Built where the Arno is its narrowest, the Ponte Vecchio is one of the most photographed and well known bridges in the entire world. When we arrived early in the morning, it was already filled with tourists eager to either buy the ridiculously expensive jewelry at the shops on the bridge or simply admire standing on a true landmark of Florence. It is quite odd to see shops ON a bridge.
I can’t remember any bridge we have crossed so far in the trip that was programmed like the Ponte Vecchio. Amazingly, it was spared during WWII. Bridges are very often important communication devices and material transporters during wartime, yet both the Allies and Germans must have realized the historical significance of this bridge and decided to preserve it. It was constructed in 1345 but for 200 years did not have the goldsmiths, silversmiths, and jewelers set up on the bridge like we see today. Above the shops there are art galleries that in the Renaissance times were used as tunnels that would secretly bring members of the aristocrat families unseen across the bridge. It was a volatile time to be an aristocrat. Your power was constantly being challenged, and various families were always vying to maintain control over Florence and the entire Tuscan region. I can completely understand why they didn’t want to be seen in public, as this would risk their safety and the stability of the family. Another reason we see shops on top of the bridge today is that there were no zoning laws in the Middle Ages to separate land uses. Construction would happen more or less haphazardly, with no regard for heavy industry being placed next to residences. Shops would be built on top of bridges, irrespective of the desires of some to have a specific area for that type of industry.
Walking northeast, we entered the Piazza della Signoria, home of the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery. This area has been the center for political life in Florence since the 14th century, hosting the triumphal return of the Medici family, among others. It is rather odd for a “square” to have an L-shaped configuration, but this affords different viewpoints from all of the entrances to the piazza, and gives it more of a dynamic feel than some of the other squares we have visited. It really is a conglomerate of different styles and building types. No datum lines or unifying elements hold the square together, save for the fact that all the buildings are arranged around an open space. The Loggio dei Lanza, a large, three-bayed space that opens onto the plaza. Underneath the bays are statues that represent the height of Renaissance sculpture and the periods that immediately followed it (not to mention the copy of David by Michelangelo which stands outside the loggia). These sculptures are some of the most dramatic pieces I have seen yet on this trip, and are made even more so by through their presentation, under the enormous bays of the loggia and accessible for the public to see.
The Uffizi Gallery, which adjoins the Piazza della Signoria, along with the Palazzo Vecchio constitutes a building program which is at the heart of the governmental activity in Florence. Designed by Giorgio Vasari, the Gallery is home to some of the most famous statues and paintings from the High Renaissance. It is attached to the piazza with an elongated rectangular form that warps the typical courtyard configuration of an ancient Roman domus and turns the open public space into the spectacle as well as the counterpart to the building itself. The Palazzo Vecchio is an old palace building type that was originally a town hall, now used as a museum. It was also a residence at one time, as it was used by the Medici family and Cosimo I starting in 1540. Starting in the 1300’s and continuing throughout most of the Renaissance, it has undergone constant renovations, expansions, replacement of old parts, etc. It has also been through a number of name changes: it has been called the Palazzo Signoria, Palazzo del Popolo, and Palazzo Ducali until the current name was settled on by the Medici family. One of the more interesting features I found was how its tower is corbelled out to be flush with the face of the upper story. It’s quite an imposing structure that was probably very daring for its time due to the fact that it feels as though it will collapse at any time.
The interior courtyard is also another structure to take note of, since the fountain in the center was designed by Vasari, the alternating circular and octagonal columns designed by Michelozzo and made for the Medici family, and the oval proportions being pleasing to the eye. Further inside is the Hall of the 500, a city council room designed again by Vasari who actually raised the ceiling 23’.
We also visited the church of Orsanmichele, which is located facing the ancient Roman decumanus. What is notable about this structure is its myriad of architectural niches containing various biblical saints, some of which were designed by Donatello (St. George), Ghiberti (St. John the Baptist), and Di Banco (St. Steven). Originals of the sculptures are located in the National Sculpture Museum. This church was originally dedicated to the archangel Michael and dates to 1337.
I fully enjoyed visiting the Palazzo Davantzati because it gave a glimpse into what life was like for a wealthy Renaissance merchant family. Originally built in the 14th century, it was meant to blend in with other tower-like houses constructed around that area and of the same time period. Unfortunately, most of them have been destroyed. We are only left with this example, which is quite an exquisite one. It has an interior courtyard, 4 stories, and an upper loggia, all signs that the family who constructed it was high up in the societal food chain of Renaissance Florence. While the courtyard feels somewhat small in size, it is further expanded by being opened up through a series of arched colonnades that surround its perimeter. It also feels more expansive than it should due to the adequate amount of light that pours in from the upper skylight. As we move further into the upcoming centuries, I feel it is extremely important that we try to preserve as many of these examples of 14th century living that we can.
Places like Ostia, while somewhat intact, amazingly, and able to show what life was sort of like, we can get an exact idea of what a wealthy family could have gone through on a day to day basis. The building is in excellent condition, made of sandstone, and should remain open to the public and receive funding to keep preserving it for future generations. I asked the question in some of my Rome journals whether it was more important to keep the idea of the building and whatever writings or drawings were associated with it, or the building itself. In this case, we can do both. To think that this building has survived for 700 years in this good of a condition and to think of the state of historic preservation in the 1400’s just seems mind boggling. Did the architects of the Renaissance even debate about demolishing important buildings from 700AD? Or were they so far buried underground that any building projects that went on around the city didn’t consider attempting to find out if they were building on top of something historical? The answers to these questions aren’t easy. The easy thing to do now is to try and preserve as much as we can from this time period and all other time periods. It is incumbent on us, the educated class, to care enough to preserve them.
Just as we should make every effort we can to preserve the residential structures of Florence, so should we do the same for the ecclesiastical structures, namely one of the most important in the entire city – Santa Croce (Church of the Holy Cross). Under the order of the Franciscan monks and in the area where St. Francis and his followers spread the gospel lays a veritable pantheon of the artistic and spiritual Florentine culture. The design of the church was entrusted to Arnolfo di Cambio (who was also in charge of the Duomo at one point) who began construction in May 3, 1294. Unfortunately, he died just a few years after that but most of the church had been completed at that point. It was finally consecrated in 1442, yet the façade would remain bare for another 400 years until Niccolo Matas put a face to the structure in the Neo-gothic style. What is interesting to note about the façade is the Star of David that adorns the top of the pediment – a symbol that could be said to represent the union of the Old and New Testaments. The parvis, or space in front of the church, is larger than normal for a church of this type due to the large congregation that it had to cater to. The interior of the church became a place where many of the giants of Florentine society had monuments erected in their honor. A few of the names found inside:
· Michelangelo Buonarroti
· Galileo Galilei
· Dante Aligheri
· Lorenzo Ghiberti
· Niccolo Machiavelli
· Ugo Foscolo, a famous Florentine poet
· Leon Battista Alberti
· Giorgio Vasari
· Guglielmo Marconi
Some of those remembered inside have tombs dedicated to them and are buried inside, while others have simply a cenotaph because the body is located elsewhere. Not only were these luminaries remembered here, but there is also artwork from such artists as Giotto, Vasari, and Donatello located inside. The basic form of the church can be described as a further evolution of the basic basilica form: the side aisles, arcades of columns, clerestory windows, and nave all remain from earlier churches, but are simply expanded upon, scaled up, and morphed to fit a certain mentality about the importance of this structure. The columns that divide the nave from the side aisles are now octagonal, and the arches that allow the forces from the roof to be successfully transferred to the ground are now Gothic. These varying regional influences still don’t change the fact that Christianity was seen as the dominant religion. The form remains the same but the expression has changed: an indication of a change in taste, a reliance on different building techniques, and a desire to just do something different that hadn’t been seen before.
Exiting the church on the opposite side of the entrance, the Pazzi Chapel sits quietly but intensely rational. Designed by Brunelleschi in 1443, this is one of those structures whose overall strategy is one of a part to whole relation, exterior and interior. Each of the elements on its façade, all of the dimensions and intercolumnations are specifically designed with a specific harmony in mind that will be pleasing to the eye. It exhibits all of the pureness and simplicity that the High Renaissance architects were trying to achieve as they reached back to Classical Rome for inspiration in their designs. The square and the circle are exquisitely proportioned to each other in an attempt to render the entire composition agreeable. The interior is simply a repetition of the devices Brunelleschi used on the exterior: square and circle working harmoniously together in their arrangements. I have a different kind of appreciation for these types of structures than I do for those of the Baroque period. While I am fond of the latter style with its complex geometries and daring structures, there is something to be said about a perfectly proportioned building that is simplistic in design but high-minded in theory.
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