{"id":9648,"date":"2014-07-07T19:36:25","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T17:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/?p=9648"},"modified":"2020-10-21T12:55:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T10:55:05","slug":"renaissance-facades-in-florence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/florence\/renaissance-facades-in-florence\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting on a good face: Renaissance facades in Florence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The word fa\u00e7ade<\/strong> means both the “principal front of a building” or “a deceptive outward appearance”. In the Renaissance, architects often combined these two definitions, creating fronts of buildings that did not accurately reflect what was behind them. Alberti and Brunelleschi, the period’s biggest names, were actually the worst offenders.<\/p>\n

\"Florence's<\/a>
Florence’s Dome | Photo Steven Feather on Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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First-time visitors to Florence who expect to explore a “Renaissance city” are often surprised to learn that the layout of this city and its principle architectural landmarks are not from the Renaissance period at all, but from the Middle Ages. The building bubble in the 1290s reflected a new political stability and wealth in the city thanks to successful family enterprises. But in 1348 there was the Black Plague, and by 1400 most of those families were bankrupt.<\/p>\n

Artistically, we generally consider the Italian Renaissance to start in the 14-teens and last most of the 15th century. So much of Renaissance architecture in Florence (as well as the famed frescoes and sculptures) was built on the cheap and are extensions of or decorations for earlier projects. There are exceptions, like Brunelleschi’s churches of San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito, but even Brunelleschi’s Dome, one of the symbols of the city and of Renaissance invention, tops a building that began way back in 1290.<\/p>\n

Innocenti Fa\u00e7ade<\/h2>\n
\"Ospedale<\/a>
Ospedale degli Innocenti | Photo Richard Mortel on flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ospedale degli Innocenti<\/strong><\/a>, begun by Brunelleschi in 1419, is often cited as one of the great examples of early Renaissance architecture, and there’s no question that its facade, consisting of a regular loggia<\/strong><\/em><\/a> with semi-circular arches, is just that. But behind this pretty facade, actually, is a series of earlier houses and buildings that were assembled together for the purposes of this foundling hospital. The great architect likely intervened on the interior layout of courtyards and enclosed spaces, though I’m not sure to what extent. The first inner courtyard is certainly Brunelleschian in style.<\/p>\n

For more about the social function of the Ospedale, read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Palazzo Rucellai<\/h2>\n
\"Palazzo
Palazzo Rucellai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rucellai family, who lived in the Santa Maria Novella area, commissioned Alberti to build the Palazzo Rucellai<\/a> in 1450. The patron, Giovanni Rucellai, wrote a useful memoir in which he states “from eight houses, I made one”. In addition to the family home which makes up the nucleus of the building and probably already had an internal courtyard, he purchased adjacent buildings on via della Vigna Nuova and the street behind in order to make a much larger palace. Alberti himself says his intervention in this case was not much more than “wall decoration”. A few changes must have been made to the interiors to regularize window openings, but really the building is just an attractive shell that serves to unify and dignify what was already there.<\/p>\n

The following book is one of the best sources of information on Alberti in Renaissance Florence, in particular for this building, an article by Brenda Preyer on page 159:
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