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Villa Medicea L'Ambrogiana
The Villa L'Ambrogiana was a rural palace or villa built during the late-Renaissance by Ferdinand I de' Medici; it is located at the confluence of the rivers Pesa and Arno, in the municipality of Montelupo Fiorentino. History Originally, the site was occupied by a casino owned by the Ardinghetti, who sold it to the Corboli, and then to the Medici. Construction of the present palace took place circa 1587, putatively using designs of Bernardo Buontalenti, and built over a pre-existing structure. In the 19th century, Leopold II converted the villa into a mental asylum. In 1886, it was converted into a jail for women and minors, and later into a jail for those judged mentally ill. The Villa and grounds in the 17th century were used by Francesco Redi for anatomic studies of leprosy, and by Andrea Scacciati and Bartolomeo Bimbi to create paintings of flora and fauna for the Grand-Duke Cosimo III de' Medici. Still in use as an institution for psychiatric illness, guided visits to p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renaissance Architecture
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and Ancient Rome, Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and was succeeded by Baroque architecture. Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as one of its innovators, the Renaissance style quickly spread to other Italian cities. The style was carried to Spain, France, Germany, England, Russia and other parts of Europe at different dates and with varying degrees of impact. Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion (architecture), proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts, as demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity and in particular ancient Roman architecture, of which many examples remained. Orderly arrangements of columns, pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand I De' Medici
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Early life Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at the time of his birth) of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo, the daughter of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples. He was made a Cardinal in 1562 at the age of 14, but was never ordained into the priesthood. At Rome, he proved an able administrator. He founded the Villa Medici in Rome and acquired many works of art (including the ''Medici lions''), which he then brought back to Florence with him. Grand Duke When his brother Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, died in 1587, Ferdinando succeeded as grand duke at the age of 38. In many ways, Ferdinando was the opposite of his brother who preceded him. Approachable and generous, he set out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pesa River
The Pesa is a river in Tuscany, central Italy. It has a length of 53 km, and, after crossing the provinces of Siena and Florence, flows into the Arno River near Montelupo Fiorentino Montelupo Fiorentino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence. Geography The area is predominantly hilly and is crossed by the river Pesa that, particu .... Rivers of Tuscany Rivers of the Province of Florence Rivers of the Province of Siena Rivers of Italy {{Italy-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arno River
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Marina di Pisa. With a length of , it is the largest river in the region. It has many tributaries: Sieve at long, Bisenzio at , Ombrone Pistoiese at , and the Era, Elsa, Pesa, and Pescia. The drainage basin amounts to more than and drains the waters of the following subbasins: *The Casentino, in the province of Arezzo, formed by the upper course of the river until its confluence with the Maestro della Chiana channel. *The Val di Chiana, a plain drained in the 18th century, which until then had been a marshy area tributary of the Tiber. *The upper Valdarno, a long valley bordered on the east by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montelupo Fiorentino
Montelupo Fiorentino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence. Geography The area is predominantly hilly and is crossed by the river Pesa that, particularly in the municipal area, flows into the Arno river. History Human presence in the area of Montelupo dates back to the Palaeolithic era. Evidence of this are the many prehistoric sites which have been identified in the last twenty years, in the municipal area. Testimony of human presence during the classical era recently emerged from Etruscan civilization tombs in the old town and from the discovery of a Roman villa dating from the Republican age. The place was known as Mansio ad Arnum, as evidenced in the Tabula Peutingeriana, and it is probable that in the area there was a bridge that, during ancient Rome, permitted the crossing of the river Arno. During the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the area faced threats of barbarian invasions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villa Medicea Ambrogiana
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity, sometimes transferred to the Church for reuse as a monastery. Then they gradually re-evolved through the Middle Ages into elegant upper-class country homes. In the Early Modern period, any comfortable detached house with a garden near a city or town was likely to be described as a villa; most survivals have now been engulfed by suburbia. In modern parlance, "villa" can refer to various types and sizes of residences, ranging from the suburban semi-detached double villa to, in some countries, especially around the Mediterranean, residences of above average size in the countryside. Roman Roman villas included: * the ''villa urbana'', a suburban or country seat th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
