Palaces of Naples

Palaces of Naples
Author: Donatella Mazzoleni
Publisher: Rizzoli International
Total Pages: 332
Release: 1999
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

Stretching across the Bay of Naples and at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, Naples is home to numerous palaces, estates, and grand residences. Though some palaces have been abandoned or damaged, many have been restored to their historical glory. In the midst of this modern, vibrant, multicultural city, these remnants of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian aristocracy remain. Through glorious color photography and illuminating text, Palaces of Naples tells the stories behind this fascinating and fabulous homes. Thirty estates and palaces are featured here, each with its own style and its own story. From the famous portico of the Palazzo Filomarino to the mirrored walls and inlay figures of the eighteenth-century duke's study in the Palazzo Corigliano, the architectural details of the palaces are examined. In addition, the intriguing stories and rumors behind the homes-such as the reported ghost sightings and mysterious wails and blue lights emanating from the Palazzo Donn'Anna, left half-built by Anna Carafa, wife of the duke of Medina, when her husband fell from favor. With stunning color photography and engaging text, Palaces of Naples brings readers to thirty of the most beautiful estates and palaces of Naples. The history of the city and of each residence featured are relayed in fascinating detail: the stories of the original owners, the architects, and the occupants throughout the centuries. Hundreds of color photographs display the palaces-many of which are partially closed or completely closed to the public-in all their glory.

Palaces of Reason

Palaces of Reason
Author: Robin L. Thomas
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2023-11-09
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0271096594

Palaces of Reason traces the fascinating history of three royal residences built outside of Naples in the eighteenth century at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta. Commissioned by King Charles of Bourbon and Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, who reigned over the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, these buildings were far more than residences for the monarchs. They were designed to help reshape the economic and cultural fortunes of the realm. The palaces at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta are among the most complex architectural commissions of the eighteenth century. Considering the architecture and decoration of these complexes within their political, cultural, and economic contexts, Robin L. Thomas argues that Enlightenment ideas spurred their construction and influenced their decoration. These modes of thinking saw the palaces as more than just centers of royal pleasure or muscular assertions of the crown’s power. Indeed, writers and royal ministers viewed them as active agents in improving the cultural, political, social, and economic health of the kingdom. By casting the palaces within this narrative, Thomas counters the assumption that they were imitations of Versailles and the swan songs of absolutism, while expanding our understanding of the eighteenth-century European palace more broadly. Original and convincing, Thomas’s book will be of interest to historians of art and architectural history and eighteenth-century studies.

Architecture and Geometry in the Age of the Baroque

Architecture and Geometry in the Age of the Baroque
Author: George L. Hersey
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2001-03
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0226327833

The age of the baroque -- a time of great strides in science and mathematics -- also saw the construction of some of the world's most magnificent buildings. In this book, George L. Hersey explores the interrelations of the two developments, explaining how the advancements of geometry and the abstractions of mathematicians were made concrete in the architecture of the day. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Palaces of Reason

Palaces of Reason
Author: Robin L. Thomas
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2023-11-09
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0271096608

Palaces of Reason traces the fascinating history of three royal residences built outside of Naples in the eighteenth century at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta. Commissioned by King Charles of Bourbon and Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, who reigned over the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, these buildings were far more than residences for the monarchs. They were designed to help reshape the economic and cultural fortunes of the realm. The palaces at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta are among the most complex architectural commissions of the eighteenth century. Considering the architecture and decoration of these complexes within their political, cultural, and economic contexts, Robin L. Thomas argues that Enlightenment ideas spurred their construction and influenced their decoration. These modes of thinking saw the palaces as more than just centers of royal pleasure or muscular assertions of the crown’s power. Indeed, writers and royal ministers viewed them as active agents in improving the cultural, political, social, and economic health of the kingdom. By casting the palaces within this narrative, Thomas counters the assumption that they were imitations of Versailles and the swan songs of absolutism, while expanding our understanding of the eighteenth-century European palace more broadly. Original and convincing, Thomas’s book will be of interest to historians of art and architectural history and eighteenth-century studies.

Falling Palace

Falling Palace
Author: Dan Hofstadter
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-02-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0307484599

A portrait of the sun-drenched volcanic city from an American who has lost his heart to the place and to a beguiling Neapolitan woman. In Falling Palace Dan Hofstadter brilliantly reveals Naples, from the dilapidated architectural beauty to the irrepressible theater of everyday life. We witness the centuries-old festivals that regularly crowd the city’s jumbled streets, and eavesdrop on conversations that continue deep into the night. We browse the countless curio shops where treasures mingle with kitsch, and meet the locals he befriends. In and out of these encounters slips Benedetta, the object of the author’s affections, at once inviting and unfathomable. Weaving the tale of an elusive love together with a vivid portrayal of a legendary metropolis, this is a startling evocation of a magical place.

A Renaissance Architecture of Power

A Renaissance Architecture of Power
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2016-04-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004315500

The growth of princely states in early Renaissance Italy brought a thorough renewal to the old seats of power. One of the most conspicuous outcomes of this process was the building or rebuilding of new court palaces, erected as prestigious residences in accord with the new ‘classical’ principles of Renaissance architecture. The novelties, however, went far beyond architectural forms: they involved the reorganisation of courtly interiors and their functions, new uses for the buildings, and the relationship between the palaces and their surroundings. The whole urban setting was affected by these processes, and therefore the social, residential and political customs of its inhabitants. This is the focus of A Renaissance Architecture of Power, which aims to analyse from a comparative perspective the evolution of Italian court palaces in the Renaissance in their entirety. Contributors are Silvia Beltramo, Flavia Cantatore, Bianca de Divitiis, Emanuela Ferretti, Marco Folin, Giulio Girondi, Andrea Longhi, Marco Rosario Nobile, Aurora Scotti, Elena Svalduz, and Stefano Zaggia.

The Clement Bible at the Medieval Courts of Naples and Avignon

The Clement Bible at the Medieval Courts of Naples and Avignon
Author: CathleenA. Fleck
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1351545531

As a 'biography' of the fourteenth-century illustrated Bible of Clement VII, an opposition pope in Avignon from 1378-94, this social history traces the Bible's production in Naples (c. 1330) through its changing ownership and meaning in Avignon (c. 1340-1405) to its presentation as a gift to Alfonso, King of Aragon (c. 1424). The author's novel approach, based on solid art historical and anthropological methodologies, allows her to assess the object's evolving significance and the use of such a Bible to enhance the power and prestige of its princely and papal owners. Through archival sources, the author pinpoints the physical location and privileged treatment of the Clement Bible over a century. The author considers how the Bible's contexts in the collection of a bishop, several popes, and a king demonstrate the value of the Bible as an exchange commodity. The Bible was undoubtedly valued for the aesthetic quality of its 200+ luxurious images. Additionally, the author argues that its iconography, especially Jerusalem and visionary scenes, augments its worth as a reflection of contemporary political and religious issues. Its images offered biblical precedents, its style represented associations with certain artists and regions in Italy, and its past provided links to important collections. Fleck's examination of the art production around the Bible in Naples and Avignon further illuminates the manuscript's role as a reflection of the court cultures in those cities. Adding to recent art historical scholarship focusing on the taste and signature styles in late medieval and Renaissance courts, this study provides new information about workshop practices and techniques. In these two court cities, the author analyzes styles associated with different artists, different patrons, and even with different rooms of the rulers' palaces, offering new findings relevant to current scholarship, not only in art history but also in court and collection studies.