Luca Martini (February 8. 1507 – January 9, 1561) was an Italian engineer, academic, poet, and art patron known for commissioning projects from among other artists Pierino da Vinci and Giorgio Vasari.

Biograohy

He was born in Florence to Angelo di Guglielmo and Elena di Filippo Bracciolini, granddaughter of the famous humanist Poggio Bracciolini. Martini was made a member of literary academies at the court of

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

in Florence and Pisa and was a consultant to the potentate. He was an engineer by profession for most of his career and a patron of the arts. He was commissioned to build the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo in Florence in 1546. In 1550 he was appointed Provider of the Office of the Galleys and the Office of the Rivers and Ditches of Pisa, carrying out engineering works for the drainage of the malaria-infested

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

around in Pisa. He distinguished himself in

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

poetry and was a friend of numerous writers, including

Annibal Caro Fra' Annibale Caro, K.M., (6 June 150717 November 1566) was an Italian writer and poet. Biography Born in Civitanova Marche, then in the March of Ancona, Caro became tutor to the wealthy family of Lodovico Gaddi in Florence, and then secret ...

. Martini is mentioned in ''The Life of

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

''. Martini commissioned and suggested the story for ''The Death of Count Ugolino Della Gherendesca and his son'' by Pierino Da Vinci and in 1548 employed him to create the marble statue '' Young River God with Three Putti'' for the wife of Duke Cosimo Eleanor of Toledo. In 1555 Pierino da Vinci executed a profile portrait of a man in Carrara marble widely believed to be Martini. Pierino Da Vinci at one point came to live with Martini in Pisa and even traveled with his patron to Genoa. Martini wrote a

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

revisiting the Genoan journey. Pierino Da Vinci died shortly after the pair's trip to Genoa and following his demise another young sculptor

Stoldo Lorenzi Stoldo Lorenzi (''Stoldo di Gino Lorenzi''; 1534 – after 1583) was an Italian Mannerist sculptor active in Florence and Pisa. Born 1534 in Settignano, Tuscany, close to Florence. He was born the son of Gino Lorenzi, of a family of renowned sto ...

moved into Martini's Pisan Palazzo and enjoyed his artistic patronage, meanwhile completing several projects Pierino had left unfinished including the marble relief ''Pisa Restored''.

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( it, Il Bronzino ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or reddis ...

executed several portraits of Martini including one of him holding a map of the Pisan countryside which it has been suggested "may well be the earliest example of an accurate, measured map included within a work of art". . Moreover, Martini commissioned the 1544 oil on panel work '' Six Tuscan Poets'' by Giorgio Vasari depicting

Cino da Pistoia Cino da Pistoia (1270 – 1336/37) was an Italian jurist and poet. He was born in Pistoia, Tuscany. His full name was ''Guittoncino dei Sinibaldi'' or, Latinised, ''Cinus de Sighibuldis''. His father was a noble man from the House of Sinibald ...

, Guittone d'Arezzo, Petrarch,

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, Dante Alighieri, and

Guido Cavalcanti Guido Cavalcanti (between 1250 and 1259 – August 1300) was an Italian poet. He was also a friend and intellectual influence on Dante Alighieri. Historical background Cavalcanti was born in Florence at a time when the comune was beginning its ...

. Giorgio Vasari included representations of Martini in two

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

tondi Tondi may refer to: * Tondi, Tallinn, district of Kristiine, Tallinn, Estonia * Ibrahim Tondi (born 1985), Nigerien hurdler * Tondi Elektroonika, factory for electrotechnical components located in Tallinn, Estonia See also * Tondo (disambigua ...

decorating the

Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...

in Florence. In ''Cosimo I Visits the Fortifications of Elba'' Luca is depicted as the man at the far left with a long beard holding a scroll inscribed ‘Luca Martini Provveditore di Pisa’. He is also portrayed in the backdrop of ''Cosimo I with His Architects, Engineers and Sculptors''.https://benjaminproust.com/?media_dl=1278

Death

Martini died in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

on January 9, 1561, from malaria.

References

Bibliography

* Apparati della Vita by Benvenuto Cellini, edition edited by Ettore Camesasca, Classici Bur, Milan 2007, first edition 1985. ISBN 978-88-17-16532-7 * Franco Angiolini, MARTINI, Luca, in the Biographical Dictionary of Italians, vol. 71, Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martini, Luca Italian engineers Patrons of the arts Florence 1507 births 1561 deaths