Arnolfo di Cambio - Florence Cathedral (ca. early 14C) by SR
5.14 Fourteenth-Century Florence |
The Republic of Florence was a powerful and wealthy city-state in the fourteenth century and the Florentines demonstrated their prestige through several building projects. |
Florence Cathedral |
The grandest of these projects was the Florence Cathedral, properly called Santa Maria della Fiore, which was begun in 1296 under the direction of Arnolfo di Cambio. In our image below, we see the building stresses horizontal space, rather than soaring heights like the contemporary Northern cathedrals. |
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Arnolfo di Cambio - Florence Cathedral (ca. early 14C) by SR |
The exterior decoration consists of the characteristically Italian cream and green-colored marble, organized in geometric designs (cf. San Miniato al Monte), chosen undoubtedly in order to match the adjacent baptistery that we studied in Lesson 5.02. Since the dome of the cathedral dates from the Renaissance, we will move on in our discussion.. |
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Florence Cathedral (view from the south) by SR |
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A study of the cathedral's interior once again reveals stark differences from its Northern counterparts. Note the depth of the bays, the width of the arcades and the shallow side aisles. Again, horizontal space was the aim of the builders, not height. In fact, when the cathedral was in the planning stages, the Florentines had hoped to build a structure so large that it could hold the city's entire population! Of course, they fell well short of their goal, but this desire for maximum horizontal space had a significant impact on the church plan. Finally, in case you were wondering, we did not show the facade of the cathedral because it was not completed until the nineteenth century and is not germane to our current study. |
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Florence Cathedral nave by SR |
Florence Campanile |
Designed by Giotto in 1334, the Florence campanile was separated from the cathedral in typical Italian fashion (again, unlike the Northern churches whose towers were attached). Here, we see that the tower is divided into very defined, ordered sections, which do not detract from the work as a whole. With this design, Giotto also had a tremendous impact on Renaissance architects, for it was exactly this sort of clear, logical plan that would be the goal of Renaissance builders as well. |
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Giotto - Florence Campanile (ca. mid 14C) by SR |
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Assignment 5.14 - Short Answer Practice After you have reviewed the cumulative notes, complete the online assessment 5.14. Remember that your first submission should be done with a time constraint and without notes. This is a ten-minute, short-answer question. |
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