Palazzo Rucellai
Leon Battista Alberti(Architect)
c. 1450 CE
The Palazzo Rucellai is a renowned Renaissance palace, made up of a facade, which was specifically designed by the Renaissance artist Leon Battista Alberti on the time period between 1446-1451. The whole facade exhibits many classical Roman architectural features like its arches, pilasters, and entablatures. For example, the pilasters on the facade are divided into three different classical orders, with Tuscan-style on the bottom, Ionic in the middle, and Corinthian on the top. This design is very similar to the Roman Colosseum – Flavian Amphitheatre- which also exhibited different orders for different levels. Also, Alberti created what is now called “trabeated” architecture, which means horizontally-organized design. Originally, the Palazzo Rucellai itself had four flours, each for a different function. In context, the Palazzo Rucellai was built for and commisioned by the Rucellais, a wealthy aristocratic merchant family. Beside the palace itself, it is believed that Leon Battista Alberti also designed the Loggia. The Loggia is believed to have been built specifically for a wedding that merged the Medici and Rucellai families. It is seen as an open-sided extension to the palace, with the same pilaster designs as on the facade of the Palazzo Rucellai. Throughout the palace, Roman influence is present. For example, the architectural features and columns serve no other practical purpose except that they were decorative, which is parallel to the columns and architectural features of Roman structures like the Roman Colosseum. Also, Alberti decreased the presence of heaviness as a level increased to the top tier, making the bottom tier seem heavier than the uppermost tier. What made Alberti’s Palazzo Rucellai unique and stand out from other palaces was its heavy reliance on Roman influence.
Citations
2 “The History of Palazzo Rucellai.” ISI Florence – Study Abroad in Florence, Italy, International Studies Institute, isiflorence.org/about/the-history-of-palazzo-rucellai/.