Discovering the works of “il Cronaca”, of Bernardo Buontalenti and of Giambologna on the anniversary of their deaths

Architects, painters, sculptors, masters of art: Simone del Pollaiolo, known as il Cronaca, Bernardo Buontalenti and Giambologna, are only a few of the artists who contributed to the golden age of Florentine art. The year 2008 is for all of them the anniversary of their deaths, dating from 1508 in the case of Pollaiolo and 1608 for the other two.

No events are planned as yet for the celebration of these anniversaries, but the city and the neighbouring communes are rich with examples of their work, all of which are absolutely worth a visit.

During the 16th century, while the whole architectural layout of Florence was being reorganized, the rich Florentine burghers, and no longer only the nobility, began to commission their town houses from fine architects, such indeed as were il Cronaca, Giambologna (pseudonym of the Frenchman Jean de Boulogne), and Buontalenti, entrusting them with the entire work from the design stage to the finishing touches.
A destiny the three artists shared throughout their lifetimes. From the Galleria degli Uffizi to Palazzo Vecchio, their art is to be found everywhere.

Simone del Pollaiolo (nicknamed Il Cronaca following a trip he made in 1470 to Rome, where he was so struck by the ruins that, on his return to Florence, he was wont to describe what he had seen to all and sundry, and in great detail, making a lengthy chronicle out of his experience), was responsible as an architect for a number of fine buildings in Florence, such as the courtyard and the upper part of Palazzo Strozzi, the Sacristy of Santo Spirito, the church of San Salvatore al Monte, and the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. He was also asked to design a façade for the basilica of Santa Croce, but this project was never realized, due to disagreements between the friars and the Quaratesi family, who had commissioned the work.

Giambologna was the most important sculptor of Mannerism, the current in 16th-century Italian art (though mostly in painting) inspired by the “manner”, that is the style, of the great artists working in Rome in the immediately preceding years, and especially Raphael and Michelangelo. He left such a mark on the city of Florence that his “manner” was followed long after his death. Among his chief works are the Rape of the Sabines and Hercules with Nessus the Centaur in the Loggia della Signoria, and the Fontana dell'Oceano in the Boboli Gardens.

Another leading personality of the Mannerist period, Bernardo Buontalenti, enjoyed numerous important commissions, such as the decoration of Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens , including the famous Grotta, and that of the park of Pratolino with its colossal statua dell'Appennino. He devised machinery for grandiose court spectacles and festivities, for which he made many drawings still preserved in the Uffizi. Just outside Florence, at Grassina, we may combine a pleasant country walk with a visit to the grotto known as the Fonte della Fata Morgana, which Giambologna designed for the Vecchietti family.