The Loggia della Signoria is a historical monument in Florence, located in Piazza della Signoria to the right of Palazzo Vecchio and next to the Uffizi, which are inserted at the back with a terrace right on top of the loggia.
It is also called Loggia dei Lanzi not so much because the
lansquenets (foot soldier in foreign service) apparently camped here in
1527 on their way to Rome, but because the Guard Corps of Grand Duke
Cosimo I, who lodged under the Loggia, was partly made up of
lansquenets. Another interpretation believes that the name derives from
the spears (lanze) as weapons used by the Guard of the Grand Duke.
It is also called Loggia dei Priori or Loggia dell'Orcagna, due to
an incorrect attribution to Andrea di Cione, nicknamed Orcagna, while
the construction of the work has been documented as being by the
architects Benci and Simone Talenti. However, some sources cite Orcagna
as a collaborator on the project.
There is a copy of the loggia,
the Feldherrnhalle, in Munich, built in the mid-1800s.
History
and architectural profile
The building dates back to the period
between 1376 and 1382; the loggia was used to host the numerous popular
public assemblies indoors and the official ceremonies of the Florentine
Republic in the presence of the people, such as those for the settlement
of lordships.
Although it is a Gothic building, the presence of
round arches represents a true anticipation of the Renaissance style
which, in all probability, inspired Filippo Brunelleschi for the
construction of what is considered the first fully Renaissance building,
the Spedale degli Innocenti, in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. On
the façade, the four panels with allegorical figures of the cardinal
virtues made to a design by Agnolo Gaddi (1383-1386) stand out.
Starting from the 16th century, with the creation of the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany and the definitive suppression of republican institutions, this
space was destined to house some sculptural masterpieces, becoming one
of the first exhibition spaces in the world. However, Grand Duke Cosimo
I did not arrange the statues according to a mere aesthetic criterion
but, in line with the previous sculptures in Piazza della Signoria,
ensured that the representations also had precise political
characteristics. In this sense, Perseus with the head of Medusa by
Benvenuto Cellini, specially commissioned by Cosimo, signified the
cutting of the republican experiences of the city, symbolized by the
Medusa, from whose body snakes emerge, representing the proverbial city
discords which had always undermined a truly democratic life.
In
1583, at the conclusion of the Uffizi palace, Bernardo Buontalenti
created a terrace on the top of the loggia from which it was possible to
watch the various ceremonies and shows, which took place in the square
below, today the focal point of the museum bar.
An almost unique
case on the world scene, the three arches of the loggia house sculptures
of exceptional value dating back to the classical age and the Mannerist
period, true museum masterpieces, all original, and freely usable day
and night for free. A continuous surveillance service of the works,
active 24 hours a day, supervises compliance with some minimum
restrictions.
The Feldherrnhalle in Munich is a 19th century
homage to this loggia.
Two marble lions watch over the sides of the entrance steps, one from
the Roman era (on the right), and the other created in 1600 by Flaminio
Vacca (on the left): traditionally the lions symbolize the guard and
protection of places from negative presences , according to an
iconographic tradition that dates back to the Mesopotamian
civilizations.
The most important masterpiece is the
aforementioned Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, a large bronze statue 3.20
meters high including the pedestal decorated with bas-reliefs of
mythological themes. The well-proportioned body and plastic stance of
Perseus, leaning on one leg while lifting the head of the decapitated
Medusa with his left arm. It was placed in the loggia in 1554 and, apart
from the restoration period in 1999, it has always remained here.
Even more complex is the Rape of the Sabine women, a marble
masterpiece by Giambologna (1583). In addition to the original, the
life-size plaster model, made by Giambologna himself as a preparation
for the execution of the marble statue, can be found in the Accademia
Museum. Also by Giambologna is Hercules and the centaur Nessus, with the
sensational effect of movement expressed by the tense body of the
centaur subdued by the Greek hero (1599).
There are sculptures
from the Roman era Patroclus and Menelaus, a copy from the Flavian era
of a Greek original from 230-240 BC, a gift from Pius V to Cosimo I, and
the six figures of women near the back wall. It is believed that they
may come from Trajan's Forum in Rome, however they were found in the
mid-sixteenth century and, after having decorated Villa Medici for a
long time, arrived in Florence in 1789. Of the female figures, the first
two have not been identified as characters, while the third from the
left represents Thusnelda, a captive barbarian wife of Arminio. The last
three represent Roman matrons of imperial rank, more finely sculpted and
with more precious marble. Instead, the Ratto di Polissena by the
sculptor Pio Fedi (1865) is a nineteenth-century work, which takes up
the style of the nearby Menelao.
On the right wall an inscription
in Latin recalls the adoption of the common calendar, which begins on 1
January, in Florence, which took place only in 1750 (until then the
Florentine New Year was celebrated on 25 March). Another inscription
from 1863 recalls the stages of Italian unification.