tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79759670843796417232024-02-16T20:57:10.064+01:00Florentine PatriciansPatrician Patronage Project Blog Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-55276358357031645702017-11-26T17:48:00.000+01:002017-11-26T17:48:37.980+01:00A new perspective on the Santo Spirito quartiere - By Maartje Visser<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“La prossima fermata; Piazza Frescobaldi”, I
always heard this announcement for the next bus stop when I travelled from the
Dutch University Institute for Art History to the Santa Maria Novella train
station in Florence, not knowing the Frescobaldi family would be the topic of
my research internship some time later. This summer, I spent three months in
the beautiful city of Florence to research the Frescobaldi family as part of
the <i>Patrician Patronage Project</i>. This
internship not only gave me the opportunity to gain insight into the history of
the Frescobaldi family, but it also provided me with a deeper knowledge of the
history of Florence in general, especially about the area that belonged to the
Frescobaldi for centuries, the Santo Spirito <i>quartiere.</i></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgxkRtwRv6QjqahrQ9Hes0PME44gjN7r5j1fHYfoOR-y8Gs8MrV1eR2hf_B4DP6k5iCcc4gqoll9KnedlTCSzKgfOgRoP2OcvmTM9PKCi2oot1esGURo2B7gAVlCqfCgyjK4U8IbfbOzJ/s1600/2.+Frescobaldi+coat-of-arms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="422" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgxkRtwRv6QjqahrQ9Hes0PME44gjN7r5j1fHYfoOR-y8Gs8MrV1eR2hf_B4DP6k5iCcc4gqoll9KnedlTCSzKgfOgRoP2OcvmTM9PKCi2oot1esGURo2B7gAVlCqfCgyjK4U8IbfbOzJ/s320/2.+Frescobaldi+coat-of-arms.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Frescobaldi coat-of-arms<a name='more'></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The origins of the Frescobaldi have been traced
back as far as the end of the first millennium. It was a family of well-known
merchants and bankers. Furthermore, they were (and still are) prominent
winemakers. From the thirteenth century onwards, they owned a couple of houses
in the Santo Spirito <i>quartiere</i>. In
1282 Lamberto Frescobaldi invested in the building of the Santa Trinità bridge
in order to connect their family estate with the city center. Due to their
strategic location along the Arno River, one of the main import routes of the
city, the Frescobaldi practised control and influence over the city’s economy
from the second half of the thirteenth century. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A high concentration of households was a way to
mark their geographic identity in the city. Especially the towers and loggias
showed their public status. Palazzo della Missione, near the Santa Trinità
bridge, was originally the main palazzo of the Frescobaldi, with in front of it
its recognizable tower and loggia. This tower still exists, whereas the loggia
was walled up in 1593.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRvEtQUHkW6CLgtZr4XdYRlfSytXfybRE9UxJWPfozyEoH4aCAVHEgCl7DlZjKccsNdpnXJedZ9QINBBhQkftKdNf66mRfaws57hlToQHp8XQ3ejFqVCQ9NhIz5WNo5LCBToyJE6asIs4/s1600/1.+Facade+of+the+Casone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRvEtQUHkW6CLgtZr4XdYRlfSytXfybRE9UxJWPfozyEoH4aCAVHEgCl7DlZjKccsNdpnXJedZ9QINBBhQkftKdNf66mRfaws57hlToQHp8XQ3ejFqVCQ9NhIz5WNo5LCBToyJE6asIs4/s200/1.+Facade+of+the+Casone.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facade of the <i>casone</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahBBbFpc6BmhxfJUQu5BqsRLYeS5MEQFNZaiYYCgz44N2a0bCBAc0YWAK-2zxRKxAK3mEJm1S1eL3l_GrvSO7Z8TPrLoGXOMEIc-RKPKVwtP1HuXtmJict3cBghhJrNzDELzPeXdGhCfO/s1600/4.+Gate+of+the+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahBBbFpc6BmhxfJUQu5BqsRLYeS5MEQFNZaiYYCgz44N2a0bCBAc0YWAK-2zxRKxAK3mEJm1S1eL3l_GrvSO7Z8TPrLoGXOMEIc-RKPKVwtP1HuXtmJict3cBghhJrNzDELzPeXdGhCfO/s200/4.+Gate+of+the+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gate of the Palazzo Frescobaldi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdFqNlYQ54SuYy-uJuX2ADJrbhyphenhyphenkKRX4bZgzXBPlf0TxHlShyphenhyphen8OqoUGs1xbP6NYlg9gfwwnp4oRAOFjqs5sI67QujxcM8_Q6OJ6cXB2_kyf8yGUkdfjM56ImshETY_LThRF9vQir9vyOD/s1600/3.+Facade+of+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdFqNlYQ54SuYy-uJuX2ADJrbhyphenhyphenkKRX4bZgzXBPlf0TxHlShyphenhyphen8OqoUGs1xbP6NYlg9gfwwnp4oRAOFjqs5sI67QujxcM8_Q6OJ6cXB2_kyf8yGUkdfjM56ImshETY_LThRF9vQir9vyOD/s200/3.+Facade+of+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facade of Palazzo Frescobaldi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">In
the seventeenth century, the Frescobaldi began to restore all their family’s
architectural possessions, in order to show respect to their ancestors, they
kept the original structures intact as much as possible. </span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Bartolommeo Baccio Frescobaldi restored one of their <i>casoni</i> in Piazza Frescobaldi. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Today, all that remains of the palazzo of that
period, after decades of destruction from in-faction fighting, is only one
side, bearing the family coat-of-arms. From 1621, Matteo Frescobaldi started to
rebuild the houses on Via Santo Spirito and reconstructed them into a solemn
palazzo. These days, the facade of the centuries-old palazzo still has the same
structures and austere characteristics as in the time of Matteo’s restoration,
whereas most of the inside has eventually been transformed for commercial use
(ateliers and galleries). The sober appearance of the facade does not give away
the hidden treasures that can be found behind these walls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luckily,
I managed to take a glance behind these massive walls. On the open day of
famous gardens in Florence, I got the chance to visit the garden of the
Frescobaldi palazzo. When I walked through the gate, I wound up in an
impressive ancient old courtyard, which lead to the unexpected grand and beautiful
garden, adorned with a colourful collection of azaleas. On top of that, at the
end of the garden, the imposing Santo Spirito church doomed up. Stoldo
Frescobaldi was superintendent of this basilica. In order to build the church
(1481), the Frescobaldi had to sacrifice a part of their properties. In the
end, the Frescobaldi acquired the rights of the apse and three chapels. They
also were able to participate in services without leaving the house, by means
of a window looking in the church (</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">coretto</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">)</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It was an incredible experience to see
all this in real-life and to be able to imagine myself in an old and honoured Florentine
palazzo of ancient times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyI8fB0IbmWy0CsKtoKov9P1fTRa4oEs7gzkDFECjVlVua8dChNw5oMPYGCkzNF-0we6J3m8esksPvfP5xFJt6vz7DsXRcRagpQkYUA-0rb9_EkP8V-oqRmkKZ3IBDH2KIxINO-AoCJaQ/s1600/5.+Courtyard+of+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyI8fB0IbmWy0CsKtoKov9P1fTRa4oEs7gzkDFECjVlVua8dChNw5oMPYGCkzNF-0we6J3m8esksPvfP5xFJt6vz7DsXRcRagpQkYUA-0rb9_EkP8V-oqRmkKZ3IBDH2KIxINO-AoCJaQ/s200/5.+Courtyard+of+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtyard of Palazzo Frescobaldi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8i1KYkcCvYIVSze_Zpr4-ptp9un0dq9wV6igRu3v7ttSRvA0VooHPvHf_6F9-sojg952iZ10HtHLhguTUGpvEfFJUzTAL2T-z8f5le23PJaxm4RrYQ3OsdypheuX-dAj7q_gklB1dmt1/s1600/6.+Garden+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="747" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8i1KYkcCvYIVSze_Zpr4-ptp9un0dq9wV6igRu3v7ttSRvA0VooHPvHf_6F9-sojg952iZ10HtHLhguTUGpvEfFJUzTAL2T-z8f5le23PJaxm4RrYQ3OsdypheuX-dAj7q_gklB1dmt1/s200/6.+Garden+Palazzo+Frescobaldi.jpg" width="111" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden of Palazzo Frescobaldi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSQ5HCSMseIr7Cf2CyaaiL4eLvwnMltWLQQPT1JI-wYu10nl61vTudyCO0b7nV1vGiwFg7lpVrfMrAzXYUiRLzdBUXdW4areU4Sgdix6aVTg48aZjsk4hqri-LqwIUpnK54shISlk3gZF/s1600/7.+Garden+Palazzo+Frescobaldi+with+in+the+background+the+Santo+Spirito+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSQ5HCSMseIr7Cf2CyaaiL4eLvwnMltWLQQPT1JI-wYu10nl61vTudyCO0b7nV1vGiwFg7lpVrfMrAzXYUiRLzdBUXdW4areU4Sgdix6aVTg48aZjsk4hqri-LqwIUpnK54shISlk3gZF/s200/7.+Garden+Palazzo+Frescobaldi+with+in+the+background+the+Santo+Spirito+church.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Palazzo Frescobaldi with in the background the Santo Spirito church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Now, when I walk through the streets belonging
to the Santo Spirito </span><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">quartiere</i><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">, or
when I take the bus and drive along the Piazza Frescobaldi, I am aware of the
incredible and imposing history of these centuries-old buildings. Due to this
research internship, one thing I thought was impossible became possible, and
that is the fact that I love the beautiful city of Florence and its ancient
history even more than I already did before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Photos: author</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-28602974960171628742017-08-29T09:52:00.001+02:002017-09-11T13:15:35.376+02:00Some Interesting Recent History of a Rinuccini Castle - by Tessel Luitjens<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMMnpmUmVAnL4co0LD8BTwmdzYO7pWkicaywKt7E8Nb2B_2f3sth608-menoc5-fExYDmF5vcIWgjkYV7g3tqNYPPFyehKa-6ho1e9Jid1j3dflh0-6Iq4Y48uJc9BxUM9g-GWbAwM5Ce/s1600/Villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="800" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMMnpmUmVAnL4co0LD8BTwmdzYO7pWkicaywKt7E8Nb2B_2f3sth608-menoc5-fExYDmF5vcIWgjkYV7g3tqNYPPFyehKa-6ho1e9Jid1j3dflh0-6Iq4Y48uJc9BxUM9g-GWbAwM5Ce/s400/Villa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 1 Villa Torre a Cona</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
This spring
I have been a research intern at the Dutch Institute for Art History in
Florence for the Patrician Patronage Project. The project aims to research the
artistic activities undertaken by Florentine patrician families between 1530
and 1670. Allocated to me were the Rinuccini, a family I had never heard of
before, but of whom I now speak as “my family”. The Rinuccini came from Cona, a
small village in the heart of the Chianti, just ten kilometres south of Florence.
Their Villa Torre a Cona is surrounded by a breath-taking scenery of vineyards
and olive groves (fig. 1). Today, it houses a wine estate, where we can experience all
the good of the Rinuccini in liquid form (although it is no longer in their
possession; the last male Rinuccini died in 1848). </div>
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This Villa
Torre a Cona turned out to be not only interesting for its Renaissance history
(with details of a wedding feast that went on for three days; a beautiful
Renaissance garden; a fantastic art collection that was housed there, etc.),
but also for its more recent history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">When one
thinks of the Second World War in Tuscany, one thinks of destruction, horror
and atrocities. Large parts of the centre of Florence were bombed when the
Germans retreated. How could it be that so much of the art works have survived?
Many people will know the movie <i>Monuments
Men </i>that came out in 2014. This movie is based on a book by Robert Edsel
that focusses mainly on Northern Europe. Edsel’s latest book, <i>Saving Italy, </i>concerns the Monuments Men
in Italy, Florence. They were responsible for saving so many of the artistic
treasures of Western civilization. Works of art that still amaze us today.
Works of art that were hidden in the Villa Torre a Cona. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The German
forces took 750 of the most important masterpieces from the Uffizi, Pitti and
Bargello during the war. They kept them in the Villa Torre a Cona, the German
Headquarters. When the Allied forces were closing in, in August 1944, the
Germans left the Villa. It was Frederick Hartt, the famous art historian of the
Italian Renaissance and as a Monuments Man stationed in Florence, who was one
of the first to visit the Villa and behold the artworks preserved there.* <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He found
some of the most stunning works of Renaissance art: the terracotta reliefs by
Luca della Robbia from the Pazzi Chapel, Donatello’s <i>St. George </i>made for the Orsanmichele, and artworks from the Duomo,
but also Michelangelo’s <i>Madonna della
Scala, Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, </i>as well as his sculptures for
the Medici chapel. We can only guess what it would have been in those days to
suddenly encounter so much beauty. The sculptures were hidden in the cellars,
among crowbars and greasy cans of oil, where unexpectedly, Hartt recalled he
was transfixed by the agonized face of Michelangelo’s <i>Dawn. </i> </div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKR-ytP7s5jjjDMANqLBedTdxwLdt696mw4d-taJeEnioaEoRE0uEJbCN7XBaN3PB1ezMCLe-o4j63ZqqgpySomfSWe2NVlWn3e_l_3EqhcTCmGT3Gio5HXWlrqoyuwVUPMcS-QDraFzL/s1600/Dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="707" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKR-ytP7s5jjjDMANqLBedTdxwLdt696mw4d-taJeEnioaEoRE0uEJbCN7XBaN3PB1ezMCLe-o4j63ZqqgpySomfSWe2NVlWn3e_l_3EqhcTCmGT3Gio5HXWlrqoyuwVUPMcS-QDraFzL/s320/Dawn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 2 Michelangelo, <i>Dawn</i>, Medici Chapel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Picture credits:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Fig. 1 Wikimedia Commons</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Fig. 2 Wikimedia Commons</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
* Ilaria Dagnini Brey, <i>The Venus Fixers: The Remarkable Story of the Allied Monuments Officers Who Saved Italy's Art During World War II </i>(New York, 2010), p. 162.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-75224369059988602282017-07-11T09:12:00.002+02:002017-07-11T09:14:38.152+02:00A warm welcome at an old palace – By Ellen Bakker<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was a
beautiful spring day when I walked down the Via di San Leonardo to the city
centre of Florence. On my way I enjoyed the blooming wisteria and the sounds of
birds, and I imagined that people could have enjoyed this same route centuries
ago. Nowadays, the presence of rushing cars and scooters passing by every now
and then clearly makes a difference. Even though you might think the cityscape
of Florence has remained the same for the past centuries, in fact some of it
has changed. The same is true for the place
that I was headed to that day, namely the Villa Gualfonda. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKo39_jo534RC3EzzelevKYteaWyDRQ5owDXAxyvtwIMSh2tSbyRJqC5cgoPkYA2960bX4vc7ORIYx9b8NkaKTcZhs2QE-pvDrViEyKq4nElIHEmLn6h1E9qPvwAgwjEn1eFyZXprk_5i/s1600/Foto+1+Ellen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKo39_jo534RC3EzzelevKYteaWyDRQ5owDXAxyvtwIMSh2tSbyRJqC5cgoPkYA2960bX4vc7ORIYx9b8NkaKTcZhs2QE-pvDrViEyKq4nElIHEmLn6h1E9qPvwAgwjEn1eFyZXprk_5i/s320/Foto+1+Ellen.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rear side of Villa Gualfonda, Florence<br />(Photo: author)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the same spot where now dozens of
trains arrive and depart every day, there used to be the villa’s garden, one of
the largest gardens within the walls of the city. Decorated with beautiful
fountains and antique marbles, long lanes stretched out along orchards and
vegetable gardens. While the development of railways and the building of a
station in the nineteenth century wiped out most of the estate, the villa still
exists today and it is now in use as office for the Confindustria Firenze, the
local Italian employers federation and chambers of commerce. The reason that
attracted me to visit this particular villa was that it used to be the home of
the Riccardi family which was the main research topic during my internship for
the PPP. However, it was not only the home of the Riccardi, but it was also the
place where Riccardo Riccardi housed the family’s first art collection at the
end of the sixteenth century. Therefore I was very curious to see what it
looked like inside. I had an appointment with an employee from the
Confindustria whom I will call signore A., and to be honest, I didn’t really
know what to expect and was a little nervous.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> That
feeling turned out to be totally groundless, because I was welcomed with open
arms and signore A. had prepared to show me every interesting spot in the
building. Most of the rooms decorated by the Riccardi, were now used as offices
or meeting rooms. I was surprised by how well preserved everything looked and
was pleased to learn that the Confidustria Firenze actually takes good care in
restoring the frescoes and paintings that are still there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The presidential office was a stop in my tour, and,
regardless of the null relation with the Riccardi, it was entertaining to see.
Maybe because the room was filled with bright red Ferrari (yes, like the car
brand) furniture. Quite extraordinary I would say. After stepping over some
telephone wires, signore A. led me to the roof terrace at the back of the
building. Unfortunately, it now overlooks slightly less attractive apartment buildings,
but I could imagine how marvelous the view must have been when the gardens were
still there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupm7DLIVCkX0IQYfyf_B8Zy8g461Avisfv7ju9W0HE5wgMpk6UmdfVRp_l_waTaErHfe4a7C7kCz5kJCPgtqMRRu1aFGqAz5-xr9XEnkb4neo1i2UmLl4rOwtxmI6R375fsdDQUu0RgNX/s1600/Foto+2+Ellen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupm7DLIVCkX0IQYfyf_B8Zy8g461Avisfv7ju9W0HE5wgMpk6UmdfVRp_l_waTaErHfe4a7C7kCz5kJCPgtqMRRu1aFGqAz5-xr9XEnkb4neo1i2UmLl4rOwtxmI6R375fsdDQUu0RgNX/s320/Foto+2+Ellen.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stunning decoration in the Salone di Maria Medici, Villa Gualfonda, Florence<br />(Photo: author)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
absolute highlight of my visit however, was the Salone di Maria Medici.
Situated on the ground floor of the building, this room is copiously decorated
with seventeenth-century stucco work and frescoes by Volterrano and Jacopo
Chiavistelli. The name of the room derives from the anonymous painted scenes
showing the festivities in honour of the marriage between Maria de’ Medici and King
Henry IV of France. Rich in detail, these frescoes give a good impression of what
the aforementioned gardens must have been like. After a short stop in the present
back garden, my visit came to an end. However, signore A. could not let me
leave without providing some extra information about the history of the
building. All in all my visit had been very fruitful and as I walked back up
along the Via di San Leonardo, passing the houses covered in wisteria, I
couldn’t help myself wondering what it must have been like for a family like
the Riccardi to live in the Florence of five centuries ago. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-15315108036618064462017-05-18T15:39:00.001+02:002017-05-18T16:16:55.422+02:00My PPP-internship - By Charley Ladee<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82KAFsgzZJoyvY6fd2J25aqGLHMlpEm3fKt1RATTdfkuBTwH3xJrtH2QBR-MGdLz-LXK5O8lqTfDsI4AUrUcLgKnKwJ13qzXwKwt0L4jggWp9o_iUmMmZU4Ll-2m8GD-kz6ItoxVlvNkq/s1600/storia_00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82KAFsgzZJoyvY6fd2J25aqGLHMlpEm3fKt1RATTdfkuBTwH3xJrtH2QBR-MGdLz-LXK5O8lqTfDsI4AUrUcLgKnKwJ13qzXwKwt0L4jggWp9o_iUmMmZU4Ll-2m8GD-kz6ItoxVlvNkq/s320/storia_00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gondi coat of arms </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(source: http://www.gondi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ storia_00.jpg)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From January until March 2016, I stayed at the Dutch
Institute in Florence to conduct research for the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Patrician Patronage Project </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(PPP)</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Allocated to me were the Gondi: as it turned out a rather
significant Florentine family that gendered several important patrons for the
arts in the sixteenth century. After indicating and registering the works of
art they owned and commissioned, I decided to investigate how this family’s
commissions and collections evidenced their position within the contemporary political
and cultural climate. An elaboration can be found in the form of a paper,
posted on this website.</span></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I commenced with reading as much primary and secondary
sources as available in the library of the NIKI (Dutch University Institute for
Art History) and the Max Planck Institute. After about three weeks, I started
to gather together all the artworks I had caught sight of, and proceeded to make
record of them in the digital database of the PPP. One of the most interesting
and impressive commissions was Palazzo Gondi. After its commission by the Gondi
family, this Florentine palace was designed by Giuliano da Sangallo (1443-1516)
around 1500. It has survived the sands of time as it still adorns the street
view of Florence today. Moreover, I found out the Gondi family currently still
lives there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Accordingly, in February I phoned the Marchesa to ask
her if I could visit her palace, as it is not open to the public. She
immediately granted my wish and invited me to pay a visit. I was received by
the doorman in the magnificent cortile, after which the Marchesa took me
upstairs to show me the grand <i>caminetto,</i>
the fire place,<i> </i>designed by Sangallo.
We spoke about her ancestors, the current position of the Gondi family, and the
palazzo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9ZCh8-JVqSC2jXci33XXJFilITUXD4kG-8BpA3GQM_8ZSyNvNgUDj-BZg66rR7V3VZCwNX_kTFzhFhD6AdJlRTUkWIj2lDuKRandTfxQ7DBvyb1W_QFTCvMBjEzsG3peDPNLxoLtD0t_/s1600/camino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9ZCh8-JVqSC2jXci33XXJFilITUXD4kG-8BpA3GQM_8ZSyNvNgUDj-BZg66rR7V3VZCwNX_kTFzhFhD6AdJlRTUkWIj2lDuKRandTfxQ7DBvyb1W_QFTCvMBjEzsG3peDPNLxoLtD0t_/s320/camino.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;">
<b>Giuliano da Sangallo's </b><i><b>caminetto</b></i><br />
(source: <a href="http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/06_pianoNobile/01.jpg" style="color: #1b1f5e;">http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/06_pianoNobile/01.jpg</a>)</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />In March, I finished the records and started working
on my final paper for the internship. The paper is titled </span><i><span lang="EN-GB">Non Sine
Labore: Cultural Endeavours of the Gondi Family in Cinquecento Florence</span></i><span lang="EN-GB">. In the first chapter, I aimed at sketching a social
and political context on the ‘rise’ of the Gondi family and the Medici family
in the fifteenth century. The second chapter revolves around the building
projects – among these Palazzo Gondi – of Giuliano Gondi (1421-1501), an important
patrician in the second half of the fifteenth century. The final chapter
discusses two members of the Gondi family and their role as art collectors in
the Cinquecento; Bartolomeo Gondi (1492-1577) and Benedetto Gondi (1539-1616). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As the paper
emphasizes, the Gondi family invested themselves in acquiring works of art by
artists that mattered – such as Giambologna (1529-1608) – as to uphold and
confirm their powerful position. This was made possible by their commercial
skills, that gained them a strong financial and political position in Florence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Altogether,
this internship proved fruitful for adding knowledge to this field of study. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Due to the specific
topic and fresh approach, the internship contributed to my research skills and
caused new insights. Also, I met many new people, and got to work in the
inspiring environment of Florence and the NIKI. Consequently, I would highly
recommend doing this internship, for it provides you with a unique opportunity
to go abroad and work on your research skills. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>You can find out more about the cultural endeavours of
the Gondi as sketched above in my paper, following <a href="http://www.rug.nl/let/organization/bestuur-afdelingen-en-medewerkers/afdelingen/afdeling-kunstgeschiedenis/research/patronage-project/stages/papers-en-onderzoek" target="_blank">this link</a>.</b></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">- - - </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Curious about other PPP-internship stories? Read what <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2017/03/a-hidden-pearl-of-niccolini-patronage.html" target="_blank">Lara</a>, <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/11/the-little-evidence-of-soderini-in.html" target="_blank">Sinja</a> and <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/05/a-special-encouter-by-charley-ladee.html" target="_blank">Charley</a> wrote!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-42992689995200277022017-03-02T15:35:00.001+01:002017-05-18T16:16:30.050+02:00A hidden pearl of Niccolini patronage – By Lara Fernández Piqueras<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the Via dei Servi, leading from Brunelleschi’s Duomo to the more
modest but equally impressive Piazza Santissima Annunziata, appears the
monumental edifice that once belonged to the prosperous Niccolini family. Palazzo
Niccolini housed the sumptuous art collection of one of the family’s foremost
art patrons: Giovanni Niccolini (1544-1611). He was the son of Agnolo Niccolini
(1502-1567), a successful ambassador of Cosimo I de’ Medici. In the last years
of his life, Agnolo even reached the status of cardinal. Giovanni followed in his
father’s footsteps as loyal servant of the Medici court. In 1570, Niccolini
became part of grand duke Cosimo’s entourage when the latter received the Grand
Ducal crown and from 1578 until 1610, Giovanni resided in Rome as Florentine
ambassador to the Papal court. His Roman sojourn influenced Niccolini’s art
patronage, since he acquired many antiquities to adorn his Florentine palace. Over
time, this splendorous collection became dispersed and it is now lost without
any trace. Fortunately, the Cappella Niccolini remains intact and gives an idea
of Niccolini’s rich art patronage. Giovanantonio Dosio (1533-1610) designed the
family chapel in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce and decorated the walls
with many coloured marble slabs of archaeological provenance, acquired on the
Roman art market. </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojB34yvqOebeSxlChUNn3ufrFPS8eUG29eBeSjeIklUch6Ytc2nfvlB4oj0Yx1NWPeTI_xtNdpYi2xEpPwN_IcA-es259Cs2c3kZJak9eNR44hqKFllX4QIRaUpkTh78dLTrLdl3Gp_2i/s1600/Cappella+Niccolini%252C+Santa+Croce%252C+Florence%252C+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojB34yvqOebeSxlChUNn3ufrFPS8eUG29eBeSjeIklUch6Ytc2nfvlB4oj0Yx1NWPeTI_xtNdpYi2xEpPwN_IcA-es259Cs2c3kZJak9eNR44hqKFllX4QIRaUpkTh78dLTrLdl3Gp_2i/s320/Cappella+Niccolini%252C+Santa+Croce%252C+Florence%252C+Wikipedia.jpg" width="191" /></a><br />
<a name='more'></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cappella Niccolini, Santa Croce, Florence (source:
Wikipedia)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As expected, I wanted to visit this sanctuary to gain a first-hand
experience of Niccolini art. But there was a small problem: the chapel was only
accessible for prayer during mass. I made an attempt to contact the Santa Croce
by phone and e-mail in order to visit this rare Niccolini remnant. The Santa
Croce referred to their webpage and did not reply to my message, so I switched
to plan B: attend the Holy Mass. On a beautiful Sunday morning, fellow NIKI-intern
Mélanie accompanied me to the Franciscan church. Since Mélanie was raised a
Catholic, I needed her to provide me with some subtitles how to act to not look
like a tourist too cheap to pay an entrance fee and decided to attend mass
instead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Everything went well: I
took the right entrance, read the mass leaflet, tried to understand the priest’s
wise words and I donated some money while keeping an eye at the sumptuous
marble portal of Cappella<i> </i>Niccolini at
my left. Mass was over, so time to claim my price after an hour of concentrated
waiting. But the chapel was closed! In the blink of an eye there were wooden
barriers keeping us from entering. Now what? Though I was still in a moment of
surprise, Mélanie acted fast and walked right up to the altar. When a guard arrived,
she asked him politely if there wasn’t a possibility to take a look. After a
messy conversion in French, English and Italian, his answer was “no”. But after
we mentioned we studied Art History, the guard started talking about the
artists involved in the chapel’s construction and how he himself was an art
historian. It seems this common interest made him understand the merit of
seeing artworks in real life. So, this friendly Italian guard complied with a
short five-minute visit. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-UyxiUNvn8sVyR65QNxCXXiXQGbOgz7y2pHE378QKwbJRLp4a_iPoZUSnzLisupoKwPicd7QIeoc_g7uvwvF-oMOgvG-Y0Bs7O_9xcQwOSVP7878fuoEyPF6GEWbQS9No800CJiiSpL7/s1600/Interior+of+the+Cappella+Niccolini+santacroceopera.it.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-UyxiUNvn8sVyR65QNxCXXiXQGbOgz7y2pHE378QKwbJRLp4a_iPoZUSnzLisupoKwPicd7QIeoc_g7uvwvF-oMOgvG-Y0Bs7O_9xcQwOSVP7878fuoEyPF6GEWbQS9No800CJiiSpL7/s320/Interior+of+the+Cappella+Niccolini+santacroceopera.it.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Interior of the Cappella Niccolini, Santa Croce, Florence (source: http://www.santacroceopera.it)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4LXYJbzwczWFLeHKfHy6qfR3i1Hy0idP5t1ziSnl32RzvX7TPTi45R-GM8w4y2zNBFxSPZ1v2ZxaWUU7jWeVlt4Gk7eSIy77LVtC6ZzJmpupMlcI5qxdK4-If6GPMONsZnsiXDqZFhxT/s1600/Cupola+Niccolini+santacroceopera.it.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4LXYJbzwczWFLeHKfHy6qfR3i1Hy0idP5t1ziSnl32RzvX7TPTi45R-GM8w4y2zNBFxSPZ1v2ZxaWUU7jWeVlt4Gk7eSIy77LVtC6ZzJmpupMlcI5qxdK4-If6GPMONsZnsiXDqZFhxT/s320/Cupola+Niccolini+santacroceopera.it.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cupola of the Cappella Niccolini, Santa Croce, Florence (source: http://www.santacroceopera.it)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And there I was, surrounded by the five more than life-size sculptures and
two enormous altarpieces by respectively Pietro Francavilla (1547-1615) and Alessandro
Allori (1535-1607) that I so thoroughly studied for the <i>Patrician Patronage Project</i>. The chapel seemed much smaller in
reality, but not less impressive. The coloured marble slabs and the enormous vault
decoration by Il Volterrano (1611-1689), made me understand why Stendhal (you
know, the one from the Stendhal syndrome) presumably fainted in this particular
sanctuary after gazing at the overwhelming frescoed <i>cupola</i>.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After some moments of
silent and solitary art historical prayers in Cappella Niccolini, it was time
to leave. To contemplate about the Niccolini <i>meraviglie</i>, we had a coffee and a dolce at Ospedale degli
Innocenti’s sunny and tranquil terrace with a view at the Duomo. This
experience shows how sometimes, all we need is a friendly help and the magic
password “art historian,” to (literally) open gates to concealed artistic gems.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- - - </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">See also the stories of PPP-interns <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/05/a-special-encouter-by-charley-ladee.html" target="_blank">Charley</a> and <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/11/the-little-evidence-of-soderini-in.html" target="_blank">Sinja</a>!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-21253202838148802412017-02-07T11:50:00.001+01:002017-03-08T09:59:20.663+01:00Villa Salviati at Ponte alla Badia - by Klazina Botke <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KSRK7aVOs66j0Yycc1F5kK-fQ7iGodD-aJlJg4qst2hNuHksK0Ixl67t-L84Y7_uUrr1OjGDmwDm96VE1UcwHi9R8sb6YQGvBpr-QZx3X82OY2P1UyesjHsPKDcYIOJZzSKe1QHDxULj/s1600/Villa_salviati_%2528dopo_restauro%2529%252C_00.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KSRK7aVOs66j0Yycc1F5kK-fQ7iGodD-aJlJg4qst2hNuHksK0Ixl67t-L84Y7_uUrr1OjGDmwDm96VE1UcwHi9R8sb6YQGvBpr-QZx3X82OY2P1UyesjHsPKDcYIOJZzSKe1QHDxULj/s400/Villa_salviati_%2528dopo_restauro%2529%252C_00.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Villa
Salviati near Po</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">nte alla Badia </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">If we
wonder off north, into the hills of Florence, and follow the Via Bolognese, the
world around us slowly changes. The red and yellow colours of the Florentine palazzi,
and the busy noisy streets, are slowly being replaced by small roads with walls
surrounding lush gardens, tall trees peeking over enclosures, and soft rolling
hills. After a little while, the high roof of a large building shows up on our left-hand
side. Walking through the gate, a villa comes into full view. Built in the
fourteenth century as a small castle, and made into a countryside villa by the
patrician Alamanno Salviati in 1445, the building now houses the Historical
Archives of the European Union. It was recently renovated, and beautifully
restored to its former sixteenth-century glory.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF11MydTQDLVlB8ybbe2aXUxZpJeIvplo1vQUhdPPKaB2tdSIjhUW2CVEPhWepEae81TD2v8ohxVc-97b6dwLjtT0XGvTrh02vN1zKYNxHpYY8CbxsOaN7WiXWYCPh-nQMvvGliAC_tGb/s1600/Villa_salviati%252C_cortile_01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF11MydTQDLVlB8ybbe2aXUxZpJeIvplo1vQUhdPPKaB2tdSIjhUW2CVEPhWepEae81TD2v8ohxVc-97b6dwLjtT0XGvTrh02vN1zKYNxHpYY8CbxsOaN7WiXWYCPh-nQMvvGliAC_tGb/s400/Villa_salviati%252C_cortile_01.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Courtyard
of the Villa Salviati</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">The main
entrance leads us to an open courtyard; a rectangular space with a gallery on
three sides. The space above the round arches is filled with sgraffito decorations.
We can distinguish the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imprese</i> of the
Salviati and Medici families. Jacopo Salviati (1461-1533), a rich Florentine
merchant and banker, had inherited the villa in 1490. He was married to
Lucrezia de’ Medici, and their union is represented in these decorations.
Jacopo also commissioned the sculptor Gi<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ovan</span>francesco Rustici to create sixteen tondi
in terracotta for the same courtyard. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P3s1xAAFGasFmeWNNyuUTfSmTyNjSU9-SWg-40aJh2JzQc3GLRHJCJtOmbEdZ2COjp-YP-PuEat-txiBT7JN5-OTgyK2nK-lKDerI3NhwjORtpzl1RXS3miPfzQzKUW0IC2q5FnmqLgZ/s1600/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.35.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P3s1xAAFGasFmeWNNyuUTfSmTyNjSU9-SWg-40aJh2JzQc3GLRHJCJtOmbEdZ2COjp-YP-PuEat-txiBT7JN5-OTgyK2nK-lKDerI3NhwjORtpzl1RXS3miPfzQzKUW0IC2q5FnmqLgZ/s400/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.35.08.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Ceres and
Triptolemos, tondo by Rustici and the cameo from the collection of Lorenzo Il
Magnifico</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">These tondi,
made between 1518 and 1526, deserve a closer look. All sixteen represent either
a mythological scene or gods from antiquity, and are modelled after existing gems
or cameos. Interestingly, the images are not plain copies of their, sometimes antique,
examples, but seem to be re-imagined by the sixteenth-century sculptor. One of
the tondi shows Ceres and Triptolemos. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">We know this relief was modelled after </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">a cameo commissioned
by Lorenzo il Magnifico de’ Medici (1449-1492). This image was copied more
often, in different media. We can find it, for example, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">on the title page of Francesco Rosselli’s book on
Ptolemy, published in 1480 in Venice, together with copies of other cameos from
the Medici collection. It also shows up in a famous painting by Gerard David, the
diptych <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The judgement of Cambyses</i> from
1498. Here it is placed on the wall behind the ruler, together with an image of
Apollo and Marsyas.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jKDiFODhsD97XuAwlUXscd8pFJQw-l1WAMLUrwBU8sU2VlMZNKVJUgUYaTHYRCM-lN4UhaxhpFyWYpfHndAHixLlGSlbomgiJNFENrDMMHh-5coCOjFz87kLVHo6bAurQZZLE_6zAknl/s1600/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.36.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jKDiFODhsD97XuAwlUXscd8pFJQw-l1WAMLUrwBU8sU2VlMZNKVJUgUYaTHYRCM-lN4UhaxhpFyWYpfHndAHixLlGSlbomgiJNFENrDMMHh-5coCOjFz87kLVHo6bAurQZZLE_6zAknl/s400/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.36.36.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Detail of the frontispiece of Francesco Rosselli’s <i>Ptolomy</i> and Gerard David’s <i>The
judgement of Cambyses</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
example is Rustici’s tondo with </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Bacchus and Ariadne. This
scene is based on an antique gem, named the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gemma
mantovana, </i>from the collection of cardinal </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Giovanni Grimani (1506-93)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">. It is very probable that this gem was once part of the collection of
Lorenzo de’ Medici, and came into possession of the cardinal much later. This
same gem was also used as an example by the artists that designed the tondi for
the courtyard of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence (probably made in the
workshop of Donatello after 1465). For the tondo in the Villa Salviati, Rustici
slightly adjusted the image.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvD1WOWQUTrRZbwYr_P78F3pDFeXH60WsfljBARZhykRJnKS3muGiDtzlzBHLWNL4ltFkpj5yurWoF1hdIP7PB8S_8b9v7vbLa_SATGu5ZBSXScSDWCEEvAXbwTE_LAvbVffBZxgVCCcZ/s1600/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.39.03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvD1WOWQUTrRZbwYr_P78F3pDFeXH60WsfljBARZhykRJnKS3muGiDtzlzBHLWNL4ltFkpj5yurWoF1hdIP7PB8S_8b9v7vbLa_SATGu5ZBSXScSDWCEEvAXbwTE_LAvbVffBZxgVCCcZ/s400/Schermafbeelding+2017-02-07+om+11.39.03.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Tondo with Bacchus and Ariadne in the
Villa Salviati, the <i>gemma mantovana, </i>and
tondo with Bacchus and Ariadne in Palazzo Medici-Riccardi</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">A further comparison between
the courtyard of Palazzo Medici and that of the villa Salviati reveals more
similarities, for example the sgraffito decorations between the tondi. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Because Jacopo
married a Medici</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">, we can be certain he was familiar with the
decorations of Palazzo Medici. When Rustici was commissioned by cardinal Giulio
de’ Medici in 1515 to create a sculpture for the same courtyard, he must have seen
these tondi first hand as well. It is very likely, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">therefore, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">that Jacopo Salviati was inspired by Palazzo Medici and its specific
decorations, and decided to recreate this in his own villa. It was a deliberate
choice, and he was </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">aware of the connotations. By
emulating </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">the Palazzo Medici, he was able to show </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">that his family, the Salviati, was equally important,
or at least able to compete with the Medici. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI2EKrgYJcRg67av8o85VBbdCJkVPAnhATSNGmn_iyb8zwxIC0zFE5SCwSD4_TfBkt-oN3OpPgM8WW9hfplengAaE2sO88myLD4ZAd-3Y3AlMCoz19CTNjAnMQNdKY2U1TBHX2bXYFrOi/s1600/ondo9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI2EKrgYJcRg67av8o85VBbdCJkVPAnhATSNGmn_iyb8zwxIC0zFE5SCwSD4_TfBkt-oN3OpPgM8WW9hfplengAaE2sO88myLD4ZAd-3Y3AlMCoz19CTNjAnMQNdKY2U1TBHX2bXYFrOi/s400/ondo9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Courtyard
of Palazzo Medici Riccardi </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">During a
raid in 1529, the villa, and the nearby Villa Careggi of the Medici, were set
on fire by a group of young men from Florence. Although the Medici family had
been driven out of Florence two years earlier, the aversion against this family
and their potential return to the city had a group of angry anti-Medici
patricians fired up. They gave full vent </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">to
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">their resentment of the Medici and all who
were affiliated with them. This, of course, included Jacopo Salviati and his
wife Lucrezia de’ Medici. Jacopo was in Rome at the time of the attack. When
the news reached him, he was extremely worried about the damage to his
property. Unable to leave Rome, he sent his son Alamanno di Jacopo (1510-1571) to
inspect the villa. It took him some time, but on 12 November 1530 Alamanno finally
wrote to his father that he inspected the house and had reported a lot of
material damage. The courtyard had suffered the most. In his famous <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le Vite </i>(1564), Giorgio Vasari even
wrote about the incident. According to him, Rustici’s tondi were almost
completely destroyed: ‘intorno al cortile molti tondi pieni di figure di terra
cotta, con altri ornamenti bellissimi che furono la maggior parte, anzi quasi
tutti, rovinati’ (‘in the courtyard there were many tondi full of figures, made
of terracotta, and other beautiful elements, that were for the large part, or
almost completely, destroyed’). This description does make one think: did Vasari
really see the courtyard with his own eyes after the fire? Because today, when
we visi</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">t the villa, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">we can still find most of the original tondi on the
wall of this beautiful, and politically charged, villa in the Florentine hills.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-9367925935556513002017-01-14T14:02:00.001+01:002017-03-13T16:55:49.996+01:00Palazzo Torrigiani già del Nero Part 2 - by Prof Dr Henk Th. Van Veen<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After Agostino del Nero
had bought Roberto Nasi’s unfinished new palazzo in 1552, he hired Domenico di
Baccio d’Agnolo, Baccio’s most talented son, to finish the job. In the second
edition of his <i>Le Vite de’ più eccellenti
pittori, scultori ed architettori</i> (1568), Giorgio Vasari wrote that for
Agostino, Domenico had made on the Piazza de’Mozzi ‘the corner parts and a
beautiful terrace to those houses of the Nasi that his father Baccio had
already started to build’ (‘[…] </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">in sulla
piazza de’ Mozzi le cantonate, ed un bellissimo terrazzo a quelle case de’ Nasi
già cominciate da Baccio suo Padre’). However, Domenico cannot have
accomplished much, because he already died a year after Agostino had hired him.
In documents on Palazzo del Nero, Valentina Catalucci recently found that
Agostino had Davide Fortini, an architect who did important engineering projects
for the Medici, work on the palazzo.* I gather that Fortini succeeded Domenico
as architect of the palazzo and that what Vasari described was all his doing. Leonardo</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Ginori Lisci, author of the standard work on
Florentine palazzi**, recognized the building as described by Vasari, in a print
with the Del Nero genealogical tree from 1590. (fig. 1)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDWHgxwsg76oFrG6jyY14iNwaqnhKlNNbcWCUeOUoUOYXp4p41WuUxsvT0s-LpTb22EaOiIY6S98_pHbLKWroP9FTLpFka1IoICvvwCylfzyQdh6cXG92zU_X4tMm8lHPDswo9QcM9dMe/s1600/Del+Nero+Family+Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDWHgxwsg76oFrG6jyY14iNwaqnhKlNNbcWCUeOUoUOYXp4p41WuUxsvT0s-LpTb22EaOiIY6S98_pHbLKWroP9FTLpFka1IoICvvwCylfzyQdh6cXG92zU_X4tMm8lHPDswo9QcM9dMe/s320/Del+Nero+Family+Three.jpg" width="254" /></a><br />
<a name='more'></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 1 Print of the Del Nero family
tree – with the palazzo Del Nero. <br />
<i>For picture credits see below.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He identified Vasari’s ‘cantonate’
with the pictured building’s protruding corners, and his ‘bellissimo terrazzo’ with
the splendid loggia by which it is crowned. However, as we shall now see, things
were not as Ginori Lisci thought they were. In 1561, in the Sala di Clemente
VII in Palazzo Vecchio, Vasari painted his renowned panoramic view of the siege
of Florence in 1530. What has gone unnoticed in the literature on the palazzo,
is Vasari’s depiction of the building in this fresco. (fig. 2)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTObzzx1uMrZDcwB2N_jpFdNDTDe3GNgRgJlDTXB5ZfbGphwAQFquUjZGLY4pRXy_ct96l2aPbAGnALoxdUrXLnS8MZTp_5qmDOoBLYO33yAN0OiLwL_t5jpFeK11JHRAj1IkWnKyEejo0/s1600/Palazzo+del+Nero+Siege+of+FLorence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTObzzx1uMrZDcwB2N_jpFdNDTDe3GNgRgJlDTXB5ZfbGphwAQFquUjZGLY4pRXy_ct96l2aPbAGnALoxdUrXLnS8MZTp_5qmDOoBLYO33yAN0OiLwL_t5jpFeK11JHRAj1IkWnKyEejo0/s320/Palazzo+del+Nero+Siege+of+FLorence.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 2 Detail of Vasari's <i>Siege of Florence of 1530 </i>(1561) with palazzo Del Nero.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Here, the palazzo looks quite
different from the building as it is represented in the 1590 print. It has two
wings that are placed at a right angle. Surely, it is to this palazzo that Vasari
was referring in his <i>Vite</i>. With his ‘cantonate’,
then, he must have meant the palazzo’s riverside wing as a whole, for this wing
must have been the part of the building that, when Baccio died, still had to be
constructed. As the two facades of the palace that are shown on the fresco do
not feature the ‘bellissimo terrazzo’ Vasari is speaking of (the light paint
Vasari applied on the corner of the riverside wing does not represent air, but
a whitewashed part of the wall), this must have been situated on the building’s
opposite, northern or eastern facade. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<span lang="EN-GB">The question now is, by whose
action and for what reason the palazzo, was transformed into the imposing
building that is shown in the 1590 print. To the first question, Francesco
Bocchi’s <i>Le Bellezze di Firenze</i> (1591)
provides the answer. Bocchi relates that Tommaso del Nero himself had acted as
the architect of his father’s palazzo. It is therefore only logical to suppose
that the 1590 print shows the result of this activity. By confronting the print
to the fresco, we can gain a fairly precise impression of what Tommaso’s
project amounted to. He had the southern end of the palace reconstructed to
form a counterpart to the riverside wing. Between these two wings, to the west,
he had a new wing built, which he provided with the palazzo’s main facade that
gave on the park, the Prato del Nero. Through this intervention, Tommaso had
made his father’s two-winged building into a four-winged palazzo with a cortile
at its centre. Remarkable about this edifice was that it had its stately facade
at its backside and that it was mounted by a loggia that ran over its northern,
eastern and southern wings. At its two ends, this loggia opened onto the roof of
the new western wing, which was built into a terrace fenced by balustrades. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">The detailed, if somewhat fragmentary description Bocchi gave of Tommaso’s
intervention accords well with what we see on the 1590 print, especially as
regards the palazzo’s west wing. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">(fig. 3)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H-K8dAiSAmDAbZaXDPimUY-UGXUicG7Iq5JPM5bNKCqSUEE7jdFXbeZxFlwFIrhOPzQ31Jsh75G6KH2QVoLwgT9scfZV1fp-JzyQq_3OAhSkTgItgzYX304QV980gIEWPAauKwW6RBAC/s1600/Detail+of+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H-K8dAiSAmDAbZaXDPimUY-UGXUicG7Iq5JPM5bNKCqSUEE7jdFXbeZxFlwFIrhOPzQ31Jsh75G6KH2QVoLwgT9scfZV1fp-JzyQq_3OAhSkTgItgzYX304QV980gIEWPAauKwW6RBAC/s320/Detail+of+1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 3 Detail of the palazzo Del Nero - from figure 1.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Bocchi wrote that for that side Tommaso designed a facade ‘with
beautiful windows and in its centre the spectator is drawn towards an elegant
gallery, that corresponds to the great hall and is adorned with a balustrade
and is extraordinary beautiful.’ </span><span lang="IT">(‘Sono le finestre bellissime in suo sembiante e nel mezzo della facciata
ride (perché è ottimamente divisato) un leggiadro ballatoio, che risponde nel
salone, adorno di balaustri et oltra modo vago.’). </span><span lang="EN-GB">Strangely enough, in his description of the
palazzo, Bocchi does not make any mention of Domenico di Baccio nor of the
interventions by Davide Fortini. He only mentions Baccio d’Agnolo: ‘the design
for his building was made by Baccio d’Agnolo and with his plan the rooms were
made that answered to the public road’ (‘fu dato il disegno di questa fabbrica
da Baccio d’Agnolo e con suo ordine furono condotte le stanze, che rispondono
in su la via publica’). Bocchi alleged that Baccio’s rooms were situated on the
ground floor only (‘che son da basso’). All the rest of the palazzo was,
according to Bocchi, Tommaso’s doing: ‘the other [rooms], which are many, were
designed by Tommaso del Nero, the young son of Agostino, with beautiful grace,
as one can see’ (‘le altre, che sono molte, sono state divisate da Tommaso del Nero,
figliuolo di Agostino, con bellissima grazia, come si vede’). Clearly, Bocchi’s
knowledge of the palazzo’s building history was lacunose, for his account does
not square with the visual information on the palazzo as provided by Vasari’s
fresco of 1561. Obviously, the palazzo as depicted by Vasari could not have
been designed by Tommaso: he was only 16 years old then.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tommaso’s renewal and enlargement
of the palazzo gave him the opportunity to make the ‘salons and halls with
beautiful and rich architecture’ (‘salotti e sale ordinate con bella, e ricca
architettura’) that Bocchi is speaking of, and there were so many of them, that
‘a very great number of people can splendidly go about there’ (‘grandissimo
numero di huomini si possono nobilmente adagiare’). Most of these stately rooms
will have been situated in the palazzo’s new western wing. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Bocchi does not mention when exactly
Tommaso realized this grand project for his father, but in documents from 1569
relating to the palazzo, Valentina Catalucci found evidence for sudden,
grand-scale building activities having been begun in that year. Quite probably,
these activities had everything to do with Pope Pius V bestowing the title of
barone di Porcigliano on Agostino and Tommaso the year before. Apparently,
father and son were eager to show their newly acquired status by renewing and enlarging
their palazzo, even if this had just been completed. Agostino entrusted his
son, who at the time was only 24 years old, with the project. How daunting his
task was, can be inferred from the fact that the new palazzo was only finished
in 1576. By that time, Tommaso had already been dead for four years. His father,
however, lived to see the work completed. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">We have already seen that, in choosing the location for his palazzo,
Agostino had taken the Roman palazzo Altoviti as his example. Now Tommaso’s
project shows that, when it came to deciding about the new palazzo Del Nero’s
form and lay-out, he directed his attention to this same palazzo. Bocchi writes
that Tommaso’s palazzo ‘is divided into two houses, as is shown on the outside
by the two portals and the many windows’ (‘È diviso questo palazzo in due
casamenti, come di fuori mostrano le due porte e le molte finestre’). The same
division could be seen in palazzo Altoviti, which also had a portal on either
side of its eastern facade. (fig. 4). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0HJp7i_cnbYVa59_6kyuTZIItL2QgSUMlPvgj0-B-tkZT_e6w3jXRYPCyuJu1To-YIxxX-2XxPia0JlhcSgh6kPOcds48ZtBMCoc3-yvysgRmBpNcjxS0hJ4KWhDsjdU91TIoBhqQEVT/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0HJp7i_cnbYVa59_6kyuTZIItL2QgSUMlPvgj0-B-tkZT_e6w3jXRYPCyuJu1To-YIxxX-2XxPia0JlhcSgh6kPOcds48ZtBMCoc3-yvysgRmBpNcjxS0hJ4KWhDsjdU91TIoBhqQEVT/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 4 Old photograph of the
east facade of palazzo Altoviti.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Another feature that palazzo Del Nero borrowed from palazzo Altoviti,
was the conspicuous roof loggia. Admittedly, Palazzo Altoviti’s roof loggia had
paired instead of single columns, but, as on palazzo Del Nero, it crowned its northern,
its eastern as well as its southern wings. (fig. 5) In the nineteenth century,
this loggia was filled in. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOq0j7HqReecJqYKukXKjFux2JLwF61_2vM27Pu3xmcq6ihvDggxw_YYHcAPMOZ2L0AuZboCauQ4jCARv7Ypnu9B_kiQxzrmvteq8UO48wV3tMfqnXg38r3wX1CIiKqGFWOZmPpaFzKUT/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOq0j7HqReecJqYKukXKjFux2JLwF61_2vM27Pu3xmcq6ihvDggxw_YYHcAPMOZ2L0AuZboCauQ4jCARv7Ypnu9B_kiQxzrmvteq8UO48wV3tMfqnXg38r3wX1CIiKqGFWOZmPpaFzKUT/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 5 Palazzo Altoviti shortly
before its demolishment.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
What conspicuously lacked from palazzo’s Del Nero’s Arno facade, is the
loggetta that so prominently figured on palazzo Altoviti’s Tiber facade. This
three-tiered loggetta, sometimes attributed to the famous architect Giacomo
Barozzi da Vignola, Bindo had ordered to be built against the adjacent houses
that, in 1552/53, he had bought and attached to his palazzo. The loggetta
rested on four arched pillars that rose from the river bank. It formed one
whole with the salon, or loggia, that Bindo had projected onto the Tiber facade
and that he had asked Vasari to profusively decorate with frescoes. Presumably,
Tommaso found palazzo Del Nero’s Arno wing and facade too narrow to follow his
uncle’s example Instead, he applied Bindo’s device of a salone-<i>cum</i>-loggetta in his new west wing, as is
made clear by the 1590 print and by Bocchi’s words, cited here above, namely that
the spectator viewing palazzo Del Nero’s west facade was drawn to ‘an elegant
gallery, that corresponds to the great hall and is adorned with a balustrade
and is extraordinary beautiful.’ And although Tommaso Del Nero kept his
loggetta within the alignment of the facade, with only its balustrade
protruding, it resembled Bindo’s loggetta in that it was visually supported by
the pilasters that framed the ground floor entrance underneath it. (fig. 3) Evidently,
Tommaso did not literally copy Bindo’s device. He not only kept the loggetta
within the facade, he also had a salone and loggetta built not on the ground
floor but on the piano nobile. Furthermore, his loggetta was two- instead of three-tiered.
It did, however, just as Bindo’s loggetta, feature round columns. Regarding the
salone, Bocchi tells us that Tommaso had a fresco brought there, which he
himself had painted earlier in another room of the palazzo. Obviously, he
thought the main room of the building had to feature frescoes, as was the case
in his uncle’s loggia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It has been suggested that Bindo had his loggia and loggetta projected
onto the river facade for the sake of the beautiful view over the Tiber. Admittedly,
the view was beautiful, for it included Castel Sant’Angelo. One might, however,
wonder if Bindo and his contemporaries were as charmed by picturesque views as we
are today. In fact, it would not be surprising if Bindo, had he had the
opportunity of building a whole new west wing and facade to his palazzo, would
have opted for a solution similar to the one chosen later on by his Florentine
nephew. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">As it appears, Tommaso, in designing the new palazzo Del Nero, also
looked at houses of other family members residing in Rome for inspiration. More
specifically, he turned his eye to a most conspicuous building that, between
1563 and 1570, his only and older cousin from paternal side, Francesco del
Nero’s son Cecchino, had ordered to be built. With the vast capital he
inherited from his father, deceased in 1563, Cecchino, following the fashion of
the day, bought a <i>vigna</i> on the Pincio
and had a casino constructed there in the form of a Greek cross with in its
centre a belvedere. Although modest in its dimension, modern architectural
historians have considered this building to be unique among the casinos that
were then built on the Pincio. It was so remarkable, that eventually it was
bought by the eminent art connoisseur and Maecenas, Cardinal Francesco Del
Monte and after him by the equally cultured Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. This
last owner expanded the casino and had it decorated by Caravaggio and Guido
Reni. The subject of the fresco painted by Reni, made that henceforth the
building was called Casino dell’Aurora. (fig. 6)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gPCu39pTmwKkhiFJERgqofvszCGGFGcnAEKQX2MtTjbz80TSyZd2LXHyiHocOp7YF3wv6UY89wFBxkavLr7pC57BUBe0mqDPpTAOPt0VyDzxBjKOh6-EUMKQa6ikPp3h1q2jg_duHrX-/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gPCu39pTmwKkhiFJERgqofvszCGGFGcnAEKQX2MtTjbz80TSyZd2LXHyiHocOp7YF3wv6UY89wFBxkavLr7pC57BUBe0mqDPpTAOPt0VyDzxBjKOh6-EUMKQa6ikPp3h1q2jg_duHrX-/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 6 Casino dell’Aurora.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Agostino Del Nero was always very close to his brother and therefore the
two cousins will have known each other very well and Tommaso will have visited
the casino more than once. In her recent, monumental book on Villa Ludovisi,
Carla Benocci has posed the question as to who might have been the architect of
Cecchino’s casino. She suggested a whole number of possible candidates, only
then to discard them.*** What she doesn’t propose is that Cecchino could have
designed his casino himself. What makes this suggestion plausible, is that upon
entering the building, the first thing visitors were confronted with was the
painted allegorical figure of Architecture showing its design. What this points
to is that the owner took great pride in his casino’s design, indeed such great
pride, that one suspects that it was he himself who had been responsible for
it. One can easily imagine Cecchino extolling the building’s exquisiteness to
his younger cousin and having Tommaso admire the casino’s most spectacular
feature. This was the snail shell staircase that went straight up from the hall
to the summit of the belvedere, and it must have given Tommaso the idea of
having a similar one constructed in palazzo Del Nero. In his <i>Bellezze</i>, Bocchi writes: ‘But how great
Tommaso’s mind was, is sufficiently demonstrated by a staircase in the form of
a snail shell, that with admirable industriousness, from the ground floor of
the cortile lead to the roof terrace, with such an even climb that one arrived
at its summit, which was 40 braccia high, in short time and rather with delight
than with fatigue’ (‘Ma quanto grande fosse l’ingegno in Tommaso, […], assai il
dimostra una scala fatta a chiocciola, la quale con mirabile industria dal
piano del cortile cammina insino sul terrazzo con salita tanto dolce, che al
sommo dell’altezza, la quale è 40 braccia, con diletto più tosto, che con
istento in breve spazio si arriva’). Indeed, Cecchino may well have been the
one who induced Tommaso to become an amateur-architect.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: 35.4pt;">The fact that in palazzo Del Nero,
Tommaso copied Cecchino’s staircase, surely says something about the way he
viewed this palace. Evidently, he considered it to be not just a town palazzo,
but also a kind of belvedere. And indeed, the way in which the palazzo formed a
whole with its prato – the then famous Pratello del Nero -, made it look like a
villa suburbana and this was how it was actually represented in the 1590 print.
(fig. 3) Maybe, but this is pure speculation, in designing the new palazzo Del
Nero, Tommaso was thinking not only of Bindo’s palazzo and of Cecchino’s
casino, but also of the renowned Prati di Castello, that were situated between Castel
Sant’Angelo and the Tiber. These prati were just opposite palazzo Altoviti and on
them, uncle Bindo had a luxurious Casino built for himself, lavishly decorated
by Vasari.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="IT">* Valentina Catalucci, ‘La famiglia Del Nero di Firenze : proprietà,
patrimonio e collezioni ; il palazzo Del Nero (oggi Torrigiani in piazza dei
Mozzi) ; 1a parte’. In: <i>Studi di storia
dell’arte</i>, 24.2013, 147-180.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="IT">**Leonardo Ginori Lisci, <i>I palazzi di
Firenze nella storia e nell’arte</i>, Florence 1972.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="IT">*** Carla Benocci, <i>Villa Ludovisi</i>,
Roma 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b>Picture credits:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Figure 1: Leonardo Ginori Lisci , I palazzi di Firenze nella storia e nell’arte, Florence 1972.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Figure 2: <a href="http://www.lisakaborycha.com/13-reformations/" target="_blank">http://www.lisakaborycha.com/13-reformations/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Figure 3: Leonardo Ginori Lisci , I palazzi di Firenze nella storia e nell’arte, Florence 1972.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Figure 4: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dealvariis/3365319720" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/dealvariis/3365319720</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
Figure 5: <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Domenico Gnoli, ‘Le
demolizioni in Roma: il palazzo Altoviti’, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Archivio
storico dell’ arte</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 1(1888), p. 206.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Figure 6: </span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Giovanni Battista, Falda, <i>Pianta del giardino dell’Eccell.te Signor
Principe Ludovisi a Porta Pinciana</i>, 1670 (<a href="http://archivio.istitutosvizzero.it/italiano/roma/villaMaraini/sito/05_sito.html" target="_blank">http://archivio.istitutosvizzero.it/italiano/roma/villaMaraini/sito/05_sito.html</a>)</span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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- - -<br />
To read Part I of this blog, <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/10/in-florence-on-arno-near-bridge-by-henk.html" target="_blank">click here</a> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 35.4pt;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-42545086760463254402016-11-07T09:42:00.000+01:002017-05-18T16:20:00.026+02:00The little evidence of the Soderini in Florence - By Sinja Aardema<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the
spring of 2016 I did an internship at the <i>Patrician
Patronage Project </i>in Florence. It was a wonderful time in which I researched
the patronage of the Soderini family of the period 1530-1670. Nowadays, the
Soderini family is not one of the most famous patrician families of Florence. Some descendants, however, made their way into
the history books. Well-known, for example, are Piero Soderini (1450-1522), who
was the <i>gonfaloniere a vita</i> of the
Florentine Republic from 1503 until the Medici returned in 1512, and his
brother Cardinal Francesco Soderini (1453-1524). There is not much known about
the Soderini in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and not much is left of
their patronage. Therefore, it was really exciting when I <i>did</i> encounter the little physical ‘evidence’ still visible in Florence.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNBj6vz6D779zeTDjVayeMV7x1r0oKHYFIa4i-PlGB5y6FbqHrb3aSpTtTcjqydKEHh_dsGcvo0ypa1_uQZv2psMVh5ZMA34Vk1EoevKSq0_2ekeJt6YIUrN_30wXdsXtpU8zI1U1gFxc/s1600/19+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNBj6vz6D779zeTDjVayeMV7x1r0oKHYFIa4i-PlGB5y6FbqHrb3aSpTtTcjqydKEHh_dsGcvo0ypa1_uQZv2psMVh5ZMA34Vk1EoevKSq0_2ekeJt6YIUrN_30wXdsXtpU8zI1U1gFxc/s320/19+%25282%2529.JPG" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giambologna's bust of Jupiter, ca. 1560, Boboli Gardens, Florence <br />
(Photo: author)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To me the
most special artistic commission of the Soderini family that has remained was
the bust of Jupiter by Giambologna in the Boboli Gardens in Florence (behind
Palazzo Pitti). This enormous bust was commissioned by Giovanvettorio Soderini
(1526-1579), probably in 1560. It was placed in the garden of Giovanvettorio's
villa Il Giardino at San Salvi, Florence. Later, the work of art came into the
possession of the Martelli family, and eventually in the collection of the
Medici. Since 1757 it has had its place in the Boboli Gardens, so of course I
went to see it. After a search of more than an hour with a temperature of more
than 30 degrees Celsius, there it was: a more than two meters high bust of
Jupiter. At the end of an aisle, beautifully accentuated by the two hedges. The
head of Jupiter turns slightly to the right and has curly hair and a curly
beard. A belt runs across the muscular chest. It was so great to finally see physical
evidence of the patronage of Giovanvettorio, I was literally jumping up and
down from joy. Even though there is no reference to the Soderini on the sign on
the pedestal, a branch grew in front of Jupiter’s head and no one seemed to be
interested in the statue, to me it was like a relic (as you can see in the
picture).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1029" style="height: 283.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 159.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">
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</v:imagedata></v:shape><span lang="IT"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="IT"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtopvV5yT-g_SLasUTCzogphI8m5whhSj-AMsiBGhWJIyQ6K_3PLq1tScObPT39kbfoPxo6Ap3DgMZHzntBirZ1MPhloTSh_gNzO3oI35Kz52WmJQj0k0W_FPlAvOccY98Q1-qBBg0dyUB/s1600/20160518_124829+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtopvV5yT-g_SLasUTCzogphI8m5whhSj-AMsiBGhWJIyQ6K_3PLq1tScObPT39kbfoPxo6Ap3DgMZHzntBirZ1MPhloTSh_gNzO3oI35Kz52WmJQj0k0W_FPlAvOccY98Q1-qBBg0dyUB/s320/20160518_124829+2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giovanni Bandini, <i>Bust of Cosimo I</i>, 1572, Museo del Duomo, Florence<br />
(Photo: author)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are
more references to the Soderini to be found in Florence. One of them is located
at the Piazza del Duomo. Above the entrance of the Museo del Duomo is a bust of
Cosimo I de’ Medici by Giovanni Bandini (1540-1599), made circa 1572. Although
this particular bust was not commissioned by the Soderini, they did commission
a similar one by the same artist. The bust at the Piazza del Duomo is one of
five comparable busts made by Bandini around the same time, the others were
commissioned by the Minerbetti, the Gaddi, the Niccolini and Bernardo Soderini.
Only the busts made for the Niccolini and for Bernardo Soderini were placed
indoors. Another remaining example of the five busts can be found in the
Detroit Institute of Arts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01ERqV5xWiqNr9AH5GulFG9aY6Mz09_tjP3Rf-MIOSQzzDhsEUmNqPmqdmuSrMgemiVp3IiNrk1U5YuNhLmPJXNdKH306zKyYw25SwOr2s7Nt8ogH4hN_otmvumYDf6p14ebAQmhMPyfV/s1600/Cosimo+I+Detroit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01ERqV5xWiqNr9AH5GulFG9aY6Mz09_tjP3Rf-MIOSQzzDhsEUmNqPmqdmuSrMgemiVp3IiNrk1U5YuNhLmPJXNdKH306zKyYw25SwOr2s7Nt8ogH4hN_otmvumYDf6p14ebAQmhMPyfV/s320/Cosimo+I+Detroit.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giovanni Bandini, <i>Bust of Cosimo I</i>, 1572, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit.<br />
(Source: artstor.org)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This statue
could have been the one that either the Soderini or the Niccolini commissioned
from Bandini, or so the museum claims based on the excellent condition of the
statue. The bust shows an aged man with receding hair and a full but short
beard. His head is slightly turned to the left. The wrinkles around the eyes,
the receding hairline and the sunken cheeks with a wart make the bust a
realistic portrait. At the same time, it seems idealized and classicized: Cosimo
is depicted as a wise and powerful Roman military hero, wearing a sixteenth-century
interpretation of a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">paludamentum</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (a cloak
worn by Roman military commanders), draped over a cuirass. To me it is an
impressive bust and although it is technically not commissioned by the Soderini,
I often made a small detour just to look at it for a little while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><v:shape id="Afbeelding_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" style="height: 204.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 363.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">
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<span lang="IT"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaennlQ50Fs4oVYpNyV7WJTMaB6v-wHqLKnJu5oOjQYZj_fKpJjiCG4C0Qa271Kw5fLiUCENRPe6jZCCpXaDpPrW2hQeMrgyRuITF8XVlCD8BU2vWN-pwl2L9dwz0bhoI0vI6sjESOBnbZ/s1600/Castello+di+Gabbiano+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaennlQ50Fs4oVYpNyV7WJTMaB6v-wHqLKnJu5oOjQYZj_fKpJjiCG4C0Qa271Kw5fLiUCENRPe6jZCCpXaDpPrW2hQeMrgyRuITF8XVlCD8BU2vWN-pwl2L9dwz0bhoI0vI6sjESOBnbZ/s200/Castello+di+Gabbiano+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castello di Gabbiano, Mercatale Val di Pesa<br />
(Source: castellogabbiano.it)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNcA73E0yLhug3kcK9nzCVJH9HVv7NefxckxettGg6ilIavLQ7ksDxDrx2YSJQUnELl0scI5DuqMhKHN1cl8s9WFfM-8niu1DeEqeH4lGLqbeici7L1-eHQ3lBKSkldpWMOr8JKAFyztR/s1600/Castello+di+Gabbiano+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNcA73E0yLhug3kcK9nzCVJH9HVv7NefxckxettGg6ilIavLQ7ksDxDrx2YSJQUnELl0scI5DuqMhKHN1cl8s9WFfM-8niu1DeEqeH4lGLqbeici7L1-eHQ3lBKSkldpWMOr8JKAFyztR/s200/Castello+di+Gabbiano+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castello di Gabbiano, Mercatale Val di Pesa<br />
(Photo: author)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A third piece of
evidence of the Soderini patronage in Florence is at Castello di Gabbiano in
Mercatale Val di Pesa. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Castello
di Gabbiano is a beautiful castle on the top of a hill, surrounded by vineyards
and nowadays used as a hotel and winery. Lorenzo di Tommaso Soderini bought Castello
di Gabbiano circa mid-fifteenth century and the family owned it until the
nineteenth century. The evidence of the Soderini-history of the castle is represented
by two coats of arms of the Soderini (three stag heads) on the outside wall,
above a doorway. One contains a double-headed eagle and one the papal keys to
represent the Soderini branch of Niccolò (with the brothers Piero, <i>gonfaloniere a vita</i>, Cardinal Francesco
and Giovanvettorio) as well as the branch of his brother Tommaso Soderini (with
Bernardo and the man responsible for the placement of the coats of arms).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjantuw7r47vhcO715MOx-8HdsL8tu576ZSDORXitI59JhJIPmAAyfcwadCNF11LoMu6Wtwpn54Gi9FEgXQEJUsvBNy9ScjiW8Mnu9z2Q6e1hj-ka793HvKIAy2R3A5UvmavPB1YEjEp4Tj/s1600/Coat+of+arms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjantuw7r47vhcO715MOx-8HdsL8tu576ZSDORXitI59JhJIPmAAyfcwadCNF11LoMu6Wtwpn54Gi9FEgXQEJUsvBNy9ScjiW8Mnu9z2Q6e1hj-ka793HvKIAy2R3A5UvmavPB1YEjEp4Tj/s320/Coat+of+arms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soderini coats of arms and inscription above the door of Castello di Gabbiano<br />
(Photo: author)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Beneath the
coats of arms is an inscription in which senator Francesco di Gaspare Soderini
presents himself as the restorer of the building: ‘Franc. Soderinus senat.
Gasp. F. Ruris Huius in familia restitutor Sub. A MDCLII’. Above the coats of
arms is the motto of Piero Soderini: ‘Ius. Ut palma flo' (</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Iustus ut
palma florebit</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">: “<span style="background: white;">The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree”, psalm
91:13 Vulgate)</span>. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So,
senator Francesco Soderini owned the <i>castello</i>
in 1562 and was clearly very proud of the anti-Medici history of his family,
considering the reference to the most famous anti-Medici family member of the
Soderini, Piero Soderini.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seeing this
‘evidence’ of the patronage of the Soderini proved to me how important the
on-site research is in addition to library and archival research. It gives
inspiration, confirmation, new insights and, of course, it is fun. Sometimes it
is with a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (as during my search in the Boboli
gardens), other times it is in the pouring rain (as when I visited Castello di
Gabbiano), but it always adds something to your understanding of the location
and the specific work of art. It is a priceless experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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- - -<br />
See also the stories of PPP-interns <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/05/a-special-encouter-by-charley-ladee.html" target="_blank">Charley</a> and <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2017/03/a-hidden-pearl-of-niccolini-patronage.html" target="_blank">Lara</a>!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-84696045862033611092016-10-25T13:32:00.000+02:002017-03-13T16:55:00.443+01:00In Florence, on the Arno, near the bridge - By Henk Th. van Veen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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{page:WordSectio</style><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">On the south bank of the Arno,
right next to the Ponte alle Grazie and facing the Piazza dei Mozzi, stands
palazzo Torrigiani <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">già</i> Del Nero.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5v3G250EBEzV7W5Rc2V-rBmWf6co-f3_X_wLw-eIEI1JgFqOdTJecsJX20_nrqrhVuWYmG-mQUn_QPkyeapfKjLmlh3vBVNfK-D-VHBnjLDMAczm4Zcl-q7ayd19AZti1yBaC9vCcvSg/s1600/torrigini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5v3G250EBEzV7W5Rc2V-rBmWf6co-f3_X_wLw-eIEI1JgFqOdTJecsJX20_nrqrhVuWYmG-mQUn_QPkyeapfKjLmlh3vBVNfK-D-VHBnjLDMAczm4Zcl-q7ayd19AZti1yBaC9vCcvSg/s400/torrigini.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Palazzo Torrigiani <i>già</i> Del Nero </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The building offers only a feeble
reflexion of its erstwhile grandeur. Here the Del Nero resided. In those days the
palazzo rose straight from the river-bed and formed one massif whole – a
veritable bridgehead – with the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ponte à
Rubaconte, the longest bridge of Florence, also known as Ponte alle Grazie,
because of the characteristic chapels that were built on it. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSr2Z7MDJ4MoXdTCvDWBVIpm_vBIH3mEhkxxBeZcDASqDejBL359OaOywEyIwi4kp1hFJ2_PvwUG6V36hRq2mMDFwYb6xnvI3A9ULqZ8ddssVsExnx8WoFl74j_ZibZqcujM9IeQ2cGam/s1600/stamboom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSr2Z7MDJ4MoXdTCvDWBVIpm_vBIH3mEhkxxBeZcDASqDejBL359OaOywEyIwi4kp1hFJ2_PvwUG6V36hRq2mMDFwYb6xnvI3A9ULqZ8ddssVsExnx8WoFl74j_ZibZqcujM9IeQ2cGam/s400/stamboom.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Print of the family tree of the Del
Nero </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">It was Agostino del Nero who, from
1552, had this remarkable palazzo built, although he would not see it finished.
It features on a late sixteenth-century print with the Del Nero family tree. A
print from the eighteenth century nicely shows how towards the east the palazzo
was looking out on the ancient, imposing and most picturesque mill of San Niccolò,
which, now long disappeared, protruded into the Arno as a mighty castle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAq04TeXN_yM1XQkewaJrv18iKGuK3yF4qKbHJJpSyaUVuQH29camB-X3Eqn-uEXKmHUX_tTYMiL8bL3dkeZ7UkeIQFzPBdcKPk2u2ocDEcJAXb2y2zl11SrHvy0v5GUNTWKkNuSwM86F/s1600/DelNero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAq04TeXN_yM1XQkewaJrv18iKGuK3yF4qKbHJJpSyaUVuQH29camB-X3Eqn-uEXKmHUX_tTYMiL8bL3dkeZ7UkeIQFzPBdcKPk2u2ocDEcJAXb2y2zl11SrHvy0v5GUNTWKkNuSwM86F/s400/DelNero.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Eighteenth-century print showing palazzo Del Nero and the mill of San
Niccolò</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let’s speculate on the question why Agostino Del Nero chose this
location to build a new residence for himself and his posterity. Important of
course was that, in the old days, the Del Nero, had owned houses and wool shops
in this area. However, to my view, Agostino must have had other, less prosaic
reasons to have his family home built in exactly that spot. The location in
question, immediately attached as it was to the most representative bridge of
Florence,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>must have made him think of
the locations in which two of the oldest and most venerable Florentine
families, the Frescobaldi and the Soderini, had their ancestral seats. Palazzo
Frescobaldi formed a bridge-head with Ponte Santa Trinita and Palazzo Soderini
did likewise with Ponte alla Carraia.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtM4RMgFmdbr2tDUehahjs_6k3cb-WQE7LOSQdofaidHhc0cPlbrPik2rbmf0K04ar-QJH4oHEIIg7FjSCH0BzYpsztOTSLaBy-k5tGsuvFUa85WVdocnvDtnofnzL2pVkenxImRYSkfw/s1600/Soderini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtM4RMgFmdbr2tDUehahjs_6k3cb-WQE7LOSQdofaidHhc0cPlbrPik2rbmf0K04ar-QJH4oHEIIg7FjSCH0BzYpsztOTSLaBy-k5tGsuvFUa85WVdocnvDtnofnzL2pVkenxImRYSkfw/s400/Soderini.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Palazzo Soderini</span> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Palazzo Soderini especially must have been on Agostino’s mind, for he,
in 1537, had married Nannina, daughter of Tommaso Soderini, who in his days had
been one of the most powerful politicians in Florence. Compared to the
Soderini, the Del Nero were basically upstarts and now Agostino, with the
location of the new Del Nero palace, was offered the chance to measure himself
with his illustrious in-laws. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">What is, however, equally possible
is that while choosing the spot for his residence, Agostino was thinking of the
‘domus grande’ which his only and much older brother Francesco had commissioned
to be built in Rome. Francesco was a banker and pope Clemens VII’s tesoriere-generale.
Not only was he in business with his younger brother, Francesco also furnished
to Agostino the capital with which to build the Florentine Del Nero residence.
Francesco’s house was situated in the rione del Ponte, the neighbourhood where
many Florentines were living. The house stood perpendicularly on the Tiber and
rose immediately from its bed. Although is was not attached to a river, there
was a ferry right next to it, which was owned by Francesco. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI1n0ql9s4u4SDf8jyzUVdroglkjZez-6WaoWqmKlE3IOeAY4eTapCKt1u5dKSKqb9rQrX4blPi5eBcGxKQGZJ4E4aqSWJqoUnRCrbla-BvtwP-WZEdiWisB1gqmTsezG9LxUv16YCrvH/s1600/DomusGrande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI1n0ql9s4u4SDf8jyzUVdroglkjZez-6WaoWqmKlE3IOeAY4eTapCKt1u5dKSKqb9rQrX4blPi5eBcGxKQGZJ4E4aqSWJqoUnRCrbla-BvtwP-WZEdiWisB1gqmTsezG9LxUv16YCrvH/s400/DomusGrande.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">The ‘domus grande’ and the ferry of Francesco del Nero </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A third association Agostino could have had when he was erecting his
palazzo, was with the famous Roman palace of the mighty Florentine banker and
patron Bindo Altoviti. This palazzo, alas demolished during the construction of
the Lungoteveri, was also situated in the rione del Ponte, a stone throw’s
distance from Francesco’s ‘domus grande’, demolished on that same occasion. As
to its location and form, Palazzo Altoviti exactly resembled what Agostino’s palazzo
would become: rising directly from the river-bed and built on the southern
bridge-head of ponte Sant’Angelo, to its west side. When, between </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">1550 and 1552, Bindo bought some neighbouring houses to enlarge his
palazzo, it lost its perpendicular form. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbhSbZ4gIYTdiuPMI1ItAnQqZ5XyDLh82g3I9C0IiWgpr6gNjDu_FNvQLj6nX2pB9I1PFS2p9-NIT6jF4SzIcx7i6WYELuFt2IXbZQYZ9xNBHYUSvB6to2iHEntWxVgbd1tuys60E0lK1/s1600/Altoviti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbhSbZ4gIYTdiuPMI1ItAnQqZ5XyDLh82g3I9C0IiWgpr6gNjDu_FNvQLj6nX2pB9I1PFS2p9-NIT6jF4SzIcx7i6WYELuFt2IXbZQYZ9xNBHYUSvB6to2iHEntWxVgbd1tuys60E0lK1/s400/Altoviti.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Palazzo Altoviti and ponte
Sant’Angelo</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Palazzo Altoviti</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw35Pm2qQ9M_AQUVmMMZkTsQTo-MQQZwdm5LAPEMal6wkG86Lencusdxoc32IstzSa5SI-CNKfCHeRPZS_iMg-R2nvOonc3gEd3Vqctc7l40I0HQhjMIDz60ZDpk3LPeTPW5uCIt9-ISIS/s1600/Altoviti+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw35Pm2qQ9M_AQUVmMMZkTsQTo-MQQZwdm5LAPEMal6wkG86Lencusdxoc32IstzSa5SI-CNKfCHeRPZS_iMg-R2nvOonc3gEd3Vqctc7l40I0HQhjMIDz60ZDpk3LPeTPW5uCIt9-ISIS/s400/Altoviti+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">Photograph of Palazzo Altoviti
shortly before its demolition</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">That Agostino has been thinking of
this palazzo is all the more probable if one realizes that he was Bindo’s
brother-in-law – Bindo was married to Fiammetta Soderini, a sister of
Agostino’s wife Nannina - but also because Bindo was the most powerful business
rival of the Del Nero brothers in Rome. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">On the print of the Del Nero
family-tree we not only see the tree and the palazzo, but, in the background,
also an imposing castle, almost a fortified town, that is very near to the seashore.
This appears to be not just a ornamental, fictive piece of architecture. In
February 1568, Pope Pius V made Agostino and his son Tommaso barons of Porcigliano,
an ancient and important fief in the diocese of Ostia. The pope awarded them
this title in recognition of the important role they had played in administrating
the papal finances. The castle on the print with the family-tree is without any
doubt Castelporcigliano, that was and is indeed located very near to the
seashore. It still exists, but is now called Castelporziano and serves as a luxury-residence
to the presidents of the Italian Republic. </span></div>
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- - -<br />
To read part II of this blog, <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2017/01/palazzo-torrigiani-gia-del-nero-part-2.html" target="_blank">click here</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-74616615090593854372016-10-10T13:47:00.000+02:002017-03-06T14:55:57.085+01:00From pillar to post - By Lotte van ter Toolen<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">After my </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/05/behind-closed-doors-by-lotte-van-ter.html"><span lang="EN-GB">failed attempt</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> to visit San Gaggio, I decided it was time to
turn to the church of Santo Spirito for my research on the Corsini family. In
1804 the tomb monuments, busts and cenotaphs of the Corsini had been moved from
San Gaggio to this church, where the family had owned a chapel as well.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: 35.4pt;">In 1300 the Corsini Chapel (<i>La Cappella dei Principi Corsini)</i> was
founded on the east-side of the second cloister of Santo Spirito, the so-called <i>chiostro
grande dell’Ammannati</i>. As of 2007 this cloister has lost its religious
function and it now belongs to a military institute. But although this cloister
now holds a branch of the <i>Esercito</i> <i>Italiano</i> (the
Italian army), the Corsini Chapel itself has not been turned into a military
office and, luckily, is still intact. Therefore, I left the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><a href="http://www.niki-florence.org/en/"><span lang="EN-GB">Dutch University Institute of Art History</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; text-indent: 35.4pt;"> in good spirits on the day of my second
excursion, confident and eager to finally see some Corsini monuments. Seeing as
I had spent the last days studying in the library, bent over books and barely
moving, I decided to walk all the way down the hill to the church. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSYqu2Lou8UDnAY4DIGlTsbl0WaeB3cbfFmPL7c5KLaRS2UdvxKEa2SKhmRtywanX-ahHWH5lIqLbbJehPvt0shiPc_ggtgx3VBzFzUTnugUCb7kgq_5OAUFJFr41f2YRw-tX03cxg40M/s1600/Chiostro+grande+dell%2527Ammannati+%2528van+ter+Toolen%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSYqu2Lou8UDnAY4DIGlTsbl0WaeB3cbfFmPL7c5KLaRS2UdvxKEa2SKhmRtywanX-ahHWH5lIqLbbJehPvt0shiPc_ggtgx3VBzFzUTnugUCb7kgq_5OAUFJFr41f2YRw-tX03cxg40M/s320/Chiostro+grande+dell%2527Ammannati+%2528van+ter+Toolen%2529.JPG" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<i>Chiostro Grande dell'Ammannati (photo: author)</i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">At the door of the
cloister, one of the military employees told me I would need permission and a
special pass if I wished to visit the Cappella Corsini. The formal letter I had
brought with me, explaining that my visit was for research purposes, did not
suffice. I could obtain this special pass, he explained, at the <i>Istituto
Geografico Militare</i> near Santa Maria Novella. “Very well!” I said, and
on I walked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Having misinterpreted
the directions that were given me, it was more than half an hour later that I<b> </b>arrived
at this military institute, slightly out of breath, but glad to have arrived. I
patiently explained my wish to visit the Corsini Chapel in Santo Spirito. Doubtful
as to whether they could help me, but making several phone calls to be sure,
they were finally forced to tell me that I was indeed in need of special
authorisation, but that this was not the location to obtain it: I had to go to
another military institute, near San Marco. “Very well!” I said, and on I
walked.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">This time, my by
now somewhat sore feet carried me to my destination in a mere twenty minutes.
At the reception of the <i>Istituto Geografico Militare</i> near San
Marco they asked me with great surprise why on <i>earth</i> I had
come all the way to San Marco to ask for permission, and kindly suggested that
I ask at the institute of Santo Spirito. After all, it was <i>their</i> cloister
I wished to visit. Having all morning been sent from one military institute to
the next, and having by now been walking for more than an hour in total and
still not having reached my destination, I couldn’t hold back my desperate
laughter. Luckily, the man at the desk sympathised with me, he made some phone
calls and told me to wait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDXTXM9ZdPHREanKLdTOHDHOG2OATIsnE19Cn4BJ_8SC18mvklnMofv78ewJTA_aa261ykyp4sEmBmwXueyj4HiY_Oo41G25Vd8MZVnVR3ADWphHtIDHYpWOPXIG684ZX-c-OagSXa89O/s1600/Military+institutes+%2528van+ter+Toolen%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDXTXM9ZdPHREanKLdTOHDHOG2OATIsnE19Cn4BJ_8SC18mvklnMofv78ewJTA_aa261ykyp4sEmBmwXueyj4HiY_Oo41G25Vd8MZVnVR3ADWphHtIDHYpWOPXIG684ZX-c-OagSXa89O/s400/Military+institutes+%2528van+ter+Toolen%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In search of permission</i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">After a few minutes of waiting in the hallway of the
institute, the man told me to leave my identity card at the reception and to
follow him inside. He led me past an inner square and corridors with
old-fashioned geographical measuring instruments into an office, where two men
in green uniforms looked up from their conversation at a desk. The man from the
reception introduced me to the men in green, a major and a colonel, who
patiently listened to my plea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> The
colonel nodded and picked up the phone to organize authorisation to visit the
cloister. After the call, he explained that I would be contacted the next day
to fix an appointment for my visit. Gratefully I said goodbye, and leaving the
institute walked straight to the bus, instead of all the way home.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The next morning
the <i>Esercito</i> of Santo Spirito telephoned to inform me that I
had full authorisation from the colonel to visit the chapel for my research
purposes, and that I could pass by whenever I wanted. There was only one small
problem, the receptionist added. In preparation for my visit, they had wished
to open the chapel, which had been closed up for a long time – but when they
applied the key to the door, the fifteenth-century key had broken off in the
lock… keeping the Corsini treasures under lock and key, and postponing my visit yet again.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-29155865633533769542016-09-02T11:46:00.001+02:002017-03-06T14:56:13.253+01:00Summer 2016: In Bruges... - By Julia Dijkstra<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b>For the Patrician Patronage Project, it was a summer to look forward to. Last year, we decided it was time to formally present the PPP-database to a wider (scientific) audience, to get more input on our work and to gain scholarly attention. No better place to do so than at the <span id="goog_1396233171"></span><a href="http://www.sixteenthcentury.org/" target="_blank">Sixteenth Century Society Conference (SCSC)</a><span id="goog_1396233172"></span>, held this year from the 18th till the 20th of August in the picturesque city of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges" target="_blank">Bruges (Belgium)</a>.</b>
</span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboKXnp4bGxT6YXVeTvCymg5dLnbGAWxzw359175po5zdDfrvsub_R-uqUWpG2gAY9yxmZg9mPDu6P03gwKXJ1MrUYMZ4KuD5JzpSAOVv-Hyj8IWXIzjLH_czoN-SJmfH_oOIE7gbBBYnr/s1600/20160820_144800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboKXnp4bGxT6YXVeTvCymg5dLnbGAWxzw359175po5zdDfrvsub_R-uqUWpG2gAY9yxmZg9mPDu6P03gwKXJ1MrUYMZ4KuD5JzpSAOVv-Hyj8IWXIzjLH_czoN-SJmfH_oOIE7gbBBYnr/s400/20160820_144800.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i>Summer in Bruges</i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Within the Humanities, the SCSC conference is an annual meeting of Early Modern scholars which aims to explore the ‘long sixteenth century’, broadly defined from ca. 1450 to ca. 1660. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Every year the conference is organised in a different city. Not often, however, the SCSC-meetings are scheduled in Europe. Therefore, it was the perfect opportunity for the whole PPP-team to attend. After submitting a proposal for a panel last March, the PPP was invited to host a session at the conference solely dedicated to the art patronage of Florentine patricians during Medici (grand-)ducal rule.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike European conferences, where there is only one set programme, the ‘American style’ in which conferences like the SCSC are organized is characterized by different sessions taking place at the same time (up to 30 sessions simultaneously!). Every session (or panel) takes about one and a half hours and normally features three speakers, after which a short coffee or lunch break is programmed. These breaks provide the perfect opportunity to meet new scholars or just chat to familiar faces. The first panels start as early as 8.30h and the last one ends at 17.00h. After these ‘formal’ sessions, an evening programme starts. Different kinds of gatherings are organized by affiliated societies and institutions (most of them only accessible upon invitation).</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Fortunately for us, this year’s SCSC promised to be an interesting one. More than a thousand scholars from different disciplines in early modern studies registered for the conference! A wide range of topics - from (art) history, Ottoman studies, literary and cultural studies, to digital humanities and network studies - were about to be presented. Downside to this whole story: how do you choose which sessions to attend?! What I learned is that you can’t do it all. There are simply too many sessions taking place at the same time. While discussing the sessions I had chosen from my booklet (just for your knowledge, the programme counted over a hundred pages!), it soon turned out that my fellow PPP-colleagues Sanne and Lotte had picked out almost the same sessions from the lot. Not surprisingly, the sessions we wanted to attend mostly included panels about Italian art (on artists such as Michelangelo), digital humanities, art patronage and early modern networks. Especially thought provoking in my opinion were the contributions on digital humanities, from which I gained a lot of new tips and tricks and dos and don’ts for our own Patrician Patronage Project. In particular I learned a lot from the contribution of Ellen Prokop of The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library and their El Greco project.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpvsS7deUMSMO-cmqYi2sVhV8oaWTWE9PaN5mj6CQYWZCcdJd-4GFbIvPbmkZuA5OxO39GsqdYNc-Q0-ZBirLJLdn-4BphSM-xc_H73EmhRbRPjTvgW36VOs81mKOFjc-YJgmdWALApkj/s1600/IMG_0623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpvsS7deUMSMO-cmqYi2sVhV8oaWTWE9PaN5mj6CQYWZCcdJd-4GFbIvPbmkZuA5OxO39GsqdYNc-Q0-ZBirLJLdn-4BphSM-xc_H73EmhRbRPjTvgW36VOs81mKOFjc-YJgmdWALApkj/s320/IMG_0623.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lotte van ter Toolen introducing the Patrician Patronage Project</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After two full days of conference and the general reception on Friday
evening at </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfry_of_Bruges"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">the Belfort</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> (where they
served a lot of tasty appetizers and the local beer ‘Brugse Zot’), our panel
was due on Saturday at 8.30 in the morning… Despite the sociable<span style="color: red;"> </span>reception, the PPP-team rose early and in good
spirits (maybe due to the Brugse Zot). Our panel was programmed in one of the
fancier rooms of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located in the city centre, and around
8.30h the room filled with interested listeners. Almost all the seats were
taken, which - if I may say so - is quite an accomplishment at a conference
such as the SCSC, when there are so many panels to choose from.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR10AxxSR5OL23u-9XADjtXZ2NjLyHkrM-agbGoTYCAs4qUnj_dv0UGQOm4sCcIWhIJiXKz56xLxTsVhduMUXUWCFn9A3XNMEb_hFuGjmcoVAFOdNjdEGeHJO-4LRDuoyo3YUMPpux8dfa/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR10AxxSR5OL23u-9XADjtXZ2NjLyHkrM-agbGoTYCAs4qUnj_dv0UGQOm4sCcIWhIJiXKz56xLxTsVhduMUXUWCFn9A3XNMEb_hFuGjmcoVAFOdNjdEGeHJO-4LRDuoyo3YUMPpux8dfa/s320/IMG_0629.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sanne Roefs presenting the first paper of the panel</i></td></tr>
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</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Klazina Botke (organiser of the session) welcomed everybody to our
panel. Then, Lotte van ter Toolen (chair of our session) started her
introduction of the panel and the database. She introduced the aims and prospects
of our project, and then showed the different aspects of the database and the
information that is entered into it. Sanne Roefs followed with her paper on a
‘textbook case’ Florentine patrician under Medici rule: Agnolo Guicciardini
(1525-1581). In her paper, Sanne showed how Agnolo Guicciardini - in his
capacity as deputy of duke Cosimo I (an office called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">luogotenente</i>) of the first art academy (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Accademia del Disegno</i>) in Florence - influenced (or perhaps even
shaped) the cultural policy of Duke Cosimo de’Medici. Secondly, attention was
also given to Cosimo’s funerary procession in 1574 in Florence. New archival
material - found by Sanne herself - shows that Agnolo was the main organizer of
the event and that he actively tried to emulate the funeral of Charles V in
Brussels 1558, thereby elevating the status of deceased grand duke Cosimo I to
that of his European counterparts. I, in contrast, presented a case study on
the sculptural collection of two ‘anti-Medicean’ brothers, Niccolò and Lorenzo
Ridolfi. After summing up what their collections comprised of and how they
might have been displayed, the focus was on the appearance of busts of Brutus
in both their collections. Could this particular bust have symbolized a certain
anti-Medicean stance of its patron? Professor Van Veen (in his role as
referent) concluded the panel by summarizing the two papers and by linking the
outcomes to the aim of the Patrician Patronage Project. He underscored the
relevance and importance of our PPP-research, and furthermore the rich field of
study that still awaits to be uncovered. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqLwGf5xmMYzA3kPBXEOsuTi1zGiic_zoyilf3gC31ldNE-S5Fsa67QThYQj-5vRHTTEllAMDq3GglFnBg2UbTlQDulyFRuJ0lzOwsMgjEl70IHFdvCf5-Ttzsu40PzIWTnwHrZXOQbPR/s1600/IMG_0640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqLwGf5xmMYzA3kPBXEOsuTi1zGiic_zoyilf3gC31ldNE-S5Fsa67QThYQj-5vRHTTEllAMDq3GglFnBg2UbTlQDulyFRuJ0lzOwsMgjEl70IHFdvCf5-Ttzsu40PzIWTnwHrZXOQbPR/s320/IMG_0640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me caught on camera while giving my paper</i></td></tr>
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</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a session of slightly more than an hour, there was time for
questions. Critical questions were asked; about the content of the lectures, but also about
the scope of the project and the abilities of our database. Of course, we were
more than happy to answer all these questions, in the hope of infecting the
audience even more with our enthusiasm for the project. And then the end of our
one-and-a-half-hour session arrived. The PPP-team gathered for lunch afterwards,
and could finally relax, enjoy a bit of sunny Bruges and celebrate the
successful outcome of the session. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSubEw82qZzE0xh_q3mJlehs8XKH5gXlsUGhROyAdoZrAfO_Ffq3bILwTtfU-6WG7JS0JNrEc4_QoJ_cZC5RpuXJGZleRt2KocfffiAcp3Jwup3E5fkTMHVYKReXX66Hj6sp-9b20NHlgn/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSubEw82qZzE0xh_q3mJlehs8XKH5gXlsUGhROyAdoZrAfO_Ffq3bILwTtfU-6WG7JS0JNrEc4_QoJ_cZC5RpuXJGZleRt2KocfffiAcp3Jwup3E5fkTMHVYKReXX66Hj6sp-9b20NHlgn/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Professor Henk van Veen answering questions about the project</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Attending conferences like SCSC always inspire me. Hearing about so many
different research projects and meeting so many new people, provides a lot of
new input for one’s own research. Not all sessions are equally inspiring (sometimes
the title of a session can be slightly misleading), and at times it is also a
bit tiresome - especially when you have to run through the whole of Bruges to
get to the different venues scattered around the city centre - but the
unexpected gems amongst the papers make more than up for that. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’d
say it was an inspiring summer for the Patrician Patronage Project. In the
coming Academic year the PPP-team and the future<span style="color: red;"> </span>interns
of the project will keep sharing their stories on this blog. So if you are in
for some interesting (art historical) stories, keep checking this website
regularly, or like us on Facebook (Patrician Patronage Project)!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-76450521881388776792016-07-12T11:44:00.000+02:002017-03-06T14:57:03.264+01:00A Suitable Piece of Furniture for Writing a Magnum Opus - By Sanne Roefs<div style="text-align: justify;">
Francesco di Piero Guicciardini (1478-1540), also known as Francesco ‘the historian’, is by far the most famous member of the Guicciardini family from Florence. Close friend of Niccolò Macchiavelli, important advisor of several popes in Rome, a leading force in the election of Duke Cosimo I as the successor of the murdered Duke Alessandro in 1537, but most notable of all, the writer of the Storia d’Italia: a series of twenty books describing the – then – modern history of the Italian peninsula. It was published posthumously for the first time in 1561 by his nephew Agnolo di Girolamo Guicciardini (1525-1581) and it was to be this publication that gave him an everlasting fame as a historian and political thinker. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRDzHma4DdQFHAQB5XYrFdeWW_zplphMU01hku-N22BAtgLrnEKN4r1VPHUDFp-Wp0ykdfAykOcSESCtZ-BQ1xLIKXJ4xImrSRXGoVOWR4mgwrGOtxpwxMnsRfTvGxJLc_bDVyiaZFvgY/s1600/Frontespiece+Historia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRDzHma4DdQFHAQB5XYrFdeWW_zplphMU01hku-N22BAtgLrnEKN4r1VPHUDFp-Wp0ykdfAykOcSESCtZ-BQ1xLIKXJ4xImrSRXGoVOWR4mgwrGOtxpwxMnsRfTvGxJLc_bDVyiaZFvgY/s320/Frontespiece+Historia.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>Frontispiece of the first edition of the Storia, <br />printed in Florence by Torrentino in 1561</b> <br />
(for picture credits see below)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
After the installment of Cosimo I as duke in 1537, Francesco retreated to a recently acquired villa in Arcetri, in the hills on the south of Florence. Since he had been at the heart of so many important political decisions taken in the last decades in Rome and in Tuscany he decided to write his book on the history of Italy. It is generally assumed that Francesco penned down most of his Storia in the villa in Arcetri, looking over the Pian dei Giullari. A reliable piece of furniture at which he could spend many hours writing down his version of Italian events was thus of the utmost importance.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb5RgxOkbEPYAImF6wHTZ4ewbL3jfcvJS-z0kKPmPrNaznWX2B5YFSao6hQg6jCTkKEhYImuMNxPOoGp6yxvGxikKJeT6h7o9FFes4rIndkihiF6Og-uKIRkEgyIQki135I6DVRo6bLo2/s1600/villa_guicciardini_la_bugia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb5RgxOkbEPYAImF6wHTZ4ewbL3jfcvJS-z0kKPmPrNaznWX2B5YFSao6hQg6jCTkKEhYImuMNxPOoGp6yxvGxikKJeT6h7o9FFes4rIndkihiF6Og-uKIRkEgyIQki135I6DVRo6bLo2/s400/villa_guicciardini_la_bugia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>South side of Villa la Bugia in Arcetri, Florence</b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0igLoA5dALtWBdRqHxU1THIACTTS72FBlmDmg3fwIkZajkY6cHDaZWS2C2a_u-E8j8M6uYnuC50fq4GEfLLAQp6XT3Hi7TlYgXh_CaqOx9OB7cJTr9sjo5ZslwRmDw8PLA8eW9GP8ii6O/s1600/North+side+villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0igLoA5dALtWBdRqHxU1THIACTTS72FBlmDmg3fwIkZajkY6cHDaZWS2C2a_u-E8j8M6uYnuC50fq4GEfLLAQp6XT3Hi7TlYgXh_CaqOx9OB7cJTr9sjo5ZslwRmDw8PLA8eW9GP8ii6O/s320/North+side+villa.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>North side of Villa la Bugia in Arcetri, Florence</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Luckily, the historian owned just that. His political wanderings had led him on several occasions to Bologna as governor or commissioner. Vasari informs us that during his stay in that city in 1534 he met the artist Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573). This artist had joined forces with the woodworker Fra Damiano da Bergamo (1490-1549). Giacomo designed the works of art and Damiano made them and inlaid them. According to Vasari, Francesco Guicciardini ordered several wooden works of art by the two artists. At least one of them is still in the possession of the Guicciardini family today; it is a heavy octagonal table with a large leg decorated with lions’ claws and bronze plaiting. Its top was inlaid with a frivolous design of floral motives and geometric shapes. The Guicciardini and the Salviati coat of arms (Francesco was married to Maria d’Alamanno Salviati) feature prominently on the large leg. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2cvA9E0wlka-0sU9-EezjJ5Y46oElWtt-oN7LzMtfVYasTwJYwIZ5AcAyAfY2aD_fS7rp-YW_Lhq7Y2RBZDx35gEMclW8YVh1fRkdTBQLcQsZ766ub0ayH3KeVhGEYwWKE7uHg3crByp/s1600/table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2cvA9E0wlka-0sU9-EezjJ5Y46oElWtt-oN7LzMtfVYasTwJYwIZ5AcAyAfY2aD_fS7rp-YW_Lhq7Y2RBZDx35gEMclW8YVh1fRkdTBQLcQsZ766ub0ayH3KeVhGEYwWKE7uHg3crByp/s320/table.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and fra Damiano da Bergamo, <br /><i>Guicciardini Table, </i>c. 1534, Palazzo Guicciardini, Florence</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The table was transported from Bologna to Florence and it was praised by later Guicciardini generations. When Francesco died without male heirs in 1540, his property passed to his brothers and nephews. The wooden table ended up in the possession of Agnolo Guicciardini (who also saw to it that the Storia was printed for the first time). In a little booklet Agnolo wrote down in great detail all of his possessions in Florence and the Tuscan countryside. The only work of art to which he made a reference was the table by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, attesting to the fact that he valued the piece of furniture very much. He wrote: ‘<i>lasciò di più il detto messer Francesco in particolare a Girolamo mio padre il bello ottangulo di commessure che hoggi posseggo</i>’ (‘furthermore, the said mister Francesco left to Girolamo, my father, the beautiful inlaid octagonal that I own today’). </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Vasari, furthermore, informs us that while writing his book Francesco ordered the famous painter Giuliano Bugiardini (1475-1555) to paint his portrait. Also this work of art stayed in the family possession for centuries, and was sold only in the middle of the twentieth century. Nowadays, it is preserved in the Yale University Art Gallery in the United States. The historian is portrayed at three-quarter length, seated at a wooden table before a luxurious cloth background. He is dressed in a rich velvet coat and an ermine piece of fur and wears a cap. In his left hand he holds a pair of gloves and in his right a quill with which he just wrote the first sentences of his Storia, as is attested by the words on the piece of paper on the table: ‘<i>Io ho deliberato di scrivere le cose accadute alla memoria nostra in Italia</i>’ (‘I have decided to write about the things that happened in our time in Italy’). Rather than looking proud, the historian is portrayed with quite a haughty gaze. It is as if the beholder disturbed Francesco in the act of writing his magnum opus. The historian, thus, wanted to be represented by the painter while he was writing his important manifest. Furthermore, he ordered the artist to portray him seated at a special piece of furniture. If one takes a closer look at the table covered by a rich dark green cloth, one notices that it is not a normal rectangular one, but an octagonal version. This can only be the table made by Giacomo da Vignola and Fra Damiano! In this way the historian was immortalized not only in the act of writing his Storia, but also seated at his beloved wooden table. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVWkEgBIKRj5tDL6mAVAOad6q4lJp2d39Np7nUMKoSCMS_sR_O1aJWTFJHlWE6EKokIeCW25Ymw-D99Mt_jE7mCwW_BZouCmsoqKr3lyzarGGpIYA3Io5krMgL1QLgoPewHq2o2PJTqXg/s1600/Portrait.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVWkEgBIKRj5tDL6mAVAOad6q4lJp2d39Np7nUMKoSCMS_sR_O1aJWTFJHlWE6EKokIeCW25Ymw-D99Mt_jE7mCwW_BZouCmsoqKr3lyzarGGpIYA3Io5krMgL1QLgoPewHq2o2PJTqXg/s320/Portrait.tif" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Giuliano Bugiardini, <i>Francesco Guicciardini, </i>c. 1538,<br /> Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven<br /> (gift of Hannah D. and Louis M. Rabinowitz in 1959)</b></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
This little (hi)story is part of my Research Master’s thesis that I wrote in the framework of the Patrician Patronage Project (PPP). During the research for my thesis on the patronage of the Guicciardini I spent many months in Florence unravelling the important history of this family’s maecenatism bit by bit. This blog has been the first of many peculiar, funny, incredible and beautiful stories about the Guicciardini and their patronage that I would like to share with you via this blog. The value of the research conducted by the PPP is proven once more by this story; by investigating the patronage of Florentine families in its broadest sense new light can be shed on, and unexpected connections can be made between, the works of art that these patrician families commissioned. </div>
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Picture credits:<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Frontispiece Storia: <a href="http://www.alai.it/uploads/tx_gorillary/107_image1_105_Guicciardini.jpg" style="line-height: 107%;">http://www.alai.it/uploads/tx_gorillary/107_image1_105_Guicciardini.jpg</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">South side Villa la Bugia: <a href="https://curiositasufirenze.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/villa-della-bugia-firenze-buggerata-dopo-lassedio/" style="line-height: 107%;">https://curiositasufirenze.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/villa-della-bugia-firenze-buggerata-dopo-lassedio/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">North side Villa la Bugia: author</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Guicciardini Table: John
Morley, The History of Furniture: Twenty-five Centuries of Style and Design in
the Western Tradition <span style="line-height: 107%;">(Boston 1999), p. 109.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Portrait of Francesco Guicciardini: </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">http://artgallery.yale.edu/
collections/objects/43513</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-28905752597007932222016-06-24T07:00:00.000+02:002017-03-06T14:58:18.058+01:00Against the Medici – By Julia Dijkstra<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few
years ago, I was one of the first <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">interns of the Patrician Patronage Project (PPP) </span>who had the opportunity to <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">stay in Florence for three months </span>and to discover the magnificent cultural heritage of this city. My
assignment was to delve into the art patronage of several Florentine patrician
families, and to add all the artworks that were commissioned in the period
between 1530 – 1670 to the PPP-database. Furthermore, I was assigned with the
‘special’ task to research three patrons in particular: Niccolò Gaddi (1499 –
1552), Niccolò Ridolfi (1501 – 1550) and Giovanni Salviati (1490 – 1553).
Before starting my research, I knew very little about these men. Yet, they
seemed to have a lot in common: they were (1) descendants of important
Florentine families, (2) cardinals residing in Rome and (3) important art
patrons in sixteenth-century Italy. Furthermore, these three cardinals were
so-called </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (exiles), exiled
by the Medici family after the fall of the Florentine Republic in 1530. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9xAd6RIny2mJyAQShG8wVRQKKiC7i_2AmTVbSI49dzSSxNuUlQCxsZ0N8yB-h9EfSNqTToVlQDtFLBq2oRVYseY3wezlx9m7RO7MhQcCppf7CnMod0b43-WaUVKjJy5yOSAPx-7Dh-TV/s400/Florence-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Florence, the city where it all started</span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we
talk about Florence, we talk about the Medici. However, the Medici only receive their ‘real’ power in 1530, when the last Florentine Republic falls and the
city was forced to submit to the authority of Alessandro de’ Medici (1510 –
1536). </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This event marks the beginning of the rule of the Medici over Florence,
a leading position which the family retaines for over two centuries. Another –
less known - result of the collapse of the Florentine Republic was the exile of
a substantial group of Florentine patricians, who were considered opponents of
the Medici rule. These </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> gathered in cities like Venice, Lyons, Ferrara
and Rome. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strengthened by their anti-Medicean sentiments, an
important network was set up connecting the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuoriusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
throughout Europe. This network remained active under the rule of first
Alessandro and later Cosimo de’ Medici, but had its heyday in the 1530s and
1540s. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It might
seem strange to start my research about these three exiled cardinals in the
city from which they were exiled: Florence. However, since they were members of
important Florentine families, their roots lay within this city. And although
exiled, they kept close ties with their hometown. Personal correspondence with
their families in Florence gives insight into their day-to-day affairs, and at
times about their cultural affairs. Another great source is the Medici archive,
the ‘Mediceo del Principato’, kept at the Archivio di Stato in Florence. There one can read reports of agents (or spies) of the Medici, who kept close eyes on the
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and reported their
findings back to </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">their Duke.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Detail of Michelangelo’s </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brutus</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While
working on the cultural expenditure of Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi, I came across
a very intriguing commission: Michelangelo’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brutus</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">. I had never heard of this statue, nor read about it in my
art history books. This I found quite particular, since its maker is one of
the greatest artists of all time: Michelangelo Buonarotti. The only
contemporary source we have on the Brutus is Vasari, who writes that this bust
was made by Michelangelo (and finished by his pupil Calcagni) as a gift for
Cardinal Ridolfi. Since Cardinal Ridolfi was part of the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">movement, art historians presume that the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Brutus</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> must convey anti-Medicean and/or
republican sentiments. However, during my PPP-internship, I found out that
there is still a lot unknown about this commission. As a result, my PPP-research ended up
being the inspiration for my Research Master’s thesis, which I wrote on the art
patronage of the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in Rome
and the question whether or not their commissioned artworks contain - more or
less ‘hidden’ - anti-Medicean or republican sentiments. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was
Winston Churchill who supposedly said: “History is written by the victors”. In
the case of the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, Churchill
was definitely right. The </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">(cultural) </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">tales of these Florentine exiles have been overshadowed
by the enormous fame of the Medici in later years. However, by focussing on
their stories, a less black-and-white cultural history of Florence
is revealed. That is exactly what the PPP-project inspires to do. The scope of
the project is ambitious, but I think my research and that of the other PPP
affiliated researchers shows there is still a lot to be discovered. Unlike the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fuorusciti</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, we are not against the
Medici, we are just curious to know what other families played a part in the
cultural blossoming of Florence in the sixteenth and seventeenth century.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be
continued....</span></i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-18592011114343571052016-05-24T12:15:00.000+02:002017-05-18T16:18:40.758+02:00Behind closed doors - By Lotte van ter Toolen<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With its high walls and few windows, Via Senese number 101 might trick the inattentive passer-by into thinking it to be a fortress. However, as the sign next to the door indicates, this large and uninviting building is in fact a former fourteenth-century convent, which behind its walls still holds the church of San Gaggio. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>Via Senese 101, Florence</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last summer I stood in front of this building. Although the sign next to
the door clearly stated this to be an <i>ex-convento</i>
and informed me that the monuments it once held had been moved to Santo
Spirito, and although a furtive glance through the slit of the mailbox had
revealed that the stone steps leading to the inner courtyard was overgrown with
weeds, I rang the bell. </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
It was my research for the <i>Patrician Patronage Project</i> that had
brought me here, which concerned the patronage of the Corsini family. Knowing
that this family had acted as protector of the convent for centuries, and that
especially in the sixteenth century they had commissioned many artworks, I was
curious to see what proof remained of their patronage. After all, the monuments
and paintings had been removed, but it was very well possible that some other decorations,
such as depictions of coats of arms in relief for example, were still visible
references to this family.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Not entirely to my surprise, there was no response to my ringing the
doorbell. Then my eye fell on another, smaller door, which had a doorbell as well.
Needless to say, I rang it, and this time I had more luck. A very small old
woman, wearing a floral dress and a floral apron, opened the door. On my asking
if she knew whether it would be possible to visit the church of San Gaggio, she
told me that it had been closed since 1999 and that since then no-one visited
the church anymore (except the guards of the </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">vigilanza</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> every now and then, and a great amount of pigeons). Touched
by my eager interest in the former convent, she invited me to come inside,
which I refused politely until she explained that her house gave entrance to
the inner courtyard of the old convent. Plus, she wished to show me a
photograph of her grandchildren. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Through a dark corridor, past dressers cluttered
with lots of photographs and porcelain, the old woman led me first to the
kitchen, to turn off the small television that was blaring Italian news, and
then led me into the garden. I had expected to have to peek over a fence to
catch a glimpse of the San Gaggio, but there stood nothing between the old
woman’s garden and the church’s courtyard except a neatly filled clothesline. Indeed,
the walled courtyard <i>was</i> her garden. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbwxLtdlMe99wiMIORmOfnJaSgds_7aRqKWZVOobO0Ruxpda6l8lTNqofRjD2GfVzJeQpA3wV2leuxX3SheTCdD00rL4nemVS7an6rFnXviCWHaN6KrBuyAyh9TgE4rJx5qe5cffa8a2a/s1600/Van+ter+Toolen+-+San+Gaggio+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbwxLtdlMe99wiMIORmOfnJaSgds_7aRqKWZVOobO0Ruxpda6l8lTNqofRjD2GfVzJeQpA3wV2leuxX3SheTCdD00rL4nemVS7an6rFnXviCWHaN6KrBuyAyh9TgE4rJx5qe5cffa8a2a/s320/Van+ter+Toolen+-+San+Gaggio+2.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While I crossed the square, which was overgrown
with weeds, I noticed the stone steps leading to the main gate, where I had
rang the bell first. San Gaggio’s doors were all tightly closed, but I did find
the Corsini coat of arms above one of the windows and the remainders of a
painting dating from the fourteenth century above the main door. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The kind old woman stood
waiting for me in her doorway on the other side of the courtyard with a bottle
of iced tea, which we shared at her kitchen table while she showed me the
pictures of her grandchildren. I didn’t know what I thought I would find, ringing
her doorbell earlier, but certainly not this. Being an art historian can open
many doors, but not always the ones you expect.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBYmyhJdhUM41VMAz2IjZfZ84SGTGGPVobCq-GfDQU4GRbCz_90thCNXSYSFWWgd4bpGBca1ho75g39EBNEhHPwGYJxoFrS9l6MTgmqKfSEgpV2NpSygQM92dCMy6OBnsjk-23S97olLT/s1600/Van+ter+Toolen+-+San+Gaggio+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBYmyhJdhUM41VMAz2IjZfZ84SGTGGPVobCq-GfDQU4GRbCz_90thCNXSYSFWWgd4bpGBca1ho75g39EBNEhHPwGYJxoFrS9l6MTgmqKfSEgpV2NpSygQM92dCMy6OBnsjk-23S97olLT/s320/Van+ter+Toolen+-+San+Gaggio+4.JPG" width="215" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Photos: author)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- - - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2016/10/from-pillar-to-post-by-lotte-van-ter.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read part two of this blog!</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBYmyhJdhUM41VMAz2IjZfZ84SGTGGPVobCq-GfDQU4GRbCz_90thCNXSYSFWWgd4bpGBca1ho75g39EBNEhHPwGYJxoFrS9l6MTgmqKfSEgpV2NpSygQM92dCMy6OBnsjk-23S97olLT/s1600/Van+ter+Toolen+-+San+Gaggio+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-40751509151291487172016-05-04T22:26:00.003+02:002017-05-18T16:06:52.707+02:00A Special Encounter - By Charley Ladee<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I walk along Via dei Leoni, the rusticated façade of a majestic Florentine palazzo looms up. “Should I just ring the bell? Which of the thirteen options would it be?” Suddenly, a rather neat looking gatekeeper opens the door. In my broken Italian I tell him that I’ve come to see the Marchesa, Vittoria Gondi Citernesi.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuX-UPVeJNWbeJmfL4HKlZgwJzgXs4K00dkotjF-Fz2Bn8UYdo9unVM87X26nXoAPOYoq7kx6ls6DF7LLuKN6X5hxVRBUzrGmo6XNnDSgrmre4K8amrw6Vr8G54HaMH3WzRqs05c0UQhGO/s1600/palazzo+gondi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuX-UPVeJNWbeJmfL4HKlZgwJzgXs4K00dkotjF-Fz2Bn8UYdo9unVM87X26nXoAPOYoq7kx6ls6DF7LLuKN6X5hxVRBUzrGmo6XNnDSgrmre4K8amrw6Vr8G54HaMH3WzRqs05c0UQhGO/s320/palazzo+gondi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Palazzo Gondi in Florence</b> (for picture credits see below)</span></td></tr>
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Standing in the cortile, I am surrounded by architecture enriched with decorations that evidences Gondi-ownership; the inscribed stone fountain, the motifs on the staircase, and the multiple escutcheons that all bear the Gondi coat of arms. Moreover Giuliano Gondi’s (1421-1501) personal device, flaming diamonds in each of the staircase’s steps, communicate his ownership to visitors as they ascend. Allegorical motifs and a cornucopia endorse the patron’s wealth. At the same time the letters ‘SIN’, referring to the Gondi motto ‘Non Sine Labore’, suggest that this wealth did certainly not come without effort.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRRZB1qw2zcP-09AhvZgGXRsJBeNBo5Q0e9h7qJqFbkpk4sfQ8BGBMJQCihSkjzm0NhBjHZIpxHXLaJD6_qVonFmsVHD-dtLVeQ4s1lldyPNjaPSCWVc6HMqHkA9Yp1owaMFJf2dZqaoh/s1600/storia_00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRRZB1qw2zcP-09AhvZgGXRsJBeNBo5Q0e9h7qJqFbkpk4sfQ8BGBMJQCihSkjzm0NhBjHZIpxHXLaJD6_qVonFmsVHD-dtLVeQ4s1lldyPNjaPSCWVc6HMqHkA9Yp1owaMFJf2dZqaoh/s320/storia_00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Gondi coat of arms</b> (for picture credits see below)</span><br />
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Look, there she is, the Marchesa. Dressed in fancy clothes, as am I. We greet each other as she takes me upstairs to see the camino, a beautifully sculpted fireplace by Giuliano da Sangallo (1443-1516), the designer of the palazzo. Unfortunately we do not ascend the staircase I just mentioned, but a small elevator in another part of the palazzo. Whilst crossing a few rooms so well-decorated and furnished you could spend an entire day in them, the Marchesa guides me towards the enormous salone that houses the camino. The walls comprise monumental portraits of prominent family members – dukes, bishops, marshals, and so on. As I turn around, Sangallo’s enormous sculptural masterpiece appears into my field of view. “What an imposing presence this is!” Vittoria Gondi, very intent on sharing her family history, starts elaborating on the accomplishments of her depicted forefathers. After a while, I’m allowed to take some pictures (‘for personal use only!’) and ask some questions. Altogether, a unique glimpse of a late quattrocento Florentine family dwelling.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIrYNYIHPArfKNSkzt_TlySe7ef0tVMuzvyHzhdrAXNpRl-JF2Yy8dzTZ9GMyrfuexujahorvufX0UqH43ETAJNtSVR0qgLBcP1BcjvGFhUxn8WeJECY_6Eo1E6V-61CI1iLAF5xhuIGR/s1600/camino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIrYNYIHPArfKNSkzt_TlySe7ef0tVMuzvyHzhdrAXNpRl-JF2Yy8dzTZ9GMyrfuexujahorvufX0UqH43ETAJNtSVR0qgLBcP1BcjvGFhUxn8WeJECY_6Eo1E6V-61CI1iLAF5xhuIGR/s320/camino.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Giuliano da Sangallo's <i>camino </i></b><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">(for picture credits see below)</span></span><br />
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Palazzo Gondi illustrates a unique, though characteristic image of the patronage of the Florentine family. Commissions like these, displaying the family’s stature, were not uncommon amongst high-class families, though solely restricted to the wealthiest of citizens. In the case of the Gondi, they gained their position among Florentine patricians by being successful businessmen, operating internationally with their battiloro company. Diplomatic and commercial skill gained them a good political and financial position, in Florence as well as in other cities. For them, art and architecture seemed as a means to communicate their status to the outside world. Commissioning the palazzo and a chapel in the Santa Maria Novella, Giuliano started this trend in the late quattrocento. Subsequent generations distinguished themselves with their sumptuous art collections.</div>
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For the Patrician Patronage Project I researched the Gondi as patrons for the arts in cinquecento Florence. More specifically, I essayed how their commissions and collections manifest their purpose and their position within the political and cultural climate of contemporary Florence. Obviously the internship with the PPP acquainted me with new insights and experiences, and a wonderful period of three months I got to spend in the lovely city that is Florence.<br />
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<u>Picture credits:</u><br />
Palazzo Gondi in Florence: <a href="http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/01_storia/01.jpg">http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/ 01_storia/01.jpg</a><br />
Gondi coat of arms: <a href="http://www.gondi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/storia_00.jpg">http://www.gondi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ storia_00.jpg</a><br />
Giuliano da Sangallo's <i>camino</i>:<br />
<a href="http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/06_pianoNobile/01.jpg">http://www.palazzogondi.it/wp-content/uploads/slider/06_pianoNobile/01.jpg</a></div>
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To read more about Charley's research, follow <a href="http://florentinepatricians.blogspot.nl/2017/05/my-ppp-internship-by-charley-ladee.html" target="_blank">this link</a>!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-88075177776962749362016-03-01T20:49:00.002+01:002016-10-06T17:45:54.217+02:00Farewell symposium for Professor Henk Th. Van Veen<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On the 9<sup>th</sup>
and 10<sup>th</sup> of January a farewell symposium was organized at the
University of Groningen to honour the work of Professor Van Veen, who retired
last October. Van Veen’s scholarly career in the history of art, however, is
far from over! In the coming years he will dedicate himself to the continuation
and professionalization of the Patrician Patronage Project (PPP), a project
that aims to gain further insight into the interesting world of Florentine
patrician patronage during (grand-)ducal rule in Tuscany (1530-1670).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During the
symposium several members of the Patrician Patronage Project shared their research
with the audience, together with other art historians that were invited to
address Professor Van Veen. On Friday the symposium was opened by Joost Keizer,
a former student of Professor Van Veen who has recently been appointed
assistant professor at the Art History department in Groningen. He spoke about
Michelangelo’s Laurentian library and the historization of Art History. Elisa
Goudriaan, who received her doctorate with Professor Van Veen as one of her
promotors last April, discussed her new research on the diplomatic missions
undertaken by Florentine patricians at the courts of Europe. The keynote speech
was delivered by Alessio Assonitis, director of the Medici Archive Project. In
a fascinating lecture he showed the diversity of grand duke Cosimo I’s library.
The day was ended with a contribution of Professor Van Veen; step by step he
reconstructed the design of a never built fountain by Baccio Bandinelli that
was commissioned by duke Cosimo for his Pitti gardens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On Saturday several
members of the PPP took the floor. Bouk Wierda (PPP) talked about some
fascinating aspects of the life of the Florentine patrician and cultural broker
Bernardo Vecchietti. Sanne Roefs (PPP) presented new insights on the urban and
ecclesiastical patronage of the Guicciardini family. Klazina Botke (PPP)
presented the construction of the garden and the decoration of the Salviati
palace, commissioned by Jacopo Salviati, to the audience. Julia Dijkstra (PPP) discussed
two bronzes by Cellini: the portrait of duke Cosimo I and the portrait of Bindo
Altoviti. She wondered whether there was a clash of titans to be noticed in the
commissioning of the works of art. Lastly, Lotte van ter Toolen (PPP) took the
audience – slightly off topic, but all the more interesting – to Rome in order
to discuss the curious case of the tomb monument of Fra Angelico in Santa Maria
sopra Minerva. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Michiel Plomp, who
obtained his doctorate with Van Veen as his promotor, shed light on the coming
about of the exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings that will open in the
fall of 2018 in Teylers museum (Haarlem, The Netherlands). Lastly, Jan de Jong
gave an interesting and humoristic overview of Professor Van Veen’s career at
the University of Groningen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The fascinating
two-day symposium not only showed the importance of Professor Van Veen’s
contribution to the field of Art History, in particular to the study of (grand)
duke Cosimo I’s patronage, but attested to the fact that there is much to be explored
and researched in the field of Florentine patrician patronage in the period
1530-1670 as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the coming
months members of the Patrician Patronage Project will share their – sometimes
adventurous, or incredible – stories on quests they undertook while researching
the patronage of Florentine patrician families with you on this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-14462527394012276032015-12-03T20:01:00.002+01:002016-10-06T17:50:28.565+02:00Call for Papers <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">EXTENDED DEADLINE! </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Februari 1, 2016 </span></b></span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, Bruges, August
18-20, 2016</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Panel: Power in the city. The cultural impact of
traditional urban elites on absolutist rulership and princely courts in the
XVIth and early XVIIth centuries</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">In this panel we would like to challenge the view that
in Late Renaissance and Early Baroque Europe, cultural attitudes and display
held by the older urban elites merely reflected the mentality of the ruling
aristocracies of Europe. We take Florence as our term of comparison. During the
transition to princely, absolutist (i.e. Medici ducal and grand-ducal) rule in
the sixteenth and early-seventeenth century, traditional Florentine patrician
families once and for all lost the political and administrative power they had
enjoyed during republican times. Conspicuously, however, they managed to
retrieve a substantial hold on the courtly and governmental environment in the
new constellation. In doing so, they stuck to a considerable extent to their
traditional, familial and civic self-identity. These urban ways and attitudes
also coloured their cultural habitus. Thus these old Florentine patrician
families had a noticeable impact on the shaping and development of the cultural
aspects of the new Medici court and rulership.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">With this panel, we hope to find an answer to the
question to what extent the Florentine situation can be compared to that of
other important cities in Europe. These would be cities that saw the
development of stable and splendid princely courts and governments within their
territories, during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. In particular, we
wonder about the situation in Italian cities such as Mantua, Ferrara, Genoa,
Milan, Naples, or Palermo, and outside Italy in cities such as Paris, Brussels,
Madrid, Toledo, Vienna, Munich, Dresden, London, or Copenhagen. We would like
to invite papers addressing the attitudes of long-standing city-elites in the
field of art and architectural patronage (this would include, but is not
limited to: construction of city-palaces and squares, villas, gardens, chapels,
churches, other religious institutions, civic institutions, fresco-cycles,
panel paintings, sculptures, and applied arts). How did these attitudes compare
to those held by the princes, their relatives, and their courts as these
developed within the old limits of their cities’ territories?</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">Please submit a 250 word abstract for a 20 min paper,
a one-page CV, and specifications of any A/V requirements to prof. dr. Henk Th.
van Veen by Februari 1, 2016:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">florentinepatricians@rug.nl<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 11pt;">All submissions will be acknowledged and successful
presenters notified by January 18, 2016.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14400684978474901622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975967084379641723.post-29209330109347291682015-10-12T14:41:00.001+02:002016-10-06T17:46:28.298+02:00 A Forgotten World. First post.. <h4>
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Welcome to our blog. We have created this platform to share our ideas on the nature and intentions of patrician art
patronage and their collecting activities in Florence. But we also love to reach anyone who's interested in Florence and art history in general. We hope you enjoy it! <br />
<br />
Because this is our very first post, we would like to tell you a little bit more about our project.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inventory, Archivio Salviati</td></tr>
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Our research group at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen focusses on Florentine patricians and their art patronage under Medici Rule (1530-1670). The flourishing cultural life of the Florentine patricians during the
principate of the Medici has either been forgotten or ignored for a long
time. There has been little interest in patricians as commissioners of
palaces, villas and chapels, as participants in academies and
confraternities, and in patrician engagement in art, literature, theatre
and music. In the twentieth century historians have systematically
portrayed the patricians as sycophant courtiers, only interested in
gaining noble titles and estates. The fact that reality was much more
complex and dynamic, has become clear only in the last two decades.
Through ground breaking research in the field of socio-economic history,
prosopography and political science, the image we have of the Florentine
patrician is now changing, These studies show that patricians, as a
group, were still holding on to most of the economic and institutional
power they had obtained in the fifteenth century. The studies also show
that patrician diplomatic missions played an important role in the
arranging of marriages and foreign politics of the Medici. Remarkably,
this historical revisionism is taken up by very few art historians, even
though we now know that the contribution of patricians to the cultural
dynamics of early modern Florence was highly significant. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejvipAMYi9-m922BIBTbu7_riInDQwM9fvIW1Y09rwkjIq-9HOAogUCehO_EKodpzSyXF8n5jk7P6mp-Y-oEIY5pNZx-2rKDwkashgYJaVjfD7GgAoZY7oOKo8cOV1o9-KO-PeXHRHEmO/s1600/Francesco_Salviati_-_Portrait_of_a_Florentine_Nobleman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejvipAMYi9-m922BIBTbu7_riInDQwM9fvIW1Y09rwkjIq-9HOAogUCehO_EKodpzSyXF8n5jk7P6mp-Y-oEIY5pNZx-2rKDwkashgYJaVjfD7GgAoZY7oOKo8cOV1o9-KO-PeXHRHEmO/s200/Francesco_Salviati_-_Portrait_of_a_Florentine_Nobleman.jpg" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noble man, Francesco Salviati</td></tr>
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The ambition of our research group is to discuss the cultural contribution
of patricians to Florentine society and to approach it from an
interdisciplinary perspective. Questions we will address are: how
can we designate the dynamics, already observed in economical and
political studies, in the cultural field? How can we compare the cultural activities and ways of
self-representation of the patricians, to those of the Medici? Did
patricians facilitate or emulate the grand dukes? Or were they even
seeking to rebel against them? Were the cultural objectives of the
patricians homogeneous in character, or did they differ from one family
to another?<br />
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We hope you got excited by all these questions. We know we are! And we are looking forward to sharing our findings with you here. <br />
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See you again soon.<br />
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