Palazzo rucellai

architecture

1. Palazzo Rucellai Presentation by: Priya Nanda (2010uar157) Dikchya Pandey (2010uar158) Shubham Jangir (2010uar)

2. Introduction.. The  Palazzo Rucellai  is one of the best examples of architecture fifteenth in Florence , located in Via della Vigna Nuova  18.  Its facade was designed by Leon Battista Alberti  and was the first in a series of major architectural changes that the architect and theorist of the Renaissance performed for the family Rucellai . The building, commissioned by the wealthy merchant Giovanni Rucellai , was built between 1446 and 1451 by Bernardo Rossellini , designed by Leon Battista Alberti  , who was related to Rucellai by friendship and cultural affinity.  Alberti took care of only a partial intervention, with its interior made ​​up of several buildings and irregular, which required a concentration rather than volume, the facade was completed towards 1465 . Alberti designed a rational "skin" for this palace--a type of "screen" architecture in which the classical elements provide no support structure. All three stories are of equal height with flat pilasters supporting a classical entablature. It has been home to the Rucellai family for over 500 years and the family continues to occupy portions of the building. 

3. Façade..   Alberti’s overriding concern with balance and proportion is evident in his symmetrical treatment of the palace’s facade. The use of the three classical orders to indicate upward progression was inspired by the Colosseum at Rome. The structural elements of ancient Rome are replicated in the arches, pilasters and entablatures, and in the larger blocks on the ground floor which heighten the impression of strength and solidity. it does not end sharply, but is expected to continue because it was indented with a third portal. Marked a turning point in the architecture of the patrician residence and set it apart from the more fortress-like structures that had been previously built in Florence The Palazzo Rucellai , in turn, influenced such later buildings as the Palazzo della Cancelleria (later the Papal Chancery, in Rome).

4. The ground floor.. higher than the upper floors, The pilasters on the ground floor have the Tuscan order at the base- a reinterpretation of the ' Doric columns’  in front is a "bench away," an element of practical use and which also created a sort of basic plan for the palace, as if it were a  stylobate  in ancient roman buildings.  The backrest of the bench play is the Opus reticulatum  : a form of brickwork used in ancient Roman architecture, (the skill having been lost with the end of the Roman Empire, and rediscovered by means of archeology by Leon Battista Alberti .) The polished ashlar quoins is also inspired by Roman architecture The frieze on the ground floor contains the insignia of the Rucellai family

5. The first floor… On the first floor ( main floor ) the pilasters are a Renaissance original: Alberti's own invention (acanthus leaves with a center palmette ) in place of the Ionic order at the second level large  double windows, with embossed frame, column and oculus at the center.  The insignia of the Rucellai family (three feathers in a ring, the sails inflated by the wind and the family coat of arms) also appears on the coats of arms above the portals. 

6. The second floor The top floor pilasters have Corinthian style altering with mullioned windows of the same type.  Above the building is crowned by a cornice projecting slightly, supported by brackets , which is hidden beyond a loggia; evidence of the break with medieval tradition and openness to the great age of Renaissance. 

7. Interiors.. The palace was created from an enclave of eight smaller buildings which were combined to form a single architectural complex arranged around a central courtyard. The "piano nobile" or noble floor, is home to the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. It was refurbished for the occasion of the wedding of Giuseppe Rucellai and Teresa de' Pazzi in 1740. The frescoed vaulted ceilings which date from that time depict mythological figures and motifs.  Some rooms were decorated with frescoes by Gian Domenico Ferretti  , of the Moro Lorenzo and  Pietro Anderlini  .

8. Uses… The ground floor was for business (the Rucellai family were powerful bankers) and was flanked by benches running along the street facade. The second story (the piano nobile) was the main formal reception floor and the third story the private family and sleeping quarters. A fourth "hidden" floor under the roof was for servants; because it had almost no windows, it was quite dark inside.

9. Related monuments.. On the back of the building is the former church of San Pancrazio  , which contains another masterpiece of Alberti , the  temple of the Holy Sepulchre  , in the former north aisle, the only area still devoted to this structure, which now houses the Museum Marino Marini . Front of the building always Leon Battista Alberti designed the Rucellai Loggia . The facade of the nearby Basilica of Santa Maria Novella was designed by Alberti as always on behalf of Giovanni Rucellai.

10. The end.