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Villa Di Poggio Imperiale
Villa del Poggio Imperiale (English: Villa of the Imperial Hill) is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, Central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, it was seized by the Medici, became the home of a homicidal and unfaithful husband, and a lavish retreat for a Grand Duchess with imperial pretensions. Later given to Napoleon's sister, it was reclaimed by the hereditary rulers of Tuscany before being finally converted to a prestigious girls' school. During its long history, it has often been at the centre of Italy's turbulent history, and has been rebuilt and redesigned many times. Medici era The Villa was once the property of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany — the Medici. However, the documented history begins in the 15th century when a small villa on the site known as "Villa del Poggio Baroncelli", was built by the Florentine merchant Jacopo Baroncelli The villa was sold to Barto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villa Del Poggio Imperiale, Esterno 02
A villa is a type of house that was originally an Ancient Rome, 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 co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginio Orsini
Gentile Virginio Orsini (c. 1434 – 8 January 1497) was an Italian condottiero and vassal of the papal throne and the Kingdom of Naples, mainly remembered as the powerful head of the Orsini family during its feud with Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). Though best known as Lord of Bracciano, during his lifetime he bore many titles, among which Count of Tagliacozzo, Vicovaro and Anguillara, Lord of Cerveteri, Knight of the Order of Emellino (1463), Constable of the Kingdom of Naples and Gonfalonier of the Roman Church. The aforesaid fiefs were all confiscated in favor of the Colonna or the Borgia family during Virginio's conflict with Naples and the Pope. Genealogy and military career Gentile Virginio was the son of Napoleone II and Francesca Orsini. On the death of his uncle Carlo (1485), he obtained the reins of his prominent house, at the time an enemy to the King of Naples and an ally of the pontiff. Pope Sixtus IV appointed him general of his forces, which Virginio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medici Bank
The Medici Bank (Italian: ''Banco dei Medici'' ) was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century (1397–1494). It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime. There are some estimates that the Medici family was, for a period of time, the wealthiest family in Europe. Estimating their wealth in today's money is difficult and imprecise, considering that they owned art, land, and gold. With this monetary wealth, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, and later in the wider spheres of Italy and Europe. A notable contribution to the professions of banking and accounting pioneered by the Medici Bank was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double entry system of tracking debits and credits or deposits and withdrawals. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was the first Medici to enter banking on his own, and while he became influential in the Florentine government, it was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosimo De' Medici
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and inter-marriage with other powerful and rich families. He was a patron of arts, learning and architecture. He spent over 600,000 gold florins (approx. $500 million inflation adjusted) on art and culture, including Donatello's David, the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; Florence's legislative councils at times resisted his proposals throughout his life, and he was viewed as first among equals, rather than an autocrat.Martines, Lauro (2011). ''The Social World of the Florentine Humanists, 1390–1460''. University of Toronto Press. p. 8. Biography Early life and family business Cosimo de' Medici was born in Florence to Giovanni di Bicci de' Medi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919. The palazzo is now the largest museum complex in Florence. The principal palazzo block, often in a building of this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Duchy of Bar, Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Archduchy of Austria, Austria, and Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Tuscany through his marriage to Maria Theresa, daughter of Emperor Charles VI. Francis was the last non-Habsburg monarch of both the Empire and Austria, which were effectively governed by Maria Theresa. The couple were the founders of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, and their marriage produced sixteen children. Francis was the fourth (but oldest surviving) son of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and the French princess Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans. Duke Leopold died in 1729, and was succeeded by his son. In 1736, Francis married Maria Theresa. In 1738, he left the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar for the deposed Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński in exchange for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habsburg-Lorraine
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia and Archduchess of Austria. Its members are the legitimate surviving line of both the House of Habsburg and the House of Lorraine, inheriting their patrimonial possessions and vocation to the Empire from their female ancestress of the House of Habsburg and from the male line of the House of Lorraine. The branch of Vaudemont and Guise from the House of Lorraine become the major branch after a brief interlude in 1453–1473, when the duchy passed in right of Charles de Bourbon's daughter to her husband John of Calabria, a Capetian, Lorraine reverted to the House of Vaudemont, a junior branch of the House of Lorraine, in the person of René II, who later added to his titles that of Duke of Bar. The House of Habsbu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were devout Catholics, and, in 1590, they sent him to study at the Jesuits' college in Ingolstadt because they wanted to isolate him from the Lutheran nobles. In July that same year (1590), when Ferdinand was 12 years old, his father died, and he inherited Inner Austria–Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and smaller provinces. His cousin, the childless Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was the head of the Habsburg family, appointed regents to administer these lands. Ferdinand was installed as the actual ruler of the Inner Austrian provinces in 1596 and 1597. Rudolf II also charged him with the command of the defense of Croatia, Slavonia, and southeastern Hungary against the Ottoman Empire. Ferdinand regarded the regulation of religious issues as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperator Germanorum, german: Römisch-deutscher Kaiser, lit, Roman-German emperor), was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. The title was held in conjunction with the title of king of Italy (''Rex Italiae'') from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of king of Germany (''Rex Teutonicorum'', lit. "King of the Teutons") throughout the 12th to 18th centuries. The Holy Roman Emperor title provided the highest prestige among medieval Roman Catholic monarchs, because the empire was considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be the only successor of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Thus, in theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered '' primus inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matteo Rosselli
Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first apprenticed with Gregorio Pagani. On 26 February 1599, he was inducted to the Accademia del Disegno, and in 1605 traveled to Rome to work with Domenico Passignano for six months. He completed some frescoes on ''The Legend of the Origin of the Servite Order'' (1614–1618) in the Palazzo Pitti and in the Cloister of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata; a ''Madonna and child with St Francis'' altarpiece for the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence; and an ''Adoration of the Magi'' (1607) for the Church of Sant'Andrea in Montevarchi. He painted a ''Crucifixion'' (1613) now in the parish church at Scarperia. He painted a ''Last Supper'' (1614) now in Conservatorio di San Pier Martire. Upon the French monarch's death, he was commiss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cant (architecture)
A cant in architecture is an angled (oblique-angled) line or surface that cuts off a corner. Something with a cant is ''canted''. Canted facades are a typical of, but not exclusive to, Baroque architecture. The angle breaking the facade is less than a right angle, thus enabling a canted facade to be viewed as, and remain, one composition. Bay windows frequently have canted sides. A cant is sometimes synonymous with ''chamfer'' and ''bevel A bevelled edge (UK) or beveled edge (US) is an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage they are often interchanged, while in technical usage they ...''. References Architectural elements Building engineering {{Architecturalelement-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corps De Logis
In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal block of a large, (usually classical), mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd edition. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 204. . The grandest and finest rooms are often on the first floor above the ground level: this floor is the ''piano nobile''. The ''corps de logis'' is usually flanked by lower secondary wings, such as the ''barchesse'' of Venetian villas. When the secondary wings form a three sided courtyard, the courtyard is known as the ''cour d'honneur''. Examples of a ''corps de logis'' can be found in many of the most notable Classical Era buildings of Europe including the Palace of Versailles, Blenheim Palace, and the Palazzo Pitti. In France, the principal block of medieval castles and manor house A manor house was historically the main residence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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