The Christian sacred space and its furnishings from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period: an introduction to the Italian context, exemplary cases, and seminar-based insights. (Ordinario)
Prerequisiti
The course is primarily intended for all students of Art History enrolled in either of the two undergraduate programmes. However, its second part may also serve as a foundational tool for doctoral candidates participating in the same seminar. Furthermore, due to the topics addressed, it may prove useful to both undergraduate and doctoral students in Medieval and Early Modern history. The course will be structured in such a way as to integrate effectively with the teaching approach of all seminars within the Classe di Lettere that focus on medieval and proto-modern civilisation. No specific prerequisites are required, not even for undergraduate students.
Programma
The Christian sacred space and its furnishings from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period: an introduction to the Italian context, exemplary cases, and seminar-based insights
This course, primarily intended for undergraduate students, aims to explore the close relationship between architecture and the figurative arts within Italian churches and related spaces (sacristies, rectories, monasteries, convents, and hospitals). After a series of general introductory lectures, the course will focus on the main types of churches, ranging from major and minor secular churches to regular monastic and conventual ones, including confraternal oratories.
Obiettivi formativi
The course is likewise intended to initiate both undergraduate students and doctoral candidates into the academic — i.e., critical — study of the medieval and early modern history of the so-called major arts in Italy, through a functional, topographical, and social lens that seeks to integrate their trajectories beyond the prevailing sectorial divisions found in the bibliography.
Riferimenti bibliografici
Richard Krautheimer, «Introduction to an “Iconography of Medieval Architecture”», “Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes”, V, 1942, pp. 1-33
Marcia B. Hall, ‘Renovation and Counter-Reformation: Vasari and Duke Cosimo in Sta Maria Novella and Sta Croce, 1565-1577’, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1979
Sible de Blaauw, ‘Cultus et decor. Liturgia e architettura nella Roma tardoantica e medievale: Basilica Salvatoris, Sanctae Mariae, Sancti Petri’, 2 voll., Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1994
Wolfgang Schenkluhn, ‘Architektur der Bettelorden: die Baukunst der Dominikaner und Franziskaner in Europa’, Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2000; Italian edition: Wolfgang Schenkluhn, ‘Architettura degli ordini mendicanti. Lo stile architettonico dei domenicani e dei francescani in Europa’, Milan, EFR - Editrici Francescane, 2003
‘Lo spazio e il culto. Relazioni tra edificio ecclesiale e uso liturgico dal XV al XVII secolo’, proceedings of the study days, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, 27-28 March 2003, edited by Jörg Stabenow, Venice, Marsilio, 2006
Sible de Blaauw, «In vista della luce: un principio dimenticato nell’orientamento dell’edificio di culto paleocristiano», in ‘Arte medievale: le vie dello spazio liturgico’, edited by Paolo Piva, Milan, Jaca Book, 2010, pp. 15-45; new updated edition, Milan, Jaca Book, 2012, pp. 19-48
Andrea De Marchi, ‘La pala d’altare: dal paliotto al polittico gotico. Dispense del corso tenuto nell’a.a. 2008-2009’, Florence, Art & Libri, 2009; Idem, ‘La pala d’altare: dal polittico alla pala quadra Dispense del corso tenuto nell’a.a. 2011-2012’, Florence, Art & Libri, 2012
David Ekserdjian, ‘The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece: between Icon and Narrative’, New Haven – London, Yale University Press, 2021
Francesco Caglioti, «I pergami donatelliani di San Lorenzo nel contesto: architettura, liturgia, committenza», in ‘L’ultimo Donatello. I Pulpiti di San Lorenzo: studi e restauro’, edited by Maria Donata Mazzoni, Florence, Edifir, 2022, pp. 39-90
Francesco Caglioti, «Donatello e il tornacoro del Santo: punti fermi e prospettive d’indagine (anche sul tramezzo)», “Il Santo”, s. II, LXV, 2025, pp. 9-66
Other texts will of course be suggested in class.
Moduli
| Modulo | Ore | CFU | Docenti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modulo 1: Storia dell'arte medievale 1 (per ordinari) | 20 | 3 | Francesco Caglioti |
| Modulo 2: Storia dell'arte medievale 2 (per ordinari e PhD) | 20 | 3 | Francesco Caglioti |