What Brunelleschi Saw: Monument and Site at the Palazzo Vecchio

Transcription

What Brunelleschi Saw: Monument and Site at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence
Author(s): Marvin Trachtenberg
Source: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 1444
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians
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What Brunelleschi Saw: Monument and Site at the
Palazzo Vecchio in Florence
MARVIN
TRACHTENBERG
Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
For RichardKrautheimerat 90
Urbanistic
in trecento
it spawned
nocodified
Florence,
practice
although
than we usuallyimagine.
theory,was moreconceptually
developed
and tautlyinterwoven
with their
Buildingswereforcefully
presented
Intricate
websof
sitesby meansof inventive,empirical
procedures.
three-dimenstructured
architectural
scenes
of Giottesque
geometry
werebestowed
on urbanistic
scenesthat
sionality.Orderandmeaning
and unfocused
disordered
throughtheslow
mightwell havebecome
A pre-eminent
casein
andredesign
evolution
projects.
of architectural
and
was
Piazza
della
the
Signoria.
Documentary,
archaeological,
point
in
Palazzo
Vecchio
rose
1299that
as
the
evidence
historical
suggests
1315, it underwent
bythe
designchanges
largelyinspired
fundamental
as
it
and
that
thepiazzaitself
grewto its
growingpiazzaaroundit
wasguidedwithsurprising
precision
finalformthroughthetrecento,
medieval
obsession
with
the
demands
the
the
visual
geopalace,
of
by
the
andtheurbanistic
metricstructure,
patterns
of city.
of grandpublicbuildingsand squaresin the
cities
of late medievalItaly is one of the most
densely-knit
brilliantaspectsof the period.A particularly
strikingfeatureof
this process,plainlyvisible in air views and city plansthough
rarelystudiedby urbanists,concernsthe impact of the new
buildingson their surroundings,and conversely,the pressures
exertedby the surroundingson the shapesof the intruding
buildings.'This interactiongenerallywas complicatedby the
THE CREATION
on
The materialin this articlewas takenfrom a book in preparation
the PalazzoVecchio, in which most of the issuesraisedare further
explored.An earlierversionof this paperwas givenas a lectureduring
the academicyear1986-1987 at PrincetonUniversity,Union College,
WilliamsCollege, andthe Villa I Tatti. I am gratefulto the Guggenheim Foundationand the Villa I Tatti for generousresearchsupport,
to BertaLeggerifor makingavailablekey information,andespecially
to PieroMichelifor invaluableassistancein gainingaccessto the buildandsurveys,as well his ideasandcounselon nuing, documentation,
meroustechnicaland historicaldetails.My thanksto Eve Borsook,
IrvingLavin,MarilynAronbergLavin,andRobertMarkfor theircritiquesof the lecture,andI am especiallyindebtedto Anne-MarieSankovitchandtheJSAH editor,Tod Marder,for helpfulcriticismof the
manuscript.
1. For Tuscancities, see the visualmaterialin E. Detti, G. F. Di
42 centri
e sviluppocontemporaneo,
Pietro,G. Fanelli,et al., Cittamurate
14
way that buildingsand squaresevolved graduallythroughnumerouscampaigns,frequentlyresultingin a dynamicprogressionof responsesbetweenan evolvingbuildingandits evolving
setting.
If anywhere,we wouldcertainlythinkto encounterthis processat the greattown hallof the pre-eminentcenterof medieval
Italianarchitectureandurbanism(Fig. 1). At the PalazzoVecchio in Florence,however,the questionof a monument-site
interactionwould strikemostobserversas a distinctlyunpromising topic. In the prevailingview, the trecentopalazzoandits
squareconstitutea rigidblockof massandspacenearlyasfrozen
as the impressionof it in a reconstructionof Brunelleschi's
famouslost perspectivepanel depictingthe site (Fig. 2). Even
though it now is well establishedthat the immenseL-shaped
piazzaflankingthe two principalsidesof the palacewas gradually carvedout of a densely built-upand populatedareaof
housesand other properties,there remainsan unspokenconsensusthat the squarewas more or less predeterminedin plan
from the beginningin 1299, its only importantcomplication
being the Loggia della Signoria(or Loggia dei Lanzi)added
toward1380.2 And in this accountof the site, the palazzois
even morestrikinglyimmobile;its originaltrecentoblock (exclusive of the Renaissanceadditionsto the rear)is seen as a
building seemingly carvedwith a single chisel stroke by its
supposedarchitect,Arnolfodi Cambio,from a giant block of
pietraforte.So dominantis this view that the thin literatureon
the palazzo-which establishesthat the buildingwas begunin
dellaToscana,Lucca, 1968; and G. Fanelli and F. Trivisonno, Cittdantica
in Toscana,Florence, 1982. For Italy more generally, Le Piazze, Monu-
menti d'Italiaseries,Institutogeograficode agostini,Novara,1981.
andan extensiveanalysisof
2. C. Freypublishedthe documentation
the history of the piazza in Die LoggiadeiLanzi zu Florenz,Berlin, 1885,
togetherwith the plan of the site beforethe creationof the square.
Frey'sdensehistoryhasrecentlybeenclarifiedby N. Rubinstein("The
Piazza della Signoria in Florence," FestschriftHerbertSiebenhiiner,Wiirz-
burg, 1978, 19 ff.), whose discussionconcentrateson chronologyand
function,with the formof the piazzadealtwith in a generalway. See
e cittd,2 vols., Florence,1973, 94 ff.,
alsoG. Fanelli,Firenzearchitettura
for a broadurbanistic
chronologyis the
approach.The Frey-Rubinstein
basisof my Fig. 16.
JSAHXLVII:14-44.MARCH1988
TRACHTENBERG: MONUMENT AND SITE AT THE PALAZZO VECCHIO
15
ii
";'?
;:
5'>..
w
-w
-w
=
7
....
.
_,
Fig. 1. PiazzadellaSignoria,Florence.View fromnorthwestcornernearthe Via dei Calzaiuoli(Brogi).
view of the PiazzadellaSignoria(reconstruction
Fig.2. FilippoBrunelleschi,
drawing,C. Ragghianti,
FilippoBrunelleschi,
Florence,1977).
1299,partlyoccupiedby 1302, andcompletedin 1310-1315doesnot even hint at anypossiblecomplicationsin its planning
history.3
This scenario,however,so contradictswhat we know about
other medievalsitesthat it shouldgive us pausefor reflection.
Moretypically,majorbuildingsin the periodwere the subject
3. There is no solid study of the building.Vasari'sattributionto
Arnolfoechoesthroughpracticallyeverymentionof the building,usuThe
ally as unquestioningrepetition;the matterneedsreconsideration.
essentialliteratureon the palazzois to be found in A. Lensi,Palazzo
Vecchio,Florence,1929; N. Rodolicoand G. Marchini,I palazzidel
popoloneicomunitoscanidelmedioevo,Milan,1962, 157 if.;J. Paul,Der
in Florenz:Ursprung
PalazzoVecchio
undBedeutung
seinerForm,Florence,
inItalien,Dresden,
1969,andidem,Die mittelalterlichen
Kommunalpaldiste
1969. Paul'sarethe mostreliableof thesereferences.The nameof the
buildingwasoriginallythe PalazzodellaSignoriaor Palazzodei Priori;
afterthe Medicitransferred
theirmainresidenceto the PalazzoPittiin
the 16th century(andthe governmentof the Priorswas extinct),it
becamesimplythe "old"palace.The nameof the Loggiaunderwenta
similartransformation,
takingits popularnameafterthe lancesof the
Mediciguards;unlikethe palazzo,its originalnameis still often used.
16
JSAH, XLVII:1, MARCH 1988
of repeateddesignchangesof all sorts,sometimesradicaland
butjust as often lessblatantandalmosthiddenin
controversial,
the finalstructure.To cite one of the most extensivecases,the
revetmentof the flanksof the FlorentineDuomonavecombines
Arnolfodi Cambio'sscheme for the dado zone with several
phasesof FrancescoTalenti'swall andportaldesignsin such a
subtlemannerthatonly a carefulanalysisof the documentation
and the fabricenablesus to disentanglethe phases.The same
is trueof the lowerpartof the nearbyCampanile,whereAndrea
Pisano'sdoublingof Giotto'sdesignfor the lowest storyis so
subtlyhandledas to continueto fool the inattentiveobserver.4
Theseexamplessuggestthatthe investigatorof trecentobuilding historiesmustsearchfor subtle,ghostlikephenomena,buried in the fabric,hiddenin its structure,sleepingin seemingly
innocuousdocuments,andoftenfoundin combinationsof such
slenderthreadsof evidence.
Viewed not as a staticicon of art historybut as a complex
work potentiallyfull of designevolution,the PalazzoVecchio
arousesoursuspicionsaboutits traditionalhistory.The undeniablefactis thatthe buildingexternallyis a compositeof several
forms(Fig. 3): (1) the elegantly
strikinglydiversearchitectural
rusticatedpalaceblock of 1299-1306 with its refinedbifora
windows;(2) the harshmilitaryformsof the galleriedbattlebuilt after 1306, an intimidatingstructure
ments,or ballatoio,
morebefittinga giantfortressthana civicpalace;(3)theformally
stridentwatchboxatopthe towerthatwasbegunaround1308,
its massiveshaftset daringlyforwardover the ballatoio
facade;
and(4) the columnarbelfryor aerialcampanileof c. 1310-1315
which capsthe tower.5
It is possiblethatthis diversitywas intendedfromthe beginning in 1299, but we cannotassumeit. Certainlythe combito anyparticular
nationof formsdidnotcorrespond
iconography
of the time.Therewas,in fact,no fixediconographyforTuscan
communalpalacesas of 1299.6 The schemewas and remained
fluid.If therewas a kindof standardformthatservedas a point
it wasa three-or four-storiedblockcrownedwith
of departure,
a set of unimposing,cornicelikebattlements,not unlike the
3:
B
Jt
1299-1315.Viewfromnorthwest
Fig.3. PalazzoVecchio,Florence,
(author).
privatepalacesof the period.But greattowerswith extravagant
belfriesor even simpletowers,which we tend to see as partof
the buildingtype,were not necessaryto the scheme.The Bargello had a towerfromthe beginning,an expropriated
private
tower,but the town halls of Volterra(early13th centuryand
after),San Gimignano(begun1288), and Siena(begun1297),
for example,were firstbuilt as towerlessblocks,andonly later
did they acquiretowers as supplementary
forms. Some town
halls
never
received
The
them.
proliferationof the civic tower
4. For illustrations,see M. Trachtenberg,TheCampanile
of Florence
in 14th-centuryTuscanyappearslargelyto havebeenthe result
New York, 1971, Figs. 7, 248 f. For an exampleof the
Cathedral,
of these multicamcontroversiesarisingfrom varyinginterpretations
of Florentineinfluence.It was the very creationof the Palazzo
cf. W. andE. Paatz,Die KirchenvonFlorenz,
paigntrecentostructures,
tower and its dominationof the most imposingof
Vecchio
6 vols., Frankfurt,1940-1953, III, 320 ff.; H. Saalman,"SantaMaria
communal
delFiore,1294-1418,"ArtBulletin,XLIV,1964,471 ff.;Trachtenberg,
palacesthatappearto haveestablishedthe full-scale
on
G.
article
review
Kreytenberg, tower as an essentialpartof the fully developedTuscantown
Chapters2, 3, 5; idem,
Campanile,
DerDomzu Florenz,Berlin, 1974, in Art Bulletin,XLI, 1979, 113 if.
hall, with Siena,Volterra,and other cities laterimitatingthe
Fordifferentopinionsaboutthesebuildings,see G. Kiesow,"ZurBauformof the Florentinestructure.
IndesKunsthistorischen
geschichtedesflorentinerDomes,"Mitteilungen
and
stitutesin Florenz,X, 1961, 1 ff.; andG. Kreytenberg,
Dom;
idem,
Thus,in 1299 therewas no mandatefor the PalazzoVecchio
desKunsthistorischen
"DerCampanilevon Giotto,"Mitteilungen
Institutes buildersto turnthe old tower of the Foraboschi
family,which
in Florenz,XX, 1978, 147 ff.
been
in
had
the
tower
into
the
fabric,
extravagant
incorporated
5. The datesgiven herearein partexplainedin the text below.
thateventuallyroseoverthe building,norto includethe equally
andidem,Kommunalpaliaste.
6. Cf. Paul,PalazzoVecchio,
17
partlycompletein 1306, with its gawkytower and belfry,is
offeredin Fig. 22.
At this point we encounterthe key documentaryevidence
for design changesin the building.This documentationconcernsthe giantpalacebell commissionedin 1306, a proudcampana magnato replaceits modestpredecessor.The historyof
this new bell and,most particularly,
the problemsthe builders
encounteredin creatinga properlocationfor it on the palace
offervaluableinsightsinto the historyof thebuilding,especially
the tower.The bell was a huge castingweighing 16,000 librae
or some 5,700 kg. Mentionedas underfabricationin August
1306, it was completeon 17June 1307.9What is significantis
not the completionof the bell but that at its completionthere
;., r
was no properplace on the palazzoto hang it, for on 5 July
1307 paymentis authorizedfor placingit on a wooden"edifice
or tower"on the recentlypavedpiazza.10We have seen that
suchprovisionalwoodenbelfrieswere knownabovetowers,at
Sienaand even on the PalazzoVecchioin 1304. But to erect
such a timberbelfry in the public square,and not up on the
buildingwhere it belonged,was anothermatter.It musthave
Fig.4. Viewof Sienawithtimberbelfryoverchurchtower,in the beenanembarrassing
expedientthatwasanunusualpredicament
Fiorentino
Biadaiolo
codex,Biblioteca
Laurenziana,
Florence,1330s. for Florentinebuilderswho, in the interestof
economy,sought
Detailwithtimberbelfryoverchurchtower(author).
to coordinatethe fabricationof buildingcomponentswith the
need for them in the buildingunderconstruction."
swollenformof the battlements.'A designevoIn otherwords,at the time the new bell was commissioned
unprecedented,
lutiontowardtheseformsis a likelypossibility,giventhe fluid in 1306, the buildersprobablyanticipatedthat a palacebelfry
iconographyof thetimeandthetendencyof the periodto realize would soonbe readyto receiveit; withoutthis expectationthe
builderswould no doubthave postponedthe commissioning.
buildingprojectssequentially.
The most appropriatelocationfor the belfrywas, of course,
Evidence
thecampana
of thepalazzodesignevolution:
magna
atopthe towerwherethe firstpalacebell hadhungsince 1304;
The buildinghistoryof the palazzoappearsto haveentered partof the work mentionedin documentsof 19 August1306
a criticalphasein 1306. At this time the mainrusticatedblock,
in an appropriation
that alsoincludedthe new bell mightwell
with its publichallsandmultiroomedcortilearea,seemsto have
havebeenconnectedwith sucha new belfrybecausethe work
been essentiallycomplete,but not muchmoreof the building. is definedas "readaptation
and coveringof the palaceand its
The Foraboschitowerstill roseaboveit to an unknownheight
"tower"
herethe old Foraboschi
was
meant
tower,
tower."'12By
whose timberbelfryof 1304 would have been inadequatefor
(laterit wouldbe partlycut downto serveas a basefor the new
fromanother the campana
tower),andon it a modestpalacebell transferred
magna.If indeeda new belfrywas alreadyunder
sitehadbeenhungin awoodenbelfryin 1304.8Suchprovisional constructionin 1306, it could not have been very ambitious,
woodenbelfrieswere not unknownin the period;an example consideringthe factthat it wouldbe neededat the completion
canbe seenin a Sienesechurchtower,presumably
the Duomo,
of the bell foreseenwithin a year. The projectedbelfrymay
at the upperleft of the view of Sienain the mid-14th-century havebeensimplya woodenstructureof the typediscussedabove
BiadaioloCodex (Fig. 4). The PalazzoVecchiobelfryof 1304
(replacinga smallerbelfryof 1304),perhapsin conjunctionwith
resembled
the
Sienese
of
this
vernacular
minormasonryconstructionto which the wordingof the 19
example
probably
type.
A reconstructionof the west fagadeof the palaceas it stood August 1306 documentwould specificallyrefer.If so, in the
.....
ti
w
ts
7. Therewas no mandatefor rusticationeither.
8. On the old bellandthe 1304operation,A. Gotti,StoriadelPalazzo
in Firenze,Florence,1889, 28 f. The belfryis describedas "...
Vecchio
hediffitiolignaminissuperque ipsecampanaponi et essedebatconstrui
et fierifaciendo...."
9. R. Davidsohn,Forschungen
zurGeschichte
4 vols.,BervonFlorenz,
lin, 1908, IV, 500.
10. Ibid.,500.
11. Cf. Trachtenberg,Campanile,
Chapter5; H. Saalman,Filippo
TheCupolaof SantaMariadelFiore,London,1980,passim.
Brunelleschi,
12. Frey,Loggia,194 f., Doc. 61.
18
JSAH, XLVII:1, MARCH1988
summer of 1307 the location of the new timber belfry would
have been transferredfrom the tower to the square where, on
a temporary basis, the structure was set up as an independent
wooden "edifice or tower."
For the planning history of the palazzo, the crucialfact among
these events is that the new tower-belfry, whatever its form,
was not ready to support the campanamagnain June 1307. This
situation might indicate a construction delay of the usual sort,
slight but sufficienttojustify the temporarywooden belfry erected on the piazza. By the succeeding July 1308, it had evidently
become clear that the delay would be so lengthy as to justify
the cost of putting the new bell on the palazzo in a provisional
belfry, not on the tower but presumably in a bell-cote erected
over the battlements.13
This bell-cote would probably be the one seen in the 1342
Bigallo fresco, at the corner of the north facadejust above and
to the left of the Baptistery lantern (Fig. 5), and mentioned in
a diaryof 1344.14 By this time the campanamagnahad long since
been moved from this bell-cote up to the completed tower,
where it appearsin the fresco."1 The bell that took the campana
magna'splace in the bell-cote was most likely the Campanadel
Consiglio, one of the supplementary bells the palace had accumulated to signal various public events, in this case council
meetings.16Interestingly, an analogy to the Florentine situation
can be observed at the Palazzo dei Priori at Volterra in the
remnant of the bell-cote used before the building received its
13. 500 lireareprovidedfor towerconstruction
andplacingthe bell
overthe palace;Davidsohn,Florenz,IV, 500, 26 July;Frey,Loggia,198,
Doc. 74. On 31 March1309, additionalfundsin the amountof 400
lire for the placementof the bell areapproved(Davidsohn,Florenz,IV,
500). Thatthe bell wasnot placedon the towerat this time is inferred
fromthe ongoingconstructionof the towerin theseyears,which was
not completeduntil after1310. The 1308-1309 fundingis for placing
the bell on the palace("procampanamagnaponi faciendasuperpallatio").Contrastthe specificityof the referenceto the tower in the
placementof the firstPalazzoVecchiobell over the Foraboschitower
in 1304:". .. campana
queolimeratsuperturimPallatidominiCapitani
ponendaet poni faciendasuperturimPallatidominorumPrioriumArtiumex VexilliferiJustitie.. ." (Gotti,Palazzo,28). Otherdocuments,
of 19August1306,listthe "tower"in addition
suchastheappropriation
to the "palace"when work on the formeris intended(text aboveand
n. 12). Placementon the "palace"canonly havemeantin a bell-cote.
14. Gotti,Palazzo,30. This bell-cotecanbe moreclearlyseenin the
in G. Brucker,Florence,
colorillustration
six sitclesdesplendeur
etdegloire,
Paris,1984, 23. The remnantof this bell-coteis visiblein the 18thcenturyrenderingof the palacepublishedby D. M. Galli,"Restaurie
PalazzoVecchioa Firenzenel settecento,"Labyrinthos,
burocrazia,
I, II,
1982,Fig. 1. The renderingalsoindicatesa secondbell-coteatthe other
end of the battlements(see text below for its presumeduse).The two
bell-cotefragmentsalsoappearin lessaccurate19th-centuryengravings
di Firenze,Florence,1977, Figs. 170
(LensiOrlandi,II PalazzoVecchio
f.).
15. The campana
magnais firstmentionedabovethe tower on 30
October1318 (Davidsohn,Florenz,IV, 501).
16. Gotti,Palazzo,30.
10.
olt
All
to
^.Am"
JAL.
N-w~
?14
~ V
k4ca
VrA'
7"ta,
oftheMadonna
della
1342.
Misericordia,
Fig.5. Fresco
Bigallo,Florence,
DetailshowingPalazzoVecchiobell-coteoverbattlements.
late 14th-centurytower.17But the mainpoint is that the bellcoteof 1308atthe PalazzoVecchiowasanexpensive,18wasteful
measure(withoutthe supplementary
bellsit wouldhavebecome
useless)and can only have been fundedbecausea more monumentalbell-hangingon the tower was going to take a long
time to build,and a costlybell-cotewas preferableto leaving
the even more costly campanamagnadown in the piazzafor
yearsawaitingits permanent,monumentalhome.
The decisivequestionis whatwasbehindthe extensivedelay
in the completionof the tower-belfry,which cannotbe attributed simplyto a suspensionof work, forjust at this time (beginning in 1308) the constructionof the tower receivesthe
strong,continuoussupportof fundsand of specialofficialsto
supervisethe work.19Nor can the availabilityof buildingma17. Trachtenberg,
Campanile,
Fig. 337.
18. It requiredtwo fundingsandcostwell in excessof 400 lire (see
n. 13). Partof the expenses,of course,would have been incurredby
the processof liftingthe bell into the bell-cote.
19. Forthe towerofficials,W. Braunfels,
Mittelalterliche
Stadtbaukunst
inderToskana,
Berlin,1952,199, n. 680. Fortowerfunding,Davidsohn,
Florenz,IV, 500 f., 20 July 1308; 10 December1308; 1310 (no date).
TRACHTENBERG:
MONUMENT
AND SITE AT THE PALAZZO
VECCHIO
19
terials have been a problem, given the plentiful Florentine quarries of the pietraforte of which the palace is constructed. If the
delay that emerged between 1306 and 1308 was not due to a
suspension of work or lack of money or materials, the cause
may well have been a change in the tower design, most probably
a major increase in its projected size and complexity that took
a number of years to realize.
This probablealterationof the tower project opens a Pandora's
box regarding the design of the Palazzo Vecchio, for if a change
in the tower occurred as we now have good reason to suspect,
perhaps other aspects of the enterprise were also modified. The
tower as built is integrated with the battlements, or ballatoio,in
a complex way, and there is no evidence that the battlements
had been built as of 1306. Thus, the redesign of the tower might
well have accompanied a redesign of the rest of the as-yetunbuilt superstructure.A modification of the battlements might
also help explain some puzzling documentation of roofing operations between 1306 and 1309, which is too soon after the
probable completion of the main palace block in 1306 to be
attributedto simple decay.20The battlements and the roof meet
closely, and any basic change in the former would have necessitated alterations of the latter. Such possibilities concerning the
superstructureof the palazzo lead us to search the fabric for
concrete archaeological evidence of design changes.
Towerarchaeology
\
r.Co•sc#'
FILL
Trucp•
-1-1
CORTILE
PI AZZA
Physical evidence for a change in design is present in certain
anomalous features of the tower. To understand these peculiarities, we must first acquaintourselves with its plan and structure (Fig. 6).21 The tower consists of the following basic elements: (1) the narrow,off-squareForaboschifamily tower, hidden
behind the rusticated layer of the new palace facade and rising
to a level just below the corbelling; (2) reinforcing masonry fill
that all but completely solidifies this old tower, indicated in the
plan by cross-hatching; (3) the new tower construction, visible
as the shaft rising above the battlements, larger and more regular
in plan than the Foraboschi structure, and partly supported by
the corbelling on the facadeand by the hollowed-out front wall
of the battlements, as well as by extensive corbelling at the rear
(east) and right (south) sides; (4) the watch-box, with a corbelsupported gallery; and (5) the arched, columnar belfry.
To the archaeological eye, the tower-infill and the corbelled
tower-expansion are the most intriguing of these features.When
did the tower-infill occur, and why? Was it intended from the
beginning in 12997 If an expanded tower was foreseen initially,
Fig. 6. Palazzo Vecchio, cross section and plan of tower
(author).
20. Frey,Loggia,194, Doc. 61; 198, Doc. 76.
21. The well-knowncrosssectionsof A. Haupt,Renaissance
Palaces
of Northern
ItalyandTuscany,3 vols., New York, 1931, I, Fig. 3; and
G. Rohaultde Fleury,Toscane
au moyenage,Paris,1870-1873, Fig. 9,
areinaccurate.
20
"1
Mow
i:
1?-Ilft
OW
i.-
'%4
'
Wk--
jft
-Qzq%*
Ba
Fig. 7. PalazzoVecchio,west fagadeat tower,with threeblindedwindows (author).
why wasit builton the absurdlynarrowbasethattheold Foraboschi tower offered,insteadof more firmlyover a broadernew
hiddenshaftandfoundation?This line of questioningcouldbe
pursuedtowardsa numberof plausiblespeculations.More definitive answers,however,can be found throughfurtherarchaeologicalobservation.
The key to the towerarchaeology
is a setof puzzlingfeatures:
three windows nearthe tower axis on the palacefacade(Fig.
7). What is mostpuzzlingaboutthesewindowsis thatthey are
blind. One explanationwould be that they were built as they
appear,that is, merelyas voids in the rusticatedstone skin in
front of the solidifiedForaboschitower. Suchblind windows
(originally,perhaps,with falseglazing)wouldhavebeenadded
to give reliefandcontinuityto the faCadeandto maskillusionisticallythe presenceof the Foraboschishaftbehindit.22 This
22. Cf. Paul,Palazzo,10; also my earlierinterpretation
(Trachten168).
berg,Campanile,
41WIN
Fig. 8. PalazzoVecchio,west elevation,deviationof blindedwindows
fromtoweraxis(afterA. Haupt,Renaissance
Palaces
ofNorthern
Italyand
3 vols., New York, 1931, I, Fig. 3).
Tuscany,
explanation,however,is contradictedby threeanomalies:the
shapesand sizes of the triad of windows do not match the
flankingfenestration;
they are all slightlydisplacedto the left
of the toweraxis(Ain Fig.8); andthe smallmezzaninewindow
is axiallydisplacedto the rightof the othertwo openings(B in
Fig. 8). Were the windows in questionmerelyblanksin the
rusticated
skin,nothingwouldhavepreventedthebuildersfrom
rationalizingtheir shapesand axes, which would have served
moreeffectivelyandbeenin keepingwith thestrictappearances
nessof windowconfiguration
seenelsewhereon the building.23
If not false,the threewindowsbelowthe toweroriginallymust
havebeenreal.That is, whatwe see arevoidsin the rustication
in frontof corresponding
openings,now filled,in the structural
23. The exceptionsarea few minoropeningson the west front.
21
was limitedto one of the three windowsand that the date of
the rearwindowframewas not established(pre-or post-1299?)
do not matterwith respectto ourpresentpurpose.The discovery
establishesthe originalpresenceof a two-layincontrovertibly
eredwindowin thepalacefacadenearthe toweraxisand,hence,
the existenceof one interiorspaceoriginallybehindit, lit by
the window.The reconstructed
existenceof thisroomis enough
to suggestthat in 1299 the buildersmeantnot to fill up the
Foraboschi
towerwith reinforcingmasonry,butinsteadto reuse
:*:$.,
a
its interiorin the new palace.This spacetook the form of a
;li
vertical
seriesof narrowroomslit by amplewindows, rooms
?P
-I-;
~'?i~
z
similar(if not in some casesidentical)to those that had been
?;~,~i?
usedfor generations
by the Foraboschifamilybutwith the floor
and
d-a
ceiling levels in some instancesprobablyreset in correi
J~
11 ~~
?
spondencewith the PalazzoVecchiolevels, alongwith related
modificationof fenestration.Furtherevidencefor an original
?~c~
projectthatwouldhavekeptthe spacesof the Foraboschitower
open is foundnext to the entranceto the tower stairabovethe
secondo
pianoof the palace:an archedopeningwalled up, but
originallygiving into the tower interior(Fig. 9).
That the Foraboschitowerwas by all evidenceleft open in
an initialpalaceprojectwould obviouslymeanthat it was decidedto fill in the old tower for structuralreinforcementonly
afterthe mainrusticatedpalazzowalls were up. The question
is when and why this reinforcementoccurred.In the absence
of evidenceto the contrary,an earlydatesuggestsitself-preciselythatphaseof constructionin 1306-1308 wherewe have
to tower foundevidencefor basicchangesin the towerproject.25
Vecchio,
Fig.9. Palazzo
walled-up
openingto toweradjacent
stairentrance,
abovethesecondo
piano(author).
Two explanations
maybe inferredforthe tower-infillduring
this phase of radicalrevision.Perhapsthe builderssuddenly
becameanxiousabouttheir daringidea of settingsuch a submasonrybehindthem, in the Foraboschitowerwall. This exof
stantialpartof the prodigioustoweroverfragilecorbellingand
planationhelpsus understandthe troublesomeirregularities
the triad,becausereal windowswould have been structurally concludedthatthe leastthey coulddo to ensurethe successof
or functionallydeterminedin theirshapeandplacement.Thus,
theirstructural
adventurewouldbe to reinforceits baseasmuch
to
in
windows
the
Foraas
The
tower-infill,however,would not havebeen in
they might correspond pre-existing
possible.
boschitower;they could involvepre-1299openingsreshaped itselfa sufficientlylargeoperationto accountforthe long delay
to new needs(suchas precisealignmentof their sills with the
in the completionof the tower.Thusthe alternativeexplanation
or
could
be
new
of
1299
is moreplausible;namely,that only at this time, 1306-1308,
palazzocornicework); they
openings
brokeninto the Foraboschiwall. The irregularityof theirsize
and their disparateaxes, combinedwith the precisionof sillthe UniversitadegliStudidi Firenze,1977-1978, 53 f. andFig. 16. At
alignment,suggeststhat a pragmaticcombinationof these opthe window the infill of the tower was extendedoutwardin another
tions occurred.
layerto wallupthewindowframewith solidashlar,nowhiddenbehind
The hypothesisthat the threewindowswere originallyreal
intonaco.
The authors,however,failedto seize the significanceof this
ones is confirmedby a discoverymadeduringrecentwork on
theirthesisthat
discovery.Theyalsomissedthepointthatit contradicts
of the Foraboschi
towerwerereusedin the Palazzo
the palazzofagade:directlybehindthe rusticatedframeof the
onlythefoundations
Vecchio,andthatthe hiddenshaftwas itselfnew, post-1299fabric.
tower-axismezzaninewindow lies a corresponding,
congruent
25. Thereis no referenceto the tower-infilleitherin the laterdocwindow framein the old Foraboschiwall, a frameworkcomumentationforthe palazzoor in Vasari'sdetaileddescription
of MichelThatthisinformation ozzo's interventions.For what it is worth, Vasaribelievedthat the
pletewith rustyironhingesforshutters.24
~?"r;~
~*"
1
.`
?
24. Presentedin the tesidi laureaof A. Balloni, C. Colapietro,G.
sullaTorredi "Arnolfo,"
Facoltadi Architettura
at
Lombardi,Indagine
tower-infillwas by Arnolfo:"... Avendodunque,Arnolforipienala
dettatorredi buonamateria,ad altrimaestrifu poi facilefarvisoprail
campanilealtissimoche oggi vi si vede ..." (G. Vasari,Le Vite,9 vols.,
ed. G. Milanesi,Florence,1878, I, 290).
22
'AY.Y.Y~V~
... ...e
l
..-..
'1~I~
LI(I~E
n~nF~KI
~nl II~UIC
rti'i1111I~~
,.,
CORTILE
PIAZZA
Fig. 10. FirstPalazzoVecchioproject,1299. Reconstructedcrosssectionof tower,reproducedto
samescaleas Fig. 6 (author).
did the daring corbelled-tower scheme evolve and become the
cause for the protracted extension of tower construction.
Reconstruction
of thefirst project
The original idea in 1299 would have been for the tower to
rise entirely behind the ballatoiofaqade,continuing upwards the
relatively narrow plan of the supporting, "hollow" Foraboschi
structure, as seen in a reconstructed cross section and elevation
of the early tower and west faqadeproject (Figs. 10, 11). Perhaps
the visible part of the tower was to be new construction above
a partly amputatedForaboschibase, with some minor squaringout to the rear with corbelling above the irregular Foraboschi
plan and the addition of a relatively short belfry shaft. As the
drawings suggest, this belfry project might have been modeled
after the contemporary Bargello tower (c. 1290), an earlier example of a new, monumental belfry atop an old family keep
Fig. 11. FirstPalazzoVecchioproject,1299. Hypotheticalreconstruction of west facade,with Bargello-typeuppertower (Haupt,with author'salterations).
(Fig. 12).26 If this was the initial intention in 1299, however,
it had not yet been realized in 1304, when the first palazzo bell
was hung in a wooden belfry atop the Foraboschi tower; nor
had such a project been achieved by 1306-1307 when the same
timber arrangementevidently was planned for the campanamagna. These wooden belfries may have been stopgap measures,
forced by the urgent needs for a bell-hanging above the tower,
and taken with the idea that eventually a Bargello-type of monumental masonry belfry, as possibly planned in 1299, would be
built. On the other hand, it is equally possible that the original
intention had been simply to leave the Foraboschi structure
standing above the palace to its full height and to provide it
26. W. Paatz, "Zur Baugeschichte des Palazzo del Podesti in FloInstitutesin Florenz, III, 1938,
renz," Mitteilungendes kunsthistorischen
210.
308; Paul, Kommunalpdilaste,
23
i
. : .. . . , .. ._.
..
.. ..
0
III
M,
-
a
11
Ai
'~b
hi
•i
i
j-
IC-
L,1
yr
'.
_
. ...
,
-
l~lwP~~l~~
? ?;
:
•i:
.. .
..? .i'
• • ,,
reconstruction
1299.Alternative
Vecchioproject,
Fig.13. FirstPalazzo
alterForaboschi
withauthor's
tower(Haupt,
of westfagade,
retaining
ations).
Viewfromsouthwest
1250-14thcentury.
Florence,
Fig.12. Bargello,
wall andcorbels.The five corbelsbeneath
restson the ballatoio
(author).
the tower were speciallydesignedfor the extraload, fortified
in their material(veinlesspietraserenainsteadof the weaker,
andin theirgreaterthicknessandcloserspacveinedpietraforte)
with a timberbelfryover a new crown throughsome remodin comparison
with theirneighbors(Fig. 14).It is, no doubt,
ing
eling orminorconstruction,muchasactuallyoccurredin 1304theoreticallypossiblethat in 1306 the battlementshadalready
1306 andas is imaginedin Fig. 13-"readaptation"and "covbeen completedand that their portionunderthe tower was
ering"as the 1306 documentspecifies,as opposedto the basic
shortlythereafterdismantledand rebuiltto accommodatethe
new towerconstructionauthorizedin 1308.
tower. However,the differencein spacingbetween
In eitherevent,the infillof the old shaftwouldhaveoccurred enlarged
and the thickerones under
the thinnercorbelsof the ballatoio
as partof the new projectof 1307-1308 for a thicker,higher,
the tower is such that the lattercould not have replacedthe
heavier,and cantileveredtower, which neededas much reinof the broaderflankingarches
former:only three-and-one-half
forcementaspossible.This necessityis obviousin a comparison
with thinnercorbelswould fit in the spaceof the extantfour
betweenthe comparativelystable,unproblematicfirstproject
archesbelowthetower.Nor is thereevidenceof telltalemasonry
andthedaringlyexpanded,overbalanced27
projectof 1307-1308
breaksor sutures.To the contrary,the integrityof the battleandafter(see Figs. 6, 10).
ments can be observedin the stoneworkand in the repeated
The changein the tower projectwas in all probabilityacformsof corbels,windows,and crenelationsthat take the encompaniedby a changein the designof the mainbattlements
largedtowerin theirmeasurewithoutsignificantinterruptions
of the palazzo.Thesebattlementsweredeeplyimplicatedin the
of theirregularspacingotherthanthose pointedout.
designand constructionof the tower. The two form an inteAssumingthat the extantbattlementsare part of a second
gratedstructure:the battlementspenetratethe tower, and the
project,we must ask what they might have replacedas the
towerembracesthe battlementsin its forwardprojection,which
originallyplannedcrownof the palazzoblock.Justas,according
to the presenthypothesis,the extant"supertower"
displacedan
so
the
which
for
an
thinner
shaft,
ballatoio,
ordinary,
shaftis fargreater earlyproject
27. The corbelingon the frontof the Foraboschi
thanits extensionto the rear,which merelysquaresoff the structure.
may well have remay be thought of as "superbattlements,"
24
it
NC
ick
A
i
lk
Mri4
ONNNOM-M~
mm WEE
--- -
M-A
I
attower(author).
Vecchio,detailof battlements
Fig.14. Palazzo
placeda schemeof ordinarybattlementswithoutgalleries,such
aswe havealreadyseenin the reconstructions
of the firstproject
These
would
to the ubiqbattlements
(Figs.11, 13).
correspond
uitouscontemporary
type,asseenatthe Bargello,the Florentine
andother
city gates,the Florentine"newtowns"like Scarperia,
communalpalacesof the periodsuch as those at Sienaand S.
Gimignano.28
Let us summarizethe ideaspresentedso far.Essentiallythe
hypothesisis thatthe executedbuildingdifferedradicallyfrom
a firstprojectof 1299. The differenceconsistedin the superstructureof the building.The first project(in either of the
reconstruction
calledfor a narrow,relativelysmall
alternatives)
towersetbackandrisingbehindsimplebattlements.
The second
after
increased
the scale
1307,
dramatically
project,developed
of the superstructure
the
battlements
with
a winby inflating
dowedgalleryandby heighteningthe towerandthickeningit
the
by projectingit forwardoverthe battlements.Furthermore,
enlargedtower was complicatedin its superstructure
by the
massivecolumnarbelfryandthe giantbattlementedwatchbox.
To explainwhy the changestookplaceis a challengingmatter. The designof the tower, so structurallydaring,even dan28. The battlements of both Scarperiaand S. Gimignano are modern
reconstructions.
Vecchio
asbuilt,1299-1318,elevation
ofwestfagade
Fig.15. Palazzo
with
author's
corrections).
(Haupt,
gerous,was somethingthat the builderswere well awareof as
evidencedby their infill of the Foraboschishaftto solidifythe
baseof the extravagant
structure,therebysacrificingmuchvaluablespace.Obviously,the designrevolutionwould neverhave
occurredwithoutpowerfulmotivation.
This motivationwas complex.Manyfactorswere at work:
the escalatingambitionsof architectsandpatrons;the competitionwith the PalazzoPubblicoin Sienathatwasbeingenlarged
at the time;and,aboveall, the shiftingpoliticalatmosphere,in
climatein Florencein the years
particularthe post-traumatic
immediatelyfollowingthe reignof terrorof 1301-1304 (Dante
its most famousvictim) and the violent civil war of the latter
year in which as much as one-tenthof Florentinereal estate
was put to arson.This climateprecipitated
the numeroussteps
TRACHTENBERG:MONUMENTAND SITEAT THE PALAZZOVECCHIO
25
NN
CI
L
1
Oi-pre
/31
'
IIT
/itt
C/o
/
13
/
LoMr
I
PALAZZo
vICCI4Io
IMI
•r"I
Schematic
Fig.16. PiazzadellaSignoria.
planshowingdevelopment
1299-1389(author).
takenin 1306-1307 to strengthenthe authorityand integrity
of the Florentinestate,stepsthat includeda visuallyand militarily aggrandizedPalazzoVecchio (with its proud campana
magna)as a morepowerfulsymbolof stabilityandorder.Similarly,the siege of Florenceby the EmperorHenry VII that
materializedin 1310-1313 was probablya majorfactorbehind
the finaldesignof the towersuperstructure
asit evolvedin those
years.The watchboxstoodguardnot overthe piazza-the ballatoiodid that-but over the countryside,as a symbolof Florentineresistenceto the foreignenemyin the field.The massive
belfrycolumnsin particularseemto havereflectedthoseof the
imperialwatchtowerat San Miniatoal Tedescoand probably
representeda defiantsymbolicresponseto the dire imperial
threat.29These and other historicalconnectionsconstitutea
majoraspectof thepalazzo'shistorythatwill be treatedatlength
in anotherpublication.30Relevantto the presentstudyarethe
urbanisticfactorsbehindthe evolvingpalazzodesign:the site
in 1299 and 1307 and afterwards,and it
changeddramatically
is the interactionbetweenthis evolving site and the evolving
designof the monumentthatwe now shall follow.
29. Curiously,the severalauthorswho haveassociatedthe Palazzo
Vecchioandthe S. Miniatotoweroverlookedthe historicalconnection
with the siege of Florence(cf. Trachtenberg,
167, n. 63).
Campanile,
30. See introductorynote.
Fig.17. PalazzoVecchio,viewfromnorth(author).
Piazzaandpalazzo
It was fitting that the PalazzoVecchiowas a participantin
the politicaldramasof the earlytrecento,for its very site was
determinedby a muchearlierepisodeof the chronicFlorentine
civil warfare.In 1258, at the height of the Guelf-Ghibelline
conflict,the Florentinespunishedthe hatedGhibellinefamily
of the Ubertiby destroyingtheircentercity propertyandvowing to leavethe areaforeverunbuiltasa grimreminderto future
rebelsand also becausethey felt that terrainwas cursed.31
For
a generationthe PlateaUbertorum
or Piazzadegli Ubertiserved
littleotherthanthissymbolicpurpose,butwith time, it became
an increasinglyirritatingwasteof landto Florentinescaughtup
in new conflicts.The sitingof the PalazzoVecchioat the south
boundaryof the Uberti land solvedthe dilemma,puttingthe
terrainto good use withoutactuallybuildingon it (Fig. 16).
It is alreadyknownthatthe firstPalazzoVecchioprojectdid
not facethe west,asit doestoday,butwasorientedto the north,
31. Braunfels,Toskana,
200.
26
JSAH, XLVII:1,MARCH1988
towardsthe Ubertiarea,whichin 1299becamethe initialPiazza
in otherdirectionsby nardellaSignoria.32
Closelysurrounded
row streetsanda denseweb of medievalhouses,churches,and
other real estate, the palazzorose on the south side of the
relativelysmallsquareas a narrow,symmetrical,three-storied
facade,at its center the originalceremonialentranceto the
building(Fig. 17). From most of the squarethe view of the
small,narrowForaboschitowerwas largelyor entirelyblocked
by the palace.As earliersuggested,the battlementsoriginally
plannedfor this frontwereprobablyof standardtrecentoform.
The frontalprospectof a steep,narrow,towerless,multistoried
facadecappedby simplebattlementswould havebeenreminiscent of innumerable
publicbuildingsof the period,suchas the
Palazzodei Prioriin S. Gimignano,the originalcentralsection
of the PalazzoPubblicoin Siena,andthe 14th-centuryPalazzo
del Arte della Lanain Florence(Fig. 18).33 These buildings
reinforceour reconstructionof the first north
facadeproject
view of this schemewith battlements
(Fig. 19). A comparative
enlargedto their eventualproportionsemphasizeshow uncharacteristically
top-heavysuchan inflatednorthfacadewould
havelookedbeforethe palazzowasredesignedforanotherpros-
je,:1T
:
::?
1w,
31U
k; $tlk
:i:i-:
;;?:Aw
::
?;:??IF
;wt
-:
far???,
7'ai
A~~~~8
pect (Fig. 20).
The northfrontof the buildinghadbeen plannedfrom the
outset as a symmetrical,monumentalfacadeoverlookingthe
The west side of the building,
pre-existingPlateaUbertorum.
the set-backold Foraexhibited
rusticated,
though uniformly
situatedportal,with
boschitower and a small,asymmetrically
to variedinteriorfeascatteredsets of windowscorresponding
tures.This informalityof design evidentlydid not matteras
long as the west wall merelyfronteda narrowstreet,where it
presenteda cramped,tiltedperspective(Fig. 21). However,the
west precinctof the palacewas not limited to this streetfor
long. Beginningas earlyas 1299, houseswerepurchasedthere,
andby 1306 enoughof themto the west of the palacehadbeen
demolishedto createa second,west piazza(seeFig. 16).34With
the creationof the west piazza,the functionandperceptionof
the west wall changeddramatically,as suggestedin a reconstructionsketchof the site in 1306 (Fig. 22).35By virtueof the
new piazza,the westwall hadbecomeanimportantfacade.The
problemwas that it was plainlya side wall lackingsymmetry,
presentation.The plannedcornice
regularity,and orchestrated
of narrowbattlements,foreseenprimarilyas a cap to the narrowernorth front,would be inadequateto pull the west wall
of
into a facadegestalt.Nor would the prominentappearance
the small Foraboschitower, originallyintendedmainly as a
symbolicaccentandconvenientbelfrysite, effectivelyservethe
new situation,even with a Bargello-likecrown. In fact, its
dismeagernesswould furthercontributeto the embarrassing
paritiesof scaleandorganization,especiallywith respectto the
featuredfacadeof the originalproject.
The plannersof 1299 had nor clearlyforeseenthis turn of
events.Ina mannertypicalof theperiod,theyhadnotrigorously
followedthroughthe implicationsof theirplanning,whichthey
would havetendedin anycasenot to dealwith untilabsolutely
necessary.36
By 1306-1307 the problemwaspressing.The palace buildersfaceda difficultythatthey knewwould get worse,
52
32. The originalorientationis discussedin Paul,PalazzoVecchio,
f.; andRubinstein,Piazza,22.
59ff.
33. Paul,PalazzoVecchio,
34. Rubinstein,Piazza,22.
35. This view is meantto suggestthe site only in an extremely
schematicway, basedon the site plan sketchedin Fig. 16, itselfbased
on Freyand Rubinstein(n. 2, above).
36. The mostblatantexampleof thistendencyoccurredin thedesign
of the cupolaof the Duomo:its plannersof the 1360shadno morethan
a foggy notionof how the unprecedented
structurewouldbe achieved
butknewthatthe problemwouldbe one fora latergenerationactually
to confront.
......
14thcentury(author).
Fig.18. PalazzodelArtedellaLana,Florence,
qr,
,U
r~l~t=-tit`~fil~
ait
??4?'
- XAL.
-
71 R
elevationfromnorth,overlookingthe PlateaUbertorum
(author).
Fig. 19. FirstPalazzoVecchioproject,1299. Reconstruction
OF
N"I
lift?*.
-4
II
as it would havelookedfromthe PlateaUbertorum
(author).
Fig. 20. PalazzoVecchiowith ballatoio,
27
28
the Signoriain the latteryear havingbeen grantedauthority
which
(notexerciseduntil 1319) furtherto expandthe piazza,37
would serveonly to increasethe exposureand importanceof
the ungainlywall thatwasnow destinedto becomethe primary
facadeof the building.
was there any real
Only in redesigningthe superstructure
hope of resolvingthe difficulty,for the rusticatedwest front
itselfcouldnot be significantlyimprovedwithoutfundamental
rebuildingnot only of the wall but the interiorbehindit.38The
firstsuperstructure
project,we haveargued,hadbeen designed
primarilyfor the originalnorthfagade.The mainemphasisof
this traditionally
orderedfagadewouldhavebeenits rustication
andelegantwindow detail;its superstructure
would havebeen
intendedto providelittle more thanan adequatecornice,subservientand complementaryto the principalmassingand its
richly texturedsurface,with the short tower nearlyor comThe projectdepletelyout of sight from the PlateaUbertorum.
in
1307-1308
shifted
this
balanceby radveloped
dramatically
thesuperstructure.
It nowbecameasimportant
icallyemphasizing
asthe mainblockbelow,gaininga visualpowerthattranformed
the look of the entirebuilding.The primaryaim of the project
was to makea facadeout of the messyside wall presentedto
38. Comparethesolutionof thecathedral
sidewallproblemin 13571358, as analyzedby Saalman,SantaMariadelFiore,471 ff.
I
the westpiazza,andthe new strategywasvisuallyto overpower
the disorderlysubstructure
with a mighty colossusof a superstructurefar too grandfor the small, taut north facade.Yet
while this superstructure
drawsthe eye awayfrom the disarray
of the mainblock,it doesnotnegatethe integrityof itsrusticated
volumes,a subtlefeatof shapingandproportioning.
The eventualsuperstructure
was developedfrom the fundamental componentsof the first scheme, the battlementsand
tower. The redesigntacticswere to makeboth of these forms
independentlymuchlarger;to integratethem,formingan even
?
l7ill
asviewedfromareaof originally
Fig. 21. PalazzoVecchio.West
facade
adjacentstreet(author).
I
W)"1
.........
view of stateof constructionfrom the west piazzain
Fig. 22. PalazzoVecchio.Reconstructed
1306, with timberbelfryof 1304 on Foraboschi
tower,which is givena new crown.Firstbell of
palazzoshown,with size exaggeratedfor clarity(author).
29
A
iri
lit
xi,
16,
Vecchio,fromwest(author).
Fig.23. Palazzo
of the
Fig.24. Viewof PalazzoVecchioin sceneof the Expulsion
Dukeof Athens,1343,frescoformerlyin the Carceri
delleStinche,
nowin thePalazzoVecchio(author).
largerwhole; and finally,to endow the mammothstructure
with dynamicenergiesandlevitationalillusionism.Thus,a gallery insertedinto the battlementsinflatestheir scale,while the
operationby no meansinevitablein contemporaryurbanistic
tower is elevatedand thickenedthroughforwardextensionto
practice40).As a resultthe palacecouldbe seen in obliqueperthe ballatoio
the
and
the
tower
ballatoio
spective,more effectivelydisplayingthe effectsof the formifaCade,therebyunifying
and endowingthe latterwith an antigravitational
effect that dabletower and gainingfor the whole a visualimpressionof
lifts it skywardover the piazza.
fargreaterscale,mass,andunitythanwas achievedby the two
Fromthe diagonalviewpoint,moreover,
faqadesindependently.
Towards
theoblique
perspective
the asymmetricallocationof the tower, which lendsa queasy
This analysishas emphasizedthe frontalviews of the palace imbalanceto the west perspective(Fig. 23), achievesa comfrom the north and west, but it is evident that the builders pelling,dynamicbalance.The left frontedge of the towerrises
intendedfroma dateearlyin the trecento-perhapsas earlyas at the centerof the west facade.Thus, from the obliqueper130739--thatthe two piazzaseventuallybejoined into one (an spectivethe north tower wall is seen to the left of the center
39. In 1307 the two piazzaswere alreadyseen as partsof a single,
continuousspace:"platea... existente... circapallatiumpopuli"(Frey,
Loggia,196, 31 July),andauthoritywas grantedto furtherenlargethe
square(Ibid.,195, 6 April).Cf. Rubinstein,Piazza,22 ff.
40. Someimportantsitesof the periodretaineddoublepiazzasthat
neverwereunifiedin the period(thoughtheyweremostlyconnected),
for exampleat the cathedralin Lucca(a closeparallelto the 1306 state
of the PiazzadellaSignoria),S. MariaNovellain Florence(withits old
and new squares),and also at the Modenaand Milancathedrals,and
the civic squaresat S. GimignanoandBologna.
30
line, to a degree balancing the west tower fagade to the right
of center (see Figs. 1, 3). In a larger way the whole tower,
perceived to the right of the facade center, counterbalancesthe
heavy dark mass of the north wall of the main palace block,
which is in the shade except for short periods in the summer.
In all, this dynamic counterbalancing sharpens the visual energies of the building. We should especially take note of the way
it establishes the northwest corner of the tower as the visual
axis of the palace, which will be important to our discussion
later.41 The main point here, however, is that as redesigned after
1307, the building begs to be seen not frontally but obliquely,
as in the 14th-century views of the palazzo, including the earliest
accuratedepiction in 1343 (Fig. 24), when the piazza had been
realized only partly and the oblique view was available only in
a cramped manner.42
This perspectival pull towards the diagonal view must have
been a significant impetus to enlarge the piazza along the oblique
viewpath of the building, although the practical and honorific
need for a larger piazza43also was a major factor, as was the
intrinsic formal logic of the piazza. Its evolution (which entailed
always the expensive and often controversial expropriation and
demolition of valuable private and ecclesiastical real estate) proceeded in stages: further to the west after the completion of the
palace in 1319, and then towards the northwest in the 1350s
to join the two previously separatedareas, with the final alignment of the sides achieved from the 1360s through the 1380s
(see Fig. 16).44
In the early phases of interaction between the building and
its site the latter was the prime mover, influencing the design
of the palace first in 1299, when the structure was oriented
towards and limited by the Platea Ubertorum,and then again
after 1307, when the west piazza inspired the new tower and
battlements. Now, in the final phases of site planning the fully
evolved building became the active force. As finally built the
Palazzo Vecchio radiates a powerful volumetric energy. The
building rises as a colossal, hyperactive massing that fills the
void around it with an overpowering presence. It needs a lot of
Studisuladolceprospettiva,
41. A. Parronchi,
Milan,1964,274, stresses
this axisfor a differentreason.
42. The smallearlytowerprojectwould have had a much slighter
obliqueeffect.The diagonalperspectivewascommonin medievalTuscan sites,as notedby a numberof observersincludingFanelli,Firenze,
in Toscana
1000-1315,
I, 97, andespeciallyE. Guidoni,Artee urbanistica
Rome, 1970, 69 ff. The Bargellowould be a relevantprecedent.An
thanthe PiazzadellaSignoria
obliqueperspectiveevenmorespectacular
wascreatedatthe PiazzadelDuomo:the viewof thecupolaandtribunes
from the foot of the Via del Proconsolo,a vistaopenedin the 1390s
just afterthe completionof the PiazzadellaSignoria(seebelow).As is
of contemporary
well known,the obliqueview wascharacteristic
painting (see n. 86).
43. Stressedthroughoutby Rubinstein,Piazza.
44. Ibid.,andFrey,Loggia,for documentation.
effecton the observer;to achieve
spaceto avoida claustrophobic
a comfortablethree-dimensional
perspective;and to be set off
from surroundingbuildingsin a decorousmanner,a concern
voicedregularlyin trecentodocuments.45
The questionis, how muchspaceandof whatform,precisely?
Fromjust how far away should we ideally see the building?
Intuitivejudgmentswerenot enoughto resolvethesequestions
andto decidejust whereto drawthe line aroundthe huge,everexpandingsquare,not for trecentoplannersfor whom more
determinatefactorswerealwayscritical.Nor did the difficulties
of realestateexpropriation(which favoredretainingold street
lines) play a stronglylimiting role at the piazza.To be sure,
such practicalconsiderations,in severeform, blockedany extension of the piazzaaroundto the south or east sidesof the
concernsweresignificanton the southboundpalace.46Practical
of
the
ary
square,andperhapson the east,butfarless so for the
final lines drawnin the 1360s and 1380s oppositethe main
facadesof the palazzoat the northandwest edges.Along these
two borderspracticallimitationsgave way to urbanisticneeds
andaestheticambitions.Here, some idealconceptwas at work
in determiningthepiazzadimensions.Rowsof housesandother
propertieswere demolishedor, still more revealing,brutally
sliced throughto push the buildinglines back ("amputated,"
readsthe document),and then reconstructed
along or close to
the new borderlineswith new facadesof prescribed
form:fronts
12-braccia
et
on
the
north;andrushigh, "pulcrum decentem,"
ticatedon the west, with a long tracttaking the form of an
immensefree-standing
high
precinctwall, whichwas 16-braccia
These extraordinary
(the so-calledMuraor Tetto dei Pisani).47
featuresevidentlyreflectedan idealscheme.But whatprecisely
was this scheme,andwhat concernswere behindit?
45. Braunfels,Toskana,116 ff.
46. The Dukeof Athensunsuccessfully
attemptedthisin 1342-1343.
Rubinstein,Piazza,23.
47. Frey,Loggia,216 f., Doc. 119, 220-227, 229 f., Doc. 139. The
myththattheMura(orTetto)dei PisaniwasbuiltbyPisanwarprisoners
in 1364 was demolishedby Frey,who explainedthat the wall of the
1380s replaceda smallerprecinctwall, closerto the palazzo,undocumentedin datebut builtpossiblyat the time of the finalizationof the
north side of the piazzafollowing 1362, in any case not by prisoners
but Florentinemasons(Ibid.,43 f.; cf. Rubinstein,Piazza,24, 26). The
finalstructure,togetherwith the housesbehindit, was replacedby the
late 19th-centuryinsurancebuilding(Palazzodelle AssicurazioniGeneralidi Venezia,1871).Earlyplansof Florence(Pozzi,1855;Fantozzi,
1843;mosteditionsof Zocchi,1781) indicatethatthe Pisanistreetline
wasretained,althougha cornerwas omittedto createa piazzettaat the
southwestof the piazzain the Via di Vacchereccia.For old views of
the structure,see LensiOrlandi,Palazzo,Figs. 153, 158 f., 194 f. The
word "tetto"referredto its overhangingroof, which gave the Muraa
loggialikecharacter(see Frey,Loggia,43 f.). Manyof the northpiazza
facadeswere alsorusticated,in the arcadedformtypicalof the decades
(Piazzadel Duomo, Via dei Calzaiuoli);they are clearlyseen in the
Bellottoview (LensiOrlandi,Palazzo,Fig. 158) and in our Fig. 30 of
the Via delle Farine.
From1349 onwardin the city councildeliberationsconcerning the destructionof propertyandrebuildingalongthe piazza
boundary,there is a recurringpreoccupationwith achieving
straight,aligned,squaredbordersin the piazza.This concern
echoesthroughsuch phrasesas "itaquodrectalineaprocedat"
(1349)48andin the 1386 rulingsthatin its finalformthe piazza
be "squadretur
et adequetur"49
andthat"debeatipsaplateaquadrariet ad quadrumet in quadrohonorabiliteractari."50
Evidently,the builderswho had earliersquaredthe palazzotower
with elaboratecorbellingwere now determinedsomehow to
the piazza.Itwasnecessarythatthe fullyformedpiazza
"square"
accommodatenot only practicalneedsandprovidean adequate
spaceandan obliqueperspectivefor the palazzo:the piazzahad
to achieveits own formalperfection.
In the debatesaboutthe bordersof the piazzawere heard
opinionsaboutwhich buildinglines or cornersshouldbe the
basisof the finalconfiguration,but the recordsdo not provide
the basisforthoseopinionsor anyspecificdimensions.Yet from
what we know of the planningof large-scalepublicspacesin
Florence,precisedimensionsand especiallythe ratiosbetween
those dimensionsand the geometricfiguresthey formedwere
all-important.These were absorbingproblemsof the most formidablebuildingprojectof the Florentinetrecento,the Duomo
planningof the 1350s and 1360s,51and while we areproneto
separatethe planningof churchinteriorsfrom that of piazzas,
this distinctionhas limited validity, especiallyin the present
case.There is every evidencethat the leadersof the cathedral
workshopparticipatedin, or even dominated,the planningof
the PiazzadellaSignoria.52
Lorenzodi Filippo,duringhis long
tenureas Duomo capomaestro
(1384-1394), supervisedthe pavof
the
in
in the following years,was put
1386
and,
ing
piazza
in chargeof rebuilding,adjacentto the piazza,the churchof S.
Cecilia originallyon the terrainof the square."3
In a similar
48. Frey,Loggia,209, Doc. 104.
50. Frey,Loggia,226; cf. Rubinstein,Piazza,26.
51. M. Trachtenberg,"The Planningof FlorenceCathedralfrom
1296 to 1366/67," Master'sthesis,New YorkUniversity,1963,44 ff.;
H. Saalman,SantaMariadelFiore,478 ff.; L. GoriMontanelli,La tradizionearchitettonica
Toscana,Florence,1971, 69 ff.; idem, "Il sistema
Ulrich
proporzionaledell'internodel Duomo di Forenze,"Festschrift
ed. H. Kosegartenand P. Tigler,Berlin, 1972, I, 64-72.
Middeldorf,
52. Beginningas early as 1362, the tower officials(a commission
directingvariouscommunalprojects)werein chargeof the piazzaplanning (Frey,Loggia,216, Doc. 119; 219, Doc. 128), but the Operadel
Duomowasput in chargeof specificprojectsin andaroundthe square,
includingthe pavingof the piazzain the 1380s (Ibid.,218, Doc. 127),
the reconstruction
of the churchesof S. RomoloandS. Ceciliaoriginally
on the siteandrebuiltadjacentto it (Ibid.,41 f., 91 f.), andthe widening
of the Via dei Calzaiuoli(Ibid.,248, 9 October1391).
53. Frey, Loggia,40 ff., 221 f., 227 ff. A cathedralarchitectwas
S. Romolo(andnot Agnolo
probablyalsoin chargeof the reconstructed
Gaddias Vasarisupposed;Ibid.,91 f.).
31
fashion, two other architects worked on projects bordering the
at the cathedral: Giopiazza during their tenure as capomaestro
vanni di Lapo Ghini built the Palazzo della Mercanziain 1359,54
and Simone di Francesco Talenti contributed heavily to the
Loggia della Signoria in 1376." These were the two principal
"satellite" buildings of the Palazzo Vecchio on the square.The
major street connecting the cathedral and the palazzo, the Via
dei Calzaiuoli, was systematized by the cathedral workshop in
1389-1391, using a type of rusticated stone facade also appearing at the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza della Signoria.56In
general, most if not all of the prominent Florentine architects
of the 14th century, whose names appear at such major communal projects as the Bargello and Orsannmichele, worked at
one time at the cathedral,which functioned as the architectural
center of the city well into the quattrocento.57If the architects
of the Piazza della Signoria were collectively those of the cathedral-unfortunately we do not know which individualsmight
have contributed most to the century-long process of creating
the piazza, although the ambitious Ghini and Simone Talenti
and the tenacious Lorenzo di Filippo would be strong candidates-there is every reason to believe that these builders used
similartechniques in laying out both roofed and unroofed public
spaces."8 Planning the 200 x 150-braccialayout of the Piazza
della Signoria was in many ways not all that different from
laying out the 270-braccialength of the cathedraland the colossal
54. G. Milanesi,Nuovidocumenti
toscana,
Florence,
perlastoriadell'arte
1901, 56.
55. Frey, Loggia,15 ff. The documentsrecordonly one architect
of the piazza,the obscureGiovanniJununequivocallyas capomaestro
tini in 1386 (Ibid.,219, Doc. 130).
56. See n. 52 above,andBraunfels,Toskana,118 f.
57. SeeBraunfels's
discussionof the "Stadtbaumeister"
216
(Toskana,
ff.). His claimthattherewas no activecity architectbetweenthe time
of Arnolfodi Cambioand Brunelleschiis open to question.There is
no concreteevidencethat Arnolfoplayedsuch a role, while on the
other handBraunfels'sown evidence(see especiallyp. 244) suggests
how extensivewas the participation
of the Duomo leaders(not always
but importantmasons)in otherworkshops.Neri di Fioracapomaestri,
vanti, for example,workedat the Campanile,the Duomo, Orsanmichele, and the Bargello;Benci di Cione at the Bargello,the Duomo,
and the Loggiaas structuralexpert.In my opinion (Campanile,
75 ff.)
AndreaPisanodesignedOrsanmichele
aswell aspartof the Campanile.
The realpoint shouldnot be lost in the issueas to whetherFlorence
wasin architectural
controlof a singlefigureat one momentoranother.
It was a small city with a numberof ambitiouscommunalprojects
underwaywithin a few blocksof each otherand with a limitedpool
of architectural
talentfor leadership;in a sense,Florencewas a single
workshopin the trecento,with the Duomoas its chiefcenter,andwith
designersmoving ratherfreely between projects.See also Saalman's
analysis,Cupola,181ff.
58. The tenuresof the three capomaestri
overlapthreeof the main
phasesof planningat the piazza-the early1360s,the 1370s,andthe
late 1380s. See Guidoni,Urbanistica,
53 ff., for specificevidenceof a
uniformityof geometricdesigntechniquesappliedto variousarchitecturaland urbanisticproblems(althoughwith frequentforcedand exDavidFriedman's
aggeratedinterpretations).
forthcomingbookon the
FlorentineNew Towns exploresthe geometryof town planning.
32
IPzAJ.
0
/
O
/
fU
Pro J.
SIfU)OTIA
r3v
0D
]LJ
PDMTR
VfccHI
circulation
of Florence
in thetrecento
diagram
Fig.25. North-south
(author).
72-braccia
diameterof the cupola.Nor was the concernof the
piazzaplannersfor its geometricregularity("debeatipsaplatea
quadrariet ad quadrumet in quadrohonorabiliteractari...")
unrelatedto the concernof the 1366 reporton the Duomo
project:that it be correctedto properproportions(".. . non
uscendola chiesadi sua ragionedi lungheczane di larghecza
n' d'altecza. . .").59In fact,thereis suggestiveevidencein the
dimensionsof the PiazzadellaSignoriathatthe techniquesused
in finalizingits borderswere those of standard14th-century
geometricplanningbest documentedat the cathedral.
Althoughwe think of the Piazzadella Signoriaas havinga
ratherregularL-shape,its plan revealsthat this is an illusion,
in good partgainedthroughsustainedandconsciousefforts.Its
form is quite irregular,and one does not easilyfind in it geoThis raisesthe obvious
metricalignmentsandcorrespondences.
are
crucial
differences
between
the designing
that
there
point
of interiorspacesandpiazzas.The geometryof a churchinterior,
for example,tends to be far more regularthan a piazza,for
while the lattermeetsdirectlywith a problematic,
irregularweb
of realestate,the churchwalls normallydefinea crisp,regular
of itsbuildingsite;andwithin
perimeterwithinthe buffer-space
59. C. Guasti,SantaMariadelFiore,Florence,1887, 167, Doc. 141.
two blocksopeningontothe
Florence,
Fig. 26. Viadei Calzaiuoli,
PiazzadellaSignoria,
showingthe wideningandrusticated
facingof
1389-1391(author).
thosechurchwallsthe dividingandshapingof spaceis usually
ratherclearandobvious.The underlyinggeometryof the medievalpiazzais rarelyobvious,andto perceiveit (whereit exists)
we need generallyto take into accountnot only the historyof
the piazzabut the historicaland physicalcontingenciesof the
surroundingarea.
To comprehendthe patternof the PiazzadellaSignoria,we
mustfirsttakenote of a shift that occurredin the mainstreets
in centralFlorence(Fig. 25). In 1299, when the palazzowas
begun,an ancientmainstreet(thecardoof RomanFlorence)led
fromthe Duomoareathroughthe citycenter:the ViaCalimalaPor SanMaria,runningfrom the Baptisteryand the Bishop's
PalacepasttheMercatoto the PonteVecchio.With the creation
of the PalazzoVecchio,the Via dei Cerchi,which ranfromthe
areasouth of the Duomo towardthe Piazzadegli Uberti,acquireda potentialnew importance.Afterthe Duke of Athens
createdthe Via delle Farinein 1343 to connect the Via dei
Cerchi with the piazza,the narrowstreetprovideda direct
conduitto the northfacadeof the palace;but the importance
of this conduitwas soon overshadowed.In the courseof the
century,in conjunctionwith the evolvingPalazzoVecchioand
its ever-expandingsquare,a new urbanaxis took shapeon the
Via dei Calzaiuoli,runningfrom the Duomo and Baptistery
pastOrsanmicheleto the northwestcornerof the Piazzadella
Signoria.60This cornerbecamethe mainentranceto the square
in placeof the Via dei Cerchiinlet. With the wideningof the
blockson the Via dei Calzaiuolibetweenthe piazzaand Orsanmichelein 1389 and their new rusticatedfacing,a monumentalfoyerto the squarewas created(Fig. 26).61
60. Braunfels,Toskana,119; Fanelli,Firenze,97 f.
61. The street nomenclatureis complicatedby changesover the
centuriesandby the Florentinehabitof assigningdifferentnamesto
variousstretchesof a street.The presentViadei Calzaiuoli,whichruns
fromthe Duomo to the PiazzadellaSignoria,originallybeganas the
TRACHTENBERG:
MONUMENT
VECCHIO
33
UN
( \
u
~~7a
71
/
.1
70
HT
iT
1A
Loc
Fig. 27. PiazzadellaSignoria,scaledplanwith dimensionalanalysis(author).
The emergenceof the majorentranceto the Piazza della
Signoriaon the Via dei Calzaiuoliwas inevitable.A principal
axisof centralFlorence,the streetterminatedat the criticalline
of view to the palace,dramatizingthe obliqueperspectiveof
the building.The Via dei Calzaiuolicorneralso figuredin the
shapingof the piazzaandin giving a formof regulargeometry
to the site. Indeed,the corneris crucialto understanding
how
the plannersdeterminedthe extent of the expansionof the
piazzain the 1360s-1380s, that is, preciselyhow far from the
palazzoto set its northernand westernsidesor exactlywhere
to set the corneron the Via dei Calzaiuoli.
The distanceto the nearcornerof the Viadei Calzaiuolifrom
the base of the visual axis of the palaceas noted earlier(the
cornerof the tower) is 92.5 m. (Fig. 27).62 This dimension
almost equalsthe 94 m. (c. 160 braccia)
height of the tower,
CorsodegliAdamari,continuedas the Via de' Pittori,andendedas the
Via de' Cacciajuoli.Strictlyspeaking,the Via dei Cerchiendsa block
beforethe piazza,the lastsegmentbeingthe Viadelle Farine.Cf. Frey,
storicobiografico
dellacittddi Firenze,
391, and D. Guccerelli,Stradario
Florence,1929.
62. This dimension,as most of the othersbelow, is takenfrom a
recentplanof the piazzadrawnat the scaleof 100:1,by the technical
officeof the Comunedi Firenze.Thisplanis the basisof Fig. 27, which
smoothsout some of the irregularities
on the northside (mainlyposttrecentochanges),andrestoresthe Tetto (Mura)dei Pisaniin the place
of the present19th-centuryinsurancebuilding,following indications
of historicalmapsof the city. See n. 47, above.
measuredto the top of the pyramidalspire that roofs the columnarbelfryandsupportsa staffcarryingthe bannerlikeFlorentine symbols,the gilded copperMarzocco
and Giglio.63 The
dimensionalrelationshipwas even closerbeforethe widening
of the Via dei Calzaiuoliin 1389. The questionis, what was
the significanceof this strikingcorrespondence?
Was it merely
63. Like so many aspectsof the palazzo,the constructionof the
originalroof spireis not found in survivingdocuments.Repairwork
on it, however,seems to appearas early as 19 February1333 in an
forrepairof the "coperture
appropriation
campanemagnepalatiipopuli
de quarumcasuet rovinatimetur"(Davidsohn,Florenz,IV, 502). The
of the trecentowas gildedin 1396,possiblya regilding
copperMarzocco
of its weatheredsurface(Lensi,PalazzoVecchio,
47). In 1453,the entire
was refurbished,with the pyramidgiven a roofingof
superstructure
gildedcopperandthe symbolsreplaced(Ibid.,59). The superstructure
is omittedfromthe mid-trecentoviews of the palazzo(in the Bigallo
view, possiblyfor lackof space),butit appearsin the earlyquattrocento
S. Zenobiusrelief panel originallyin the wall of the Tower of the
Girolami(now in the PalazzoVecchio;Ibid.,ill. on p. 30). The 1453
gildingof the little spiremadeit so prominentthat it appearsin most
subsequentdepictionsof the palazzo,includingthe Del Massaioview
of Florenceof c. 1470, the Berlin "Chain"woodcut of 1471-1482,
andthe Savanarola
panel(Fanelli,Firenze,II, Figs. 386, 388, 393) and
the Domenicodi Michelino"Dante"panelof the 1470s.
The heightof the towerlessthe spireis 87 m. (c. 150 braccia),
which
comescloseenoughto the 92.5- to 94-m. viewingdistanceto establish
a morethan90 percentparity,andI would haveusedit in the analysis
of the piazzawere it not for the near-perfect
parityofferedby the roof
spire.
34
JSAH, XLVII:1,
MARCH
1988
accidental,or was it by design? If by design, it would of necessity
have yielded some meaningful benefit to the builders. Most
likely, it would fit not only into a system of values but into a
set of further dimensional correspondences to be found in the
piazza, and ideally it would be supportedby analogies with other
sites. It would not be an isolated phenomenon.
The correspondence of the height of the tower and the distance from its base to the Via dei Calzaiuoli yields a comfortable
45* viewing angle of the tower. This was significant to the
trecento architects, concerned not only with the way buildings
were formed, but intensely with the way they were perceived.
A well-designed monument, after being built at tremendous
expense, demanded to be properly exhibited, even at high cost.
This concern involved both visual access and the mental satisfaction of planners with mathematical harmonies built into the
view. At the piazza, the concern was not limited to the vertical
angle of vicw. The Via dei Calzaiuoli perspective from the west
side of the street, at a point 98.5 m. (c. 170 braccia)from the
northwest edge of the tower, offers a 900 horizontal sweep from
its north to its west wall (Fig. 28).64 This "squared" angle,
moreover, is precisely bisected into two 450 arcs by the line to
the palace axis. In other words, the observer arriving at the foot
of the Via dei Calzaiuoli was offered a 900 panoramawith the
tower at its center rising to a 450 viewing angle. By moving to
the left or right of the street, our observer could achieve either
the precise 450 vertical angle or the exactly bisected 900 sweep,
but not both simultaneously. The differences were slight, however, especially to the empirical, multipoint-perspective vision
of the period. To the eye the effect was essentially the same
from one side of the street to the other: a grand architectural
scene in which a vast asymmetrical space and a colossal asymmetrical building were made to form a precisely divided, balanced tableau, dominated by the huge tower at its center.
We have stressed how the tower, with its northwest corner
forming the dynamically balanced axis of the entire building,
took visual control over the palace after 1306. It appears that
the tower (with all its trenchant political symbolism) eventually
was brought by the planners to take visual control of the piazza
as well, thus becoming the tightly balanced focus of the entire
site. Our eye always leaps to the tower when we first arrive at
the piazza, and now it is clear that this is not only due to its
great height.
Confirming our reading of intentionality in the angular correspondences of the Via dei Calzaiuoli view is the remarkably
analogous panorama created contemporaneously at the Piazza
del Duomo. Like the Palazzo Vecchio, the east end of the
Duomo was erected over a site cleared of ancient real estate,
64. The northbordermeandersslightlybackandforthfroma theoreticalstraightline fromthe Viadei Calzaiuolito the farcornerat the
Mercanzia,which is usedfor the angularcalculation.
"
Fig. 28. Piazzadella Signoria,isometricrenderingof viewing angles
fromthe cornerof the Via dei Calzaiuoli(author).
and as it was being built in the late 14th century, space was
opened around it following a master plan of 1388 (Fig. 29). To
the north of the whole cathedral and to the south of the nave,
streets of even width were carved out. These streets did not
allow a full comfortable view of the mountainous east end,
which needed not a street but a deep, wide piazza to be properly
viewed. This spacewas providedby a large triangularareaopened
up to the southeast of the cupola. As was the case at the Piazza
della Signoria, the key viewpoint in this major areaof the Piazza
del Duomo was at the foot of an important artery, the Via del
Proconsolo. The viewpoint also was arrangedto provide a closely
framed view of the completed Campanile, achieved in part by
the angularcropping of houses blocking the line of view, further
evidencing Florentine concern with how their monuments were
seen and their determination to set things right, and in a dauntingly precise manner.65The cupola, however, was the main
aspect of the view. Remarkably, the distance from the Via del
Proconsolo corner to the cupola axis (c. 165 braccia)is close to
the height of the cupola (c. 170 bracciaas probably projected in
the trecento), yielding the same 450 viewing angle as at the
65. Note thaton one sidethe sightlinegrazesthe Duomo,while on
the otherit is close enoughto the oppositestreetwall to suggestthat
the Piazzato the southof the Duomowaswidenedto a line determined
by the Campanileview. The Operadel Duomobeganto openthisview
to the Campanileas earlyas 1367 with the destructionof some of its
Campanile,
124). It shouldbe noted that
own property(Trachtenberg,
the width of the areasouthof the Duomo was determinedin partby
the call for an equal streetwidth aroundthe Duomo, here effected
directlyoppositethe south tribune,with the piazzawalls to the east
shavedbackon a diagonalasa transitionto the areanearthe Campanile;
however,this streetwidth may havebeen partlydeterminedwith the
west view to the Campanilein mind.
TRACHTENBERG:
MONUMENT
VECCHIO
35
the ArnolfianDuomo fagadeprojectof 1296. The new fagade,
which cut acrossthe old nave of S. Reparata,was set at on a
about73 braccia
from the centerof the Baptistery,which
Sline
itself rises72 braccia
to the top of the lantern,creatinga nearperfect1:1 view from the centerportalof the cathedral.68
0
COPMTo
medievalplannersthe angularsymmetriesandcorresponDuc o
that we have observedaroundthe Duomo and at the
Piazzadella Signoriahad a value more definableand elevated
PWX07o
than viewing comfortand aestheticbalance.Geometricalforr c , den?e•ces
mulas,aswe know,wereof high significanceto medievalbuilders,not only as designtechniquesbut as an architectural
feature
of absolutevalue. Harmoniousproportionswere synonymous
with strengthand beautyand were signs of the worthinessof
a building(orthe rooflessbuildingformedby a piazza)for man
and God, andthis madeproportionsa sinequanonof medieval
PlanwithviewFig.29. PiazzadelDuomo,Florence.
fromthefoot
design.69Thus at the Piazzadella Signoriawe find a nexus of
inganglesto thecupolaandCampanile
of the Viadel Proconsolo
(author,after18th-century
viewing angles, distance,and buildingheight contributingto
planof Sgrilli).
an intrinsic,almostspiritualperfection.But it would havebeen
far from "perfection"were this single knot of mathematical
the onlyone to be foundin thevast,complicated
correspondence
palazzo.66Continuingthe analogy,we shouldobservethat the
site.This was especiallytruesincewhatwas mostcrucialto the
panoramais about90*at the Duomo, andwhile the line to the
thinkingof medievalarchitectswas not the merepresenceof a
cupolaaxis does not preciselybisect the viewing angle, it is
particularratio or formula,but the "recurrenceof the same
close enoughto makethe cupolalook centered.67
to "automatically
createan organicunit."70Letus
proportions"
It is to be furtherobservedthat the conceptionof parityof
determineto whatextentthisbenignstateobtainedatthe Piazza
buildingheight andviewing distancefoundat the Piazzadella
della Signoria,firstby pointing out which ratiosor formulas
Signoriaandthe cupolawas not an innovationof the late 14th
wereaptto be foundin sucha trecentosite,andthenby studying
century.It hadalreadybeen introducedto Florentineplanning the site for theirrecurringpresence,usingourtower-Calzaiuoli
in the late Dugento systematization
of the Baptisteryareaand
line as a point of departure.
As is well established,one of the keyratiosin medievaldesign
66. Thecupolaextrados
risesto c. 150braccia
(theheightof Palazzo was the simplest,1:1. Geometrically,this ratioformsa square,
a figureubiquitousin trecentoarchitecture,notablyin groundenormous
lanternis
Vecchiotowerwithoutthe spire).Brunelleschi's
theheightof thecupolavaultitself.If we canjudge plansand
nearlytwo-thirds
An associateddesignformula,the quadvault-bays.71
theoriginal
idea
fromtheSpanish
Chapelfresco,inthetrecento
project
rature
used
the
series,
diagonalof a squareas the length of the
calledfor a lanternapproximately
one-thirdthe heightof the vault,
sides
of
a
to c. 170braccia.
largersquarewhose diagonalprovidesthe sidesof a
bringingthetotalheightof thestructure
extensive
of
the
Piazza
del
67. Cf.Fanelli's
Duomo
still
(Firenze,
analysis
largersquare,andso on.72In Florencethis serieswas used,
thesignificance
of thisarea.Hedoes
I, 98 ff.;II,278),whichoverlooks
maketheimportant
point(p.97) thatthePiazzadelDuomois meant
to setoffthecathedral,
thegreatspaceof thecomplexbeing
essentially
insidethebuilding,
unlikethePiazzadellaSignoria,
whosefunctionis
68. Mythanksto TodMarder
forprompting
meto followup my
spatial as well as visual. One can continue the comparison: at both the
Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio the planners surrounded the monument with two kinds of space-a relatively narrow belt of streets and
a true piazza from which actually to view the structure.The difference
is in the balance between the two modes: at the Duomo the streets
dominate; at the palazzo the piazza dominates. Other partsof the Piazza
del Duomo also incorporatedprecise geometric planning: the parallelism
to the north of the building, and the distance from Arnolfo's facade to
the Baptistery, discussed below. Also, it would seem more than coincidental that the three free views of the Campanile-from the Volta
de Pecori, the Via dei Martelli, and the space opposite the south tribune
of theDuomo-ran,respectively,
131braccia,
c. 130braccia,
andc. 144
all closeto the 139-braccia
braccia,
heightof the toweritself.Thus,to
thetrecentothespacearoundthecathedral
wasnottheformless
void
thatit superficially
seriesof related
seems,buttheresultof anempirical
dimensional
calculations.
suspicions about the Baptistery view. Kreytenberg has observed that the
fagadecorners align with the projection of the oblique sides of the
Baptistery (Dom, Fig. 30). This alignment, although undoubtedly taken
into account by the planners, was probably a factor secondary to the
parity of building height and viewing distance, which we have found
to be a preoccupation of planning in the period.
69. On this subject see, for example, P. Frankl, "The Secret of the
Medieval Masons," Art Bulletin, XXVII, 1945, 60 f.; J. S. Ackerman,
"'Ars Sine Scientia Nihil Est,' " Art Bulletin, XXXI, 1949, 84 f.; O.
Von Simson, The Gothic Cathedral,Originsof GothicArchitecture
and the
MedievalConceptof Order,London, 1956.
70. Frankl,"Secret,"
65.
71. The Duomo,Orsanmichele,
Camera
dell'Arme
of the Palazzo
Vecchio,Bargellocourtandcouncilhall,etc.
72. Onthequadrature
alsoGuidoni,
Urbaniseries,Frankl,
"Secret";
stica,69 f.; andNyberg(n. 74, below).
36
Fig.30. PiazzadellaSignoriaattheViadelleFarine,showingrusticated
trecentofacingof the piazzaandstreet,after1362 (author).
for example, in the dimensions of the cathedralpiers and foundations,73in marble intarsia design (the Baptistery and Campanile), and in a simplified way, later by Brunelleschi.74These
two geometric principles together with the preference for precise alignments were at work at the Piazza della Signoria. Used
loosely and pragmatically,indeed improvisationally (not unlike
the methods of empirical 14th-century perspective),they appear
to pervade the dimensioning of the entire site in a brilliantly
"recurring" manner. In my opinion, the resulting pattern of
dimensions is so dense that it can only have been largely intentional.
Thus, the line between the base of the tower and the Via dei
Calzaiuoli forms the diagonal of a roughly squarearea. Its sides
measure about 70-79 m., with the east side along the palazzo
measuring 75 m. (about 130 braccia).The latter dimension approximates the diagonal of a secondary square formed in the
old Uberti area,with two sides measuringprecisely 52 and 52.5
m. (about 90 braccia).In this piazzetta, we use as a key point
the east corner of the Via delle Farine (Fig. 30), the last block
of the Via dei Cerchi path that was widened, probably in the
77 ff.;Saalman,SantaMariadelFiore,
73. GoriMontanelli,Tradizione,
Architectural
478; cf. idem., "EarlyRenaissance
Theoryand Practice
di Architetettura,"
in AntonioFilarete'sTrattato
ArtBulletin,XLI, 1959,
89 ff.
74. E.g., in the Old Sacristyplan. See D. Nyberg, "A Studyof
M.A. thesis, New York
Proportionsin Brunelleschi'sArchitecture,"
Use of Proportionsin the
University,1953, andidem.,"Brunelleschi's
PazziChapel,"Marsyas,
VII, 1957, 1 ff.
75. This operationis not recordedin the documents,but in the
absenceof otherevidenceit maybe seenas partof the definitionof the
northborderof the piazzain 1362. See Frey'sanalysisof the operation
91 f., note),revealingthe wideningof otherstreetsin
of 1362 (Loggia,
the areaat the time;the buildingcommissionwas given wide discretionarypowers,which they maywell haveexercisedby addingto the
projectthe Via delle Farinefoyer (which may have been seen as an
of the northborderof the piazza).
integralpartof the systematization
On theotherhand,it is possiblethatthe foyerwascreatedin connection
Fig. 31. View throughVia delle FarinefromVia dei Cerchi,showing
view of PalazzoVecchiowest fagadeandtower(author).
1360s,75to bring its east wall into near-precisealignment with
the west palace front. The location of the west wall of this
Cerchi/Farine foyer permitted the west faqade of the palazzo
and the tower to be seen from the narrow street in a tightly
framed manner similar to the view of the Campanile from the
Via del Proconsolo corner (Figs. 31, 32). This widening operation reveals that the Via dei Cerchi retained its importance in
the fully developed scheme.6
Proceeding further, we observe that the dimensions of the
sides of the Uberti-square are close to the 51-m. diagonal of
the palace. The Loggia della Signoria, which is set on a line
with the wideningof the Via dei Calzaiuoliin 1389-1391, although
thiswouldseemlesslikely.Wereit the case,the argumentof thispaper
would not be affectedexceptto revisethe orderof planningeventsin
text.
Fig. 35 andthe accompanying
76. Other streetsaroundthe Piazzawere also widened,including
the Via dei Magazziniandthe Via di Vacchereccia,
thoughnot in the
monumentalmannerof the Viadei Calzaiuoliandthe ViadelleFarine.
See Frey,Loggia,12; 91, note;44.
TRACHTENBERG:
j
A~jcL
o&aclRAL
or
vis.;
Sof
MT
indication
of viewof PalazzoVecFig.32. Diagrammatic
chio beforeandafterwideningof the Via delleFarine
entrance
Dimensions
and
foyertothePiazzadellaSignoria.
forclarity(author).
anglesexaggerated
extendingthe southwall of the palazzo,alsois includedin this
network,for its width togetherwith its distancefrom the adjacentcornerof the palazzocomesto 50 m. That the planners
accountedfor the spacebetweenthe two buildingsis indicated
by the repetitionof thisdistance-1i1.9 m. (c. 20 braccia)-inthe
interaxialspacingof the loggia piers. The 50-m. distance,in
addition,put the westerncornerof the Loggia in alignment
with the pre-1389eastwall of the Via dei Calzaiuoli.To add
a final echo to this scheme of recurringmeasures,the 72-m.
edge of the piazzaon the south is nearlyequal to the 71-m.
length of the adjacentwest perimeter,creatingan overlapping
squarearea.77
77. See Guidoni,Urbanistica,
Figs.32, 33, for examplesof such
monumental
sites.Fanelli's
of thePiazza
geometric
"squared"
analysis
is imprecise
dellaSignoria
andlargelyanachronistic
I, 97;II,
(Firenze,
280).
MONUMENT
VECCHIO
37
Againthe cathedralplanningservesto amplifyour interpretation.The way the largeand small sub-squares
of the Piazza
dellaSignoriawere dimensionallyrelatedis reminiscentof the
way the Duomo plannersof the 1360s managedto bringinto
mathematicalharmonythe disparatemodulesof the nave bay
seriesbutsimple
systemandthe cupola,usingnot the quadrature
whole ratios.To the four baysof the nave (basedon a 33-34
bracciamodule) were "added"the oversized crossing piers,
twice the 72-braccia
diameter
bringingthe whole to 144 braccia,
of the cupola.78
at
both
the
Duomo
and
the
Similarly,
Signoria,
proportionsof plan and elevationare integratedthree dimensionally(as we have alreadyobservedin the integratedvisual
anglesof view of the piazzaandthe cupola).At the Duomo,the
cupolarisesto a theoretical144 braccia
internally,equallingthe
above
lengthof the nave.The tambourbaseis located72 braccia
the pavement.At the Signoria,the squaresof the piazzaplan
arereflectedin the emphaticallysquareproportionsof the west
of the palazzo(measuredto the top of the battlements).
facade
Andasin the internalproportionsof the cupola,the totalheight
of the palazzoexterior(includingthe tower) is twice the base
its mainfagade.79
The geometricdefinitionof the westernpiazzaandthe northern piazzettamay havereflectedmorethana Florentineobsession with perfectionof a design. It also appearsto reflectthe
functionaldevelopmentof the site. Towardsthe mid-trecento
the two areascame to serve differentfunctions.8oWith the
construction
between1345andthe 1360sof the imposingpalace
of the Mercanziaandthe nearbyresidencesof the Esecutoredi
Giustiziaand the Ufficialidella Condotta,the Uberti areaassumedsomethingof the characterof a specializedadministrative
piazzetta.Itsdetachmentfromthe PalazzoVecchioandthe rest
of the piazzawas underscoredin 1380 with the walling-upof
the northdoor of the palace.Simultaneously,the publiccharacterof the main,westernpiazza("of the Signoria,andof the
78. Trachtenberg,
Florence
65ff.Cf.A.Gatti's
earlier
Cathedral,
study
of theDuomoproblem(LaBasilica
Petroniana,
Bologna,1913,51
ft.)
andalsoGoriMontanelli,
Tradizione.
79. Theremarkable
chainof recurring
andrelatedratiosestablished
atthepiazzacanbeexpanded
in another
anddescribed
way.Thepoint
of departure
wasthepredetermined
distance
fromtheViadellaNinna
to thenorthwest
cornerof theForaboschi
asX. The
tower,
widthof thewestpalacewall(terminated
nearthedesignated
PiazzadegliUberti)
became2X.Thislaterdetermined
theheightof thefacadethroughthe
battlements,
itsbattlements),
again2X.Thetowerroseto 4X (through
whichtogetherwithitsspire(4X+) determined
theviewingdistance
to theViadei Calzaiuoli.
This4X+ viewingdistance
formedthedi(4X+)2
whosesidesmeasured
about
2 servingas
agonalof a square
the diagonalof the piazzetta
whosesideswereanothersuchformula.
Thesein turnwerein nearparitywiththediagonal
of thepalazzoand
the lengthof the Loggiaplusits distance
fromthepalazzo.SeeGori
of thePalazzo
Montanelli,
61,fora morecomplete
Tradizione,
analysis
Vecchio
ratioof theheightsof the
proportions,
involving
facade andof thetoweranditscrown.
facade
andthebattlements
80. Rubinstein,
26.
Piazza,
38
JSAH, XLVII:1,
MARCH
1988
people,"asRubinsteinputsit) wasaggrandized
by its integration
into the maincirculationaxis of Florenceandthe construction
of the LoggiadellaSignoria.Yet this distinctionshouldnot be
carriedtoo far.The Florentinestate,for all its multipleoffices,
remainedone,just as did the piazza.The mannerin which the
yet made
piazzaand piazzettaare geometricallydifferentiated
to formpartof a large,articulateunitfull of recurringmeasures,
with a compellingvisualfocus on the symbol-chargedtower,
maybe seenasa metaphoricexpressionof the highlyarticulated
unity of the Florentinerepublic.
toFlorentine
Responding
topography
The factssuggestthatthe geometricintricacyof planningat
the Piazza della Signoriawas determinedby more than the
internalcoherenceof measure.It was affectedby the street
circulationpatternsthatwe haveobserved,but alsoby the very
geometryunderlyingthe largerFlorentinetopography,in a
mannerboundup with the form of the palazzoitself. It is not
generallyrealizedthat the center of Florenceembodiestwo
conflictingstreetpatterns(somethingso obviousthatit is overlooked,Fig. 33). One is the gridpatterninheritedfromRoman
Florence,alignedlike most plannedRomancities on the lines
of the compass,with streetsrunningnorth-southandeast-west.
This grid conflictedwith the bed of the Arno, which slants
southeastto northwest.The medievalstreetsin the triangular
areabetweenthe Arnoandthe Romangridaregenerallyaligned
with the river.81The palazzoand the piazzalie in the border
zonebetweenthe two conflictingstreetpatterns,with the palazzo engagedin the medievalgrid, while most of the squareis
closer to Roman Florence.It is revealinghow the planners
eventuallyresolvedthis conflictwith subtlemanipulationsof
buildinglines,
The planof the palazzoentaileda passiveacceptanceof the
gridgeneratedby the Arno.Its west wall was laid out alongan
adjacentmedievalstreet,andthe eastwall was establishedparallelto it, with the connectingnorthwall squaredto the adjacent
fronts.The rearwall to the southfollowedthe narrowViadella
Ninna,oppositethe flanksof S. PierScheraggio,probablyover
re-usedfoundations,even though this resultedin a sharpdeviation from rectangularityin the plan. Although Giovanni
Villanilamentedthis"deformation"
writingshortlyafterwards,
unwittinglyannouncingthe themeof the eventualpiazzaplanning in his wish thatthe palazzocouldhavebeen squared,82he
could hardlyhave foreseenthe problemthat would laterarise
duringthe evolutionof the piazzadue to the orientationof the
palazzo.
thehistorical
81. Compare
II,Fig.3.
mapin Fanelli,Firenze,
XXVI.
BookIX, Chapter
82. G. Villani,Cronica,
N
A
MT
Fig. 33. Diagrammatic
showingangular
divergence
planof Florence
of RomanFlorence
fromtheareaalongtheArno,withsituation
of the
palace
and
square,
and
the
borders
to
correction
of
the
piazza
pivoted
square
withpalace(authe
bordersr).
If the northsideof the fully evolvedsquarehadbeenallowed
to run parallelto the "Roman"streetsbehindit, a strongand
would have resultedvis-i-vis the
objectionablenonparallelism
north palacefacade,roughlyalignedas it was with the Arno
grid. Similarly,if the west line of the Via dei Calzaiuolihad
beenextendedin a straightline as the west borderof the piazza,
thatborderwouldhavebeen noticeablynonparallelto the west
wall of the palace.Both resultswould have disturbedplanners
obsessedwith getting things "square."This goal meant not
only straighteningand squaringthe outer piazzabordersand
creatingcoherentdimensionsbut making those bordersrun
nearlyparallelto the walls of the palacethey faced.
The solution?Becausethe completedpalazzoobviouslycould
not be turnedto align with RomanFlorence,the incomplete
piazzawouldbe turnedtowardsthe palace.Thus, the two sides
of the piazzaoppositethe mainpalacewallsappearto havebeen
pivotedclockwiseto a close (butneverperfect)parallelismwith
thosewalls,usingthe Viadei Calzaiuolicornerasthe theoretical
fulcrum(Figs. 33, 35). That is, when the piazzaboundaries
were finalized,they deviatedfromthe Romangridthey might
havefollowed(i.e., the Via del Carbo/Fiaschito the north,the
Viadei Calzaiuolion the west).Aspartof theboundary-defining
proceduredescribedearlier,this new alignmentwas achieved
by slicingthroughor demolishinghousesalongthe piazzabordersandthen rebuildingthem with uniformfacadesandin one
casea free-standingprecinctwall. Therewas greaterexactitude
TRACHTENBERG:
MONUMENT
VECCHIO
39
on the west than on the northborder,where residualpractical
Why were the piazzawalls not madeperfectlyparallelwith
factorscreatedslight divergencesfrom a straightline.83Once
the palazzo?Leavingasidethe imponderable
factorof realestate,
a
for
the
the
cathedral
two
answers
be
offered.
The
trecento
again
procedure
provides comparison,
may
eye was presumably
was substantiallythe same in 1388 in creatingthe piazzalike quitewilling to toleratesuchapproximatevisualsolutions.But
Via delle Fondamentato the northof the Duomo, whereprop- more important,there were conflictingdesiderata.Becauseof
werebuilt
the anglesinvolved,the goal of a centerline of vision to the
ertywasdemolishedanduniformlyrusticatedfaCades
in near-parallelism
to the polygonalDuomo walls (Fig. 29).84 tower from the Via dei Calzaiuolicornerconflictedwith the
At the Duomo, as at the Piazzadella Signoria,this operation idealof perfectparallelism(Fig. 34). Hadthe piazzawallsbeen
built exactlyparallelto those of the palazzo,the line of vision
produceda coherenceof buildingandsite thatotherwisewould
havebeen compromised.
to the towerwould no longerhavebeen at the viewing center.
The alignmentof the bordersof the Piazzadella Signoria Evidentlycenteringprecisionhad the higherpriority,and uncontributesstronglyto the illusion,soughtby the planners,of
so, for it put the palazzoin the exactcenterof the
derstandably
the piazzaas a regularL-shapedspace.Other measuresadded principalview of the piazza.87By acceptingit, the planners
to this impression.Directlyoppositethe principalpalacefront, effecteda compromisein the degreeof parallelism,betweenthe
on the west, the most extremedefinitionof the shapeof the
severenonalignmentof the pre-existingstreetlines and ideal
piazzawas createdin the huge "Muradei Pisani,"a precinct perfection.Once again,the 14th-centurymannerof achieving
wall that musthavebeen a controversialfeaturefor it blocked anoptimalsolutionof complexdesignproblemsthrougha pragthe view and accessto the piazzafrom the housesbehind it.
matic,empiricalapproachand subtlereconciliationis evident.
The "squared"
impressionof the piazza,furthermore,wasrein- In this particularcase,a comparisonwith practicesof contemforcedby the way the pavement(from1351 onwards)hadbeen porarypaintingis irresistible:
the near-parallelism
of the piazza
divided into rectangularsectionsof bricks.85The illusion of
wallswould be an urbanisticcounterpartto the mode of "softenedobliquesettings"of trecentoperspective
unitybetweenpalaceandsquare,finally,was heightenedby the
construction,
which
rusticatedtreatmentprescribedfor the new housefrontson the
also provideda subtlecompromisesolutionto conflictingaeswest side (realizedalso extensivelyon the north),which was theticdemands.88Thisconnectionandthe emphasisatthe piazza
intendedto reflectthe grandioserusticationof the palazzowalls on creatinga panoramictableauof controlledpictorialcharacter
and to continuethe rusticationof the borderingVia dei Cal- stronglysuggestthatif in factits creatorscamefromthe Duomo
zaiuoliandViadelleFarine.Thatthe eastandsouthsides(dom- workshopasI havesuggested,amongthem maywell havebeen
those painterswho were so conspicuousin the mid-trecento
inated, respectively,by the Palazzodella Mercanziaand the
LoggiadellaSignoria)wereallowedto formoddanglesscarcely cathedralplanning,beginningwith GiottoandincludingTadaffectsthe illusionfromthe all-importantviewpointat the foot
deo Gaddi,Orcagna,and their colleaguesandfollowers.
of the Via dei Calzaiuoli.86
Theconceptual
procedure
83. Defininga morepreciseparallelism
on thewestmayhavebeen
a factorin thereplacement
of thefirstMuradeiPisaniwiththesecond,
to the
largerwallin the late 1380s(cf. n. 47). Changessubsequent
trecento
affected
thenorthborder,
inparticular
thelossoftheS.Romolo
of theprotruding
PalazzoUguccioni.
D. Giofacadeandtheaddition
di prospettiva,"
seffi,"Complementi
Critica
n.s.XXIV,1957,
d'Arte,
of precisely
486, notesthe difficulty
the northpiazza
reconstructing
border.
84. AsatthePiazzadellaSignoria,
noteverysegmentof thepiazza
ranpreciselyparallelto the monument;
boundary
specialallowance
aroundtheViadeiServi.
evidentlymadeforcontingencies
85. Rubinstein,
Piazza,22, 26.
86. Theoddanglesofthesebuildings
werenotarbitrary.
TheLoggia,
aspointedout,is alignedwiththesouthwallof thepalazzo.
Although
the slantof the Mercanzia
witha reuseof
mayhavebeenconnected
oldfoundations,
it wouldseemmoreprobable,
giventhecomprehensive
planningof the restof the piazza,thatits anglewasto somedegree
purposeful.
JustastheLoggiaranto thesouthwallof thepalazzo,so
the Mercanzia
rantowardthe eastterminus
of the extensionof the
northpalacewallbegunbytheDukeof Athensin 1342-1343.Ascan
beseenintheSavanrola
panel(Lensi,
Palazzo,
94),untilthecinquecento
thiswallwasonlyonestoryhighandthuswassetoffclearlyfromthe
to it on the Viadei Gondiandalongthe
higherbuildingsadjacent
behindthepalace.Thisinterpretation
wouldmeanthattheodd
dogana
Thereremainsthe questionof how the buildersactuallywent
aboutplanningthe grandandintricatescheme.On the strictly
technicalside, one imaginesthat the designersof the piazza
combinedthe draftingand physicalsurveyproceduresdocumentedin the Duomo planningof the 1350s and 1360s with
the urbanisticsurveyingrequiredfor such projectsas the new
walls, the FlorentineNew Towns, and the detailedplan of
anglesin question
wereintended
to "close"thecircuitof thepiazzaat
bothends,wherethelinesof theLoggiaandtheMercanzia
rantoward
thecorners,
of thepalaceandthepalaceextension.
respectively,
87. Medieval
thisemphasis
opticaltheorywouldhavesupported
on
thecentral
lineofvision.SeeD. C.Lindberg,John
Pecham
andtheScience
andLondon,1970,37 ff.,in particular
ofOptics,
Madison,
Milwaukee,
thefollowingpassage
a principal
summarizing
theoryof thePerspectiva
communis
ofJohnPecham,
considered
the"standard
elementary
optical
textbook
of thelateMiddleAges":". .. whentheeyeviewstheobject
asa whole,onlythepointseenbythecentral
axisof thevisualpyramid
... is seenwithperfectclarity"(p.39).
88. J. White,TheBirthandRebirth
Boston,1967,
ofPictorial
Space,
61 ff. andpassim.
40
JSAH, XLVII:1,
MARCH
1988
I
/
SIS/
/
VCAL*2AIUOLI
I ULT
AtsTINc LINES
"4.........
dPRtE
.. . . IDEALPARALLELISM
of alternative
solutions
forbringing
thenorthandwestborders
of thePiazzadellaSignoria
Fig.34. Analysis
intoparallelism
withthePalazzoVecchio,witheffectson thevisuallineof bisection
(author).
Florencecreatedin the early 14th century."'Such techniques
were undoubtedlyemployedat almostevery large-scaleFlorentinebuildingsite. But it is the conceptualproceduredevised
for the uniqueproblemsof the Piazzadella Signoriathat we
wantmorepreciselyto reconstructhere.The finalconfiguration
of the piazzawas comprehensivein programandorganization,
but the web of its orderwas unevenlywoven, here taut and
precise,there loose and approximate,with many ambiguities
andoverlappings,yet forminga richlycoherentwhole. It was
not the resultof a singlemindor committeeworkingat a single
momentaccordingto an inflexibleand rigorouslogic, but the
cumulativeproductof severalgenerationsof plannersworking
111f.
89. Fanelli,Firenze,
of the century,theyseem
empirically.In a mannercharacteristic
to haveknown from ratherearlyon generallyhow the design
wouldproceed,but they madefinaldecisionsonly as they faced
immediateproblems.In Fig. 35 can be found an attemptto
reconstructthe approximatesequenceof these planningdecisions in layingout the finallines of the square.90
1. 1362 ff.:theprocessbeganat the Viadei Calzaiuoli,where
the east cornerwas establishedsome 94 m. distantfrom the
94-m. height of the tower (after1389 the distancefrom the
streetwas reducedto 92.5 m.). This operationestablishedthe
maximumnorthernandwesternreachesof the piazza.
90. Notethattheplanis notto scaleandthatcertainfeatures,
such
asthepivoting,areexaggerated
forclarity.Compare
themoreaccurate
planof Fig.27.
41
I
a
I
T
I
II
I
I
I
I
I
!
Fig. 35. Piazzadella Signoria,reconstructionof planningsequence,1360s to 1380s. Circlednumbersindicatephases.Plan not to scale;lines
simplifiedandanglesexaggeratedfor clarity(author).
2. The Via dei Calzaiuoli corner served as a hinge for bringing the north side of the piazza into rough parallelism with the
north palazzo fagade. This operation, probably conceived simultaneously with the determination of the 94-m. diagonal,
brought the distance between the palazzo and the north side of
the piazza to 52 m., approximating the 51-m. diagonal mea-
3. A third or perhaps simultaneous operation91was the widening of the Via delle Farine, creating a minor entrance. The
east side of the new foyer was aligned with the west fagade of
91. See n. 75.
the palace, while the displacement of the west foyer wall made
that fagade fully visible from the narrow street.
4. 1374 f. the west corner of the Loggia della Signoria,
the south side of the piazza, was established
which
on line dominates
with the east
side of Via dei Calzaiuoli (before its widin
and
an
extension of the south side of the palazzo
ening 1389)
(lines perhapsrunning close in both cases to existing streets near
the Loggia). This corner was 50 m. from the palace. Thus, the
palace was framed on the right and left with blocks of space of
equal dimensions, as seen from the Via dei Calzaiuoli (a centering complementary to the centering of the tower from the
same perspective). These dimensions corresponded to and may
have been partly generated by the diagonal dimension of the
palace.
42
5. 1386 ff.: a second hinge was set on the west side of the
Via dei Calzaiuoli, from which the west side of the squarewas
swung westward into approximate parallelism with the west
palace fagade.This operation was dominated by the construction
of the Mura dei Pisani, but the main result was a 900 panorama
from the principal viewpoint.
6. 1389 if.: the ViaVia
dei
was
a
1389Calzaiuoli
the
was widened,
6. dei f.:alzaiuoli
widened, creating a
entrance
to
the
the
exact
of
grander
piazza, altering
parity previous dimensions but establishing the principal view of the pin.
Brunelleschi's
panel
perspective
That this prominent case of inspired architecturaland urbanistic planning was so long overlooked was not caused by a
problem inherent in the site. Rather, as is so often the case, it
was mainly the result of our having been distracted by selfserving Renaissance propaganda about the rudeness and unsophistication of the preceding age. We have found that, to the
contrary,both the Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria
were shaped with high inventiveness and sophistication of purpose and meaning. In them, the intense perfectionism that trecento artistslavishedon altarpieces,frescoes,shrines,andchurches
was concentrated with enduring energies on a majestic town
hall and a vast, roofless space. The shaping of the square constituted an urbanistic counterpart of the formal grandeur and
subtlety of S. Croce and S. Maria Novella, the encrustation
intricaciesof the Campanile, and the sheer conceptual and technical brilliance of the Palazzo Vecchio superstructure.Unlike
any other Florentine square, the enormous void of the Piazza
della Signoria was itself a monument, a telling symbol of the
power and sovereignty of the community. But in the final analysis, monument and site were one at the Palazzo Vecchio; the
powerful mass of the palace and the sweeping, ordered volumes
of the piazza, both solid and void, were welded visually and
conceptually into a single cohesive unit. The vision is one eminently of the trecento. It is the perfect architectural and urbanistic counterpart to the Giottesque creation in painting of
"tactile" physical volumes shaping and shaped by surrounding
illusionistic spaces, configured in supple empirical, oblique perspective, and fused into an inseparableunity of form and meaning.
In this connection it might be added in conclusion that, while
historians may have been long deceived by Renaissance propaganda about the medieval past, at least one Renaissance architect probably was not. In the present context, the chief exhibit
in this regardis one of the two now-lost panels that Brunelleschi
(1377-1446) created to demonstrate the concept of linear perspective, the panel depicting the Piazza della Signoria illustrated
in a reconstruction at the outset of this paper (see Fig. 2). We
do not know if this reconstruction is more accurate than the
many others that have appeared,but a few things are clear about
the lost work itself. Two of these facts are relevant to our
argument. First, the viewpoint used by Brunelleschi, according
to his biographer, Antonio di Tuccio Manetti, was at or close
by the Via dei Calzaiuoli corner. Second, from the description
(confirmed by Vasari), it is clear that Brunelleschi's subject was
not just the palazzo, but the entire piazza as revealed from this
ental aspects of the panel were
viewpoint.92To me these
arbitrary
by
trecento preference
neineither
ther
nnor
or
didictated
ctated
an
iinherited
nherited
trecento
arbitrary
by an
preference
for wide-angle, oblique views9" nor by a quattrocento attraction
to the prominent pavement grid of the piazza.94I would like
to think that Brunelleschi understood the subtleties of the site,
whose dimensions had been finalized only during his youth. It
is not unreasonableto think it likely that he was fascinated by
its geometric construction and intrigued by the illusion of a
92. The relevanttext of Manettireads,"He madea perspectiveof
the piazzaof the Palazzodei Signoriin Florencetogetherwith all that
is in frontof it andaroundit thatis encompassed
by the eye when one
standsoutsidethe piazza,or better,along the front of the churchof
SanRomolobeyondthe Cantodi CalimalaFrancesca,
whichopensinto
thatpiazzaa few feet towardOrto SanMichele."(Antoniodi Tuccio
ed. HowardSaalman,trans.Catherine
Manetti,TheLifeofBrunelleschi,
Enggass,UniversityParkand London,1970, 44). San Romolo was a
smallchurchon the northpiazzabordernearthe Via dei Calzaiuoli
wasthe firstcorneron the west
corner;the Cantodi CalimalaFrancesca
side of the piazzaproceedingfrom the Via dei Calzaiuoli(the Via
see the map in White, Birth, 118. The passagefrom
Calimaruzza);
Vasarireads,".. beforelong he begananother[painting],drawingthe
palace,the piazza,andthe Loggiade' Signori,with the Tetto dei Pisani
and all the buildingsabout.. ." (Vasari,Le Vite,II, 332). Note that
Vasaridoes not merelyecho Manetti,but explicitlyqualifieshis statement, suggestingthat the 16th-centurywriter personallyknew the
panel,as hasbeen often noted.
Althoughthe contentof thesetwo passageswouldseemclearenough
andis acceptedbya numberof studentsof the subject(e.g.,C. Ragghianti, FilippoBrunelleschi,
Florence,1977, 167 ff.; S. Edgerton,Jr., The
New York,1975, 132),some
Renaissance
Rediscovery
ofLinearPerspective,
scholarshavetriedto suggestthatBrunelleschi'sviewpointwas not at
the corneror thathis viewinganglewas not 900 but 600 or less.These
suggestionscast Vasari'stestimonyin doubt,usuallyon the grounds
that it would havebeen extremely difficultfor Brunelleschito depict
the entire900 scenewith buildingsrunningat differentanglesandwalls
at the extremeedges(e.g., White, Birth,117 ftf.).Or it is imaginedthat
Brunelleschiwouldneverhavedepictedthe gridof thepiazzapavement
fromthe diagonal,henceanotherviewpointpermittingfrontal,singlepointperspectiveconstructionmustbe foundin Manetti'stext (Gioseffi,
482 ff.). I arguebelow thatthe 900 view of the entirepiazza
Prospettiva,
was the integratedtrecentovisualstructurethat Brunelleschiaccepted
as his subjectand that its difficultieswere an attractionfor the chief
inventorof the Florentinecupolastructure.In addition,there is the
withthe panelon thepartof Uccello,himself
evidenceof thefascination
a devoteeof difficultperspectiveconstruction,includingthe two-point
systemof the obliqueview.
93. Emphasizedby White, Birth,117 ff., althoughhe believesBrunelleschiuseda viewing angleof less than900.
482 ff. These factorsmay have had a sub94. Gioseffi,Prospettiva,
sidiaryrole in Brunelleschi'sconception.
space that looks square although it is not, and with a site that
seems precisely balanced, even symmetrical, though it is asymmetrical. That he chose the Via dei Calzaiuoli corner suggests
Brunelleschi's full knowledge that it was the theoretical fulcrum
of the entire, intricately composed scene, the focus of its geometric and visual complexities, and the point from which they
could best be taken in. These were complexities that he knew
would put to the fullest test the visual magic of his new invention of rationalperspective, a fuller test even than the Baptistery
panel, whose subject was chosen also because of its intricacy of
geometry and detail.'9
The panel depicting the Piazza della Signoria was not just a
demonstration of accurate representation of the angles, lines,
and spacesof the piazza. The goal was not accuracybut illusion,
and above all the demonstration of a new pictorial method. A
conceptual leap was involved. The trecento planners had combined an intricate, improvisational chain of quadratic figures,
inspired by an obsession with getting things "square,"with the
diagonal perspective demanded by the palazzo. What Brunelleschi did was to take this oblique, anaxial configuration, with
all its ambiguities and irregularities,and submit it to the nascent
Renaissance ideal of orthogonal rationality. Put another way,
he sought to convert an empirically composed urbanistictableau
95. Edgertonarguesthat the Baptisterywas "an ideal subject"for
who "thoughtin termsof geometricproportions,"
because
Brunelleschi,
"thebuilding'swidth (approximately
fifty-sixbraccia)nearlyequalsits
height (exclusiveof the lantern)-which, furthermore,nearlyequals
the distanceof the buildingfrom the portalof the cathedralwhere
Brunelleschistoodto paintit. This affordedhim a remarkably
neatratio
of 1:1:1 among height, width, and viewing distance"(Perspective,138
f.). Althoughon the right track,this analysisunfortunatelyconfuses
While the distancefromwithinthe Duomo
thingsthree-dimensionally.
portalto the eastfacingBaptisterywall is on the orderof 56-58 braccia,
that wall risesonly to 42 braccia
(to the top of the attic);the lantern
baseand diametricdimensionslie at a planemuch fartheraway,close
to 80 braccia
from where Brunelleschistood. If indeedthe Edgerton
equationwas a factorin Brunelleschi'sthinking,it was not quite as
"neat"asthe authorhassuggested.I wouldliketo arguethatin addition,
or in placeof this possibleequation,Brunelleschimayhavebeenstruck
by otherproportionalaspectsof the site, perhapseven more forcibly.
If any equalityof dimensionswas a factor,surelyit was the 1:1 ratio
of the Baptisteryheightthroughthe top of the lanternto the distance
of its axis from the Duomo faCade.(Edgerton,though entanglingthe
parityquestion,offersgood reasonswhy Brunelleschiwould have favored a subjectwith a distance:heightequality.)Similarly,the artist
wouldhaveobservedhow the linesof the obliquesidesof the Baptistery
extendto the Duomo facadecorners(see n. 68). Moreover,the space
aroundthe Baptisteryformsa nearsquare(c. 145 x 131 braccia),
with
the whole thus loosely formingan octagon-in-square
configuration.I
would like to think that, as at the Piazzadella Signoria,it was the
underlyinggeometricstructureof the entiresite andits relationshipto
the viewpoint-area
thatcompelledBrunelleschito carryout his experiment.Whetherhis viewinganglewas 900 (White,Birth,115) or only
530 (Edgerton,140 f.), or an intermediatefigure, the verticalangle
includedat leastthe c. 450 to the top of the lanternandsurelya good
dealbelow the horizonline. Cf.J. White'sremarkson the angleof the
Baptisterypanel in his review of Edgertonin JSAH, XXXVI, 1977,
46.
43
into a scene determined by new a priori rules, thereby becoming
in effect the first Renaissance urbanist even if only at the level
of theory and illusion. In so doing, he may well have rationalized
not only perspective construction but also many particularsof
the scene: how could he have resisted resolving the slight geometric ambiguities on the Via dei Calzaiuoli to a single point,
or tightening up the loose, empirical geometry of the plan
(which in any case would have been probably required by rational perspectiveconstruction)?96 If it was hardto show so many
complex, conflicting forms as the piazza presented, so much the
better to prove the validity of the new perspective method and
Brunelleschi's ability to use it. Regardlessof problematic details,
clearly the panel constituted a close conceptual parallel to Brunelleschi's work at the cupola. In both cases a trecento architectural vision was endowed with a quattrocento structure: in
one instance pictorial, in the other, technological. And just as
the cupola hid most of its structuralmagic within its shells, so
in the panel of the Piazza della Signoria Brunelleschi's intricate
structure of controlling perspective lines was not revealed beneath its illusionistic tempera surface. But even with their revolutionary techniques veiled, both the gigantic vault and the
little panel openly demonstrated Brunelleschi's mastery of the
organizing principles of a previous age and the significance of
his own progressive vision.
Brunelleschi's panel was a quintessential work of the early
quattrocento. Despite its rationalized image, the panel came to
have a glaring flaw to later Renaissance eyes, for the Trecento
visual tensions still would have clung to it. The asymmetrical,
dynamically counterbalanced, oblique view of the palazzo emphasized its restless Gothic energies and lacked the lucidity and
repose of the new aesthetic fashion. Furthermore,the prominent
pavement grid of the piazza, seen obliquely, defied the postAlbertianpreferencefor single vanishing point perspective.Thus,
it was not surprising that to truly "rationalize" the image all
later Renaissance representations of the square suppressed the
oblique aspect of the site and showed it directly from the north
or the west in untroubled single point perspective, with the
palazzo seen frontally much as it appearedin the early trecento
before the full evolution of the piazza.97
96. All known laterperspectiverenderingsof the piazzareduceits
variousanglesto uniformrectilinearity.See n. 97.
97. White (Birth,126) points out this shift to an Albertianrepresentationof the piazza;see also the remarksof Edgerton(Perspective,
132, with furtherbibliography).For the Renaissanceviews, see Lensi
Orlandi,Palazzo,Figs. 70, 111, 122, 138, 139, 152. Also, the magnificentBellottoview of the 1740sandthe Zocchi-Gregorietching(Figs.
157, 158). The exceptionis the J. Stellaetchingof 1650, an extreme
"Brunelleschian"
wide-angleview full of Baroquemovement.Interestingly, the 19th-centuryviews returnto the diagonalperspective,
beginningwith the Antonio Terreniprint of 1801, which becomes
standardin the periodof historicism,photography,andGothicrevival
(Figs.170, 171, 173), andculminatesin the Brogiplatesof the end of
the century.
44
Postscript:When this article was in page proof, Paula Spillner kindly
provided me a copy of her remarkabledissertationon trecento Florentine
urbanism, Ut CivitasAmplietur:Studiesin FlorentineUrbanDevelopment,
1282-1400, Columbia University, 1987. In it a lengthy chapter traces
the development of the Piazza della Signoria and ancillary streets and
buildings in great detail, much augmenting the Frey-Rubinstein chronology. In general, Spillner's findings do not contradict my own. In
one case, concerning the date of the Via delle Farine, I have made a
necessary change in the text. Otherwise, where Spillner's discussion is
critical to my argument, I have restricted comment to the following
remarks appended to my footnotes.
For n. 32, on the selection of the building site, see the penetrating
discussion in Spillner, 393 ff. For n. 44, concerning the finalization of
the north border, Spillner dates it in two stages: the tract to the west
of the Via delle Farine in 1349; and the tract to the east in 1362,
continuing the building line of 1349 (Studies,412, 422 f.). The documentation of the northwest tract, however, does not entirely support
this dating. Central to the systematization of this area was the reconstruction of the church of S. Romolo, displaced from its site in the
northwest quadrant of the piazza (Studies, 412 ff.). Although it was
intended already in 1349 to align the northwest border, land for the
new church to be re-sited there was not purchaseduntil 1352. The final
decision concerning the size and orientation of the new S. Romolo was
made only in 1356, after considerable debate, and the church itself was
not completed until 1380. Since the new church provided the principal
building front on the northwest segment of the piazza border, it is
difficult to imagine how this border could have been finalized before
1356 (although it could have been roughed out). To the contrary, it
would seem perhaps more likely that, in a manner typical of Florentine
urbanistic practice, with its constant delays and changes of intent, the
1349 decision was not carried out until after 1356, and then perhaps
along a somewhat changed building line. This alternativescenariowould
explain the firm order given in 1362 to align the north border of the
piazza, not merely a part of it as in the 1349 directive, making 1362
the probable date for the finalization of the north piazza front.
For n. 46, on the Duke of Athens, see Spillner, 406 ff. For n. 47, on
the Mura dei Pisani, Spillner (who publishes a plan of the structure,
Fig. 81) doubts that it took the form of a blank wall, despite early
depictions of it in that state, on the grounds that "this was not only a
highly improbablearrangementfor the 14th century, but is contradicted
by the evidence of shop construction here" (463 n. 154). Leaving aside
the question of "improbability,"concerning which the author gives no
evidence, it should be noted that the documents only locate the new
shops as somewhere on the piazza; they could well have been in the
block to the north of the Mura dei Pisani or, for that matter, on the
north side of the piazza. For n. 52, on the respective roles of the tower
officials and the cathedral workshop in communal works, see Saalman,
Cupola, 181 ff., and now Spillner, 55 ff. On the question of geometric
techniques in urbanplanning in n. 58, see now Spillner, passim. For n.
60, on the opening of the Via delle Farine, see Spillner, 410 f. and n.
82. The evidence for dating the Via delle Farine is not unequivocal,
however, since the document specifies only that a street was opened
between the piazza and the Via del Garbo/Fiaschi, which conceivably
could have meant a tract of the present Via dei Magazzini. For n. 68,
it is conceivable that this preoccupation with parity of building height
and viewing distance might have been connected not only with geometric theory, but also with the geometric surveying techniques of the
period discussed by Spillner, 82 ff. For n. 75, on the widening of the
Via delle Farine, Spillner (412, 450 n. 91) dates the operation to 1349,
based on a problematic interpretationof a decision in that year to widen
an unnamed street leading to the piazza from the church of S. Martino.
She explains, "This last refers not to the existing 15th century church
of S. Martino del Vescovo, but to an earlier church located one block
further east [?] on Via dei Cerchi/delle Farine (see Paatz, Die Kirchen,
I, 411 ff)." The Paatz reference, however, concerns the church of S.
Carlo Borromeo on the Via dei Calzaiuoli (originally, S. Michele Vecchio, S. Anna). I found no "S. Martino" in the Via dei Cerchi nor
anywhere in the area except for the church of S. Martino al Vescovo
(now S. Martino dei Buonuomini), whose extant 15th-century structure
replaced an earlier church of S. Martino dating back to the 11th century
(Paatz, Die Kirchen,IV, 123 ff.). S. Martino is located two blocks from
the piazza on the Via dei Magazzini, which presumably would be the
street widened in 1349, as in Frey, Loggia,91 f., note. In what appears
a partial reversal of her 1349 date for the widening of the Via delle
Farine,Spillner, 424, elsewhere in the context of the piazza development
following 1362 dates the two similarly rusticated palaces flanking it in
the second half of the 14th century, which is consistent with my interpretation and supports my position in n. 44 as well. For n. 89,
concerning urban planning techniques, see now Spillner, 78 ff.

What Brunelleschi Saw: Monument and Site at the Palazzo Vecchio

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