Luciano Laurana (Lutiano Dellaurana, hr, Lucijan Vranjanin) (c. 1420 – 1479) was an Italian architect and engineer from the historic Vrana settlement near the town of

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

in Dalmatia, (today in Croatia, then part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

) After education by his father Martin in Vrana settlement, he worked mostly in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

during the late 15th century. He was principal designer of the Palazzo Ducale of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

and one of the main figures in 15th-century Italian architecture. He considerably influenced the development of

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 ...

. His projects were accompanied with notes in the Croatian glagolitic script, as witnessed by the famous Bernardo Baldi. He was a relative of the sculptor

Francesco Laurana Francesco Laurana, also known as Francesco de la Vrana ( hr, Frane Vranjanin; c. 1430 – before 12 March 1502) was a Dalmatian sculptor and medallist. He is considered both a Croatian and an Italian sculptor. Though born in the territory of th ...

Biography

Laurana was born in Vrana near

in Dalmatia. Later in life, the Italians in Urbino called him ''

Schiavone Schiavone (; feminine ''Schiavona'', plural ''Schiavoni'') is an Italian ethnonym literally meaning "Slavs" in Old Venetian: originally, this term indicated origins in the lands of Dalmatia and Istria (in present-day Slovenia and Croatia), wh ...

''. Little is known about his early years. His father Martin was a stonecutter in Zadar, who worked together with the famous sculptor

Giorgio da Sebenico Giorgio da Sebenico () or Giorgio Orsini or Juraj Dalmatinac (; c. 1410 – 10 October 1473) was a Venetian sculptor and architect from Dalmatia, who worked mainly in Sebenico (now Šibenik, Croatia), and in the city of Ancona, then a maritime ...

on the

Šibenik Cathedral The Cathedral of St. James ( hr, Katedrala sv. Jakova) in Šibenik, Croatia is a triple-nave Catholic basilica with three apses and a dome (32 m high inside). It is the episcopal seat of the Šibenik diocese. It is also the most important architect ...

(Cathedral of St. James). Around 1465 he is known to have collaborated in Mantua with

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. H ...

. From 1466 to 1472 he directed the works of the new palace commissioned by Federico III da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino. The exact attribution of the works is still disputed, as it is known that also

Francesco di Giorgio Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

had a role in the construction: the innovative façade, however, is traditionally recognized as Laurana's. Laurana improved

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

tradition by using a system of columns, pilasters, and arcades to produce elegant facades and spacious rooms. In the arcaded palace courtyard Laurana achieved a rhythmic lightness, amplitude, and sophistication far in advance of contemporary Florentine work. Later he worked in Naples for the king Ferrante II of Naples. From 1472 he was in Pesaro, where he attended the construction of the Castle (''Rocca'') until his death, occurred in 1479. The famous anonymous picture '' La città ideale'', housed in the Urbino National Gallery, has been attributed to him.

Nationality

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' describes Luciano Laurana as "one of the main figures in 15th-century Italian architecture". ''The Architecture Book'', ''The Architectural historian in America'', and ''

Enciclopedia Italiana The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

'' identify Laurana as an "Italian architect". He is internationally known as an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

artist, even if he is today considered by Croatians in the overviews of their art, with the name "Lucijan Vranjanin"."Lucijan Vranjanin."
''enciklopedija.lzmk.hr'' Web. 22 Jun. 2012.

References

External links

Luciano Laurana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurana, Luciano 1420s births 1479 deaths Dalmatian Italians 15th-century Italian engineers Architects from Umbria 15th-century Italian architects Architects from Zadar

Biography

Nationality

See also

References

External links