Plazzo Medice Riccardi, 1460 AD, Florence, Italy

The palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de' Medici, head of the Medici banking family, and was built between 1444 and 1484. Michelozzo di Bartolomeo was influenced in his building of this palace by both classical Roman and Brunelleschian principles. During the Renaissance revival of classical culture, ancient Roman elements were often replicated in architecture, both built and imagined in paintings. It was well known for its stone masonry, which includes architectural elements of rustication and ashlar. The palace is characterized by clearly defined floors and a huge cornice crowning the roofline, the palace stands out for the arched windows arranged along its front and the partially closed loggia on the corner of the building. Two asymmetrical doors led to the typical fifteenth century courtyard. In 1517, the original building was altered by closing the loggia and adding the two "kneeling" windows per Michelangelo's project. Originally designed as a sort of cube with ten windows for each ground and three big doors in the façade.

The most important section of the palace is the Chapel frescoed in 1459 by Benozzo Gozzoli representing the Procession of the Magi. The frescoes explicitly referred to the train of the Concilium that met in Florence in 1439. Many of the personalities portrayed are wealthy the protagonists of the time and members of the Medici family.

 Since 1972 the exhibition area of Palazzo Medici Riccardi has become a tourist attraction of temporary exhibitions dedicated to the modern and contemporary art. Now the exhibition has been focused on giving the public a greater understanding of the historic and artistic context, consequently proposing exhibitions which are consistent with the Renaissance and Baroque identity of the palazzo.

Source:

Glancey, Jonathan. Architecture. London: DK, 2006. PrintWatkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. Sixth ed. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986. Print.

"Medici Riccardi Palace - Florence." Medici Riccardi Palace - Florence.Web.

Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. Sixth ed. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986. Print.