In questo volume:

Matthew Cohen, Brunelleschi and the Old Basilica of San Lorenzo Debate Revisited 

Abstract: This article engages a long-running debate over the Brunelleschi designed Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence concerning the size and position of the old Romanesque basilica that it replaced. It argues for the “ex novo theory,” according to which the old basilica was substantially smaller, offset, and lower in elevation relative to present one, and did not influence the present design. Through a series of twelve tests, it refutes the “extension theory,” according to which the present basilica began as an addition onto the back of the old basilica, and borrowed from it all major dimensions, proportions, and stylistic features. A detailed, step by step examination of archaeological and documentary evidence reveals new historical insights even beyond the terms of this debate. This study challenges long-held pre- conceptions about the construction history of San Lorenzo, and raises new questions about the role of Romanesque precedents in its design.

Fabio Mangone, Le pietre di Firenze. La residenza dei Como nella Napoli del Quattrocento: la casa e il palazzo

Abstract: Although partly transformed, a residence characterized by evident Florentine Renaissance elements can be found on Via Duomo in Naples, opposite the better-known Palazzo Como. Despite being noted by Roberto Pane in his time, these features of the residence have been largely neglected in Neapolitan Rnaissance studies in recent decades. The present study, through a combination of architectural analysis and archival research, explores several critical issues that extend beyond the specific case study:

- The building can be attributed to the same patronage and the figure of Angelo Como as the nearby and better-known Palazzo Como. Como was a significant figure due to his frequent commercial travels to Florence and his connections with eminent families, such as the Bardi, Medici, and Strozzi, who were pivotal in the Florentine Renaissance. This construction serves as important evidence of the largely overlooked role of mercantile architectural patronage in Naples.

- Despite the transformations of later centuries, the building still recognizably represents a rare form of a “merchant house,” a type seldom considered in Neapolitan residential studies, which typically focus on aristocratic palaces.

- This study, supported by extensive archival evidence, demonstrates that the edifice exemplifies a unique form of the penetration of Florentine Renaissance models into Naples. This occurred a few years before the arrival of builders following Giuliano da Majano. These builders arrived individually, facilitated by the purchase and import of stone elements from Florence to Naples, which were crafted according to the new aesthetic norms.

Paolo Parmiggiani, Francesco di Giorgio al Palazzo Ducale di Urbino: l’ornato a stucco e la riscoperta della volta a padiglione

Abstract: This article explores a new aspect of Francesco di Giorgio’s work as an architect, specifically his role in the rediscovery of stucco decoration associated with cloister vaults and its application in the Ducal Palace of Urbino. The study analyzes the stucco decorations created by the artist and his circle for the Duchess’s Apartment in the palace, with particular focus on the vault of the Salotto della Duchessa. The subject of the decoration is the celebration of the dynastic transition from Federico da Montefeltro to his son Guidubaldo, allowing the stucco cycle to be dated to the mid-1480s, a few years after Federico’s death. This work opens new avenues for investigating the architectural research that Francesco di Giorgio was conducting during this period, as evidenced by his treatises and graphic productions. Notably, the use of stucco ornamentation on cloister vaults reflects di Giorgio’s observations during his travels, such as his study of the ruins of the ancient bathhouses of Baia, from which he presumably drew inspiration to develop his innovative experimentation for the palace of Urbino.

Francesco Benelli, “Nomi e vochabolj dj Vettruvjo”: gli studi teorici di Giuliano da Sangallo

Abstract: This essay investigates four pages of the Senese Sketchbook of Giuliano da Sangallo in which the Florentine architect studies some features of the architectural orders. He reconstructs in particular the Doric and the Ionic orders according to the rules written in Vitruvius’ and Alberti’s treatises, comparing, for the first time by a Renaissance architect, the two theoretical sources and adding to the analysis data that he extracted from the roman ruins. The attempt to parallel the two treatises will affect Giuliano’s architecture.

Francisco Martínez Mindeguía, Portadas de libros y lenguaje arquitetónico. El Illustrium Iureconsultorum Imagines, 1566

Abstract: The sixteenth-century title pages featuring aedicule designs enhanced the commercial appeal of books while simultaneously fostering an experimentation that influenced the architectural language of the following century. This experimentation was notably uninhibited, with the components of the aedicule being treated independently and their relationships reconfigured. This approach extended to the design of church altarpieces and funerary monuments. In this article, the development of this language is analyzed through an example that, despite not belonging to an architectural book, synthesizes the title pages of the architectural books of its era. This analysis demonstrates that architectural language evolves through the resolution of apparent contradictions in its application and spreads independently of its thematic origins.

Rosa Sessa, Michael Graves e il Mediterraneo. Intuizioni, interpretazioni e manipolazioni dell’architettura e dell’antichità italiana

Abstract: The article reconstructs the formative years of the American architect Michael Graves (1934-2015), with a particular emphasis on his research experience in Italy as recipient of the Rome Prize in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome from 1960 to 1962. It explores the consistent influence of Mediterranean references throughout his career, beginning with Graves’s initial encounters with Greek and Italian architecture within the context of his modernist education at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University. This influence extends to his thoughtful selection and interpretation of architectural references and models during his tenure in Italy as a Rome Prize recipient. Drawing upon unpublished archival materials, as well as exclusive interviews and conversations with esteemed scholars and collaborators of Graves, this essay aims to elucidate how Italian references were categorized, interpreted, and manipulated by the architect. The analysis of various graphic materials produced during his Rome Prize period—such as photographs, drawings, and inks—suggests possible interpretative keys to understanding his work and aesthetic.

The ultimate objective of the paper is to delineate the pivotal impact of Italian architectural culture on Graves’s methodology and compositional approach. By doing so, it seeks to provide historiographical and critical tools that can facilitate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of his work, free from prevailing biases.

Virginia Stampete, Le origini della chiesa di Santa Maria del Suffragio in via Giulia

Abstract: This article traces the origins of the Archconfraternity and the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio in Via Giulia, where stands the incomplete Palazzo dei Tribunali designed by Donato Bramante for Pope Julius II. Recent archival discoveries have enabled new knowledge regarding this area, particularly shedding light on the historical genesis of the first church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, which has hitherto remained largely obscure. Its history is intricately intertwined with those of two other communities that emerged nearby: the pre-existing church of San Biagio della Pagnotta, from which the new archconfraternity originated, and the adjacent property of the Company and Church of Santi Faustina e Giovita dei Bresciani, with which it engaged in recurrent disputes. This new complex, initiated in 1617 and completed in two phases, consisted of modest constructions which survived till 1662. At this point, given its growing importance, the archconfraternity decided to replace the existing structure with a larger and more prestigious edifice, designed by Carlo Rainaldi.

Cristina Ridolfi, La chiesa di Santa Maria del Suffragio in via Giulia di Carlo Rainaldi: nuovi documenti dall’archivio dell’Arciconfraternita

Abstract: There was little certain information about the church and oratory complex constructed from 1662 on Via Giulia in Rome by the Compagnia del Suffragio. However, extensive documentary research, particularly within the surviving archives of the archconfraternity, has allowed for a detailed reconstruction of its building phases and design choices. This study sheds light on the real reasons that led Carlo Rainaldi, the designer of the entire complex, to abandon the initial octagonal plan for the church: financial constraints imposed by the client hindered the architect’s desire to embrace innovative trends. Rainaldi, who was an active member of the archconfraternity, then adopted a more modest approach, employing a formal language he had previously used in similar projects.