diary of a mad art historian

Piazza of St. Peters (begun 1656)

2008-04-29T17:58:00.003-04:00

At the same time that he was working on the Throne, Bernini began work on the Piazza of St. Peters. Bernini used an interesting combination of shapes, like his work at San Andrea al Quirinale. The ovals and trapezoids that he used create a similarly dynamic, directional shape. Bernini wanted to create a shape that would recall the arms of the church embracing the faithful. His original design is not what we see today, however, because Bernini did not intend the opening onto the street that we see when we look at Saint Peters today. When creating the square, Bernini respected the space occupied by the Vatican buildings on the one side, but tore down the buildings on the other side.

The main focus of Bernini when creating this piazza was to create something that would not overpower the façade. Both wings have entrances built in to accommodate the side streets. Bernini intended that you would see the screen with narrow vistas inward, then, having entered into the oval, you would then enter into the trapezoid which would open into the large space of the piazza. Bernini wanted to create a series of unfolding spaces using the piazza and the outdoor space.

The order being used is the Tuscan order, but with no triglyph/metope frieze above it, as would be traditional. The material used throughout the square is travertine.

Throne of St. Peters (1657-66)

2008-04-29T17:56:00.002-04:00

The throne of Saint Peters, neatly framed by the Baldacchino, was the original relic in the treasury of Saint Peters and is important in the church as a visual goal beyond that of the high altar. The carving that graces the high altar of Saint Peters now is intended as a remembrance of that original throne, much as the columns that frame the niches which surround the Baldacchino are meant to recall the first Christian church. The vacant throne is a medieval tradition which symbolizes the lordship of Christ, but the throne itself in this instance is also symbolic, through use of the Papal tiara, of Papal authority through Christ and Peter and the authority of the Church. Beyond that symbolism, the rays which spill out from behind the altar neatly frame the symbol of the dove of the Holy Spirit, meant to symbolize His presence in the church as well.

S. Andrea al Quirinale (1670-71)

2008-04-29T17:55:00.002-04:00

Located on the Via del Quirinale, 29, 00184, in Rome (see map here), Bernini faced a huge problem when constructing this church. The site was long and narrow and parallel to the street, eliminating whatever plans he might have had for a more traditionally-shaped church. Begun in 1658 at the behest of Alexander II, Bernini coped with the difficult nature of the site by changing the axis of the church, placing the altar directly across from the door on the shorter axis rather than the more traditional long axis. The plan itself is very new, the shape the more dynamic oval that we saw in Michelangelo's work on the Capitoline Hill, but was also used by late 16^th century artists like Vignola in such buildings as San Andrea in Via Flaminia. This project was of extreme interest to Alexander II, and Bernini frequently discussed his plans for it with the Pope, fostering a personal relationship with Alexander not unlike the one which he had had with Urban VIII.

The exterior of San Andrea was completed in 1661, the interior followed not long afterwards in 1662-1665.

Looking at the exterior, it is clearly not the double-tabernacle facade that we are used to seeing and that you would have seen at that time around Rome. It features a single monumental order with an indication of a minor order on the portico. The portico itself relates interestingly to the half-circle lunette window above, seeming almost to have opened out of that space to leave an open hole. That same hemispherical shape is mirrored in the steps, which create a very strong rhythm when considered with the wings. The concave|convex|concave rhythm created by the portico and wings of the building is one of the most easily recognized motifs of the Baroque era in architecture. That rhythm focuses around the center of the facade, which is the monumental temple-front complete with triangular pediment. The nature of the portico forces Bernini to place the columns holding it up on trapezoidal rather than straight podiums, which creates a funneling effect and is a motif that will be echoed on the interior of the building.

The alternating oval- and rectangular-shaped side chapels create an interesting symmetry on the interior of the chapel. The columns around the altar match the exterior columns in that they are set on trapezoids and seem to funnel people in towards the high altar. Behind the high altar is a painted scene depicting the martyrdom of Saint Andrew, with his ascension carved in marble above, breaking the cornice. Above the high altar, the drum of the dome rises up and merges with the dome itself seamlessly, pierced by windows between the ribs, which are mirrored by rib marks on the floor. The dome is coffered as well as being ribbed, and the lantern features a painting of the dove of the holy spirit, meant to illustrate his presence in the church.

Santa Maria della Vittoria: Cornaro Chapel (1647-52)

2008-04-29T17:42:00.004-04:00

Santa Maria della Vittoria is located on the Via 20 Settembre, 00187, in Rome (see map here). In 1647 Bernini was recruited to design and execute the chapel for the Cornaro family. He created a fantastic illusionistic space that I could literally fill an entire book talking about. I will have to keep this very brief to avoid that eventuality.

The central scene of Saint Teresa in ecstasy is set up on a dynamically curved, altar-like structure, complete with paired engaged columns on piers and a tiny pediment. The colored marble used in the construction of the altar adds to the theatrical feeling of the space. A hidden window above the statues of the Saint and the angel lets in light. Above, a painted illusionistic ceiling gives a vision of heaven to the Saint herself as well as the carved members of the Cornaro family who watch from box seats on the side walls of the chapel.

Baldacchino (1624-33)

2008-04-22T12:48:00.007-04:00

The Baldacchino, taken from the word baldaquin, meant to refer to a covering used over shrines and thrones, was created to sit over the tomb of St. Peter in the center of St. Peters cathedral. Bernini was responsible for creating the Baldacchino as well as the niches for the large sculptures that sit in piers on four sides of the Baldacchino. The columns that hold up the covering are made to match the columns that decorate the niches on the second level, supposedly from the first Christian church. When creating the Baldacchino, the main problems that Bernini encountered had to do with the materials used. Being made primarily from bronze (stolen from the portico of the Pantheon), Bernini had to deal with the weight of his medium as well as the problem of how to cast it all. In order to cast it, Bernini had to create a foundry to cast the pieces together. When dealing with the weight, Bernini simply had to find a way to lighten the bronze. To do this, he covered wood and brick in bronze in some areas to keep the higher ares lighter. It helps that the Baldacchino is not actually a whole canopy, but a cornice framework with volutes rising to the highest levels of the structure. The volutes create tension to hold the covering together, while also allowing the top level to be light enough that it will not collapse upon itself.

In niches around it are four statues planned out by Bernini. However, only one is executed by him and that is the statue of Saint Longinus. At the time that it was first executed, it was the largest over-lifesize marble statue.

The columns of the Baldacchino are 38 meters high. It took three years just to cast the entire thing. The natural feeling throughout is the unifying cocetto (design concept). The naturalism even goes so far that there are Barberini bees crawling on it! In classic Baroque fashion, above the columns, the covering itself looks ready to move, and the tassles actually do move. The entire Baldacchino frames the niches, but also the apse decoration that would be completed under Alexander II.

Palazzo Barberini (1628-38)

2008-04-22T12:30:00.005-04:00

Located on the Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13, 00184 Rome (see map here), the Barberini palace features a very modern plan with a split level garden. It is a suburban villa with urban elements. The shape reminds us of the Villa Farnesina, but the scale is much larger, more like that of the Palazzo Farnese. The fact that it is three stories reminds us of an urban palazzo, but the arcade on the ground floor and the U shape of the building call to mind suburban villas. So what we have is a villa plan and portico, but with an urban scale and three story urban palace feeling.

The perspectival feeling on the third story is given to Borromini, even though Bernini is credited with much of the building. Borromini is also credited with the monumental interior staircase. Borromini was often left in charge of areas of Bernini's work as he got more busy.

In the plan we can see that the portico, which seems simple at first, from the outside, runs deeply into the ground floor of the building. The use of double vaulting can be seen in the plan, as can the fact that hallways are still not present in the design of the palazzi. The rooms are still moved through by the use of interior doors.

Santa Susanna (1597-1603)

2008-04-22T12:12:00.004-04:00

Located on the Largo Santa Susanna, 00187 Rome (see map here), Santa Susanna takes the first step from Il Gesu to a new Baroque style church. The center of the building is very strong, with both a vertical and horizontal emphasis. The scrollwork on the second floor is used to mask the transept and nave beyond. The use of the scrollwork device would become a standard in future churches. The extra end bay below which connects to the scrollwork gives the entire facade a sense of continuity down to the level of the pedastle and creates a triangular shape. On top of the cornice, there is a ballister, which is usually a device used for transition. In this instance, though, the only thing that there is to transition to is the heavens.

Facade of St. Peters (1626)

2008-04-22T12:05:00.004-04:00

Carlo Moderno would be the winner of the contest to complete the façade for the new Saint Peters. He would also be responsible for extending the nave. The most important question that Moderno had to answer when working on St. Peters was how to connect the dome to the façade and existing architecture. He answered this question beautifully in his execution of the façade.

With St. Peters, Moderno would move in a different direction than he had in his previous work. He would not take very much from contemporary churches, either, and the façade of St. Peters would not be widely copied by the churches that were springing up around Rome for the new orders.

The largest concern in the creation of the façade was not masking the dome created by Michelangelo. Moderno created a rectangular-shaped facade that almost has a palace-like effect in it's rectangular, three-storied plan. This effect is mitigated by the presence of the dome, which acts almost like a pediment above the palace-like façade. Moderno used monumental orders to match the orders used on the rest of the building, setting them around larger and smaller windows and niches. The center of the building is built up and layered in a new way, with the rhythm following the receding and projecting cornice. There is a kind of plasticity of the orders, columns and pilasters. The central cornice seems to project forward in a way that insinuates a classical portico. The cornice is low, so it does not cover the dome, but it does overlap the attic story, which travels around the entire building.

Il Gesu (1568-75)

2008-04-17T12:10:00.006-04:00

At this time in Rome, there were new orders springing up. Il Gesu would be one of the first of the new orders to build a church that will become a model for further buildings. The emergence of these orders meant that new buildings were being built to facilitate their worship as well as the living spaces of their sworn brother and sisters. Most of the churches and monasteries that were being built were medium-sized churches. The new orders could not afford large churches because most of them did not have the kind of money that they would need to afford them. The Jesuits were one such emerging order, and Il Gesu was their first church. The Jesuits were a somewhat militant order with the set goals of education and conversion. Their initiation as an actual sect of Christianity was supported by Charles Borromeo, who would later become Saint Charles. Located on the Piazza del Gesù, 00186, in Rome, the construction would utilize the architects and artisans that were working on the construction of New Saint Peters. During the construction, there were some creative differences between the patron (Allesandro Farnese) and the Jesuits. Allesandro involved himself in every aspect of the church, paying particular attention to the sound of the interior.

The first design was executed by Vignola and is not too different from what we have seen in some other facades that we have seen in that it is a façade that uses a temple front to deal with a building whose nave and side aisles make a temple front infeasible at best. This façade, though not different from some of the churches we have seen, is very different from what has been happening in Venice. In this initial sketch, what we see is a plan for a double tabernacle facade that uses scrolls to deal with the problem of the temple front as applied to a building with a nave and side aisles, a device that we also saw at Santa Maria Novella. The pedimental frame is a dominant motif in the façade, with a strong entabulature, a large pediment over the central portal and a large covering pediment overall. The façade as presented here does not feature a monumental order, which means that Saint Peters and the Capitoline Hill buildings were not influencing Vignola, despite being built at the same time. The plan is completely centralized, with paired pilasters, then engaged columns around the portal and surrounding the window bay above. Not only is the building horizontally symmetrical, but vertically as well, with niches over niches and a large, door-like opening over the central portal on the second floor.

The plan of the building is interesting in the way that the architects dealt with the transept and side aisles in such a way as to make the overall shape of the building less ungainly. The transept is very large (it's width is as large as the dome of the building), but suppressed, as are the side aisles, to make a basilica-shaped church. The chapels are carved into the side of the church with a passage in between them. This new openness had become a requirement at this point, after the Counsel of Trent decision to make the liturgy more accessible to the congregation. By opening up the church and moving the choir space to the area behind the altar, the altar is suddenly completely visible to the people watching the mass. The actual execution of the facade is different from Vignola's original plan. The decoration is simplified, with a much more emphasized focus on the center of the building. The central emphasis is achieved by making the decoration to either side of the central pediment and openings more simple and allowing those element to stand out more. The surrounding pilaster and column on the door differentiate it from the paired pilasters elsewhere on the facade. The pediment above the door is echoed by the one over the cornice. Both pediments are very strong and project and recess with the cornice.

The interior of the building as we see it today is not what was intended in this era. The late baroque decoration of Giovanni Battista Galilei was completed after the building itself was finished, the original decorations probably resembled the simplicity found on the interior of Palladio's churches.

Acqua Felice (Fountain of Moses)

2008-04-17T12:06:00.003-04:00

The Acqua Felice is located on the Via dell'Acqua Felice, 00178, in Rome. Constructed in such a way as to echo the Triumphal arches of antiquity, the attic level of the fountain features a prominent Triumphal inscription. The statue of Moses below in the middle niche is meant to draw a connection between the patron, Sixtus V, and the prophet as both being bringers of water. Sixtus V would undertake several projects such as this one during his reign as Pope. His projects for urban transformation would reset the patterns of the city, creating new focal points for the population with piazzas. Sixtus V would also employ Domenico Fontana to make use of the obelisks that were lying around Rome at the time. He would have them placed in front of major monuments around Rome in order to guide people to important sites.

House of Giulio Romano, Mantua (1540)

2008-04-12T13:18:00.001-04:00

Giulio Romano's house in Mantua (see map here) plays with the notion of the two story palace type. At the basement level, we can see a bit of the voussoirs that would show if the whole level were raised up and we could see the full windows. The string course above the first story almost looks like stitching, appearing in the spaces between the windows and disappearing behind the voussoirs. It is visible above the portal, where the arched entryway peels away the stone and leaves it exposed. The cornice bumps up strangely at the doorway, the arched voussoirs at the entryway topped by a geometric triangle. The windows on the top floor are recessed in less rusticated stone, their size a clear indication of the piano nobile. The attic windows are deeply embedded with festoons set in between them. As with the basement story, the attic windows seem to be not hidden, but rather to have special attention given to them. The whole effect of the façade is of a strong Mannerist ambiguity and layering.

Palazzo Thiene, Vicenza (1537-42)

2008-04-12T13:17:00.001-04:00

The Palazzo Thiene is located on the Piazza Ferrarin, 2, 36016, in Thiene (see map here). Palladio came to the attention of the family in regard to this commission because of the competition for the Basilica. The facade on one side of the street had already been finished by Lorenzo da Bologna. Palladio chose to finish his part of the building in the Bramante style, with a two-story presentation, rusticated first floor, and orders on the second story. Palladio uses a rougher rustication than Bramante, but the influence is obvious. The coining on either side of the facade on the first floor is in a different stone, the contrast adds drama. The voussoirs over the windows on the lower floor are unique, with minor voussoirs inserted into major voussoirs for an interesting layered effect. The upper story features a doubled pilaster for the orders and alternating triangular and hemispherical pediments on the windows. There are two string courses encircling the building with a similar-looking entabulature. The entabulature continues the pedastle for the orders as part of the it's decoration.

Palazzo Iseppo-Porto, Vicenza (1549-52)

2008-04-12T13:15:00.001-04:00

The Palazzo Iseppo-Porto is one of Palladio's buildings that would begin simultaneously with his work on the basilica. The facade and the interior are both symmetrical, with the exterior showing the influence of Bramante. The building presents as having two stories, with the lower story rusticated and the orders present on the second floor and the addition of an attic story. The attic story presents a problem with regard to how to present the orders. Palladio solves the problem by giving a small pedestal to the orders on that level and adding a statue to deal with the odd proportion of the orders in comparison to the second floor. The exterior decoration calls to mind San Michele and the northern Italian approach to decoration. As with most of the Renaissance palazzi that we have looked at, this palace mimics the houses of antiquity and opens into an atrium and an inner peristyle courtyard.

Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza (1550-57 – 17th century)

2008-04-12T13:14:00.001-04:00

Located on the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, 37-39, 36100, in Vicenza (see map here), the Palazzo Chiericati is an example of the Bramante palace type. Palladio did not see the palace as playing only a private role, but a public one as well. The loggia on either side of the main entrance, therefore, were intended as a gesture to the city. The second floor loggia would also be available to the public during parades and such, in order to afford them a better view of the city.

The whole building is raised on a platform. The plan is a stepped-back, three-part composition with three bays. The bays on either side feature the loggia which were open to the public, while the central bay on the second floor projects outward to indicate the entryway. The windows on the central bay on the second floor feature alternating triangular and hemispherical pediments. All of the windows and doors feature straight entabulatures. The balcony on the second floor also alternates balusters with podiums for the orders. Bays on either side end matched up with a pier, and the corners are handled without any strangeness to the transition with the orders.

This building makes it clear that, in 10 years, Palladio has mastered the vocabulary of an architect.

Palazzo Valmarana, Vicenza (1565-66)

2008-04-12T13:12:00.002-04:00

The Palazzo Valmarana features a monumental order set up on a podium with indications of bases for the orders. The facade of the palazzo is a mass of windows and other architectural elements. The monumental pilasters that start on the first floor make their way up over the cornice separating the two floors of the palace. Behind the orders we can see the first story windows are even with the door and read the piano nobile as well as an attic and mezzanine story. The attic is separated off by a strong cornice. Below the windows on the second story, Palladio uses a balustrade to transition to the second floor. The entire facade is separated off from the buildings next to it by a shorter order on either end of the building with full size figures perched on top of them.

Villa Rotonda, Vicenza (begun 1551)

2008-04-12T13:10:00.004-04:00

The Villa Rotonda is located on the Via della Rotonda, 45, 36100, in Vicenza (see map here). The exterior of the building features an obviously circular plan with a temple front and a dome. Designed to be a retreat from the city, this building was not intended, not to be lived in, but to be used for recreations such as feasts. The building's totally bilaterally symmetrical plan would not allow for very comfortable living, but does allow for beautiful surroundings.

The plan for the building is a circle in the square, which recalls Vitruvius. The proportion of each room is also bilaterally symmetrical, with each room a direct proportion of another room. This is probably one of the most influential buildings of Palladio's life. Thomas Jefferson even submitted the plan for this building as a possibility when the White House was being built.

Villa Pisani, Montagnana (1552-55)

2008-04-12T13:09:00.002-04:00

Another example of a suburban villa, the Villa Pisani is located on the Via Borgo Eniano, 35044, in Montagnana (see map here). Originally located in a more agricultural area, the road that runs alongside it brought more people to the area and now it is more urban. Like the Villa Rotunda, the Villa Pisani is compact, with no large farm dependence.

The front of the building features a temple front with the first level in the style of a triumphal arch. The lower level features a doric order with a triglyph/metope frieze. The order above is ionic and supports a triangular pediment rising above a flat cornice.

Villa Emo, Fanzio (1564)

2008-04-12T13:05:00.003-04:00

In the Villa Emo, we find a great example of the three part plan that would become popular in suburban villas in Italy. The rooms in all three wings of the villa are proportional to each other, and the building features strong classical elements. The enclosed portico is designed after a classic temple front, with large statues standing on top of the three corners of the pediment. The wings that extend to the side feature a classic colonnade.

Villa Barbaro, Maser (1557-58)

2008-04-12T13:03:00.004-04:00

The Villa Barbaro is located on the Via Cornuda, 7, 31010, in Maser. Featuring illusionistic pantings inside and a façade with the circles and eagles of the Barbaro family, this building was largely planned and executed by the Barbero brothers with Palladio's assistance.

Behind the villa is a Nymphaeum decorated in a classical style. The pediment is a stretched triangle with alternating niches in hemispherical and rectangular shapes beneath. The pool beneath serves as a kitchen pond and runs off by the kitchen garden to water it.

There is also a Tempietto connected to the villa. In this, the Barbaro brothers and Palladio were definitely looking to the Pantheon for inspiration. The Tempietto is set up on a podium with a domed central space and a large, triangular pediment. The belltowers add a nice detail to the building.

San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice (1560-80)

2008-04-12T13:01:00.003-04:00

San Giorgio Maggiore is located on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, in Venice (see map here). Palladio raised the pedestal that the building rested on up and placed the orders atop it in order to make the ceiling higher. San Giorgio possesses very strong modillions and Palladio made good use of Corinthian columns in the order. Looking at the church, it is clear that Palladio did not care to cover the entire church, but just the main area of the façade. The arms are executed in brick, as was common in Venice, where the materials for a building were not decided merely based on appearance, but on weight as well. In this building, as with Il Redentore, which would follow it, we can see that Palladio has made use of thermal windows, which he would have seen in the Roman baths. Also like Il Redentore, this building features a retrochoir behind the altar. The retrochoir was a reaction to the counsel of Trent, which decided that it was important to bing the mass to the people. To do that, the choir was moved from it's traditional place in the center of the church to prevent it from blocking the view of the congregation. In architecture, the counsel of Trent would influence the transition from Renaissance to Baroque architectural trends.

Il Redentore, Venice (1577-92)

2008-04-12T13:00:00.005-04:00

Il Redentore, located on the Sestiere Giudecca 30133, in Venice (see map here), is a longitudinal church dedicated to Christ the Redeemer and built for the purpose of accommodating a yearly visit from the Doge of Venice. Like the church of San Giorgio Maggiore before it, this church presented the problem of how to deal with the high pedestals needed in construction. Palladio solved this problem by putting the entire building up on a podium.

On the facade of the building, the temple front seems to mask another layer behind. To either side of the temple pediment, end bits of a larger pediment show through with pilasters on either side. The pediment itself is a motif that is reflected several times in the facade, but in this building it does not get stretched out of proportion in order to reach the cornice of the dome. Palladio solves that problem in this building by creating an attic level to reach the cornice. The overall effect of the facade is of a series of planes projecting outward over one another to produce a strong, layered effect.

The interior of the church brings us one step closer to the full opening of the interior for sight lines to the high altar. Palladio has created side chapels for private worship where there once would have been a colonnade that would have blocked the view of the front of the church. Inside the church, we can see Palladio's use of vaulting and thermal windows. There is a strong sense of the enormity of the space with a sense of transitional spaces that vary in terms of purpose. The use of the orders is also very strong.

Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza (1584)

2008-04-12T12:57:00.003-04:00

The Teatro Olimpico, located on the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, 36100, in Vicenza (see map here), would be undertaken by Andrea Palladio, but not finished at the time of his death. After his death, the work was taken over by Vincenzo Scamozzi, with possible help from Palladio's son. The orchestra, seats and statues of the Olympian gods (fashioned after members of the Olympian academy who were sponsors of the building) were all taken from the design of classical theaters. The stage itself features three main entrances and two side entrances, with a proscenium arch at the center. The elaborate language in the design and detailing of the this building was considered highly appropriate because of the fact that it was a theater. The optical illusion used in the design is nothing less than genius, creating an illusion of space and of the ideal city. The design of this building would effect the ideas for staging and set design for another 100 years.

Basilica Palladiana, Venezia (1549-64)

2008-04-06T17:01:00.004-04:00

Located in Venezia, this building by Palladio features the city's signature Venetian windows. The proportion of the column order is maintained around the entire exterior of the building, with paired engaged columns on the corners. The added feature of the small statues on the roof of the building to the verticality of the structure, while the ballister makes a neat transition between the sky and the building itself. The port holes and tandles are new additions to the building, as are the screens which were added to the portico to keep it from falling.

La Zecca (the Mint), Venice (1537-45)

2008-04-06T17:00:00.004-04:00

La Zecca is located on the Piazza San Marco in Venice (see map here), though it's facade sets it apart from the rest of the buildings that make up the square. There is no centralization in the building and no strong indication of an entryway for a very good reason. This building was the Mint and Sansovino planned for there to be no indication of the entrance to make stealing more difficult and to prevent fires within.
The decor on the outside of the building is very rusticated, with similar rustication on the pillars that we saw at the Villa Madama. The rustication is very heavy, covering not only the column orders but the entire first story and the voussiors over the first story archways. The building is presented as having three stories, with a cornice and lintel as strong as the building itself. There are two cornices because the building was originally only one story with the second and third added later on.

Libraria Marciana, Venice (1536-88)

2008-04-06T16:56:00.001-04:00

Located on Saint Mark's Square in Venice (see map here), this well-known building was executed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1536-88. The language of the building is appropriate for a library, expressing two stories with 21 bays. The decor is very festive, a match for the gothic style by appropriate for learning and humanism. Despite that festivity, there is an air of ceremony about the structure itself, despite the brightly colored chairs that strew its colonnaded entrance. The decor includes a triglyph and metope area as well as festoons and sea creatures. The arcade is handled almost like a motif, and in the arcade Sansovino quotes Bramante, using his arch to carry a ballister and pairing monumental columns with a straight entabulature.

Palazzo Corner della Ca' Grande, Venice (1533-70)

2008-04-06T16:53:00.002-04:00

Located near the Piazza San Marco (see map here), this building was a private commission taken on by Sansovino and executed in Bramante's style. The building is three stories because of the limited space allowed to spread horizontally along the canal. The first story is rusticated heavily, with rustication over the columns and a segmental lintel. The second and third stories are very similar to one another, with paired columns framing segmental-pedimented windows. On each level, a low ballister runs the length of the cornice, stopping intermittently to allow space for the podium on which the columns stand. There is decoration over the windows and in the brackets, as well as the spandrels created by the curving pediments. This building contains within it a Roman-style courtyard. On the interior all stories retain the horizontal-block feeling expressed by the main shape of the building itself.

Palazzo Grimani at S. Luca, Venice (1556)

2008-04-06T16:51:00.003-04:00

Located at the estuary of the canal de San Luca (see map here the Palazzo Grimani is number 9), this building is an example of a Venetian palazzo that, because of it's location on the water and the lack of space on the Grand Canal, is perforce long and narrow in its plan. This building is a change in design from the Ca d'Oro. No more do we see the Gothic designs that we associate with Venice and the north, this building shifts to a purely Renaissance ideal in its design.

Of course, Renaissance ideas brought a problem to the water-based atmosphere of Venice. Renaissance plans call for marble, for one thing, so the Palazzo Grimani would need extra support. The interior would also be effected because the artist must work with older ideas of design with regard to lighting while implementing Renaissance windows. The lighting situation is elegantly handled by grouping the windows at the front of the house in order to supply light to the entire interior.

The first floor is the water story, and here we find no more rustication as we have seen, which makes the first story into a main story. At the corners, pilasters are used to wrap the orders around to the sides of the building. The rhythm is complex, alternating fenestration with bays, decorated keystones and victories in the spandrels. There are indications of secondary stories in between the main stories, as with other Renaissance homes. The second and third stories are fairly simple in that they are copies of one another. In between the stories is a baluster. The windows have an arched frame with a square window. The entire building is framed by a noticeably larger cornice that matches the building as a whole.

Ca d'Oro, Venice (1422-ca. 1440)

2008-04-06T16:41:00.003-04:00

Located on the Corte Barbaro, Cannaregio, 4604 30131, in Venice (see map here), this building is a perfect example of the mixture of Byzantine and Gothic ideas that permeated the architecture of this sea-trading city during the period before Renaissance ideas reached it. The buildings were built on wooden pilings, so they could not be too heavy and had to be capable of flexing because of the unstable building area. Properties that fronted on the Grand canal would have very narrow fronts seated on properties that would permeate far to their backs. Very large windows were required on all levels in order to admit light, but not all people could afford such luxuries. Most of the buildings were made of brick and some which were very expensive (like this one) would have marble fronts. The quatrefoil motif was very popular (a Gothic design) as were rounded arches (influences of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture). The asymmetrical organization and large windows are reflected in the plan, with a large central room, or spine, designed to pull light down the center of the building so that it could dissipate into side rooms. All Venetian houses had wells, but few more wealthy families could afford to have their wells inside, and some even had interior gardens, like the Ca d'Oro.

Palazzo Canossa, Verona (late 1530s)

2008-04-06T16:40:00.002-04:00

The Palazzo Canossa, located on the Corso Cavour, 48 37121, in Verona (see map here), employs a similar approach to that taken by Sanmicheli in the Palazzo Bevilacqua. The building has a rusticated lower level and a three-arched entryway. The hinting at further stories at the mezzanine, basement and attic levels, is no doubt the influence of Bramante in the construction. On the top floor, the orders are paired around regular window frames with arched tops and straight entabulatures linking them together. That strong connection is continued with the base of the windows that run together in a sort of string course that recesses and projects with the orders, providing a platform for them. The balustrade above the cornice is new, having been finished by Giuseppe Antonio Schiavi in 1761.

Palazzo Bevilacqua, Verona (1530)

2008-04-06T16:37:00.003-04:00

The Palazzo Bevilacqua, located on the Via Palazzo 37035 San Giovanni Ilarione, in Verona (see map here), is an example of the Bramante type of palazzo. The rustication on the ground floor runs over the orders, unabated. The second floor uses a ballister as a transitional device, with a column order set above the columns beneath to continue the building's vertical focus. The portal on the front of the building is not centralized, but far to the left, while the rest of the building remains centrally focused. This may indicate that the building was intended to be centralized, but was not completed. The décor on the whole of the building is grotesque, with strong similarities to central Italy. The pilasters, fenestration, and lintles all make use of layering. The fluting is different on each of the columns that decorate the columned bays and in each of the spandrels a winged victory is carved in relief. This, in addition to the heavy modillions and the balcony across the front of the building, creates a complex upper story. The first level windows are much more simple, being simple arches with triangular lintles. There is a bit of a Roman influence in the lower level, with busts featured in the voussoirs of the windows. The frieze on the attic level features regular windows and a very complex decoration of festoons with busts.

Villa dei Vescovi, Luvigliano (1535)

2008-04-06T16:32:00.003-04:00

Located on the Via dei Vescovi 35038 (see map here), the Villa dei Vescovi would become a building type that would permeate throughout Italy. It possesses a large, rusticated podium out of which comes the grand staircase. Above, on the second level, the arcade is carried on piers with a double pilaster on each corner and a single pilaster on each pier. The frieze zone is decorated with a triglyph and metope ornament. Above the windows, the voussoirs possess busts instead of keystones with winged victories in the spandrels. In the center bay the voussoir is emphasized by a larger shield for the head to rest against.

Loggia Cornaro, Padua (1524)

2008-04-06T15:58:00.002-04:00

Located on the Via Melchiorre Cesarotti, 21, 35123, in Padua (see map here), illustrates an advance in the architectural ideas that were shown at the Loggia del Concillio. In this building we see a movement towards a more classical ideal. Colors have been thrown by the wayside, letting the natural grandeur of the marble speak for itself. The building itself is therefore much more classical and feels more monumental to the viewer. The alternating segmental and triangular pedimented windows on the upper level are reminiscent of the Palazzo Farnese and a nice touch to a classical facade.

Loggia del Consiglio, Verona (1500)

2008-04-06T15:16:00.005-04:00

Located on the Piazza dei Signori, 37121, in Verona (see map here), the Loggia del Consiglio stands as the main government building of the city. The building is constructed to resemble the wing of a Roman forum, so it reflects classical ideals in its form and construction. The piano nobile features painted decoration and double light windows. The use of the later informs the viewer that the building is from the early Renaissance, though the small statues that grace the top of the building and add to its verticality are very modern innovations. The front of the building is also slightly odd because it is not quite centered. The center of the building features a pier rather than a bay, and where the eye expects another bay farther along in the rhythm, the entranceway makes that impossible and we are instead given another column. Piers terminate either side of the building, including the entrance into a side alley on the left side. Above, in the piano nobile, the rhythm is a window for every other arch rather than for every arch, which makes for a strong triangular composition in the rhythm, linking what is essentially a double window with a double bay. Another detail that connects the top and bottom levels is a cross in the spandrels on the lower level that echoes the cross under the pediments of the windows on the upper level. Because of all of these elements, the composition works both horizontally and vertically.

As with all of the buildings that we have seen, materials play a huge part in construction. Verona is famous for what is called "rosso di Verona," or red marble (for more information, see this link). As a result, we can see that this building does not use identically colored stone throughout. The columns are alternating red and white, and there are other color differences that we can see in the marble elsewhere.

Palazzo de Te, Mantua (1526-34)

2008-03-25T14:08:00.005-04:00

Located on the Viale Te, 46100, in Mantua, (see map here) the Palazzo del Te is an example of a Mannerist suburban villa that will be highly reproduced. This palace has been identified as Mannerist because of the use of orders that break the cornice above the window and reach up to the Doric triglyphs and metopes. The building features three entries into the vestibule area and rectangular, regular windows. Inside the vestibule the orders are rustic looking and go back to an antique example of unfinished stone as well as an antique Roman coffered ceiling. Another Mannerist element occurs in the frieze area, where the triglyph slips downward for no architectural reason. It is possible that the slipping triglyph comes from some other little known classic building that does not follow the accepted Vitruvian method.

Pitti Palace, Florence (1558-70)

2008-03-25T13:04:00.008-04:00

The Pitti Palace is located on the Via Piazza de' Pitti 50125, in Florence. (see map here) The front façade looks much like the Medici palace in the expression of the levels and the voussoirs. A new element is the balusters on each level attached to the cornices. Another unique element is the extending arms on either side of the main, central building. The extending arms make the overall shape of the building much more imposing than the regular, armless palazzi that we have seen up until now.

The overall shape of the building is a rough H, with the back that faces on the garden in a U shape. This building and the surrounding garden represent the shift in thinking from a formal, private garden to a park. The plan of the garden shows both wild and formal elements that we would expect to see in a park. The U-shape at the back of the building hugs a fountain at its center and mimics the shape of an enclosed, square courtyard minus the fourth wall. The rustication on the back of the building is very different from that on the front. The orders that are present are very strange in their rustication and create a Mannerist vibration by taking classic superimposition and using it in a different way. The first floor features an ionic order with a corinthian order on the second. There is a plastic sort of variation between the two floors, with the bottom order presented as a pilaster and the second floor a more pronounced column. The entablature above the windows on the second floor takes the voussoirs shape and presses them upwards. As with some other Mannerist buildings, we can see the recession of planes backwards.

Casino of Pius IV, Vatican Gardens, Rome (1560-63)

2008-03-25T12:50:00.004-04:00

Pirro Ligorio, who created the Nicchione in the Belvedere Cortyard, added this casino (or small house) in the Vatican gardens. (see map here) The building itself was meant to be used for eating and such, so it does not have much interior space. It does, however, provide a small dining space open to breezes and sounds off of the garden through the open portico. Although it is a vertically-oriented rectangular building, it is not meant to be a belvedere, so it is not tall enough to provide a view of the gardens from above. The façade of the building is almost a printed page come to life in the extreme detail utilized. The designs are right out of the tradition of Raphael. The exterior of the building is a contradiction to the role of architecture as the expression of structure in that it almost denies it. The building looks like it is three stories, but it is only two on the interior, which is unlike some of what we have seen in some of the other buildings in the cities of Florence and Rome, where the exterior expression is of three stories but the interior is five stories. Facing it is another building with the same architectural sense of decoration.

Porta Pia, Rome (1561)

2008-03-24T21:19:00.004-04:00

The Porto Pia is located on the Via 20 Settembre, 2, in Rome. (see map here) The question raised by this structure is what is appropriate for a city gate as far as decoration. What works for one structure will not work for another. The Mannerist style in this case evinces itself as a more satiric and rustic style of architecture. Again we see layering as a key element of Mannerist vocabulary.

The windows are carried on brackets with festoons for decoration and classic triangular pediments above. The floating decorative elements above the first floor window level give that sense of ambiguity for which Mannerist architecture is known. The second level has a frame-like window feature with scrollwork in the pediment. The level above has a circular frame covered with a drape-like item hanging above.

The pediment on the central opening is not broken, but the lintel is stepped back and gives a broken feeling to the pediment. The central bay has a coat of arms with a round medallion and drapery above it echoing the third level decoration. From Michelangelo’s sketches for the gate and other contemporary sketches (like the one by Faleti to the left), the origin of the scrollwork on the termination is uncertain. In his sketches he seems to have been going for a more classic termination, so it may have been changed after his death.

Buontalenti Doorway, Uffizi, Florence (1560-74)

2008-03-24T21:06:00.003-04:00

This door is a prime example of Mannerist expression in architecture in its use of the orders. The pediment is broken by the weight of the bust sitting on top of it. The Mannerist idea has to do with anti-function. Mannerists know the rules and the way that architecture is supposed to work and they play with it so that it does not function in the way it is intended, and that is done in the pediment. The cornice is hidden behind the doorframe and it gives a sense of multiple layers that we have seen before in the execution of other Mannerist buildings.

Farnese Palace, Caprarola (1530, 1556-53)

2008-03-24T18:47:00.008-04:00

The palace is located on the Via Galileo Galilei, 01032 Caprarola VT, Italy (see map here) in a very wild, wooded area and does a lot as far as the transition from the wild surroundings to the architectural space of the Palazzo itself. There are two gardens, one for winter and one for summer. Between the wild space that surrounds the property and the formal gardens are organized hunting grounds which serve as natural transitional spaces towards the more regimented natural space created in the gardens. The formal gardens are organized into typical quadrants and make use of the pergala as an additional transitional element between the interior and exterior, nature and architecture.

The processional that leads up to the building is not as straightforward as the usual and plays into the Mannerist idea of game playing and misdirection. Usually palaces would have a circular area for coaches to pull into to use to turn around. At the Farnese Palace, however, the courtyard is a little different. Coaches, when arriving at the palazzo, would have to travel into a circular interior courtyard in order to turn around.

The façade at the front of the building makes good use of coining as a framework and has a strong central emphasis which is strengthened by the staircase. The fenestration shows a strong piano nobile and progresses nicely through the five visible floors. The elaboration on the fenestration is a habit and a feature of Mannerist artists.

The plan shows clusters of private rooms with large public rooms. There is still no hallway between rooms and the interior doors allow passage from room to room. In the courtyard you can see that ornament is increasing. The courtyard sports a ground floor that is rusticated and has no order with an ionic order on the upper level. The use of the orders matches the façade on the front of the palazzo. The rhythm is not regular and equal but complex with an alternating sequence of niches with columns and arches. The niches are layered like the detailing on the Farnese palace in Rome and the Villa Giulia. The internal portico is on both levels and the lower level portico has openings into the stables.

The Capitoline Hill, Rome (1561-1654)

2008-03-23T21:06:00.010-04:00

The Capitoline Hill is located at the Piazza Campidoglio 00186, in Rome (see map here). The hill itself was largely in disarray when Charles V led a Triumph past it. The appearance embarrassed the Pope and the city in the face of the Emperor. Michelangelo was called in to help make the hill look presentable. The first thing that he was asked to do was to move the statue of Marcus Aureleus to the center of the square. As one of the rare surviving bronze sculptures of the ancient age, it represented survival despite the odds. Most bronze sculptures from ancient times were scrapped and used for other sculptures and metal work. And if Marcus hadn’t been mistaken for the first Christian emperor Constantine, it never would have survived that long. The equestrian sculpture was a serious goal for Renaissance sculptors because of the amount of materials needed and the difficulty as far as the skills involved.

Michelangelo undertook a series of projects to reform the complex. First he undertook the approach to the top of the hill. He began with leveling out and paving the hill and then moved on to change the architecture by adding new facades to the three palazzi that face the piazza. When creating the space on the hill, there were problems of transition from the piazza Venezia below. Michelangelo solved that problem by creating the cordonata staircase in 1561. The stairs were created so that a horse could climb them, with wide stairs and rounded edges that a horse could easily navigate. The stairs themselves are shaped like trapezoids rather than rectangles to create a visual impression of distance through optical enhancement. The position of the buildings at the top of the stairs enhances this feeling, as does the oval-shaped rosette that decorates the pavement. The feeling of the space brings up the feelings of Mannerist influence that Michelangelo gave in the Medici tombs. The use of non-static shapes create a dynamic axis and a sense of movement in the space.

The façades of the palaces have colossal orders applied to them. The external appearance is of a single story façade with a two story façade layered behind it. That layering of the façade is looked at as Michelangelo playing with a Mannerist vocabulary in the ambiguity of space and depth. The lower story features an ionic order, the upper story a plain set of windows surrounded on either side by orders. The orders from the lower level extend up above the balcony on the second floor. Each building shows an elegant use of the orders in turning the corners. The buildings are all centrally-oriented with a large central bay and balustrade.

This project represents one of the many projects that Michelangelo would begin which would not be finished until long after his death. Giacopo della Porta would succeed him in completing this project as well as St. Peters. The statues at the top of the stairs were not placed there until after his death, although they were executed before. The façades of the Palazzi that surround the piazza would take 100 years to complete, much like St. Peters. The Palazzo dei Conservatori would take from 1564-84, the Palazzo dei Senator from 1573-1612 and the Palazzo dell Nuovo from 1603-54.

Palazzo Farnese, Rome (1517-46)

2008-03-23T21:04:00.005-04:00

The Palazzo Farnese is located on the Piazza Farnese, 00186, in Rome. (see map here) Patronized by the Grand Cardinal Farnese, this building went through some big changes during its construction. In 1541, new idea was thought up for the palace with part of the piano nobile already finished. Antonio da Sangallo the younger was hired to expand the rear of the building. In 1546, the façade was completed up to the cornice. A competition to complete the building was won by Michelangelo (If we are to believe Vasari, Antonio da Sangallo died shortly afterward of shame from having lost to Michelangelo).

The façade has the feeling of some of the older palaces that we have seen in and around Rome and Florence. The framing of the building and the central emphasis mark a new palace type for Rome and the fenestration would be a model for other palaces. The windows on the first floor have knee brackets beneath and straight lintels. The second floor alternates with triangular and half-circular pediments above the windows. The third floor features all triangular pediments with alternating interior triangles and half-circles. The coining that frames the building on both sides is matched by the rustication of the central bay. The cornice is very original with a fleur-de-lis (or lilly) motif in the brackets and classic egg and dart molds and modillions.

The plan is a basic block shape with a central courtyard with strong corner piers, dog-leg stairs and interior doors as a means to get from room to room. The courtyard was used to display an extensive sculpture collection. The third story, executed by Michelangelo, features the layering effect that we saw on the third floor of the palazzi that frame the Capitoline Hill. The corner pilasters show eight or nine recessing steps back into space. The windows have segmental pediments carried on columns. There is a visible mezzanine level and a frieze on the second story. The first level meets piers and leaves columns on piers and not molded together.

Palazzo Massimi, Rome (1535)

2008-03-18T19:29:00.007-04:00

The Palazzo Massimi is located on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 00186, in Rome (see map here). Peruzzi’s commission for this building was for an exceptionally long space in the palazzo which included the garden and portico. Giorgio Vasari refers to the front of the building as an oval rather accurately. The façade is very different looking. It has none of the horizontal or vertical divisions that we are used to seeing in the façades of city palaces. The windows feature foreign scroll motifs that remind us of the Mannerist style being introduced by Michelangelo. The solid over the void of the portico combined with the strange dark feeling created by the wide central bay makes the façade even more strange to the viewer. The lower story feels very plastic and mobile with the upper stories sitting flat above it. The overall feeling is a strange but pleasing one.

San Andrea in Via Flaminia, Rome (1550)

2008-03-18T19:22:00.005-04:00

San Andrea in Via Flaminia is located in Rome on the Via Flaminia, 00196 (see map here). Constructed by Giacomo Vignola in 1550, the church itself is hardly more than a chapel with a small, oval shaped plan and a simple dome. From the outside the influence of the Pantheon is obvious in the triangular cornice and hemispherical dome and expression of the cornice.

Villa Giulia, Rome

2008-03-18T18:51:00.006-04:00

Comissioned by Pope Julius II, this villa is located on the Via di Villa Giulia, 00197, Rome (see map here).

The villa Giulia is a suburban villa that was heavily influenced by the belvedere courtyard in it's layout and the expression of it's stories. The villa is only a small portion of the whole structure, the rest of the structure is a pleasure garden featuring a two story loggia.

When looking down the length of the first garden it seems that you can proceed directly through the separating structure and into the second, but when you actually approach a sunken garden bars your passage, forcing you to walk either right or left in order to continue farther into the structure.

Medici Tombs, Florence

2008-03-14T14:01:00.006-04:00

The Medici Tombs are located beneath the church of San Lorenzo in Florence (see map here). Construction on the tomb was begun in 1524-6, but in 1534 Michelangelo was called away to Rome. He would not return to Florence in his lifetime, so after his departure he worked almost by remote control.

Created as the burial places for four members of the Medici family, this small room created a sizable design problem for Michelangelo when he undertook it. Simply stated, the problem was how he could fit four tombs in a small room such as this one and still leave room for an altar and an entryway into the room? Michelangelo solved this problem by building two tombs on facing walls and leaving the third wall for an altar. The motifs that are shown in the tombs are echoed from elsewhere in the church, such as the geometric shapes on the ceiling and the green molding that edges out the architecture. He emphasized the white and earth-green color scheme that was so typical of Florence by adding white marble to the mix. The use of the petra sorrena in the room ties it back to the old sacristy.

The dome of the tomb is a very elegant homage to Brunelleschi, with classical coffering that recalls the Pantheon. The visible coffering and the use of medallions in spandrels is classic Brunelleschi.

The tombs themselves show a very complex use of classical motifs. The paired columns on either side of the seated figures as well as the scrollwork and the curved lintles on top of the openings to either side show a heavy reliance on classical themes. But this room has frequently been pointed out as heavy evidence of Michelangelo as the forerunner of Mannerism. The elongated, elaborate figures that lounge atop the sarcophagi are considered strongly Mannerist. In the architecture, there are strong architectural elements located over voids in doorways and windows. The feeling that these elements creates is one of ambiguous space.

For more information on San Lorenzo itself, click here.

Madonna di San Biagio, Montepulciano

2008-03-14T13:43:00.005-04:00

Madonna di San Biagio is located on the Via di San Biagio, 53045, in Montepulciano (see map here). Constructed by Antonio da Sangallo, the plan contains Bramante-esque ideas that would be used in the construction of Saint Peters in Rome. The dome of the church is almost hemispherical, but the whole of the dome appears more vertical than hemispherical. The outer plan mimics the original plan for Saint Peters that can be seen on the contemporary commemorative coin. The dome in addition to the triangular pediment seems more in keeping with Bramante's plan for the exterior than the final appearance of Saint Peters would be (see more on da Sangallo's contribution to new Saint Peters here).

The church was completed up to the base of the dome by 1552. Work on the dome began in 1554. The elevation of the dome up to the drum was completed by his death, but the upper part of the dome was not completed under his direction. The building adheres to a very central plan with only a slight elevation and the addition of a portico to show the entrance.

Villa Farnesina, Rome 1509-21

2008-03-12T18:56:00.013-04:00

The Villa Farnesia is located on the Via della Lungara, I-00186, Rome (see map here) in one of the areas joined by the Sistine bridge. Villas in that area feature styles that are prominent in both the city and the countryside.

The villa Farnesia exhibits a regular, rhythmic use of orders. The orders are shown on both levels. There is some debate over what the orders would have looked like when the building was first finished. The orders could have been brick or stucco and some suspect that they might have been painted a different color from the rest of the façade.

Two stories are expressed at the front of the building and the basement, mezzanine and attic levels are hinted at in the intervening space. The basement supports the pedestal on which the whole structure sits. The windows on each level are framed by straight lintels that echo the cornice, while the frieze area emphasizes the attic windows in the way that an urban palace would not.

Raphael was involved in creating the stables. He and his workshop are also responsible for a majority of the interior decoration.

On the garden side, the character of the building changes to be more open to the land. The plan is U-shaped and features an enclosed portico as a transitional space. The draft for the garden façade shows us that the façade was intended to be much more elaborately decorated than it is today. The main space has a loggia for theatrical performances much like some of the ancient theaters would have appeared.

The decoration that marks the loggia space in the garden is the pergalla. The imaginary tapestry strung to show the sky beyond an illusory portico looking out onto an urban scene. The pergalla decoration continues on the floor and serves as an excellent transitional space from the garden to the interior of the villa.

Villa Madama, Rome

2008-03-12T18:53:00.002-04:00

The villa Madama is located on the Via di Villa Madama, 00194 Rome (see map here). This building is representative of the difference between palaces in the cities and those that would be built in the countryside. The villa is located on an entrance road into Rome and would be used to clean up and rejuvenate before their formal presentation to the city. It would be one of Antonio da Sangallo's most important works and a strong connection to his classical roots.

The building features an outdoor theater space in its circular courtyard along the front of the building. The orders on the lower level present the viewer with a strange form of rustication that is not really rustication. The columns are not made of smooth stone, but of undisguised bricks. The question raised by these columns is whether there is a different decorum for columns in the country as opposed to the country.

The villa remains unfinished to this day but it is still used to house visiting dignitaries in the very small portion that is complete. The grand plans that were made for the house included a large hanging garden with flowing water.

The interior space terminates in an apsidal area with a shell motif whose decorations were executed by Raphael's workshop with decoration on the orders in the grotesque style. His helpers were experts in figures, fruits and vegetables and this building represents a high point in the grotesque style of decoration in homes.

Palazzo dell'Aquila, Rome

2008-03-12T18:47:00.004-04:00

The Palazzo dell'Aquila is located on the Piazza del Palazzo, 67100, L'Aquila in Rome (see map here). This building separates the bottom story as a basement-like story and shows two full stories and an attic story. This palazzo shows a previously unseen interest in expressing intermediate stories that would usually be suppressed. The area for shops on the bottom floor is expressed with two simple two openings. The triangular and rounded pediments create a complex rhythm when combined with the grand center windows on the lower level. The top floor echoes the piano nobile without elaboration on the decoration below.

House of Raphael, Palazzo Caprini, Rome

2008-03-12T18:41:00.004-04:00

The Palazzo Caprini, also known as the House of Raphael, was built in 1501-10. The design of the facade takes the earlier Albertian type of palace and introduces a new palace type to Rome. The facade expresses two stories with accompanying mezzanine and attic windows. Like most of the modern palaces of that time, the facade is a horizontal, rectangular block.

The lower floor has a very strong bugnato presentation with no orders and openings into the shops on that floor. The piano nobile has orders expressed with larger windows. The single noble floor is very strongly presented despite it's delicacy in comparison to the basement floor. The orders turn the corner interestingly, with the pier made out of the order and the triglyph doubling as it turns the corner.

Santa Maria della Consalazione, Todi

2008-03-12T18:37:00.003-04:00

Santa Maria della Consalazione is located on the Viale della Consolazione, 06059, in Todi (see map here). A building that was built contemporary to new Saint Peters, it reflects some of the features of that building in its large central dome and centralized plan. The very central plan is made possible because, like the Tempietto, this church was not meant to house droves of worshippers. Santa Maria della Consalazione is a simple Marian miracle-working church and, as such, not intended to be a large place of worship. The master builder responsible for its construction was Cola da Caparola, although Bramante could have been involved as well.

The interior of the church is reminiscent of Alberti with the exposed ribbing on the interior of the dome. The entablature is much plainer, however, and the use of stone in this building makes the scale very monumental. As with new Saint Peters, the large corner piers support the dome, which is Bramante-esque, to say the least, with its high drum and elaborate lantern that tops it. The vocabulary that this building would introduce would spread throughout Tuscany, bringing with it the vocabulary of Rome and Saint Peters.

Saint Peters, Rome

2008-03-12T18:35:00.005-04:00

Pope Julius II decides to knock down old saint peters

There were other ideas for Old st peters

Bramante’s idea was executed on vellum, it was important

Really detailed plan of half a building

Centralized plan the only explanation of why half

There were other interventions, mostly with the return of the popes to rome

Venerating the burial spot of peter becomes a concern

Also venerates papal strength as the seat of the first bishop of rome

One problem of the building was the prevailing winds on the hill combined with the height of the building which had move the building eight feet out of plumb

If you double the vellum drawing, you get a centralized plan with a dome and four smaller domes, plus four corner towers

Share the central point with the old church above the crypt of saint peter

That central point meant that you would build out from the central point (piers) rather than front to back as usual

Would influence buildings for the next 100 years

Dissemination of a new high renaissance vocabulary

Antonio da sangallo jr and sr assisted in the building

Jr may have worked at madama and would take over after raphael’s death on st peters

Lots of ideas for changing the church

Extended one arm to the east to make a basilica plan and added portico

Sangallo would create a model for the new, longitudinal st peters

Different layout, dome and towers remain but the little domes are gone

Huge! Several stories high and as large as the room I’m in now in circumference

Mb wrote that it was a deviation from the truth

Many places to hide and make mischief in

Also, since the building would be huge it would require knocking down several other nearby buildings in the papal palace area

All plans from the original outward adhere to the same basic form

Mb would also make a wood model as well as a terra cotta one for his plan

Simplified and strengthened

Got the stuff Sangallo put up torn down by appealing to paul III

Engraving of MBs plan/info about what was built and razed by mb

Turned external walls from the originally intended internal ambulatories

Beauty of his plan -> simplification and strengthening

Complicated building process because of many things

Marble yard

Old st peters still functioning for services

Getting around the palace

The exterior by mb features a monumental column order for support

Cornice was different-feeling

Undulating cornice

Attic area seems different

Rectangles with elaborate frames

Little domes

1578 giacomo della porta

Main drum and dome 1588-93 executed by della porta

Unsure why it is not hemispherical

Della porta’s choice

Raised profile might be necessary to have it be seen over the nave

Change necessary to span the space

Did mb want a hemispherical dome? Idealized image by engraver?

Double shelf dome like Brunelleschi in his notes

Inner shell hemispherical and outer shell taller

Held together by lantern

Alternating shapes of windows on the outer shell of the dome

Becomes hallmark of roman architect

Less obvious ribbing

Mb thought about the hemispherical dome very often in drawings

Della porta might have changed mbs clay model when he changed the plan

Double story model

Painted in cracks on model to show stresses and aid in finding solutions

Completion in end of 16^th and beginning of the 17^th century

Façade competion in 1608 (carlo modern)

Completed to run the same themes all the way around the building

In 1636, the dome of the church begins to crack. Just after that, Bernini submits his plans for the belltowers to be added to the cathedral.

1636, dome starts to crack

Just after that, B submits his plan for the belltowers, construction is begun

Urban dies, innocent takes over

While work on S.P. is closed (10 years) B works elsewhere

Belvedere Courtyard, Rome

2008-03-12T18:33:00.003-04:00

The Belvedere Courtyard is located in Vatican city (see map here). Sixtus V would build the Vatican library across of it and change the initial effect of the outdoor space. Originally the plan included a lower level stairway, a complex stair, and a higher level exedra that would spill out into a high garden from a side garden on the highest level. Descriptions of the exedra go back to ancient Rome. Bramante learned of it from Serlio. The original intent was to use it as a theatrical space. Eventually the idea for the exedra would be replaced with the "Nicchione" or "little nitch," built by Ligoria in 1565. The scale is much different than the exedra would have been.

The progression of the space would allow for the hill that it would sit on, with the highest level with only one story, the second highest with two stories and the lowest with three stories. Bramante was famous for his stairs, so the multi-leveled courtyard provided an opportunity for him to

The walls of the courtyard feature paired pilasters with niches.

Tempietto, Rome

2008-03-12T15:24:00.006-04:00

The Tempietto is a martyrium located on the Piazza di San Pietro in Montorio, 00153, in Rome (see map here). Created shortly after his arrival in Rome in 1502-05, Bramante probably intended it to impress his new patron, Julius II. It is a small, circular church located in a cloister courtyard. The courtyard that the Tempietto is located within is not what was initially intended. The effect of the current courtyard makes the feeling surrounding the building rather claustrophobic. The original intent would have been to have a large, circular courtyard that would have echoed the niches and colonnade.

Since the Tempietto is not meant to house many people, it can adhere to the ideal centralized plan. The outside of the building features 16 columns on a small podium structure. The dome of the building separates it from the classical past with it's high drum which has a 1 to 2 proportion of height versus diameter. The interior and the exterior of the dome match. The drum features alternating shells and rectangle niches framed by pilasters and a plain cornice.

In between the drum and colonnade is a transitional element that will become the norm in later buildings, the balustrade. The balustrade is not only practical, but is used as a transparent screen between the space created by the colunnade and the recessed space created by the drum and dome. Taken from the classical balustrade, this element also has the effect of creating shapes in the negative space between the posts. That play of light and shade and negative space will become an increasing area of concern.

Another element that is reminiscent of the local Roman buildings is found in the frieze zone of the facade. In the frieze there are alternating triglyphs and metopes featuring symbols of the eucharist and church in the metopes. This use of ancient, pagan elements in secular elements in secular buildings was not uncommon in construction of the day.

This building would achieve huge importance in the world at the time, appearing in a number of Treatise and receiving the title "Tempietto" or "little temple." But it's renown would not end in that era. In 2004, the Canstruction competition, is a unique take on this remarkable building with the Tinpietto.

Santa Maria delle Pace, Rome

2008-03-12T14:07:00.005-04:00

Santa Maria delle Pace is located in Via della Pace, 00186, in Rome (see map here). Between 1500 and 1504 Bramante worked on the cloister, implementing a square plan. The centralized plan gives a balanced feeling to the space, with four bays on each side. This building is not unlike some of Bramante's work in Milan. As in his Milanese buildings, Santa Maria delle Pace's construction was effected by the building materials available. In Rome, there was less brick available and more marble. The result of the availability of marble for construction is the monumental feeling of this structure. His work on Santa Maria delle Pace was also effected by the ancient Roman monuments that he was exposed to during his stay in Rome.

The cloister area presents an interesting problem in the colonnaded area on the second level. Bramante chose to place a small column in between the larger engaged columns, creating a problem with regard to the voided area beneath the columns. The solution to the problem of the corners in this case is a little clumsy. The pilasters on the corner look natural, but the piers that would have stood there are still present, but truncated in a strange way that does not make visual sense. The superimposition of the orders are ionic and corinthian in nature. However, the superimposition is vague to the point of being almost impressionistic.

Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan

2008-02-23T15:00:00.006-05:00

Santa Maria presso (next to) San Satiro is located on the Via Speronari in Milan (see map here). When creating this building, the most challenging aspect that Bramante faced was the limited space available for construction. Located on the east side of the nave, the small chapel shows us again the difference in materials from place to place. In this building we see a use of brick and terracotta where we are used to seeing marble and other stonework.

Bramante shows more interest in design motifs in his friezes and pilasters than we have seen in previous architects. His use of perspective in the remodeling of the interior of the church is most evident in the heavily foreshortened massive barrel vault that sits behind the altar.

Donato Bramante

2008-02-23T14:45:00.003-05:00

Donato Bramante was born in Monte Asdrualdo in the year 1444 (Knight). He made a name for himself in Milan at the patronage of the Sforza family and probably made the acquaintance of Leonardo daVinci during his stay there. After the Sforza family was forced out by the invasion of Milan by the French, Bramante traveled to Rome where he came to the attention of Cardinal Riario. During his work in Rome he became known by the Cardinal Della Rovere who would soon ascend to the name of Pope Julius II. He lived out the rest of his life in Rome under wealthy patronage and died there on the 11th of March, 1514.

Bramante produced many notable buildings during his live. Santa Maria delle Grazie, the home to the Last Supper by daVinci, is one example. He also built the Tempietto for Julius II not long after his ascension to power. A singular architect of unparalleled talent, he served to introduce High Renaissance styles to Rome.

Santa Maria delle Carceri, Prato

2008-02-23T14:20:00.009-05:00

Santa Maria delle Carceri is located on the Piazza Santa Maria delle Carceri, 59100, in Prato (see map here). The centralized Greek cross plan that was employed in this church would not be useful for a large parish, so we can conclude that this church was created more to focus on the miracles than on fitting a large group of people in it for services.

Both the interior and exterior of the building show the use of superimposition of the orders, and the pediments that decorate the outside of the windows echo the pediment at the top of the building. Sangallo was obviously influenced by Brunelleschi in the creation of his dome as well as other elements of the building. The ribbing and the lantern of the dome remind us of the cathedral of San Lorenzo in Florence.

The interior of the chapel is decorated in the classic white and green contrast that we associate with Florence and with Brunelleschi. Another element that brings the earlier architect to mind is the frieze area that runs on top of the column orders. A problem that Brunelleschi had is solved, however, in the paired pilasters on the corners that neatly solve the problem of how to manage an arcade as it moves around a building.

Medici Villa, Poggio a Caiano, Caiano

2008-02-20T18:28:00.007-05:00

The Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano was begun in 1485 in the village of Poggia a Caiano. Today it can be found on the Via Lorenzo il Magnifico, 59016 , no doubt named such after its affluent patron (see map here). Unlike the urban palazzo, the villa provides the possibility for outdoor recreation along with the luxury and grandeur of palace living. Built to be lived in during the spring and summer months, the facade is appropriately open, in stark contrast to the tightly closed feeling of some of the palazzi we see in Florence and Rome. One of the chief differences between the villa and the urban palazzo is the innovation of the outdoor formal garden. The geometric shapes featured in these gardens were meant to be viewed from above, hence the little towers (or bellavista) built at the four corners of the wall enclosing the building.

By looking at the contemporary painting above and comparing it with what we see today, we can see the changes that have been made through the years. The addition of the curving stairways to take the place of the flat parallel stairs that stood there originally is the difference that jumps out at us from the exterior.

The exterior of the building has the indication of two stories above the elevated porch and looks different than any other palazzi we have seen in other cities. The absence of any sort of cornice on the front of the building and the flat presentation of the facade, bracketed by quoins, lends to the building the feeling of openness that we did not get in the urban palazzi we saw in Rome and Florence.

One of the most interesting innovations of this building is the use of the enclosed classical portico on a residential building. This device had never been used before on a residence and would not be used for another fifty years. The suddenness of this invention and the absence of it for such a long period have led historians to believe that the design may have been an idea proposed by the patron rather than an idea that the architect came up with on his own. The addition of a device that had previously only been used on temple fronts and churches effectively elevated the status of the family that lived in the villa.

Palazzo Ducale, Urbino

2008-02-18T21:36:00.008-05:00

Begun by Luciano Laurana in 1467 and finished by Francesco di Giorgio in 1472, this building was the home of renowned humanist Federico da Montefeltro. Raised from the ranks of the condotieri (professional soldier) to the level of Duke of Urbino, his court was one of the most influential courts in Italy, despite it's small size and the remoteness of it's location.

The facade that faces off to the southeast features two towers with large arched windows set up, it seems, so that the inhabitants could enjoy the view. The windows are very regularly spaced, even on the towers themselves, and feature classical molding throughout. The details on the windows in the center show us that this building has two piano nobile with the use of the materials and the elaboration used on the upper levels, the topmost of which terminates in a scroll-like device in what would best be described as the pediment.

The building itself centers on a regular courtyard, the arcade of which puts us in mind of the arcades that we have seen from Brunelleschi and Alberti both, carried as it is on columns. It is, perhaps, more akin to Alberti as the corners terminate in supporting piers. Laurana apparently had difficulty with how to terminate the corner, as he simply left half of the rosette that decorates the spandrels embedded in the pier. The use of the shared base adds to the idea of unified support, but the separated capitols take away from that feeling, as does the strangeness of the decoration in the spandrels.

On the interior, we notice that the rooms are regularly shaped. Also, the stairs are not completely enclosed and can now really be called "interior" staircases, as they are covered and not removed from the rest of the building. There is no evidence of the modern "hallway," so it is still necessary to cross through one room in order to get to the next. The rooms themselves alternate between cross-vaulted narrow rooms and sail-vaulted wider rooms. The sail vault is an interpretation of a classical device that terminates in classic capitols that act as a sort of bracket for the sail shape of the ceiling. There are still some problems in the corners of the room with how to incorporate the capitol properly without disturbing the effect. In this room, Laurana chose to include in the corners the barest hint of the full capitols that we see elsewhere. The room itself is decorated with typical Italian sparseness and features the classic X chairs as well as a chest and a large fireplace. The fireplace is highly classicized, featuring a cornice and frieze area decorated with classical motifs.

Palazzo Piccolomini, Pienza

2008-02-18T20:56:00.007-05:00

The Palazzo Piccolomini is located across from the Cardinal's Palace in the heart of Pienza. Constructed by Bernardo Rossolino between the years 1459-63, an artisan who frequently worked with Alberti in both Rome and Florence, this building shows the influence of a Florentine and Roman approach to building. Up until 1968, this building still housed the descendants of Pius II (Pienza).

The exterior reminds us of many of the palazzi that we have looked at so far in Florence. It is a horizontally oriented, three story building. The use of the double-light windows with the filled-in lunettes above reminds us of Alberti's windows in the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome. Another Albertian twist is the use of the orders on the outside of the building. Something that we have not seen Alberti do before, however, is employ rusticated stone to the piano terra. The fact that the rustication even extends to the columns is something that has not really been done before in architecture. The addition of the cross-mullions is an effect generally reserved for buildings in Rome, so seeing them on a building with overt Florentine elements is interesting. This is a melding that we will see elsewhere in the building, as Rossolino brought his experiences in both cities to bear on this project. The final feature of the outside of this building is something that we must look to the plan to appreciate. In a closer look at the plan we can see the main door and where it opens up into the inner courtyard of the building. In this plan, however, it is obvious that the second doorway that we see to the left of the main leads to nowhere. Rossolino added the blind door simply to maintain the symmetry of the building.
The inner courtyard features an arcade that immediately calls to mind some of Brunelleschi's buildings in Florence, namely that of the Ospedale degli Innocenti. The whole arcade rests on piers without the solution to the corners which Alberti discovered wherein he rests the corner on a pier in order to visually support the weight of the structure. Above the arcade, we see yet again the melding of Roman and Florentine structures that we saw on the facade on the exterior of the building. Gone are the double light windows that hinted at Florence, the interior courtyard features rectangular windows with cross-mullions straight out of Rome.

The hanging gardens of the Palazzo were commissioned by Pope Pius II and executed by Bernardo Rossolino and still today, with some minor changes, exhibits features typical to the Renaissance garden (Pienza). The space is divided into quadrants and features both box hedges and fragrant hedges. There were probably featured many imported plants that were not native to the area, such as orange trees, which were prized for their mythological significance (i.e. the garden of the Hesperides). The stables were located below the garden, jutting out from beneath the southeast wall which provided a view of the countryside beyond.

The Cathedral at Pienza

2008-02-18T20:53:00.001-05:00

The Cathedral at Pienza is very interesting in terms of it's internal layout and the way that that plan effects the external facade. On the Interior we can see that the arms that cross the nave have been shortened so that they do not project out and so are not seen from the front of the building. This provides the building with an opportunity to really test the look of a classical temple which results in the classical pedimental facade that we see today.

The heavy triangular pediment is a problem for the rest of the facade because it is difficult to support visually without a monumental order of columns. The architect tried to solve this problem by using two architectural features.

1. The addition of the cornice that runs along the center of the order on the front of the building, thus breaking up the space and making the support of the order more convincing.

2. The use of the large pedestals that the order sits on is at first visually confusing because of the truncated effect on the lower half of the pilasters. The addition of smaller orders on either side of the pilasters counters the truncation and completes the arches on the second story above the cornice.

The facade of this building is very rhythmic. The motif created by the curving lunettes over the doorways is echoed in the arches above. Another motif is created by the aedicules on the rectangles above the minor doorways which repeats the triangle of the pediment in smaller size. Also, the oculus over the central doorway is enhanced by the large rosette-like relief in the frieze area of the pediment.

The Ideal City, Pienza and Reaching for the Ideal

2008-02-18T20:03:00.008-05:00

During the Renaissance, there was a predominant idea of the "Ideal City." Using classical architecture, the Ideal City should be built around a central building and the piazza created by that building. All of the roads should be straight allowing for squared-off edges at the ends of city streets. In a country populated by Medieval twining streets, this ideal probably seemed Utopic in it's simplicity. Very few cities would ever realize anything even remotely resembling that Utopia, however. One such city is the city of Pienza.

Located about 40 miles west of Perugia in the heart of Italy (see map here), Pienza is centered around three main buildings and a relatively straight central street that runs parallel with another street on the other side of the small town. The reason for the plethora of straight and nearly-straight streets was a civic interest in the town in public block housing. The regularity of the block housing allowed for the straight streets so desired in other towns across Italy. The buildings oriented at Pienza's center are a Cathedral with civic loggia located across from it, and the Episcopal Palace and Palazzo Piccolomini which flank the piazza created by the loggia and Cathedral.

Palazzo della Cancelleria, Rome

2008-02-17T19:37:00.006-05:00

The Palazzo della Cancelleria is located at the Piazza della Cancelleria, 00186, in Rome (click here for map). Built between the years 1505 and 1511, it's sheer size (one whole city block) and the expense of the materials (stone, not stucco), it proclaimed the power of the papal state that commissioned it.

The building is meant to read as having three stories by the string cornice and the entablature, but it is obvious by the line of small windows that there are both attic and basement stories. This building, like the Palazzo Rucellai, would have difficulties with centering the building, not because of location this time, but because of the necessity of an entryway into the church.

The windows feature a lunette shape that we have seen several times in earlier and contemporary buildings. The ones on the upper level have lintels while all of them feature rosettes in spandrels above the central point.

The repetitive nature of this particular design is dealt with in the facade of the Palazzo della Cancelleria in a very interesting way. By projecting out the bays that frame the building out, the facade takes on new variety. The Cornice that tops the building could be dealt with in such a way that it framed out the whole building more completely. As it is, it seems to fit the top level, but not the building as a whole.

The courtyard of this building seems earlier than the Palazzo Venezia, with columns instead of pilasters for support.

Palazzo of San Marco (Palazzo Venezia), Rome

2008-02-17T19:02:00.008-05:00

The Palazzo of San Marco, or Palazzo Venezia, is located at the Piazza Venezia, 3, 00187, in Rome (click here for map). Begun in 1455 by Pietro Barbo, it resembles more the type of fortress-like palaces that we have seen in the medieval period in Italy, with its prominent tower and crenelated cornice. There are Renaissance elements, however. The windows of the building, with the cross-mullion shape inlaid into the glass, mark it as not only Renaissance building, but a Roman building. Those cross-mullioned windows also let us know that there is only one piano nobile in this building. The windows are also set, symmetrically, one atop the other, as we have seen in other Renaissance facades. We know that most medieval buildings were vertically oriented, but the Palazzo Venezia is horizontal, as was the style in the Renaissance. Like some of the other residences that we have been looking at, the Palazzo Venezia houses more floors than are readily seen from the outside, the string cornice set higher along the ground floor indicates space for a basement level. The central door is another classical element, as it shows an interest in symmetry.

The unfinished inner courtyard was begun by Francesco del Borgo and features the trend of arches carried on piers, decorated with engaged columns. This gives a real sense of support to the arches. Del Borgo also managed to figure out how to make the proportions of the arch feed properly into the corner, a trick that many architects were struggling with at the time.

Sant' Andrea, Mantua

2008-02-17T18:24:00.006-05:00

Sant' Andrea is located on the Via San Giorgio, 46100, in Mantua (click here for map). Begun in 1472, the building would not be fully completed for 328 years. Looking at the facade and the surrounding area, it is clear that Alberti was going to have a problem in executing his perfect building on the lot of land that he was provided with. It is difficult to tell how exactly Alberti would have finished his design of the building. What we do know is that his use of the orders in the facade is very correct in relation to the designs of both a classical temple and a triumphal arch. It is proportional in every sense of the word.

The building itself is built on a monumental scale, as is easily seen on on the virtual tour found here. The minor orders on the facade are a whole story tall to themselves, while the greater orders stand about a half a story taller, if not more. This building very clearly introduces the monumental order to the world of architecture.

The interior continues the sense of grandeur that the exterior began with the use of a large, barrel vaulted space through to the nave that creates a really grand interior space that calls to mind the baths of ancient Rome. The column orders are also continued through the interior, which aids the sense of the monumentality of the building. Alberti believed that the proportion of design is what added grace and beauty to a building, not necessarily the materials.

As I mentioned earlier, much has been added to this building over the years. The end of the 15th century saw a lot of new building, and Pope Julius II would add even more to the church in the beginning of the 16th.

San Sebastiano, Mantua

2008-02-17T17:57:00.006-05:00

San Sebastiano is located in the city of Mantua at the Piazzale Vittorio Veneto, 46100 (click here for map). This entire building was built from the ground up by Alberti. Unfortunately, in 1470 the church was abandoned and never finished. Subsequent changes to the facade have made the building almost recognizable as one of Alberti's constructions. We still have his original plan and some idea of what the church would have looked like had it been finished, however.

Again, as with many of Alberti's buildings, we see that the centrality of the plan has been maintained. The interior was a centralized plan known as the Greek cross. The outside would probably have been completed with five bays, the centermost of which would hold the largest entryway into the church itself, with two other entries flanking it. There is an indication of the column orders left on what remains of the facade and a double cornice that would have probably held some kind of decoration, perhaps rosettes or cupids.

San Francesco (Tempio Malatestiano), Rimini

2008-02-17T17:16:00.010-05:00

San Francesco, or the Tempio Malatestiano, is located at Piazza San Francesco, 47900 Rimini (click here for map). Like Santa Maria Novella before it, San Francesco was a building in dire need of a facade. So who did they call? Alberti, of course! In 1450, Alberti began work on the project.

Alberti remodeled the building to resemble the triumphal arches that he had seen in his travels, most notably the Arch of Constantine in Rome, which the openings in the front of the facade attest to. It is interesting to note also, that the city gate of Rimini bears no small resemblance to the setup of the Arch of Constantine. In choosing this particular layout, Alberti was giving homage to the classical past as well as the city of Rimini itself.

As in the Arch of Constantine, engaged columns hold up a projecting cornice, there is even a large attic space that would, alas, never be used. The question of what Alberti would have seen fit to use to fill that space has been considered, and many art historians believe that he would have used another large arch like the one below to complete the facade.

Santa Maria Novella, Florence

2008-02-17T16:59:00.005-05:00

The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is located at the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella 50123, in Florence (click here for a map). The facade that we see now is not the original facade. Alberti added this facade between 1456-1470.

This facade enhances the centralized plan of the building by adding a sequence of colonnades on either side of the door. The column orders are also applied to what is essentially a temple facade to add to the area surrounding the door. Alberti was trying to solve the problems that Brunelleschi had with regard to the proportion of his arches.

Across the tympanum there are large letters that spell out the name Giovanni Paolo Rucellai. Rucellai is the man who funded the completion of the work and sought out Alberti for the commission (Compart).

Palazzo Rucellai and Loggia Rucellai, Florence

2008-02-17T15:00:00.011-05:00

The Palazzo Rucellai is located at Via della Vigna Nuova, 18, in Florence (click here for a map). Begun in 1446 and finished in 1451 ("Palazzo Rucellai"), it stands as a wonderful expression of Renaissance humanism. Although this building is attributed to Alberti by Vasari and other sources, there is still some dispute as to who was the actual architect. One person who is noted as having been involved with this building is Rosolino. Since Alberti frequently used helpers on his building, most people chalk Rosolino's involvement up to him working as Alberti's assistant.

This building, like so many before and after it, adheres to the newly popular horizontal plan for domestic buildings. Unfortunately, though the plans are perfectly laid out, the building itself had some problems when it was being put up. There simply was not enough land available to complete the project. The later addition of three more bays with the acquisition of more land made it necessary to add another door for the sake of symmetry.

This building is yet another building created in the likeness of the Palazzo Medici Ricardi. Alberti made use of superimposition in the column orders and even used the double light windows that we saw in the earlier building. Of course Alberti added a new twist, making the lunettes in the top of the windows stone and leaving the glass out, thus creating a rectangular double window. He also added a small detail in the form of half columns that frame the windows. Unlike the earlier Palazzo Medici Ricardi, the cornice of this building does not overhang and obscure the upper level, but rather relates not only to the top level of the building but to the building as a whole.

All around the building we see the Rucellai family sigil of the sail, but we also see the Medici symbol of three diamond rings. This sort of decoration was often used to show off familial ties and court alliances.

Across from the Palazzo Rucellai is the Loggia Rucellai. This building is most known because of the presence of the Rucellai sails that decorate the spandrels between the arches along with the Medici rings. Here we see classical architecture merged with that of Brunelleschi as in his Ospedale degli Innocenti. In this, however, the corners are set up on piers, which is something that Brunelleschi was not known for doing.

Leon Battista Alberti

2008-02-17T14:36:00.003-05:00

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was a scholar, painter, poet and architect of the Italian Renaissance (Knight). Born in Genoa, he received his early education from his father and later - after the exile of his family from the city of Florence was lifted - he traveled to Florence where he sparked a friendship with Brunelleschi whose shared passion in Mathematics eventually got him interested in architecture (O'Connor). His family was modestly noble and so Alberti could afford to get more education and to pursue his passion for architecture.

Throughout his life Alberti wrote many Treatise. His two best known Treatise are De Pittura in 1435, where he outlined the importance of painting as a basis for architecture, and De Re Aedificatoria in 1450, a Treatise where he dealt with the theoretical ideas of the age (Matthews). Much of De Re Aedificatoria was based on the ideas of Vitruvius and would not be published until 1485, years after his death.

Unlike Brunelleschi or Sangallo, Alberti came to architecture, not as a goldsmith or craftsman, but as a humanist and theorist. Therefore, all of his architecture was based not only on technical knowhow, but on classical principles of thought and design.

Palazzo Strozzi, Florence

2008-02-17T13:56:00.005-05:00

The Palazzo Strozzi, located at the Piazza Strozzi, 50123 Firenze (click here for a map) was begun in 1489 and finished in 1505 (Palazzo Strozzi). A direct homage to the earlier Palazzo Medici Ricardi, it exhibits several of the characteristics that we have seen in palaces up until this point as well as some newer elements because of the later time period.

As we have seen, the norm at this time was a rectangle-shaped, horizontally oriented building. The Palazzo Strozzi adheres to this standard. It features classically molded lower windows with a slightly more modern twist to the design of the Palazzo Medici in the use of the simple square windows used on the lower level. These windows were typical for the time when this Palazzo was built. The double light windows used on the upper levels, however, were not, and these more than anything else show that this building was meant as a homage to the earlier Medici palace.

The outward expression of three main levels is similar to the Medici palace, although without the rusticated stonework that the earlier building sported. There are, of course, an attic and basement tucked above and below the main levels, with only a small line of windows to betray them. The addition of a bench built into the facade of the building was meant as a gesture to the public.

The plan of the Palazzo Strozzi exhibited much more regularity than previous plans. The windows match the rooms that they look into. All of the stairs are the so-called "dog leg" stairs that go up a level and then reverse direction to continue upwards. Also, where before you had to go through one room to get to another room, the loggia on the upper levels provided a sort of hallway that could be used to get from one room to another, thus providing more privacy.

Giuliano da Sangallo

2008-02-14T22:21:00.006-05:00

Before meeting Lorenzo di Medici in the 1480s (Rosenthal), Giuliano spent much time in Rome with his partner, Francione. He made an in depth study of the antique before his eventual arrival in Florence, where he would come to the notice of Lorenzo. Under the patronage of Lorenzo the Magnificent, what artist could help but to flourish? Sangallo was made chief architect on many projects for the man himself, and Lorenzo also put Giuliano in charge of several commissions that he had direct involvement with. From cathedrals to private homes, Giuliano tried his hand at all of them under the watchful Medici eye.

After Lorenzo’s death in 1492 (not to mention the expulsion of the Medici from Florence 2 years later (Bonner)), Giuliano was forced to look for patronage elsewhere. Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere – whose family was very close to the Medicis – took the young architect under his wing and undertook several projects for him. He even traveled to Avignon and Provence where he was able to study Roman antiques. The rise of Julius II to power prompted him to travel to Rome to seek the Pope’s favor. He was passed over in most things for Bramante, so, after a few projects, he returned to Florence where he lived the rest of his life.

Palazzo Medici Ricardi, Florence

2008-02-10T20:41:00.003-05:00

The Palazzo Medici Ricardi (located at Via Camillo Cavour 50129 Florence FI, Italy, (click here for map), seat of the Medici family and home to many artists including Michelangelo Buonarroti (Bonner), is an example of just the types of palaces that we were talking about in the Davanzati entry. Built to resemble a fortress on the outside to give the appearance of strength, this building has a lot in common with the Roman houses on which it was based.

Michelangelo Michelozzo was not, like Brunelleschi, not originally trained for architecture. Fortunately for Michelozzo, he had a grounding in disegno (drawing) which was considered vital for anyone wanting to succeed as an architect. After considering Brunelleschi's design for the palace in 1443 and rejecting it, the Medicis chose Michelozzo for their architect. Their reason for turning Brunelleschi down was because his design was simply too grand for them, and they feared that it would separate them too much from the common people.

The exterior of the palace is much more symmetrical than that of the Davanzati palace that we looked at earlier. Still, the interior does not adhere to that strict exterior symmetry. The rooms inside this palace are at least at right angles to each other, with none of the jarring angles that were seen in the interior of the Davanzati. This palace featured something new and different to Italian housing, the enclosed staircase. Rather than being built on the outside of the house in a separate area, the stairs in this home are completely enclosed and protected from the elements. The chief difference in these two buildings is, of course, that they show the change from a vertically oriented dwelling to one along horizontal lines. As we shall see, this style of building will become very much the norm in the time after the Palazzo Medici is finished.

The feeling of strength exuded by the exterior is aided by the use of bugnato (or "rusticated") stone on the first level. The second level uses drafted stone, with lines carved into it to give it the appearance of being inlaid brick, in order to make it seem lighter than the first floor. The top floor shows almost no lines at all and appears the lightest of the three. This effect is emphasized by the massive cornice that hangs over the top floor, seeming to press heavily down onto it.

The plan of the building is highly classical. The entrance of the home leads directly into an inner peristyle garden space, not unlike that of an early roman home shown above. As with the roman house, the deeper you venture into it, the more private the rooms. The lack of hallways is something that we as modern people are not used to seeing. That lack of privacy would not have been such a large problem as we would see it in a house that would typically house three or more generations of a family at one time. Another similarity between roman homes and the Palazzo Medici was the use of some of the ground floor rooms - namely the ones that opened into the street - as rented space to store owners.

The interior space cannot help but remind the viewer of Brunelleschi's Ospedale. The independent columns and the whiteness of the stone put us immediately in mind of the front of that building. Unfortunately, this might not have been the best design choice for Michelozzo to have made. The proper proportions are met in the size and spacing of the arches, but the way that they meet seems awkward. They do not give the impression of two walls meeting to support a building, but of an airy sort of support that might or might not be enough to hold up the building above. This effect is enhanced by the dark brickwork of the upper level surrounding the garden area.

Palazzo Davanzati, Florence

2008-02-10T19:47:00.002-05:00

The Palazzo Davanzati (located at Via di Portia Rossa 13, 50122: click here for a map) is a great example of domestic architecture in the Renaissance. Much of the architecture of that time period has been destroyed for a number of reasons. One of the primary reasons has to do with the warring families that controlled neighborhoods of Florence during that time period. These families built large palazzi with large towers from which to wage war against each other. When one of the families lost, their towers would be demolished, though some were merely brought down to a certain level. Many of these shortened towers have been turned over for the use of the Florentine government. One notable one of these is the Palazzo Vecchio, which served for years as the seat of government as well as a symbol of the city itself.

The irregularity in the palazzo's plan is apparent in the footprint of the building. The windows which appear symmetrical from the outside frame out irregular rooms. The entire building seems to be slightly slanted one way or another. Even the staircase juts out at a strange angle at the northeast corner.

As for the decoration inside of this particular palace, like many people, the owners did not seem to be able to afford the tapestries that would insulate the building during the winter months. Wanting the appearance of this type of opulence, they had frescoes commissioned for some of the inner rooms to show faux tapestries. The walls would have the tapestry set in the lower area, topped with a frieze that would include portraits of distant family members and/or the family coat of arms. At the top of the frieze, wealthy families were known to have stucco or stone decoration in the cornice. The less families would have the walls painted to give the impression of a stone cornice. The ceilings of the more opulent palazzi were also usually coffered in the classical tradition. Many of the large rooms would also include fireplaces, which provided excellent places for extra decoration.

San Lorenzo, Florence

2008-02-09T13:14:00.013-05:00

San Lorenzo is undoubtedly one of the greatest monuments of Renaissance Florence. The burial place of several members of the most important family in Florence, the Medici (Winspeare, 2000), the building stands for all to see as a symbol of the might of the Italian Renaissance.
The Basilica di San Lorenzo is located in the Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, 50123 Florence FI, Italy (see map here).
At first approach the Basilica does not look the way that one would picture a church in Florence looking. While Santa Maria del Fiore received a new facade in the 19th century to go with her Renaissance look, San Lorenzo has not received such treatment. The facade, therefore, appears unfinished. The rough stone shows the holes where an architect or artist would have affixed the marble facade if it had ever been brought to completion.

Despite it's unfinished appearance, the church exhibits striking balance in its facade, with the two doors to the right and left of the central entrance placed in perfect balance. With such a rough exterior, however, the interior frequently proves quite a surprise to first-time visitors.

Once past the rough exterior, the interior space opens up into a high-ceilinged room. The main room of the chapel is decorated in classic Brunelleschi fashion. The colors are light and make the room seem to glow from within in the light from the outside.

If one remembers the Ospedale degli Innocenti (1449-1445), it is easy to see in San Lorenzo that Brunelleschi repeated the same themes over again in his architecture here. The tall Ionic columns that seem to support the entire weight of the building with no outside support, for example. This particular element is especially evident in the cloister of the building that looks out on an inner garden.

Here we see not only the free-standing columns, but the simple spandrels that are decorated with a small roundel very much like that in the Ospedale. This pattern of simple spandrels and roundels is repeated inside of the old sacristy.

When creating the Library and cloister for San Lorenzo, Michelangelo had to focus on creating two very different spaces in the library and vestibule. With the library, the main concerns were how to be sure that the building would be lit sufficiently on the interior and how the structure would deal with the weight of the books stored there. The architectural articulation of the stairs in the vestibule have been pointed to as yet another Mannerist element that can be found in Michelangelo's architectural works. The columns that are recessed into the walls on the upper level and the contrast in the long reading room versus the height of the vestibule in combination with the cascading stairs have made this into a classic example of mannerist architecture. The arbitrary and capricious nature of the recessed columns on the upper level has been challenged, however. Some believe that the reason for the recessing is that the lower wall could not support full columns, so they had to be recessed in order to take the stress off of the lower wall.

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The Facade of San Lorenzo

Michelangelo completed many projects for his longtime patrons, the Medici. One very important commission that he received was received after winning a competition for the completion of the facade of San Lorenzo. From what we see today, it is obvious that this project was never finalized, but the process that Michelangelo followed in creating his ideas for the facade and the elements that he incorporated make this one of the more important projects that he would engage in.

Michelangelo's constant letter writing as well as the notes and sketches that he made in his journals provide us with critical insights into his creative process regarding his projects. With San Lorenzo it is obvious from his sketches that he worked from simple ideas to more complex ones. It seems that he intended to mask the actual shape of the church with a rectangular facade. The rectangular facade was something that was more reminiscent in the palaces that were being built at the time than it was of a church. Michelangelo was considering who he was building this church for and he intended it to reflect the royal attributes of its patrons, the Medici.

The facade itself would have brought Roman themes into a Florentine building with paired columns and a more complex rhythm on the exterior of the building. As we can see from this wood model constructed by Michelangelo, the lines created by the orders on the bottom level would have been nicely continued on the upper level with pilasters. The wooden model itself is nearly three stories high and does not appear today as it did when it was initially created. The chief difference is that the friezes that would have decorated the roundels and other openings on the upper level have been cleaned off. These areas were decorated in wax and would have added much needed decoration to the somewhat sparse appearance that we perceive today. Michelangelo was obviously trying to achieve something more classical and antique than Brunelleschi was in the original plan of San Lorenzo.

Unfortunately, this plan would not even begin to be executed. Almost as soon as the marble for the columns arrived in Florence, Michelangelo was called away to by the Medici to complete the tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano di Medici. Michelangelo would experience similar situations for the rest of his life as an artist under the patronage of the Medici and Pope Julius II.

Ospidale Degli Innocenti, Brunelleschi

2008-02-09T13:03:00.001-05:00

The Classics

2008-02-08T12:02:00.001-05:00

One of the greatest architectural developments is the arch. I just want to take a moment to point out some facts about the arch and what exactly it is and does. An arch is, simply put, a curving structure that can span space and still support a significant amount of weight. It does this by directing the thrust of weight down onto the two sides of the arch (or imposts) from a central point held in place by a keystone.

A typical arch, like the one pictured to the right, would be one of the main articles on which Renaissance architecture would be built. Because of that, it is important for us to know a little bit more about the arch.

The parts of the arch are fairly simple. The sides of the arch that lead up to the springing of the arch (or voussoirs) are called imposts. The entire structure is held stable by a central keystone that thrusts the weight of the structure down and to the sides of the arch.

There are several important structures that can be made from the use of the arch. The first is the barrel vault, which is made when you extend the arch back into space.

When you cross two barrel vaults at a ninety degree angle, you get what is called a groin vault, so called because of the shape on the outside of the two vaults where they meet.

When you take an arch and turn it around in a full circle, you get the dome. For Renaissance architects, the dome would be perhaps the most important of these arch-based structures. They would endeavor to build them higher and wider than their neighbors and it is competitions like that that would fuel the creativity of Renaissance thinkers for years.

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The Column Orders

In order to understand the architecture of the Renaissance, some understanding of Classic architecture is needed. The most important aspects of Classic architecture are the column and the arch. There are three main types of columns.

The first type of column is the doric column. Shown to the left, the doric order features a simple shaft that rises immediately from the stylobate (or upper stair) on which the column rests. Above the column, the frieze features alternating triglyphs and metopes. The cornice is simple and would frequently feature relief sculpture. One frequent misconception about columns in general that is most apparent with doric columns is that they are all straight up and down. They are not, however. Almost all columns (save engaged ones and others added for decorative purpose) are wider at the base and narrower as it gets nearer the frieze.

The second column is the Ionic column. Unlike the doric column, the shaft of the ionic column was set on a base. Another thing that sets the Ionic column apart was the lack of triglyphs and metopes. Instead of those, the frieze was one continual space typically decorated with relief sculpture.

One of the chief differences between the three main column types is the capitol. The doric column's capitol is plain, as you can see above, but the ionic column introduces the use of scrolling volutes as added decoration. This column type is also thinner than it's doric cousin, and a bit taller.

The third column type that the ancients used is called corinthian. Even thinner and taller than the ionic column, the corinthian order features the same continuous frieze that the ionic does as well as a base that separates it from the stylobate. Again the most easily recognizable difference between this column an the ionic is the decoration on the capitol. Where the ionic features scrolling volutes, the corinthian features acanthus leaves.

Bibliography

2008-02-07T21:48:00.013-05:00

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Winspeare, Massimo. 2000. The Medici: The Golden Age of Collecting. Florence: Sillabe.

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