Architecture Florence - Mannerism @ Mannerist Architecture in Florence
The XVI century was a gloomy period: Europe was the theatre of several political and religious wars. In Italy this situation led to the end of the Renaissance, Mannerism was spreading all over Europe.
Fortezza da Basso
One of the few buildings erected in
Florence during this period is the Fortezza da Basso, which was rapidly built in 1534. The authorities could shelter there in case of rebellion and its mass was meant to impress the Florentine. The project was commissioned to Pier Francesco da Viterbo and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
Today all major Florentine fairs and exhibitions - as Pitti Immagine and International Arts and Crafts Exhibition - take place in the Fortezza da Basso.
Even though he owes his fame to his activity as a historiographer and to his
Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) was an architect, as well and in
Florence he built the Uffizi building, with its Mannerist façade.
