Architecture of Renaissance Italy

Reflections on architecture, philosophy and urban life in Renaissance Italy by students of the SUTD IAP Program to Florence.

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San Gimignano, Italy taken by Karen Sng

Private balcony on top of the tower.  

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Cathedrale di Santa Maria, Siena, Italy taken by Shobha Narendran

Ribbed vaulting is a striking characteristic of Gothic architecture, the architectural style which influenced this particular Duomo. This method of vaulting is a dramatic change from the style of barrel vaulting in the Romanesque period. A web of ribbed, or pointed, arches (each at a similar angle) are joined together with columns, which are responsible for supporting and distributing the weight of the entire structure. The entirety of the ribbed ceiling lends the surroundings the impression of height, and thus a very grand and breathtaking atmosphere. There is an impressive sense of movement, with an elaborate emphasis upon the decorative style. 

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Monteriggioni, Italy taken by Cassandra Tan

It was interesting to note that the defense walls were built on uneven ground and that the walls follow the natural contours of the hill. There was graveyard as seen in the picture right outside the defines walls, which was rather disturbing since the history behind the walls had it that the impregnable castle of Monteriggioni, which could host up to 2,500 soldiers during periods of war was betrayed by its captain and fell into the hands of their rival, Florence. 

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View from top of Palazzo Comunale’s Torre Grossa, San Gimignano, Italy taken by Teri Lim

Called the ‘Town of Fine Towers’, the Romanesque style of the towers display fortifying strength with their thick walls and tiny windows. The towers look upon the town and lord over the houses below, asserting its power over the spaces it overlooks. There is little to no ornamentation on the towers and facade of Palazzo Comunale. Instead they have a straight forward, stern, military outlook - characteristic of the era of feudalism and political struggle.

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Siena, Italy taken by Tan Jun Qi

What interests me is the juxtaposition of Romanesque and Gothic elements, and especially the structure of the Gothic arches. Why were the Romanesque windows of the top floor preserved? Or was it a reconstruction? And why are the lower windows in the form of an arch within an arch?

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Duomo di Siena, Siena, Italy taken by Karen Sng

The theme of the cathedral was really uniquely Siena. The dark ceilings and flooring were all in sync to give the cathedral its own character.

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San Gimignano, Italy taken by Tan Jun Qi

Many parts of San Gimignano show the age and history of the place, the building and rebuilding that has taken place over the centuries. In particular this photograph, which shows a big Romansque arch that was walled up and replaced with a smaller one, which was subsequently walled up as well. And arch within an arch.

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Duomo, Siena, Italy taken by Karen Sng

The hexagonal dome was such a change from the other cathedrals that we have visited. Most have a rectangular shape, but the ones here are hexagons or rhombuses(supported in my previous picture). I was interested in why they had the dome to be covered in a 100 stars but i could not find any interpretation on the net.

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Torre Grossa, Palazzo Commune, San Gimignano, Italy taken by Chiew Jun Hao

Torre Grossa of Palazzo Commune contains elements of Romanesque in the structure such as the curve on top of the window. This tower is also the highest tower in the city standing 54 metres. The council ordained no towers to be higher than Torre Grossa because of relentless building of tower houses between two rivalry factions for combat vantage point before 1300 AD. The two rival factions were the Guelphs and Ghibellines.

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Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta, Siena, Italy taken by Cassandra Tan

The first thing one observes when entering this Cathedral would be the high ceilings and the absolute sheer grandeur. What struck me the most was the dome - when one stands directly beneath it, it feels as though one is beneath a starry sky, with the detailed frescos and the circular hemisphere giving both depth and perspective. 

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Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy taken by Chiew Jun Hao

Palazzo Pitti in Florence, was designed by Brunelleschi in 14th century, however, said to say he died before the construction of the palace is completed.

Palazzo Pitti is a good demonstration of Renaissance Architecture where the façade are symmetrical around the vertical axis, external walls are constructed with brick laid in straight courses and the arches are semi-circular.

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Siena, Italy taken by Tan Jun Qi

This is a photo from Siena, and again I like it because it shows, in its juxtaposition of two architectural styles, the evolution of tastes and the historicity of the place. In how many phases was this building built upon? While the arches on the lowest level are Gothic, the upper levels seem to bear rather modern-looking rectangular windows, but the most curious is the way a Renaissance style frontispiece has as if been stuck to the building entrance.

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Hospital of the Innocents (Ospedale degli Innocenti), Florence, Italy taken by Teri Lim

Florence is the home of the Renaissance. Brunelleschi’s style of strict order shows up in the rhythm of the arches and columns, and in the usage of contrast with dark grey and white. There is a return to the classical order found in the proportion, symmetry and plain nature of Romanesque architecture. This displays the school of thought of architecture at the time - that there is a need to return to the ordered style and rules of viewing architecture as in Romanesque times, unlike the imaginative, ornamented and more intuitive style of Gothic architecture. Gothic architecture was also coined as such to mark the dawning of a new age that turned from the intricacies of expressive ornamentation and welcomed the preciseness of mathematical proportion.

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Siena, Italy Taken by Cassandra Tan

Upon seeing the heads protruding out from the building at the very top, there was a mix of reactions. The heads were of those who hold great importance in the city in some way or another (Dante included) but the fact remains that it was quite a strange sight to behold, and rather grotesque in such a quaint city.

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Basilica Santa Croce Drawn by Cassandra Tan

What struck me when I saw Santa Croce was the division of the building and the perfect symmetry from the centre. The facade also held great significance, with the alpha and omega encircled by a three-leaf clover shape, and with the main centrepiece giving the illusion of standing out.

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Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy taken by Chiew Jun Hao

Palazzo Pubblico in Siena have an architecture with Gothic influence. We can see this from the vertical emphasis in the windows and the pointy arches.

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View from the tower of Palazzo Comunale, San Gimignano, Italy. taken by Mak Yiing Huey

San Gimignano is a medieval town that was a vital pitstop for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. During the times of rivalry between the two major clans, families were building higher and higher towers (bad blood between followers of Guelph and the Ghibellines) – each family would want to be higher than the other to defend their own status and tower. However, when San Gimignano went under Florentine rule in the 14th century, most except 14 of the towers were cut to the height of the neighbouring houses.

From this highest surviving tower of the town we stand, we can see the highly-defined, narrow road approximating no more than 8 metres. The distance in between each house is also extremely narrow. With houses this close to each other and towers above them that could go up to 70m high, it is easily imaginable – how the urban fabric of this place made it even more hostile for new people entering the town and for the people already living here. Today, it is a scenic town with quaint shops and beautiful alleyways that contribute to comfortable human-scale shop streets that look inviting and probably nothing close to the unfriendly tower-crowded town it once was.