6/7 Florence Intro

Today we were given an introduction to Florence as we were overlooking the city on somewhat of a rainy, cloudy day. None of us were especially disappointed at the weather, as we were simply amazed at the view. Florence was settled along the Arno River around a millennium before Christ. The Etruscans followed them, and Caesar eventually re-founded it as a castrum in 59BC. One can still see the cardo and decumanus of the ancient city today, with the modern Piazza della Repubblica serving as the site of the ancient Forum. This political organization didn’t last, however, because after the fall of Rome the bands that tied this expansive empire together dissolved, and Italy was thrown into an era where its mainland was broken up into independent city-states. Various rulers and lords came to dominate different parts of Italy, but it was during the 11^th century that a power shift took place: the Count Ugo, ruler over the Tuscany region, moved from Luca to Florence. This signaled to the region that this city would become an economic power in the centuries to follow. By the 13^th century, there were 3 classes of society:

1. Aristocracy – this group supported the Holy Roman Empire and were colloquially known as the Ghibellines

2. Clergy – this group, known as the Guelphs, supported the Pope and would eventually assume dominance of Florence, subsequently demolishing the houses of the aristocrats

3. Merchants – this was the economic base of the city; their wealth was dependent on the cloth and wool trade

By the 14^th century, one third of the population was involved in the cloth trade. Banking was also a powerful institution during this time: the Pitti, Strozzi, and Medici families were all major players in this industry. Over half of the population died during the Bubonic plague which swept across Europe during the Middle Ages.

This is but a cursory history of the early years of Florence. It is of the subjective beauty of the city which I will try to focus on throughout this journal. How the government is organized and what the people of Florence thought about their city is reflected in what kind of architecture was produced here during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. What I noticed right away upon arriving in Florence was the Medieval character the city possesses. The smell of leather permeates the open air markets, which adds to the older charm to the city. The urban fabric also features a unique color palette: lots of browns, yellows, and oranges that seem to perfectly fit with the city.

The first building on our trip through Florence that we visited was San Miniato al Monte, high above the city of Florence. The approach to this church is quite interesting, as you can’t see it until you have climbed a number of rusticated stairways. To deny a visitor to the church a view of it only adds to the suspense, as when you finally reach the point where you can see it, you have to climb another flight of stairs. Nonetheless, San Miniato, who is a local minor saint, has quite the legend surrounding him. Apparently, he carried his decapitated head up to this hill where he wanted to be buried, back to the place where he had spent most of his time as a hermit. Inspired by this story, the church was constructed here between 1013 – 1207AD with additions and repairs made for over 400 years (1440’s – 1850’s).

It is a great example of Medieval Florentine church construction: the façade has some of the same multi-colored expressions as the Duomo in the heart of the city. The different geometrical green and white patterns that break down the façade are typical of this area of Italy, as they express some of the aspirations of Medieval/Renaissance architecture: part to whole relations. The interior finds no relief from the intricate geometrical patterns: each of the roof trusses is highly ornate and colorful, again typical of the Tuscan region of Italy. The method of complex vaulting which had been used in ancient Roman times was lost, however, and is replaced here with a series of simple wooden trusses.

Legend has it that the next building we visited today was a Roman temple to Mars. The Baptistery of St. John was converted to be used by the Christians in the 8^th century AD. In the 12^th century, it was clad in marble by the wool merchant guild after they took power in Florence and features the distinctive geometrical pattern that it has today. Of course, St. John the Baptist is a powerful figure in the history of Christianity, and his importance is no less than it was in the Renaissance, as this octagonal building stands as a reminder of him. What is notable about the exterior of the building is its doors, specifically the East Portal. Studying these doors in school, you can see the amount of detail that went into making the doors, which were designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti and are referred to as the Gates of Paradise, but analyzing them up close you can really appreciate them for what they are: an exquisitely carved and ornate true work of art. The third panel down on the left is the one that is constantly referenced, however, because it is one of the best examples of the Renaissance artist’s attempts at perspective. The rest of the panels represent scenes from the Old Testament. The design of the North Portal was left up to a competition between the rivals Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, the latter eventually winning out. The further evolution of the use of perspective is evident here, as it features scenes from the Passion of the Christ, which are embedded within quatrefoil designs.

Inside the Baptistery, I could see a clear lineage from this design back to the Pantheon in Rome. Although it is a Renaissance design and heavily influenced with scenes from Christianity, you still see that from the Oculus in the center and more or less static, centralized design that it is imitating this precedent. The 13^th century mosaics that line the interior are of amazing quality and represent a time in our civilization where religion ruled with a seeming iron fist. You can tell this by how the Duomo and Baptistery are placed within the heart of Florence. Even though the Palazzo Vecchio to the southwest of the city is similar in height to the Duomo, it is clear who had the power in Florence. Most of the other buildings in the center of Florence are background buildings: they are more or less the same height and have varying styles, but serve as “fillers” to the urban fabric. The Baptistery, on the other hand, dominates the space in front of the Duomo. No other buildings touch it, and it is a focal point and sent a clear message as to what was the dominant institution of the time.

As for the Duomo, or as it is less commonly known Santa Maria del Fiore, there is no doubt as to what building dominates the skyline of Florence. When we were overlooking the city earlier in the day, I noticed that the Duomo had to be at least 5 times taller than any of the other buildings around it. It was constructed over a period of 150 years and is by far one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken for a medieval city. As I have mentioned in some of my earlier entries, much of the knowledge of how to construct domes of this scale had been lost to antiquity. The Florentines had no idea how to build with concrete. They concerned themselves with building out of stone, brick, and wood, which were local materials. The project here in Florence had at least 5 building masters working on it throughout its lifetime: Brunelleschi, di Cambio, Giotto, and Francisco Talenti (who proposed the layout of the eastern end of the church).

Out of all the facts and figures laid out for us on this day about its 300’ tall dome, 157’ tall Gothic nave arches, its 14 marble ribs that hold the dome together, etc. is its double shell design, which was eventually completed by Brunelleschi after standing without a dome for over a century. The fact that the exterior dome is octagonal in shape and the inner one is able to portray a circular shape is a mixing of geometries and technical expertise I don’t think we’ve seen since Hadrian’s Villa.

Just the amount of force that bears down on the dome each day must be tremendous, and for it to be held in place by a series of tension chains made of rudimentary materials (by today’s standards) is simply mind-boggling. Similar to the Pantheon, lighter brick at the top and heavier brick at the bottom was employed to reduce the amount of weight bearing down on the entire structure. This indicates that they had some working knowledge of how the ancient structures were built, just not enough that they could have made it out of concrete instead of brick. What was also ingenious to see climbing up the dome was the type of patterns they used when laying the brick. A herringbone pattern was mainly used, and it is found to reduce the spread of cracking under the tremendous pressure of the forces. I am hopeful that they at least tested this theory before they started building the dome, or at least had a precedent with which to work from in order to assure that it would not collapse. Finally, the world of architecture didn’t just receive a great work of art out of this building period. We also received all of the machinery that Brunelleschi invented to aid him in construction: reversible hoists with variable gears that could move objects up or down without changing directions, large cranes to lift heavy materials, and a complex scaffolding system were all products of the building of the Duomo, which successive generations would use to their advantage to build even more daring structures.