Stefano_Bonsignori_-_The_Dalmatian_shore_-_Google_Art_Project

Stefano Bonsignori or Buonsignori (died 21 September 1589, in Florence) was an Italian Olivetan monk and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici. Biography Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Med ...

. He was born in Florence and is most notable for his eponymous Bonsignori Map of Florence.

Biography

Little is known about Bonsignori's life before he came to be in the service of the

Medicis The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

. He was born in Florence and became part of the Olivetan monastic order before being invited in 1575 to become Francesco's cartographer. According to a letter sent to the superior of his congregations, the Grand Duke intended to entrust him with the completion of the cycle of maps for the Guardaroba (cloakroom) in 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 ...

, which remained unfinished after the dismissal of Ignazio Danti. Of the 53 cartographic panels painted on the doors of the cloakroom, 23 are by Bonsignori, with the most recent one being from 1589. His famous

axonometric Axonometric projection is a type of orthographic projection used for creating a pictorial drawing of an object, where the object is rotated around one or more of its axes to reveal multiple sides.Gary R. Bertoline et al. (2002) ''Technical Graph ...

map of Florence was created under the patronage of Francesco between 1576 and 1584 and etched by Bonaventura Billocardi. The prominence of the

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 s ...

and the detailed depiction of a variety of often quite minor water-related structures is telling of the way in which water management had been an important aspect of the policies of Francesco's father, Cosimo I, whose achievements had transformed the city's landscape. In 1588 his role as Grand Ducal cartographer was confirmed by Francesco's successor,

Ferdinando I Ferdinando may refer to: Politics * Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1549–1609) * Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610–1670) * Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany (1663–1713), eldest son of Cosimo ...

. Stefano Bonsignori died in 1589 and was buried in the church of Santi Michele e Gaetano, but his tomb disappeared during the seventeenth-century reconstruction of the building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsignori, Stefano Italian Benedictines Olivetan Order 16th-century Italian cartographers Scientists from Florence 1589 deaths