
A 14th Century conflict between the militias of the Guelph and Ghibelline factions in the comune of
Bologna, from the Croniche of Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca
Guelphs and Ghibellines
–
Coat of arms of the Roberti family of
Reggio, with Guelph (Anjou) style heraldic chief at top
Guelphs and Ghibellines
–
Ghibelline swallow-tailed
merlons of the "Casa di Romeo", of the Montecchi family of
Verona.
16.
Rustication (architecture)
–
The visible face of each individual block is cut back around the edges to make its size and placing very clear. In addition the central part of the face of each block may be given a rough or patterned surface. Rusticated masonry is usually dressed, or squared off neatly, on all sides of the stones except the face that will be visible when the stone is put in place. This is given wide joints that emphasize the edges of block, by angling the edges. The main part of the face may worked flat and smooth or left or worked with a more or less rough or patterned surface. Rustication is often used to give weight to the ground floor in contrast to smooth ashlar above. Though intended to convey a rustic simplicity, the finish is highly artificial, and it remains in use in some modern architecture. Rough finishes on stone are very common in architecture outside the European tradition. For example, the bases of Japanese castles and other fortifications usually use rough stone, probably the earliest and most influential example is the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, built between 1444 and 1484, with two contrasting rusticated finishes. The ground floor has an irregular and genuinely rugged appearance, with a variation in the degree to which parts of the faces of blocks project from the wall that is rarely equalled later. Above, the rustication is merely to emphasize the blocks. Also in Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, begun 1489, with large oblong rounded cushions, and these facades only used the classical orders in mullions and aedicules, with arched forms in rustication the main relief from the massive flat walls. The Palazzo Rucellai, probably of the 1460s, begins to classicize such facades, using smooth-faced rustication throughout, in Rome, Donato Bramantes Palazzo Caprini provided a standard model for the integration of rustication with the orders. The first major Renaissance building in Spain, the Palace of Charles V in Granada, had a deeply rusticated ground floor facade with regular rounded cushions, the technique was enthusiatically taken up by the next generation of Mannerist architects, with Giulio Romano in the lead. Most early examples of rustic style are therefore built for sophisticated patrons in the leading centres of taste. The Mannerist architectural writer Sebastiano Serlio and others of his generation enjoyed the play between rusticated and finished architectural elements, the Italians brought in to expand the Palace of Fontainebleau introduced the technique to France. Its spread to Germany and England took longer, but by about the end of the 16th century it had reached all parts of Europe. In his Banqueting House in London, Inigo Jones gave a lightly rusticated surface texture to emphasize the blocks on both storeys, and to them behind his orders of pilasters and columns
Rustication (architecture)
–
Two different styles of rustication in the
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in
Florence.
Rustication (architecture)
–
Sicilian Baroque style rusticated
pilasters against a smooth background at the
University of Catania.
Rustication (architecture)
–
Serlio, rusticated doorway, 1537
17.
Trefoil
–
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism. The term is applied to other symbols of three-fold shape. One of the earliest examples is in the tracery at Winchester. The fourfold version of an architectural trefoil is a quatrefoil, two forms of this are shown below, A dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, is sometimes depicted within the outlined form of the trefoil combined with a triangle. In architecture and archaeology, trefoil describes a layout or floorplan consisting of three apses in clover-leaf shape, as for example in the Megalithic temples of Malta, particularly in church architecture, such a layout may be called a triconchos. The heraldic trefoil is a stylized clover and it should not be confused with the figure named in French heraldry tiercefeuille, which is a stylized flower with three petals. It differs from the heraldic trefoil in being not slipped and it could be translated as threefoil. Symmetrical Trefoils are particularly popular as warning and informational symbols, easily stenciled symbols are also favored. While the green trefoil is considered by many to be the symbol of Ireland, therefore, shamrocks generally do not appear on Irish coins or postage stamps. A trefoil is also part of the logo for Adidas Originals, a trefoil formation is a cross-sectional arrangement of electrical cables that minimises electrodynamic forces during fault conditions. Also, the field of each phase conductor in a 3-phase system is negated when the other two phase conductors are nearby to form a trefoil. Fleur-de-Lys Foil Trefoil domain Trefoil arch Trefoil knot Torus knot Quatrefoil Explanation of Christian symbolism of Trefoil
Trefoil
–
Evolution of layout of Maltese Megalithic temples; Skorba (upper right) has a typical trefoil plan
Trefoil
–
Architectural trefoil
18.
Michelozzo Michelozzi
–
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance. He was a pupil of Lorenzo Ghiberti in his early years, known primarily for designing Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, he is often overshadowed by his contemporaries Donatello in sculpture and Brunelleschi in architecture. He remained for his biographers a shadowy, active, competent, second-rate figure, Michelozzo was born in Florence in 1396. He was the son of Bartolomeo di Gherardo Borgognone and Antonia, Borgognone was of French origin and arrived in Florence from Burgundy at an unknown date. Borgognone lived and worked in the Santo Croce quarter of Florence as a tailor, Michelozzo had three brothers named Leonardo, Zanobi, and Giovanni. By 1391, Michelozzos family had moved to the San Giovanni quarter, as an engraver, Michelozzo learned how to cast, chase, and gild copper and bronze, two of the metals in which the Medieval and Renaissance goldsmith most commonly worked. He also gained immense precision of hand and a mastery of design in miniature. He later served as one of the consuls of the Guild in 1430, throughout his life, Michelozzo retained the family residence on Via Larga, which was near the Medici Palace and next door to the humanist Bartolomeo Scala. In addition, Michelozzo possessed a house and garden in S. Domino a Brozzi, Michelozzos father died sometime before 1427, and his mother passed sometime between 1433 and 1442. From this, Michelozzo learned how to run a closely supervised shop, how to organize it efficiently, how to train and control assistants, under Donatello, Michelozzo assisted in the building of the sacristy of Santa Trinita, where Ghiberti started to fuse together late-Gothic and antique forms. Michelozzo also became the responsible for the architectural frames of Donatellos sculptures such as the funerary monument of John XXIII. He completely subordinates the architectural setting to his sculpture and makes architecture, so to speak, few historians have disputed Cosimos close relationship to Michelozzo, who was the Medici architect for nearly forty years. Michelozzo was more agreeable and accessible to the advice and desires of Cosimo than the turbulent Brunelleschi, historians have cited this as an unparalleled example of esteem between artist and patron. With great engineering skill Michelozzo shored up, and partly rebuilt, the Palazzo Vecchio, then in a ruinous condition, for Cosimo he designed numerous other buildings, most of them of noteworthy importance. For Giovanni de Medici, Cosimos son, he built a very large villa at Fiesole. Ludwig Heydenreich and Paul Davies argue that all of Michelozzos buildings are works of considerable standing. the most independent architect after Brunelleschi, Michelozzo married Francesca, daughter of Piero di Ambrogio Galligari, in late January or February 1441. At the time of their marriage, she was 20 years old, francescas dowry of 425 florins was about average for an upper-middle-class family at that time
Michelozzo Michelozzi
–
Michelozzo
Michelozzo Michelozzi
–
Palazzo Medici in Florence.
19.
Florentine lily
–
The fleur-de-lis or flower-de-luce is a stylized lily that is used as a decorative design or symbol. Many of the saints are depicted with a lily, most prominently St. Joseph. The fleur-de-lis is represented in Unicode at U+269C in the Miscellaneous Symbols block and it remains an enduring symbol of France that appears on French postage stamps, although it has never been adopted officially by any of the French republics. According to French historian Georges Duby, the three represent the medieval social classes, those who worked, those who fought. It is unclear where the fleur-de-lis originated, among the Egyptians, Persians, Arabs and Greeks, this arabesque evoked warrior-like power. In France it is used in city emblems like in the coat of arms of the city of Lille, Saint-Denis, Brest, Clermont-Ferrand, Boulogne-Billancourt. The fleur-de-lis was the symbol of Île-de-France, the core of the French kingdom, many of the current departments use the ancient symbol on their coats to express this heritage. In Italy, the fleur de lis, called giglio is mainly known as the crest of the city of Florence, in the Florentine fleurs-de-lis, the stamens are always posed between the petals. This heraldic charge is known as the Florentine lily to distinguish it from the conventional design. As an emblem of the city, it is found in icons of Zenobius, its first bishop. Several towns subjugated by Florence or founded within the territory of the Florentine Republic adopted a variation of the Florentine lily in their crests, often without the stamens. The heraldic fleur-de-lis is still widespread, among the cities which use it as a symbol are some whose names echo the word lily, for example, Liljendal, Finland. This is called canting arms in heraldic terminology, other European examples of municipal coats-of-arms bearing the fleur-de-lis include Lincoln in England, Morcín in Spain, Wiesbaden in Germany, Skierniewice in Poland and Jurbarkas in Lithuania. The Swiss municipality of Schlieren and the Estonian municipality of Jõelähtme also have a fleur-de-lis on their coats, in Malta, the town of Santa Venera has three red fleurs-de-lis on its flag and coat of arms. Another suburb which developed around the area known as Fleur-de-Lys. The coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia contained six fleurs-de-lis, understood as the native Bosnian or Golden Lily and this emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998. The state insignia were changed in 1999, the former flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a fleur-de-lis alongside the Croatian chequy. Fleurs also appear in the flags and arms of cantons, municipalities, cities
Florentine lily
–
Stylized flowers from
Ishtar Gate in Babylon
Florentine lily
–
A fleur-de-lis
Florentine lily
–
15th-century manuscript illumination of an
angel sending the fleurs-de-lis to
Clovis
Florentine lily
20.
Spandrel
–
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure. Also included is the space under a flight of stairs, if it is not occupied by another flight of stairs and this is a common location to find storage space in residential structures. In a building more than one floor, the term spandrel is also used to indicate the space between the top of the window in one story and the sill of the window in the story above. In concrete or steel construction, a beam extending from column to column usually carrying an exterior wall load is known as a spandrel beam. The spandrels over doorways in Perpendicular work are generally richly decorated, at Magdalen College, Oxford is one which is perforated. The spandrel of doors is sometimes ornamented in the Decorated period, spandrels can also occur in the construction of domes and are typical in grand architecture from the medieval period onwards. Cathedral architecture Spandrel This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Spandrel
–
Illustration of spandrel
Spandrel
–
Spandrel figures,
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel,
Paris
Spandrel
–
Spandrel panels
Spandrel
–
Old Bridge, Pontypridd, with perforated spandrels
21.
Battlement
–
These gaps are termed crenels, and the act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons, a wall with battlements is said to be crenelated or embattled. Battlements on walls have protected walkways behind them, on tower or building tops, the roof is used as the protected fighting platform. The term originated in about the 14th century from the Old French word batailler, the word crenel derives from the ancient French cren, Latin crena, meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing, see also crenation. In medieval England a licence to crenellate granted the permission to fortify their property. The castles in England vastly outnumber the licences to crenellate, royal pardons were obtainable, on the payment of an arbitrarily determined fine, by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent, there has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army and they indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, battlements have been used for thousands of years, the earliest known example is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt. Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud, traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece, and some ancient Greek vases suggest the existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements, late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms. From the 13th century, the merlons could be connected with wooden shutters that provided added protection when closed, the shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres, in the battlements of Pompeii, additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which the defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height, Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright, the normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded, the battlements of the Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance. European architects persistently used battlements as a decorative feature throughout the Decorated
Battlement
–
Battlements on the
Great Wall of China
Battlement
–
Drawing of battlements on a tower
Battlement
–
Battlements in
Persepolis
Battlement
–
9th-century BC relief of an
Assyrian attack on a walled town with
zig-zag shaped battlements
22.
Corbel
–
In architecture a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a piece of material in the wall. A piece of projecting in the same way was called a tassel or a bragger in the UK. The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic, or New Stone Age. A console is more specifically an S-shaped scroll bracket in the classical tradition, keystones are also often in the form of consoles. Whereas corbel is rarely used outside architecture, console is used for furniture, as in console table. The word corbel comes from Old French and derives from the Latin corbellus, a diminutive of corvus, similarly, the French refer to a bracket-corbel, usually a load-bearing internal feature, as a corbeau. Norman corbels often have an appearance, although they may be elaborately carved with stylised heads of humans, animals or imaginary beasts. Similarly, in the Early English period, corbels were sometimes carved, as at Lincoln Cathedral. Corbels sometimes end with a point apparently growing into the wall, or forming a knot, in the later periods the carved foliage and other ornaments used on corbels resemble those used in the capitals of columns. Throughout England, in work, wooden corbels abound, carrying window-sills or oriel windows in wood. The corbels carrying balconies in Italy and France were sometimes of great size and richly carved, taking a cue from 16th-century practice, the Paris-trained designers of 19th-century Beaux-Arts architecture were encouraged to show imagination in varying corbels. A corbel table is a moulded string course supported by a range of corbels. Sometimes these corbels carry a small arcade under the string course, as a rule the corbel table carries the gutter, but in Lombard work the arcaded corbel table was utilized as a decoration to subdivide the storeys and break up the wall surface. In Italy sometimes over the corbels will form a moulding, in modern chimney construction, a corbel table is constructed on the inside of a flue in the form of a concrete ring beam supported by a range of corbels. The corbels can be either in-situ or pre-cast concrete, the corbel tables described here are built at approximately ten metre intervals to ensure stability of the barrel of refractory bricks constructed thereon. In medieval architecture the technique was used to support upper storeys or a parapet projecting forward from the wall plane and this later became a decorative feature, without the openings. Corbelling supporting upper stories and particularly supporting projecting corner turrets subsequently became a characteristic of the Scottish baronial style, medieval timber-framed buildings often employ jettying, where upper stories are cantilevered out on projecting wooden beams in a similar manner to corbelling
Corbel
–
Elaborately decorated
classical -style stone corbels supporting balconies on a building in
Indianapolis
Corbel
–
Romanesque corbel table featuring erotic scenes at
Colegiata de Cervatos, near Santander, Spain
Corbel
–
A corbelled house in the
Northern Cape,
South Africa built by
Trekboers in the early 1800s.
23.
Embrasure
–
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle. In domestic architecture this refers to the outward splay of a window or arrow slit on the inside, a loophole, arrow loop or arrowslit passes through a solid wall and was originally for use by archers. The purpose of embrasures is to allow weapons to be fired out from the fortification while the remains under cover. The splay of the wall on the inside provides room for the soldier and his equipment, excellent examples of deep embrasures with arrow slits are to be seen at Aigues-Mortes and Château de Coucy, both in France. The etymology of embrasure expresses widening, the invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC. From Polybiuss The Histories, Archimedes had had the walls pierced with large numbers of loopholes at the height of a man, however, the invention was later forgotten until reintroduced in the 12th century. By the 19th century, a distinction was made between embrasures being used for cannon, and loopholes being used for musketry, in both cases, the opening was normally made wider on the inside of the wall than the outside. A distinction was made between horizontal and vertical embrasures or loopholes, depending on the orientation of the formed in the outside wall. Vertical loopholes—which are much more common—allow the weapon to be raised and lowered in elevation so as to cover a variety of ranges easily. However to sweep from side to side the weapon must bodily move from side to side to pivot around the muzzle, horizontal loopholes, on the other hand, facilitate quick sweeping across the arc in front, but make large adjustments in elevation very difficult. They were usually used in circumstances where the range was very restricted anyway, another variation had both horizontal and vertical slits arranged in the form of a cross, and was called a crosslet loop or an arbalestina since it was principally intended for arbalestiers. A series of perpendicular steps tapering to the gun port ensured that any incoming fire would be stopped by a vertical impact, arrowslit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Embrasure
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A loophole or inverted keyhole embrasure, allowing both arrow fire (through the
arrow slit at the top) and small
cannon fire through the circular opening,
Château de Caen, France
Embrasure
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Pillbox stepped embrasure,
Taunton Stop Line, England
Embrasure
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Embrasure of Chinese wall
Embrasure
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Embrasures at
Mdina,
Malta
24.
Early thermal weapons
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Incendiary devices were frequently used as projectiles during warfare, particularly during sieges and naval battles, some substances were boiled or heated to inflict damage by scalding or burning. Other substances relied on their properties to inflict burns or damage. These weapons or devices could be used by individuals, manipulated by war machines, the simplest and most common thermal projectiles were boiling water and hot sand, which could be poured over attacking personnel. Other anti-personnel weapons included the use of hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat, smoke was used to confuse or drive off attackers. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding, fire and incendiary weapons were used against enemy structures and territory, as well as personnel, sometimes on a massive scale. Large tracts of land, towns and villages were frequently ignited as part of a scorched earth strategy, incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrow and bolts, some siege techniques—such as mining and boring&mash, relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, and led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Development of the weapons has continued ever since, with modern war weapons such as napalm, flame throwers. Fire-raising and other destructive strategies can still be seen in modern strategic bombing, the destruction of enemy possessions and territory was a fundamental strategy of war, serving the dual purpose of punishment and deprivation of resources. Until the 5th century BC, the Greeks had little expertise in warfare and relied on a strategy of devastation to draw the enemy out, they destroyed crops. Centuries later, the Byzantines recommended this strategy, even though they had developed siege technology, fire was the easiest way of harrying and destroying territories, and could be done easily and quickly by small forces. King Edward II of England pursued one raiding party in 1327 by following the lights of burning villages, one estimate records the destruction of over 2000 villages and castles during one raid in 1339. As well as causing the destruction of lands, foods and belongings, 13th century Mongol armies regularly sent out small detachments from their main forces to start grass fires and fire settlements as diversions. Devastation by fire was not only used as a tactic, some countries and armies employed scorched earth policies on their own land to deprive invading armies of all food. The English ran out of food and had to abandon the campaign, kitchener employed scorched earth tactics to subdue Boer forces in South Africa when three years of warfare had resulted in a stalemate. Such acts of aggression were not limited to wars against territorial enemies, Alexander the Great suppressed a revolt in Thebes, Greece in 335 BC, after which he ordered the city to be torched and laid waste. Alexander ordered a similar arson at Persepolis in 330 BC and it was a policy which was repeated throughout the period
Early thermal weapons
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The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70, by
David Roberts (1850), shows the city burning
Early thermal weapons
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Normans use torches to fire the wooden keep on a
motte at
Dinan, 1064,
Bayeux Tapestry
Early thermal weapons
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Chinese fire ships from the
Wujing Zongyao military manuscript, 1044,
Song Dynasty.
Early thermal weapons
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Depiction of Greek fire in the late 11th century
Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.
25.
Augsburg
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Augsburg is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers
Augsburg
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View of Augsburg City Hall and other historical buildings in Augsburg
Augsburg
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Territories of the Free Imperial City and the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
Augsburg
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Perlach market place in 1550.
Augsburg
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A map of Augsburg in 1800.
26.
Vincenzo Viviani
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Vincenzo Viviani was an Italian mathematician and scientist. He was a pupil of Torricelli and a disciple of Galileo, born and raised in Florence, Viviani studied at a Jesuit school. There, Grand Duke Ferdinando II de Medici furnished him a scholarship to purchase mathematical books and he became a pupil of Evangelista Torricelli and worked on physics and geometry. In 1639, at the age of 17, he was an assistant of Galileo Galilei in Arcetri and he remained a disciple until Galileos death in 1642. From 1655 to 1656, Viviani edited the first edition of Galileos collected works, after Torricellis 1647 death, Viviani was appointed to fill his position at the Accademia dellArte del Disegno in Florence. Viviani was also one of the first members of the Grand Dukes experimental academy, the Accademia del Cimento, in 1660, Viviani and Giovanni Alfonso Borelli conducted an experiment to determine the speed of sound. The currently accepted value is 331.29 m/s at 0 °C or 340.29 m/s at sea level and it has also been claimed that in 1661 he experimented with the rotation of pendulums,190 years before the famous demonstration by Foucault. By 1666, Viviani started to receive many job offers as his reputation as a mathematician grew and that same year, Louis XIV of France offered him a position at the Académie Royale and John II Casimir of Poland offered Viviani a post as his astronomer. Fearful of losing Viviani, the Grand Duke appointed him court mathematician, Viviani accepted this post and turned down his other offers. In 1687, he published a book on engineering, Discorso intorno al difendersi da riempimenti e dalle corrosione de fiumi, upon his death, Viviani left an almost completed work on the resistance of solids, which was subsequently completed and published by Luigi Guido Grandi. In 1737, the Church finally allowed Galileo to be reburied in a grave with an elaborate monument, the monument that was created in the church of Santa Croce was constructed with the help of funds left by Viviani for that specific purpose. Vivianis own remains were moved to Galileos new grave as well, the lunar crater Viviani is named after him. In Florence, Viviani had Galileos life and achievements written in Latin on the façade of his palace, the palace was then renamed Palazzo dei Cartelloni. Racconto istorico della vita di Galileo Galilei Galileos Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment Vivianis theorem Vivianis curve Viviani page at Rice Universitys Galileo Project Vivianis Theorem
Vincenzo Viviani
–
Vincenzo Viviani
Vincenzo Viviani
–
The "Palazzo Viviani" or "Palazzo dei Cartelloni" with plaques and bust dedicated by Viviani to Galilei
27.
Giorgio Vasari
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Vasari was born in Arezzo, Tuscany. Recommended at an age by his cousin Luca Signorelli, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia. He was befriended by Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own, in 1529, he visited Rome where he studied the works of Raphael and other artists of the Roman High Renaissance. Vasaris own Mannerist paintings were admired in his lifetime than afterwards. In 1547 he completed the hall of the chancery in Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome with frescoes that received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni and he was consistently employed by members of the Medici family in Florence and Rome, and worked in Naples, Arezzo and other places. He also helped to organize the decoration of the Studiolo, now reassembled in the Palazzo Vecchio, aside from his career as a painter, Vasari was also successful as an architect. In Florence, Vasari also built the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, the enclosed corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and winds around the exterior of several buildings. He also renovated the medieval churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, at both he removed the original rood screen and loft, and remodelled the retro-choirs in the Mannerist taste of his time. In Santa Croce, he was responsible for the painting of The Adoration of the Magi which was commissioned by Pope Pius V in 1566 and it was recently restored, before being put on exhibition in 2011 in Rome and in Naples. Eventually it is planned to return it to the church of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo, in 1562 Vasari built the octagonal dome on the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, an important example of high Renaissance architecture. In Rome, Vasari worked with Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Bartolomeo Ammanati at Pope Julius IIIs Villa Giulia, the Lives also included a novel treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. The book was rewritten and enlarged in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists. The work has a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines, and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art – for example, Venetian art in particular, is systematically ignored in the first edition. Between the first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and while the edition gave more attention to Venetian art. Vasaris biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip, with a few exceptions, however, Vasaris aesthetic judgement was acute and unbiased. He did not research archives for exact dates, as art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation. Modern criticism – with new materials opened up by research – has corrected many of his traditional dates and attributions. Vasari includes a sketch of his own biography at the end of the Lives, according to the historian Richard Goldthwaite, Vasari was one of the earliest authors to use the term competition in its economic sense
Giorgio Vasari
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Vasari's self-portrait
Giorgio Vasari
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Giorgio Vasari, Italian humanists, Tuscan Poets: Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo
Giorgio Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, The Garden of Gethsemane
Giorgio Vasari
–
The Uffizi Loggia.
28.
Vasari corridor
–
The Vasari Corridor is an elevated enclosed passageway in Florence, central Italy, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. At the time of construction, the corridor had to be built around the Torre dei Mannelli, using brackets, the corridor covers up part of the façade of the chiesa di Santa Felicita. The corridor then snakes its way over rows of houses in the Oltrarno district, becoming narrower, most of it is closed to visitors. The Vasari Corridor was built in 5 months by order of Duke Cosimo I de Medici in 1565 and it was commissioned in connection with the marriage of Cosimos son, Francesco, with Johanna of Austria. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to avoid its smell reaching into the passage, at the latter extremity, the corridor was forced to pass around the Mannellis Tower, after the staunch opposition of that family to its destruction. In the middle of Ponte Vecchio the corridor is characterized by a series of windows facing the Arno. These replaced the windows of the original construction in 1939. The larger windows were installed for a visit to Florence by Adolf Hitler to give him a panoramic view of the river. In its Uffizi section the Vasari Corridor is used to exhibit the famous collection of self-portraits. The area closest to the Uffizi entrance was damaged by a bombing commissioned by the Italian mafia on the night of May 27th,1993. These paintings, some hopelessly damaged, have been pieced back together, self-portraits in the Uffizi Gallery Media related to Vasari Corridor at Wikimedia Commons
Vasari corridor
–
Vasari corridor from
Palazzo Vecchio to
Uffizi
Vasari corridor
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Inside view of the Vasari corridor from the Uffizi Gallery toward Palazzo Pitti.
Vasari corridor
–
Vasari's tile-roofed Corridoio running from the
Uffizi (right) across the
Ponte Vecchio on its way to link
Palazzo Pitti
Vasari corridor
–
Street view of the
Ponte Vecchio as seen from the Vasari Corridor
29.
Uffizi
–
The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name uffizi, the construction was later continued by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and completed in 1581. The niches in the piers that alternate with columns filled with sculptures of artists in the 19th century. The Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the Archivio di Stato, the state archive. He commissioned from the architect Buontalenti the design of the Tribuna degli Uffizi that collected a series of masterpieces in one room, over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculpture collected or commissioned by the Medici. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence—for example, some famous statues to the Bargello. A project was finished in 2006 to expand the exhibition space some 6,000 metres² to almost 13,000 metres². On 27 May 1993, a car exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room and classical sculptures and neoclassical interior, the identity of the bomber or bombers are unknown, although it was almost certainly attributable to the Sicilian Mafia who were engaged in a period of terrorism at that time. Today, the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence, in high season, waiting times can be up to five hours. In early August 2007, Florence experienced a heavy rainstorm, the Gallery was partially flooded, with water leaking through the ceiling, and the visitors had to be evacuated. There was a more significant flood in 1966 which damaged most of the art collections in Florence severely. Here is a selection from the collection, The collection also contains some ancient sculptures, such as the Arrotino. Collections of the Uffizi Official website Uffizi – Google Art Project
Uffizi
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Narrow courtyard between palace's two wings with view toward the
Arno.
Uffizi
–
Restored Niobe room represents Roman copies of late
Hellenistic art. View of daughter of
Niobe bent by terror.
Uffizi
–
Niobide rises on a rock
Uffizi
–
View of hallway. The walls were originally covered with tapestries.
30.
Ponte Vecchio
–
The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops, the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers, the Ponte Vecchios two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie. The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, the Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996, after being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate, the Torre dei Mannelli was built at the southeast corner of the bridge to defend it. The bridge consists of three arches, the main arch has a span of 30 meters the two side arches each span 27 meters. The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters, and the span-to-rise ratio 5,1 and it has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello. The back shops that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century, not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything. During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat on the advance of the liberating British 8th Army on August 4,1944 and this was allegedly, according to many locals and tour guides, because of an express order by Hitler. Access to Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends, which have since been using a combination of original and modern design. In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, to enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 the Medici Grand Dukes prohibited butchers from selling there, their place was immediately taken by several gold merchants. The corporative association of butchers had monopolised the shops on the bridge since 1442, along the Ponte Vecchio, there can be seen many padlocks affixed in various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. This is a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, although it has been practiced in Russia and it was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers, by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, there is a similar ongoing padlock phenomenon at Ponte Milvio, due to one of Federico Moccias books. The bridge was damaged in the 1966 flood of the Arno. The bridge is mentioned in the aria O mio babbino caro by Giacomo Puccini, Vasari Corridor Krämerbrücke Pulteney Bridge Flanigan, Theresa, The Ponte Vecchio and the Art of Urban Planning in Late Medieval Florence, Gesta 47, 1-15
Ponte Vecchio
–
View of the Ponte Vecchio from above
Ponte Vecchio
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Damage shown shortly after liberation in August 1944 during WWII
Ponte Vecchio
–
Vasari corridor from
Palazzo Vecchio to
Uffizi
Ponte Vecchio
–
Panoramic view of the Ponte Vecchio, from the West.
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