Academic Year 2024 – 2025
History of Architecture
Prof.ssa Sara Bova (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
2024/2025 - MS Teams Class | 2024/2025
Timetable
Renaissance Rome. From Alberti to Michelangelo
Important in order to get a general idea of the subject, the students are expected to read the following book
Wittkower Rudolf, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. 1st American Edition, New York: Random House, 1965 (several editions starting from 1949).
Week 1
Visit 1 | Tuesday, 1st April 2025, 12.30 pm – 2.30 pm – Meeting point: entrance on the Viale Vaticano, arriving 15 minutes before
The Renaissance Superstructure: The Vatican Palace and the Belvedere Courtyard
(together with Professor Francesca Mari)
In the final part of your course on Early Modern Art, our course on Renaissance Architecture starts with a focus on one of the most significant and monumental enterprises of the time, the construction of the Belvedere Courtyard, which wings now hosts several rooms and halls of the Vatican Museums. While you discuss with Professor Mari about the most relevant pictorial works, we will take into account the role of several artists as architects (Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo), the influence and personality of their patrons, the relation between painted and built architecture. This will lead us to pose the main questions which are at the basis of the course.
Bibliography"
J.S. Ackerman, “The Belvedere as a classical villa”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 14 1951, pp. 70-91.
M. Ng, “The Renaissance superstructure”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 81, 3 2022, pp. 320-341.
Lecture 1 | Wednesday, 2nd April 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Tor Vergata, Aula Mediterraneo
Introduction to the course
Main objectives, and explanation of the written exam assignment and of the oral examination criteria | 30 m
Early Renaissance architecture in Florence: a general outline
This section of the lecture focuses mainly on Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Michelozzo and the rise of a novel architectural system | 1 h
Rome and Leon Battista Alberti (1432-1472)
This section of the lecture deals with the conditions of Rome in the early 15th century and how the presence of the humanist and architect Leon Battista Alberti favored the start of a change | 1h 30 m
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 13-26, 31-48, 51-54.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 26-86.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 13-24, 35-44, 55-58.
Additional selected references
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 39-47.
C.W. Westfall, “Alberti and the Vatican Palace type”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 33 1974, 2, pp. 101-121.
Visit 2 | Thursday, 3rd April 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Meeting point: main courtyard of the ViVe Museum, freely accessible either from via del Plebiscito or from piazza San Marco
The main Roman palaces of the 15th century: Palazzo Venezia and Palazzo della Cancelleria
How did patricians live in early-Renaissance Rome? The path will show the characteristics of the Rome’s Palace Type and its evolution leading us form the mid-15th to the early 16th century.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 45-47.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 51-53.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 69-71, 71-73.
Additional selected references
M.D. Davis, “‘Opus isodomum’ at the Palazzo della Cancelleria: Vitruvian studies and archeological and antiquarian interests at the Court of Raffaele Riario”, in Roma, centro ideale della cultura dell’Antico nei secoli XV e XVI: da Martino V al Sacco di Roma 1417-1527, convegno internazionale di studi (Roma, 25-30 novembre 1985), a cura di Silvia Danesi Squarzina, Milano 1989, pp. 442-457.
T. Magnuson, Studies in Roman Quattrocento Architecture, Stockholm 1958. pp. 245-296.
Week 3
Lecture 2 | Wednesday, 9th April 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Tor Vergata, P25
Rome and other humanistic centers in the late 15th century
Major an Minor Courts inItaly | 1 h 30 m
Rome under the papacies of Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII and Alexander VI | 1 h 30 m
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 47-50.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 54-70, 91-98.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 58-85.
Additional selected references
T. Magnuson, Studies in Roman Quattrocento Architecture, Stockholm 1958, pp. 297-340.
Week 3
Lecture 3 | Wednesday, 16th April 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Tor Vergata, T35
Renaissance Architectural Theory
Which were the theoretical sources adopted by architect and artists for architectural design? Among the treatise analyzed, particular attention will be paid to the following works:
a. De architectura by Vitruvius
b. De re aredificatoria by Leon Battista Alberti
c. 16th century editions of Vitruvius’ De architectura: Fra’ Giocondo’s and Cesare Cesariano’s works
d. Novel architectural treatises: Serlio’s, Vignola’s and Palladio’s works
Bibliography
Architectural theory: pioneering texts on architecture from the Renaissance to today, vol. 1, Köln 2022, pp. 22-27, 60-95, 110-117.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 188-190.
Additional selected references
M. Carpo, Architecture in the age of printing: orality, writing, typography, and printed images in the history of architectural theory, Cambridge (Mass.) 2001, pp. 16-22, 42-56, 103-109, 119-124.
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 33-40, 147-157, 263-286.
Week 4
Lecture 4| Wednesday, 30th April 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Tor Vergata, T35
Rome in the age of pope Julius II: Donato Bramante’s architectural works
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 99-112.
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 50-54.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 114-159.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 11-25.
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, “The Belvedere as a classical villa”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 14 1951, pp. 70-91.
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 225-246.
Week 5
Visit 3 | Wednesday, 7th May 2025, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm | Meeting point: Piazza di S. Pietro in Montorio, 2, 00153 Roma RM
Bramante’s Rome
The visit path includes the following places: the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio, via Giulia, the rests of the Palazzo dei Tribunali and the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace. Along the path we are also getting some preview of Raphael’s and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger’s works: respectively, Palazzo Alberini and the Mint Palace.
Bibliography
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 125-126, 149-157, 164-166, 176-187.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 11-12, 13, 35-37, 49-51, 57-60.
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael as Architect”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 116 1968, pp. 388-409.
Additional selected references
A. Bruschi, Bramante, London 1977, pp. 71-85, 129-143.
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael, Rome, and the Codex Escurialensis”, Master drawings, 15 1977, pp. 107-146.
Lecture 5| Thursday, 8th May 2025, 9 am – 12 pm – Tor Vergata, P2
Rome from Bramante’s death to the Sack of Rome (1513-1527): Raphael and his legacy
The aim of the lecture is to discuss the role of Raphael as an architect, comparing his works to Bramante’s, as well as to the ones realized by other important artists he worked with, such as Baldassarre Peruzzi, Giulio Romano and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 55-60.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 115-125.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 27-34, 35-39, 45-60.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 159-176, 180-187, 188-190.
Additional selected references
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 247-262.
J.K.G. Shearman, “The Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 24 1961, pp. 129-160.
Week 4
Lecture 6 | Wednesday, 14th May 2025, 9 am – 12 pm – T35
Michelangelo’s Rome: challenging Vitruvianism (1534-1564)
The purpose of the lecture is to trace the main characteristics of Michelangelo’s architecture, discussing how it diverges from the Vitruvian canon, which had been philologically applied by most of his contemporaries.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 135-144, 171-184.
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 60-65.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 89-106.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 209-297 (in particular, pp. 209-227, 260-274).
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, The architecture of Michelangelo, London 1995 (1st ed. 1961), pp. 25-36, 37-52, 171-192, 193-220, 260-268.
Week 5
Visit 4 | Thursday, 15th May 2025, 9 am – 12 pm | Meeting point: at the end of the via XX Settembre, close to the Aurelian Walls
Michelangelo’s Rome
The visit path includes the following places: Porta Pia, the Sforza Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, the Capitolium.
Bibliography
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 94-97, 103-104.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 275-297.
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, The architecture of Michelangelo, London 1995 (1st ed. 1961), pp. 136-170, 221-242, 243-259).