Palazzo Rucellai is a palatial fifteenth-century townhouse on the Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence , Italy . The Rucellai Palace is believed by most scholars to have been designed for Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed, at least in part, by Bernardo Rossellino . Its splendid facade was one of the first to proclaim the new ideas of Renaissance architecture based on the use of pilasters and entablatures in proportional relationship to each other. The Rucellai Palace demonstrates the impact of the antique revival but does so in a manner which is full of Renaissance originality.
31-492: The grid-like facade, achieved through the application of a scheme of trabeated articulation, makes a statement of rational humanist clarity. The stone veneer of this facade is given a channeled rustication and serves as the background for the smooth-faced pilasters and entablatures which divide the facade into a series of three-story bays. The three stories of the Rucellai facade have different classical orders , as in
62-409: A trabeated system , or a trilithic system ) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold up a roof, creating a largely open space beneath, for whatever use the building is designed. The horizontal elements are called by a variety of names including lintel , header, architrave or beam , and
93-494: A native of the small village of Corsignano, which would later be renamed "Pienza" in his honor. The palace, also known as the Pontifical , was commissioned by Enea Piccolomini, or Pope Pius II , to Italian Renaissance sculpture Bernardo Rossellino , as part of the project for the reconstruction of Pienza as the ideal city . It was designed in the second half of the 15th century , after 1459. For its construction Rossellino
124-574: A stone lintel can be dramatically increased with the use of Post-tensioned stone . Palazzo Piccolomini, Pienza Palazzo Piccolomini ("Piccolomini Palace" in English ) is a palace in the center of Pienza , Italy , next to the Duomo . Palazzo Piccolimini is one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture and was built starting in 1459 to a design by Bernardo Rossellino and commissioned by Pope Pius II , born Enea Silvio Piccolomini,
155-813: Is a fundamental principle of Neolithic architecture , ancient Indian architecture , ancient Greek architecture and ancient Egyptian architecture . Other trabeated styles are the Persian , Lycian, Japanese , traditional Chinese , and ancient Chinese architecture, especially in northern China, and nearly all the Indian styles. The traditions are represented in North and Central America by Mayan architecture , and in South America by Inca architecture . In all or most of these traditions, certainly in Greece and India,
186-477: Is divided into two parts by a thin column. Below the windows, as if to highlight the internal attics, a frame that runs along the corners and between some windows the family crests, in stone, with the apostolic insignia in gold and silver. On a clear day, you can see distant landscape of the Val d'Orcia and the hills of Monte Amiata . In recent times, the building has also been used as a film set for various scenes of
217-579: Is one of the buildings in the trapezoidal piazza. On the west side is the Palazzo Piccolomini. The Duomo Cathedral is at the center of the piazza. On the ground floor there is a main entrance to the building that overlooks the central courtyard. The courtyard is rectangular with a loggia to supported by stone columns. On the first and second floors there are two rows of windows of considerable size, equal distant from each other, with pilaster pilasters with Renaissance architecture. Each window
248-578: The Colosseum , but with the Tuscan order at the base, a Renaissance original in place of the Ionic order at the second level, and a very simplified Corinthian order at the top level. Twin-lit, round-arched windows in the two upper stories are set within arches with highly pronounced voussoirs that spring from pilaster to pilaster. The facade is topped by a boldly projecting cornice . The ground floor
279-734: The arch allowed for much larger structures to be constructed. The arcuated system spreads larger loads more effectively, and replaced the post-and-lintel system in most larger buildings and structures, until the introduction of steel girder beams and steel-reinforced concrete in the industrial era. As with the Roman temple portico front and its descendants in later classical architecture , trabeated features were often retained in parts of buildings as an aesthetic choice. The classical orders of Greek origin were in particular retained in buildings designed to impress, even though they usually had little or no structural role. The flexural strength of
310-557: The trabea , a ritual garment. Post-and-lintel construction is one of four ancient structural methods of building, the others being the corbel , arch-and-vault , and truss . A noteworthy example of a trabeated system is in Volubilis , from the Roman era, where one side of the Decumanus Maximus is lined with trabeated elements, while the opposite side of the roadway is designed in arched style. The trabeated system
341-800: The Rucellai Palace must take into account similar Florentine residences of the period, such as the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (then Palazzo de' Medici), the Palazzo Strozzino , the Palazzo Strozzi , and the Palazzo Spinelli . An accurate appraisal of the Rucellai Palace's architectural importance has been hindered by uncertainties concerning when and by whom it was constructed. Traditionally, and supported by some 16th-century sources, it has been dated to
SECTION 10
#1732772867297372-517: The Rucellai facade to a date after 1461 and calls into question its primacy over the almost identical design used for the Palazzo Piccolomini (designed by Bernardo Rossellino 1459-62) in the papal city of Pienza . That post-1461 dating raises once more the question of authorship. Based upon the word of Giorgio Vasari and some other mid-to-late-16th century comments as well as upon Giovanni Rucellai's known use of Leon Battista Alberti as
403-457: The architect of his chapel in the neighboring church of San Pancrazio and for the completion of the facade of Santa Maria Novella , the great humanist scholar and artistic theoretician commonly has been accepted as having been responsible for the design of the Rucellai Palace's facade. However, the first comments on the facade, made in the early 16th century do not mention Alberti but rather link it to Bernardo Rossellino by saying that he had made
434-431: The community. Exactly when the design and execution of that historic facade took place remains uncertain. Paolo Sanpaolesi (1963), seconded by Brenda Preyer (1981), proposed a two-phase facade construction, with the first (c. 1450), equal to five bays, covering the exteriors of the old dwellings of Giovanni and his mother and then a later two bay expansion to cover the house added in 1460. That Rucellai never managed to add
465-449: The corner of the Via della Vigna Nuova and the narrow Via dei Palchetti. Evidently intending to enlarge his living quarters in keeping with his growing financial and civic standing, he had acquired a row of houses along the Via dei Palchetti. Shortly thereafter, the house contiguous to his own along the Via della Vigna Nuova, owned by his mother, passed into Rucellai's hands. Finally (c. 1460),
496-542: The courtyard with the Via della Vigna Nuova. Externally, the hodgepodge way in which the Rucellai Palace was created may be seen along the Via dei Palchetti. Standing in the Piazza dei Rucellai, however, the impression given by the celebrated facade is one of harmony and unity. It was to visually solidify the three separate houses along the Via della Vigna Nuova, that Rucellai sought a facade which, furthermore, would testify to his progressive taste and prominent standing within
527-420: The earliest versions developed using wood, which were later translated into stone for larger and grander buildings. Timber framing , also using trusses , remains common for smaller buildings such as houses to the modern day. There are two main forces acting upon the post and lintel system: weight carrying compression at the joint between lintel and post, and tension induced by deformation of self-weight and
558-488: The engagement of Rucellai's son Bernardo to Piero di Cosimo de' Medici's daughter Nannina in 1461. According to this theory it could only have been after the betrothal, that the pairing of clearly identifiable Medici devices with those of the Rucellai in the friezes could have been permissible. The same is case for the Medici interlocking rings insignia that occupy the spandrels of the windows. That would postpone construction of
589-747: The films The Devil in Love with Vittorio Gassman , Pleasant Nights with Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi and for Romeo and Juliet by Zeffirelli . In the third season of Medici (TV Series) , many scenes were shot, not at the Medici Palace and courtyard in Florence, but the Piccolomini palace and square in Pienza. The palace overlooks the main square of the Tuscan town. The Piazza Pio II street
620-414: The house adjoining his mother's was added to the growing residential complex. The present internal disposition of the palace testifies to the agglutinative process by which the building evolved. By 1455 one of the Via dei Palchetti houses had been razed and replaced by a courtyard surrounded on three sides by arcades whose round arches were supported by Corinthian columns. A cross-vaulted corridor now linked
651-476: The interior of the palace, in constructing the entry passage, and in creating the courtyard is universally accepted, his involvement with the celebrated facade and the date it was executed remain open questions that, perhaps, will only be resolved should some new documentary evidence surface. 43°46′16″N 11°14′58″E / 43.7712°N 11.2495°E / 43.7712; 11.2495 Trabeation Post and lintel (also called prop and lintel ,
SECTION 20
#1732772867297682-440: The load above between the posts. The two posts are under compression from the weight of the lintel (or beam) above. The lintel will deform by sagging in the middle because the underside is under tension and the upper is under compression. The biggest disadvantage to lintel construction is the limited weight that can be held up, and the resulting small distances required between the posts. Ancient Roman architecture 's development of
713-469: The model for the palace. That might mean that he was responsible for the facade or simply that he had furnished a model following someone's directions (i.e., Alberti). The first to doubt Alberti's role as the architect was Julius Schlosser who wrote (1929) that "It is Bernardo Rossellino's spirit and not Alberti's that is at work here." Schlosser's opinion was seconded by Leo Planiscig (1942), Howard Saalman (1966), and Mario Salmi (1967). Basing his opinion on
744-401: The next house in the row to his holdings would account for the facade remaining unfinished and one bay short of the eight intended. Mack (1974), together with by Kurt Forster (1976) and Howard Saalman (1966) have interpreted the evidence differently, arguing that that work on the facade would have awaited the acquisition of the third property along the Via della Vigna Nuova and was stimulated by
775-455: The period 1446-51, making the facades of both the Medici and Rucellai palaces contemporaries. In 1974, Charles Mack proposed a two-phase construction history for the palace based upon his interpretation of property descriptions contained in the tax declarations of Giovanni Rucellai , members of his family, and neighbors. In these tax records, the location of property is defined by naming adjacent features be they streets or neighbors. Mack, thus,
806-512: The supporting vertical elements may be called posts , columns , or pillars . The use of wider elements at the top of the post, called capitals , to help spread the load, is common to many architectural traditions. In architecture, a post-and-lintel or trabeated system refers to the use of horizontal stone beams or lintels which are borne by columns or posts. The name is from the Latin trabs , beam ; influenced by trabeatus , clothed in
837-657: The tax information which pointed to a later dating for the facade stage of the Rucellai project and the possible precedence of the Piccolomini Palace in Pienza, Mack argued for Bernardo Rossellino' authorship in 1974, receiving support from Forster (1976) and Marvin Trachtenberg (2000). Despite these attempts at rethinking the facade and its date, general support for Alberti remains and strong counter arguments in his favor have been made by Brenda Preyer (1981) and others. While Bernardo Rossellino's role in remodeling
868-548: The triangular Piazza dei Rucellai in front of the palace and set at right angles to it is the Loggia de' Rucellai , which was used for family celebrations, weddings, and as a public meeting place. The two buildings (palace and loggia) taken together with the open space between them (the piazza), form one of the most refined urban compositions of the Italian Renaissance. Any evaluation of the stylistic significance of
899-403: Was able to reconstruct ownership histories for the site now occupied by the palace for pertinent tax year. What Mack discovered substantiates Giovanni Rucellai' own testimony that "out of eight houses, I made one." Eight dwellings did, in fact, once occupy the site of the present Rucellai Palace. Records for the tax year 1446 show that Giovanni Rucellai and his immediate family lived in a house at
930-488: Was for business and was flanked by benches running along the street facade. The second floor (the piano nobile ) was the main formal reception floor and the third floor the private family and sleeping quarters. A fourth "hidden" floor under the roof was for servants. The palace contains an off-center court (three sides of which originally were surrounded by arcades), built to a design that may have been adapted from Brunelleschi 's loggia at his Spedale degli Innocenti . In
961-543: Was inspired by the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence , the work of his master Leon Battista Alberti . The residential palace is one of the earliest examples of Renaissance architecture . The building is now a museum, where you can visit the ancient hall of arms, Pius II's study, bedchambers, the art and sculpture collection he built. It has a square plan, developed on three floors, made of rustic light stone. It