User:Hnatalie/Piazza Grande (Livorno)



The Piazza Grande is a plaza located at the center of Livorno, Italy where some of the most important buildings in the city can be found, such as the Cathedral and the Palazzo Grande.

Before the Second World War bombings and subsequent reconstruction, it had a greater extension reaching as far as the Palazzo Comunale. Due to its beauty and harmony, the plaza inspired Inigo Jones, father of the English Renaissance architecture, to design Covent Garden in London, which was the first plaza containing simple shapes in the British capital. It's believed that the Piazza Grande was also used as a model for the Place des Vosges in Paris, an important example of the Royal Plaza in the French Baroque.

The Plaza of the Medicean City
The origins of Piazza Grande can be found by searching for Bernardo Buontalenti's project for the Medici City of Livorno. The design, initiated at the end of the 16th century, consisted of a pentagonal-shaped settlement, surrounded by a system of moats and bastions. Buontalenti's original project laid out the streets following an orthogonal grid, without giving precise indications about any new buildings or plazas.

However, around 1594 the first plans began for the realization of a central square, which would be the current Piazza Grande, in the exact center of the city that would include the construction of a large church (which later became the Cathedral of the city). Buontalenti himself created a first design for the new church and in the same year the foundations were built between April and May. After the discontinuation of this first project, the church was modified and completed around 1602 by Alessandro Pieroni. Meanwhile, at the end of the 16th century a decision was taken to build a portico around the front of the church, which Pieroni himself carried out. However, although present in many important works at the time, he generally did not have his own project to control, limiting himself to the role of designer. Consequently, it became difficult to attribute the plaza to a single architect and is instead known to be the result of several collaborations.

Perhaps, in the original intentions of the designers, the plaza should have defined a square space around the Cathedral, as shown in a fresco painted by Bernardino Poccetti around 1609 for the Sala di Bona of the Palazzo Pitti; the “L-shaped" planimetric map of the four porticoes built around the church would demonstrate to some the desire to define a much more secluded plaza along what was known as Via Ferdinanda (currently Via Grande). In reality, the new buildings constructed in the early 17th century were limited to be lined up with the buildings placed around the plaza. This formed a space consisting of elongated dimensions that was closed off to the south by the Cathedral and to the north by the Porticciolo dei Genovesi, a small pre-existing dock dating back to the 15th century. At the sides of the dock were the main establishments of public power: the Palazzo Granducale, the Palazzo del Governatore, the Palazzo della Dogana, and later the Palazzo Comunale.

According to Antonio Cantagallina’s project, the Palazzo Granducale was built in the early years of the 17th century. It was later extended around 1629 by adding an open arcade façade along the Piazza d'Armi.

On the opposite side was the Palazzo del Governatore, built in 1608 and extended in 1640, before being rebuilt again in 1840, according to the project of the architect Giuseppe Caluri.

The Palazzo della Dogana determined the western side of the Porticciolo dei Genovesi, which according to Annibale Cecchi’s design was built in the mid-17th century. It was used as a customs office until 1868 where it later housed the central office of the so-called Borsa di Commercio.

Thanks to the works of Giovanni del Fantasia, the Palazzo Comunale or della Comunità later took on its final appearance in the 18th century. It’s located between the Palazzo Granducale and the Fortezza Nuova, and was almost completely rebuilt in 1742 by Bernardino Ciurini by adding two enormous stair ramps.

However, a 1698 decree to fill the old port made available more building zones and thus the area across from the façade of the Cathedral was enclosed with a refined building that included three separate buildings inside (hence the name Tre Palazzi), which critics have attributed to Giovan Battista Foggini.

The Plaza From the 19th Century to the Second World War
In the course of the 19th century, the Piazza d'Armi did not undergo any particular transformations. In the first half of the century the only relevant change was the reconstruction of the Palazzo del Governatore, which became the prefect’s headquarters and other administrative offices. After the unification of Italy, the square was dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II and in 1892 his equestrian monument was inaugurated, a bronze work by Augusto Rivalta (moved to the front of the Palazzo del Governo after the construction of the Palazzo Grande). In the early years of the 20th century, the transformation of the area behind the Cathedral (Via Cairoli) took place, with the construction of two exedras around the apse of the same church.

However, the plans drawn up by the fascist regime for the city contemplated imposing urban modifications to the historic center. Marcello Piacentini's project for the new design of the plaza and of Via Grande is well known. He proposed the construction of arcades along the street and the closure of the plaza at the north side with a small building. But the Second World War prevented these projects from occurring. Livorno, particularly the Piazza Grande, could not be saved from the destruction.

The disastrous bombings of 1943-1944 reduced the Cathedral, the Tre Palazzi, and the Palazzo Granducale to a heap of ruins. The surrounding buildings also suffered extensive damage, starting with the neighboring church of Santa Giulia, built from 1602 at the edge of the plaza. Three of the four porticoes attributed to Alessandro Pieroni, which were supported by slight semicircular arcades on Tuscan columns, largely withstood the force of the bombs. However, they were not spared during the post-war reconstruction when they were definitively demolished, with the exception of the northeast lodge.

The Reconstruction
The plaza’s reconstruction represents one of the most controversial episodes of Livorno's post-war period and is closely related to the ideas developed before the war. In December 1945, the architect Petrucci proposed moving the Cathedral to the opposite side of the plaza, with the facade facing the hill in Montenero. The opposition of the religious authorities prevented this daring project from happening. Shortly after, the engineer Roccatelli presented a new plan for the reconstruction of the city center.

A competition was held for the reconstruction of Piazza Grande and Via Grande. Although there wasn’t a winner, some entries were extrapolated and considered meritorious, such as the proposal to enclose the square with a porticoed building. This separates the Cathedral from the Palazzo Comunale and creates two distinct spaces (the Piazza Grande in front of the Cathedral and the Piazza del Municipio in front of the Town Hall).

The project for the so-called Nobile interrompimento ("noble interruption”), also known as the Palazzo Grande, was drawn up by Luigi Vagnetti. However, the architect's design proposed a much larger building than initially planned. The municipal administration feared losing the financing promised by a real estate company for the center’s reconstruction, therefore approved the project amid criticism from numerous councilors. Construction began in 1950 and was completed in 1952.

The original plaza's 17th century arcades were demolished (including that of the Palazzo Granducale) in order to make room for new buildings. The new location of the Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno was to the right of the Cathedral. It was designed by Vagnetti, according to a model derived from Renaissance buildings. Meanwhile Ghino Venturi, who had made his fortune in Livorno during the Fascist era, was a key player in the reconstruction of the new municipal offices and the Palazzo della Provincia. The new buildings that were constructed around the plaza (such as the new Palazzo dell'Anagrafe, built on the remnants of the Tre Palazzi) and along the Via Grande (which discarding a first proposal for widening, remained the same width and was given porticoes) were harshly criticized by many scholars. For example, Bortolotti notes a close and unsatisfied similarity between these buildings and the models proposed in the fascist era, but also appreciates the late parallels of European rationalism.

Opinions about the Palazzo Grande were heterogeneous: from Bortolotti's harsh criticism for his language or Matteoni's for being out of scale. Both are counterpointed by Banham's opinion, who positively judges the outcome of the Palazzo Grande, appreciating the inclination towards eclecticism.

The current design of the square dates back to September 2014, when the remodeling and pedestrianization of a large part of the area in front of the cathedral was completed, a bound that was later extended to the neighboring Piazza del Municipio.

Buildings at the Plaza

 * Catedral de Livorno (Piazza Grande)
 * Palazzo Grande (Piazza Grande - Piazza del Municipio)
 * Palazzo Comunale (Piazza del Municipio)
 * Palazzo Granducale (Piazza del Municipio)
 * Palazzo della Dogana (Piazza del Municipio)