Misplaced Pages

#847152

46-555: Situated on the upper reaches of the Tiber river, the town is the birthplace of the painters Piero della Francesca , Raffaellino del Colle (a pupil of Raphael ), Matteo di Giovanni , Santi di Tito , and Angiolo Tricca . It was also the birthplace of the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli , and of Matteo Cioni, who translated Piero della Francesca's treatise about perspective in painting ( De prospectiva pingendi ) into Latin. Today,

92-526: A Deposition by Rosso Fiorentino . The English writer Aldous Huxley described the Resurrection by Piero della Francesca , which is in the Museo Civico, as "the greatest painting in the world". The museum collection includes three other works by Piero della Francesca and many other treasures including paintings by Santi di Tito , Raffaellino del Colle and Luca Signorelli . Sansepolcro

138-559: A century later. The heavy sedimentation of the river made maintaining Ostia difficult, prompting the emperors Claudius and Trajan to establish a new port on the Fiumicino in the first century AD. They built a new road, the Via Portuensis , to connect Rome with Fiumicino, leaving the city by Porta Portese (the port gate). Both ports were eventually abandoned due to silting. Several popes attempted to improve navigation on

184-576: A god named Tiberinus , is shown with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. 41°44′26″N 12°14′00″E  /  41.7405°N 12.2334°E  / 41.7405; 12.2334 Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca ( / ˌ p j ɛər oʊ ˌ d ɛ l ə f r æ n ˈ tʃ ɛ s k ə / PYAIR -oh DEL -ə fran- CHESK -ə , US also /- f r ɑː n ˈ -/ -⁠ frahn- ; Italian: [ˈpjɛːro della franˈtʃeska] ; né   Piero di Benedetto ; c.  1415 – 12 October 1492)

230-692: A monastic way of life. The ruins of the chapel were built upon in the construction of the current Cathedral of Sansepolcro . They had brought a stone from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (thus, San Sepolcro ) with them from that shrine. It was installed in the monastery and was the origin of its name. It became a popular pilgrimage site. The church was raised to the rank of Benedictine Abbey of Sansepolcro (the Badia ). The monastery

276-607: A perplexing enigma as to the nature of the three men standing at the foreground. Another famous work painted in Urbino is the Double Portrait of Federico and his wife Battista Sforza, in the Uffizi . The portraits in profile take their inspiration from large bronze medals and stucco roundels with the official portraits of Federico and his wife. Other paintings made in Urbino are the monumental Montefeltro Altarpiece (1474) in

322-524: A pre-Indo-European substrate word related to Aegean tifos "still water", Greek phytonym τύφη a kind of swamp and river bank weed ( Typha angustifolia ), Iberian hydronyms Tibilis , Tebro and Numidian Aquae Tibilitanae . Yet another etymology is from *dubri-, water, considered by Alessio as Sicel , whence the form Θύβρις later Tiberis. This root *dubri- is widespread in Western Europe e.g. Dover, Portus Dubris. According to legend,

368-506: A work illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci . Biographers of his patron Federico da Montefeltro of Urbino record that he was encouraged to pursue the interest in perspective which was shared by the Duke. In the late 1450s, Piero copied and illustrated the following works of Archimedes : On the Sphere and Cylinder , Measurement of a Circle , On Conoids and Spheroids , On Spirals , On

414-538: A world itself apart from this world apart. Mary isn't looking at her child and looks instead at the rose he reaches for. You begin to glean the revelation she is having. The flower represents love, devotion, and beauty. It also symbolizes blood and the crown of thorns Christ will wear. This child who will suffer a horrendous death reaches for his acceptance of fate. Mary does not pull the flower back. You sense an inner agony, noticing her deep-blue robe open to reveal scarlet beneath, symbol of outward passion and pain to come. In

460-721: Is twinned with: Tiber The Tiber ( / ˈ t aɪ b ər / TY -bər ; Italian : Tevere [ˈteːvere] ; Latin : Tiberis ) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy , rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing 406 km (252 mi) through Tuscany , Umbria , and Lazio , where it is joined by the River Aniene , to

506-749: Is born the river / sacred to the destinies of Rome"). An eagle is on the top of the column, part of its fascist symbolism . The first miles of the Tiber run through Valtiberina before entering Umbria. The genesis of the name Tiber probably was pre-Latin, like the Roman name of Tibur (modern Tivoli ), and may be specifically Italic in origin. The same root is found in the Latin praenomen Tiberius . Also, Etruscan variants of this praenomen are in Thefarie (borrowed from Faliscan *Tiferios , lit. '(He) from

SECTION 10

#1732780715848

552-613: Is known that Alberti directed the execution of his designs for the church by correspondence with his building supervisor. Thereafter Piero was active in Ancona , Pesaro and Bologna . In 1454, he signed a contract for the Polyptych of Saint Augustine in the church of Sant'Agostino in Sansepolcro. The central panel of this polyptych is lost, and the four panels of the wings, with representations of saints , are now scattered around

598-602: Is referred to as "swimming the Thames " or "crossing the Thames". In ancient Rome, executed criminals were thrown into the Tiber. People executed at the Gemonian stairs were thrown in the Tiber during the later part of the reign of the emperor Tiberius . This practice continued over the centuries. For example, the corpse of Pope Formosus was thrown into the Tiber after the infamous Cadaver Synod held in 897. In addition to

644-646: The Brera Gallery in Milan and the Madonna of Senigallia . In Urbino Piero met the painters Melozzo da Forlì , Fra Carnevale , and the Flemish Justus van Gent , the mathematician Fra Luca Pacioli , the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini , and probably also Leon Battista Alberti . In his later years, painters such as Perugino and Luca Signorelli frequently visited his workshop. He completed

690-724: The Papal States . The local dialect derives from those of the Citta' di Castello and later of the Casentino valley. In 1367 Pope Urban V gave the town and its surrounding contrada to the Malatesta family, whose heirs ruled it until control was assumed by the Republic of Florence in the 15th century with the approval of Pope Eugene IV . It was raised to the rank of a city a century later by Pope Leo X . During World War II ,

736-676: The Tyrrhenian Sea , between Ostia and Fiumicino . It drains a basin estimated at 17,375 km (6,709 sq mi). The river has achieved lasting fame as the main watercourse of the city of Rome , which was founded on its eastern banks. The river rises at Mount Fumaiolo in Central Italy and flows in a generally southerly direction past Perugia and Rome to meet the sea at Ostia . Known in ancient times as Flavus (Latin for 'the Blond';), in reference to

782-706: The Equilibrium of Planes , The Quadrature of the Parabola , and The Sand Reckoner . The manuscript consists of 82 folio leaves, is held in the collection of the Biblioteca Riccardiana and is a copy of the translation of the Archimedean corpus made by Italian humanist Iacopo da San Cassiano . Bohuslav Martinů wrote a three movement work for orchestra entitled Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca . Dedicated to Rafael Kubelik , it

828-539: The Five Regular Solids ) and De Prospectiva pingendi ( On Perspective in painting ). The subjects covered in these writings include arithmetic , algebra , geometry and innovative work in both solid geometry and perspective . Much of Piero's work was later absorbed into the writing of others, notably Luca Pacioli . Piero's work on solid geometry was translated in Pacioli's Divina proportione ,

874-578: The Frick Collection] on the Sant'Agostino altarpiece". Piero's deep interest in the theoretical study of perspective and his contemplative approach to his paintings are apparent in all his work. In his youth, Piero was trained in mathematics, which most likely was for mercantilism. Three treatises written by Piero have survived to the present day: Trattato d'Abaco (Abacus Treatise)  [ fr ] , De quinque corporibus regularibus ( On

920-402: The Tiber consists of two springs 10 m (33 ft) away from each other on Mount Fumaiolo . These springs are called Le Vene . The springs are in a beech forest 1,268 m (4,160 ft) above sea level . During the 1930s, Benito Mussolini had an antique marble Roman column built at the point where the river rises, inscribed QUI NASCE IL FIUME SACRO AI DESTINI DI ROMA ("Here

966-519: The Tiber in the 17th and 18th centuries, with extensive dredging continuing into the 19th century. Trade was boosted for a while, but by the 20th century, silting had resulted in the river only being navigable as far as Rome. The Tiber was once known for its floods — the Campus Martius is a flood plain and would regularly flood to a depth of 2 m (6 ft 7 in). There were also numerous major floods; for example, on September 15, 1557

SECTION 20

#1732780715848

1012-552: The Tiber' < *Tiferis 'Tiber') and Teperie (via the Latin hydronym Tiber ). Legendary king Tiberinus , ninth in the king-list of Alba Longa , was said to have drowned in the River Albula, which was afterwards called Tiberis . The myth may have explained a memory of an earlier, perhaps pre-Indo-European name for the river, "white" ( alba ) with sediment, or "from the mountains" from pre-Indo-European word "alba, albion" mount, elevated area. Tiberis/Tifernus may be

1058-534: The church of Sant'Egidio in Florence, now lost. In Florence he must have met leading masters like Fra Angelico , Luca della Robbia , Donatello , and Brunelleschi . The classicism of Masaccio 's frescoes and his majestic figures in the Santa Maria del Carmine were for him an important source of inspiration. Dating of Piero's undocumented work is difficult because his style does not seem to have developed over

1104-656: The church. In a 2013 exhibition, the Frick Collection in New York collected seven of the eight paintings of Piero known to exist in the United States. Of the seven paintings in the exhibit, critic Jerry Saltz writing in New York magazine singled out Piero's Virgin and Child Enthroned With Four Angels for its exemplary qualities. Saltz wrote, "The Virgin and child are elevated two steps. They are in

1150-404: The city of Rome was founded in 753 BC on the banks of the Tiber about 25 km (16 mi) from the sea at Ostia . Tiber Island , in the center of the river between Trastevere and the ancient city center, was the site of an important ancient ford and was later bridged. Legend says Rome's founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus , were abandoned on its waters, where they were rescued by

1196-648: The conflicts between the Guelfs and Ghibellines , the town's factions were headed by prominent local families, including the Pichi, Bercordati, Graziani and Bacci. Due to its central location on the local trade routes, in the 13th century control of the town was contested and seized by various forces of the region, passing from Uguccione della Faggiola , Lord of Pisa , to Guido Tarlati , Bishop of Arezzo , and his brother, Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala , who ruled it from Città di Castello . It last came under control of

1242-699: The dead-center vertical line of the painting is Christ's right palm that will be nailed to the cross." By contrast, Walter Kaiser, reviewing the exhibition in The New York Review of Books , wrote, "The most splendid picture in the Frick exhibition is the magnificent figure of Saint Augustine from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon, a companion to Saint John the Evangelist [owned by

1288-472: The economy of the town is based on agriculture, industrial manufacturing, food processing and pharmaceuticals. It is the home of Buitoni pasta, founded by Giulia Buitoni in 1827. According to tradition the founding of the town came about through two 9th-century pilgrims to the Holy Land , Arcanus and Giles. They returned to the region and built a chapel dedicated to Saint Leonard , where they established

1334-636: The frescoes of the basilica of San Francesco . The work was finished in 1464. The History of the True Cross cycle of frescoes is generally considered among his masterworks and those of Renaissance painting in general. The story in these frescoes derives from legendary medieval sources as to how timber relics of the True Cross came to be found. These stories were collected in the Golden Legend of Jacopo da Varazze (Jacopo da Varagine) of

1380-446: The mid-13th century. At some point, Giovanni Santi invited Piero to Urbino , where Piero "executed several commissions for Duke Federico da Montefeltro ." The Flagellation is generally considered Piero's oldest work in Urbino (c. 1455–1470). It is one of the most famous and controversial pictures of the early Renaissance. As discussed in its own entry, it is marked by an air of geometric sobriety, in addition to presenting

1426-634: The numerous modern bridges over the Tiber in Rome, there remain a few ancient bridges (now mostly pedestrian-only) that have survived in part (e.g., the Ponte Milvio and the Ponte Sant'Angelo ), or in whole ( Pons Fabricius ). In addition to bridges, the Metro trains use tunnels. Following the standard Roman depiction of rivers as powerfully built reclining male gods, the Tiber, also interpreted as

Sansepolcro - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-522: The river flooded to a height of 62 feet above sea level and over 1,000 people died. The river is now confined between high stone embankments, which were begun in 1876. Within the city, the riverbanks are lined by boulevards known as lungoteveri , streets "along the Tiber". Because the river is identified with Rome, the terms "swimming the Tiber" or "crossing the Tiber" have come to be the shorthand term for converting to Roman Catholicism . A Catholic who converts to Protestantism, in particular Anglicanism,

1518-550: The riverside in Rome itself, lining the riverbanks around the Campus Martius area. The Romans connected the river with a sewer system (the Cloaca Maxima ) and with an underground network of tunnels and other channels, to bring its water into the middle of the city. Wealthy Romans had garden-parks or horti on the banks of the river in Rome through the first century BC. These may have been sold and developed about

1564-749: The she-wolf, Lupa. The river marked the boundary between the lands of the Etruscans to the west, the Sabines to the east and the Latins to the south. Benito Mussolini , born in Romagna , adjusted the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna , so that the springs of the Tiber would lie in Romagna. The Tiber was critically important to Roman trade and commerce, as ships could reach as far as 100 km (60 mi) upriver; some evidence indicates that it

1610-529: The town of Borgo Santo Sepolcro , modern-day Tuscany , to Benedetto de' Franceschi, a tradesman, and Romana di Perino da Monterchi , members of the Florentine and Tuscan Franceschi noble family. His father died before his birth, and he was called Piero della Francesca after his mother, who was referred to as "la Francesca" due to her marriage into the Franceschi family (similar to Lisa Gherardini who

1656-589: The town was saved from destruction by the efforts of Tony Clarke, a British Royal Horse Artillery officer who halted the Allied artillery attack in order to save Piero della Francesca's fresco Resurrection . The main church is the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist built in Gothic-Romanesque style in 1012–49. Other churches of note are San Francesco and San Lorenzo . The latter church has

1702-531: The treatise On Perspective in Painting in the mid-1470s to 1480s. By 1480, his vision began to deteriorate, but he continued writing treatises such as Short Book on the Five Regular Solids in 1485. It is documented that Piero rented a house in Rimini in 1482. Piero made his will in 1487 and he died five years later, on 12 October 1492, in his own house in Sansepolcro. He left his possessions to his family and

1748-576: The world. A few years later, summoned by Pope Nicholas V , he moved to Rome, where he executed frescoes in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore , of which only fragments remain. Two years later he was again in the Papal capital, painting frescoes in the Vatican Palace , which have since been destroyed. In 1452, Piero della Francesca was called to Arezzo to replace Bicci di Lorenzo in painting

1794-628: The years. Piero returned to his hometown in 1442 and was elected to the City Council of Sansepolcro. Three years later, he received his first commission, to paint the Madonna della Misericordia altarpiece for the church of the Misericordia in Sansepolcro, which was completed in the early 1460s. In 1449 he executed several frescoes in the Castello Estense and the church of Sant'Andrea of Ferrara , now also lost. His influence

1840-419: The yellowish colour of its water, the Tiber has advanced significantly at its mouth, by about 3 km (2 mi), since Roman times, leaving the ancient port of Ostia Antica 6 kilometres (4 miles) inland. However, it does not form a proportional delta , owing to a strong north-flowing sea current close to the shore, due to the steep shelving of the coast, and to slow tectonic subsidence . The source of

1886-536: Was an Italian painter , mathematician and geometer of the Early Renaissance , nowadays chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is characterized by its serene humanism , its use of geometric forms and perspective . His most famous work is the cycle of frescoes The History of the True Cross in the Basilica of San Francesco in the Tuscan town of Arezzo . Piero was born Piero di Benedetto in

Sansepolcro - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-537: Was declared an abbey nullius . The first historical mentions of Sansepolcro date to 1012, referring to the construction of the monastery, around which a commune began to develop. The settlement was declared a market town by the Emperor Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor . The abbey chose to affiliate with the monks of the Camaldolese Order , based in the area, in the following century. During

1978-550: Was in Rimini , working for the condottiero Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta . In 1451, during that sojourn, he executed the famous fresco of St. Sigismund and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in the Tempio Malatestiano , as well as a portrait of Sigismondo . In Rimini, Piero may have met the famous Renaissance mathematician and architect Leon Battista Alberti , who had redesigned the Tempio Malatestiano , although it

2024-551: Was known as "la Gioconda" through her marriage into the Giocondo family). Romana supported his education in mathematics and art. He was most probably apprenticed to the local painter Antonio di Giovanni d'Anghiari, because in documents about payments it is noted that he was working with Antonio in 1432 and May 1438. He certainly took notice of the work of some of the Sienese artists active in San Sepolcro during his youth; e.g. Sassetta . In 1439 Piero received, together with Domenico Veneziano , payments for his work on frescoes for

2070-429: Was particularly strong in the later Ferrarese allegorical works of Cosimo Tura . The Baptism of Christ , now in the National Gallery in London, was completed in about 1450 for the high altar of the church of the Priory of S. Giovanni Battista at Sansepolcro. Other notable works are the frescoes of The Resurrection in Sansepolcro, and the Madonna del parto in Monterchi , near Sansepolcro. Two years later he

2116-419: Was used to ship grain from the Val Teverina as long ago as the fifth century BC. It was later used to ship stone, timber, and foodstuffs to Rome. During the Punic Wars of the third century BC, the harbour at Ostia became a key naval base. It later became Rome's most important port, where wheat , olive oil , and wine were imported from Rome's colonies around the Mediterranean. Wharves were also built along

#847152