Benvenuto a Tutto Italiano
Florence is the home of the Renaissance. It was there that some of the greatest creative minds turned their thoughts into words, paintings, buildings, sculptures, and music, changing the history of the world.
At a gathering in 1546, a discussion of the artists of the time led to a book that – even with its shortcomings of erroneous information and a heavy focus on the artists of Florence – is considered a masterpiece. Vite de' più eccellenti Architetti, Pittori, e Scultori, Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, chronicles the artists of the thirteenth through the early sixteenth centuries. First published in 1550 with an expanded edition published in 1568, Vite was written by writer, architect, and painter Giorgio Vasari, who is considered to be one of the first art historians. Vasari was the first to describe the period as Rinascita, Italian for rebirth … revival … renaissance. The book includes some fictional accounts of the artists’ lives and has various translated editions. Even so, it provides an insider’s view into the lives of acclaimed artists who are better known for their visual accomplishments.
Giorgio Vasari: Abridged Biographies
Medieval Sourcebook: Lives of the Artists, Selections
A recent article in the Travel Section of The New York Times provided an overview of Florence, with some highlights of the city. The article included restaurants, gardens, museums, hotels, and other information.
One highlight is Palazzo Medici Riccardi, designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo il Vecchio de’ Medici in 1444. It’s often referred to as the first Renaissance palace, a new type of building – a large square with straight windows, pillars, and rusticated (rustic, stone-like) exterior surfaces. In 1659, the building was sold to Marquis Gabbriello Riccardi, and renovations, over a period of sixty years, included extensions and interior changes to a Baroque style. The building was purchased by the city of Florence in 1874 and a museum was established on the first floor in 1929. Since then, the museum has expanded.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi: History, Museum, Exhibits
Architecture in Renaissance Italy
Another prominent highlight is Villa Bardini, a fourteenth century hilltop home that has been converted into a cultural center and houses two museums. One exhibits the artwork of twentieth century realist Pietro Annigoni , who was inspired by the artists of the Renaissance (view his painting La Strega). The other museum showcases the magnificent sculptured dresses of fashion designer Roberto Capucci.
The Roberto Capucci Museum, article in The Florence Newspaper
Capucci Museum at Villa Bardini (YouTube)
Villa Bardini is located close to Forte Belvedere, another building commissioned by the Medici family. Forte Belvedere was built to give the family a hilltop view of Florence and provide a secure place to go during any uprisings. The fort also overlooks the Boboli Gardens, a park that began its creation in 1550 after Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici, purchased Pitti Palace. The palace, which began construction in the mid-1450s as the home for banker Luca Pitti, was influenced by the designs of one of the first Renaissance architects, Filippo Brunelleschi. The palace was not finished when Pitti died in 1472.
Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron owns Villa Bardini and Villa Peyron, which is located in Fiesole, just north of Florence. Sitting on a hill with views of Florence, Villa Peyron – built in the early 1900s – has a formal garden, several terraced gardens, fountains, statues, and is surrounded by woods and olive groves, the perfect setting for the Garden and Landscape Design School.
Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron (In Italian; English Version Available.)
Villa Bardini and Villa Peyron Photo Galleries
Exquisite Photograph of Formal Garden at Villa Peyron
Boboli Gardens (Scroll down for photographs)
In antiquity, a circus was a coarse used for chariot racing – the most well known being Circus Maximus. It’s said that after the decline of Circus Maximus, following the fall of Ancient Rome, performers began wandering the countryside, bringing entertainment to large towns and small villages.
In Italy, families would travel together, telling a story in a one-ring show. Today, in America, that tradition continues with the Zoppé Italian Family Circus. The family started performing in Italy in 1842, and some unusual circumstances brought the circus to America. Read my article in La Gazzetta Italiana to learn what brought it to America and to find out how you can bring an Italian Family Circus to your town.
There’s still time to vote! Voting for the 2010 list of Thirty-One Days of Italians has been extended to August 13th. Click below on the ballot to vote and show your support for Italian American history and heritage.
Ballot for Thirty-One Days of Italians
Buon anno, buon tutto, buona vita,
Janice Therese Mancuso
Author of Con Amore
Thirty-One Days of Italians
Support Italian American History in America's Schools
Make a donation for Italian American Education
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©2010 by Janice Therese Mancuso. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission except when quoted for promotional purposes. Publish with this credit: Excerpted from Tutto Italiano ©2010 by Janice Therese Mancuso. www.jtmancuso.com