Uomo di Firenze

Leonardo da Vinci painter, sculptor, architect,

musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.

1452-1519 Leonardo has often been

described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention.

1498 The Last Supper

Dante Allighieri poet of the Middle Ages 1265-1321 When he was nine years old he met

Beatrice Portinari, daughter of Folco Portinari, with whom he fell in love "at first sight", and apparently without even having spoken to her. He saw her frequently after age 18, often exchanging greetings in the street, but he never knew her well; he effectively set the example for the so-called "courtly love". It is hard now to understand what this love actually consisted of, but something extremely important was happening within Italian culture. It was in the name of this love that Dante gave his imprint to the "Dolce Stil Novo" (Sweet New Style) and would lead poets and writers to discover the themes of Love (Amore), which had never been so emphasized before

Galileo Galilei physicist, mathematician,

astronomer, and philosopher 1564-1642 Galileo has been called the

"father of modern observational astronomy,"the "father of modern physics,"the "father of science,"and "the Father of Modern Science.“ Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."

Petrarca scholar, poet and one of the

earliest Renaissance humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism

1304-1374 He traveled widely in Europe

and served as an ambassador and has been called "the first tourist” because he traveled just for pleasure,which was the basic reason he climbed Mont Ventoux He was the first to offer a combination of abstract entities of classical culture and Christian philosophy

Donatello artist and sculptor 1386-1466 Around 1430,

Cosimo de' Medici, the foremost art patron of his era, commissioned from Donatello the bronze David (now in the Bargello) for the court of his Palazzo Medici. This is now Donatello's most famous work. At the time of its creation, it was the first known free-standing nude statue produced since ancient times.

Michelangelo painter, sculptor, architect,

poet, and engineer. 1475-1564 Michelangelo worked on many

projects that had been started by other men, most notably in his work at St Peter's Basilica, Rome. The Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo during the same period, rationalized the structures and spaces of Rome's Capitoline Hill. Its shape, more a rhomboid than a square, was intended to counteract the effects of perspective..

Boccaccio author and poet, 1313-1375 In 1360 Boccaccio began

work on De mulieribus claris, a book offering biographies of one hundred and six famous women, that he completed in 1374. Two centuries later, approximately in 1541, this work was translated into the German language by Heinrich Steinhowel and printed by , in Ulm, Germany.

Farinata degli Uberti aristocrat and military

leader, 1212-1264 When the Guelphs regained

control of the city in 1266, they repeated in reverse the demolitions, by destroying every building belonging to the Uberti clan, which were in what is now Piazza della Signoria, decreeing as well that no building should ever be erected in that accursed space. This is why Palazzo Vecchio, begun in the 1290s, is not in the center of the piazza, as one might expect, but squeezed over to one side.

Cosimo Pater Patriae the first of the Medici political

dynasty 1389-1464 In the political sphere, Cosimo

worked to create peace in Northern Italy through the creation of a balance of power between Florence, Naples, Venice and Milan during the wars in Lombardy, and discouraging outside powers (notably the French and the Holy Roman Empire) from interfering. The arrival of figures from the Byzantine Empire, including Emperor John VIII Palaiologos himself, started the boom of culture and arts in the city.

Americo Vespucci explorer, navigator and

cartographer 1454-1512 participated as observer in

several voyages that explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. In 1500 that King's commander, Pedro Álvares Cabral, on his way to the Cape of Good Hope and India, had discovered Brazil at latitude 16°52'S. Portugal claimed this land by the Treaty of Tordesillas, and the King wished to know whether it was merely an island or part of the continent Spanish explorers had encountered farther north.

Guido Aretino Monk & musical

theoretician 991-1050 « Ut queant laxis

Resonare fibrisMira gestorumFamuli tuorumSolve pollutiLabii reatumSancte Iohannes »

Benvenuto Cellini goldsmith, sculptor,

painter, soldier and musician ,

1500-1571 Besides his works in gold and

silver, Cellini executed sculptures of grander scale. The most distinguished of these is the bronze group of "Perseus holding the head of Medusa", a work (first suggested by Duke Cosimo I de Medici) now in the Loggia dei Lanzi at Florence, his attempt to surpass Michelangelo's David and Donatello's Judith and Holofernes.

Accorso Mariangelo writer and critic 1489-1544 To a perfect knowledge of

Greek and Latin he added an intimate acquaintance with several modern languages. In discovering and collating ancient manuscripts, for which his travels abroad gave him special opportunities, he displayed uncommon diligence.

F. Quicciardini historian and statesman 1483-1540 Guicciardini is, however, better

known as the author of the "Storia d'Italia", that vast and detailed picture of his country's sufferings between the years 1494 and 1532. Judging him by this masterpiece of scientific history, he deserves less commendation as a writer than as a thinker and an analyst. The style is prolix, precise but at the expense of circumlocution, the details as distinct as the main narrative.

Francesco Ferrucci Captain in war 1489-1530 L'Assedio di Firenze, the most

famous novel of Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, was based on - and greatly grorified - the life Ferruccio. He is indeed cited in Il Canto degli Italiani, the national anthem of Italy composed in 1847 by Goffredo Mameli. In a 1849 speech at Livorno, Garibaldi likend himself to Ferruccio: "I have touched with my sword the ashes of Ferruccio, and I will know how to die like Ferruccio

Giovanni delle Bande Nere Italian condottiero 1498-1526 As a symbol of

mourning for the death of Pope Leo X (December 1, 1521), Giovanni added black stripes to his insignia, whence comes his nick-name, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (or Giovanni of the Black Bands)

Andrea Cesalpino physician, philosopher and

botanist. 1519-1603 Cesalpino's physiological

investigations concerning the circulation of the blood are well known, but even up to the present time they have been as often overestimated as undervalued. An examination of the various passages in his writings which bear upon the question shows that although it must be said that Celsalpino had penetrated further into the secret of circulation of the blood than any other physiologist before William Harvey,

Niccola Pisano Sculptor 1220/1225-1284 His figures are original

creations that came into being through a thorough study and understanding of the antique prototypes. He is the most important precursor of Italian Renaissance sculpture by reinstating antique representations.

Pisa Dome of the

baptistery of Pisa

He finished this work in 1260 and signed with "Nicola Pisanus". He was aided by several assistants, among which were Arnolfo di Cambio and Lapo di Ricevuto.

Leon Battista Albertiauthor, artist, architect, poet,

priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer, ...1404-1472

Architect Palazzo Rusellai Florence Tempio Malatestiano,

Rimini Santa Maria Novella,

Florence Rucellai loggia Church of SS.

Annunziata, Florence Sant'Andrea, Mantua San Sebastiano, Mantua

Lorenzo il Magnifico Statesman 1449-1492 He supported the development

of humanism through his circle of scholarly friends who studied Greek philosophers, and attempted to merge the ideas of Plato with Christianity; among this group were the philosophers Marsilio Ficino, Poliziano and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.

Niccolo Macchiavelli philosopher/writer 1469-1527 Whatever his personal

intentions, which are still debated today, his surname yielded the modern political word Machiavellianism—the use of cunning and deceitful tactics in politics.

Saint Antonino Bishop of Florence 1384-1459 Saint Antonino was an

early economist and social scientist who addressed the need to design theories of production, value and distribution, in part because he saw the interconnectedness of individual elements.

Pier Capponi Italian statesman and

warrior 1447-1496 became one of the

leaders of the anti-Medicean faction which two years later succeeded in expelling Piero de' Medici from Florence.

Francesco Redi physician, naturalist, and

poet. 1626-1697 He is most well-known for his

series of experiments, published in 1668 as Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl'Insetti (Experiments on the Generation of Insects) which is regarded as one of the first steps in refuting "spontaneous generation" - a theory also known as Aristotelian abiogenesis.

Pier Antonio Micheli Botanist 1679-1737 professor at the

University of Pisa His Nova

plantarum genera (1729) was a major step in the knowledge of fungi

Paolo Mascagni Physician 1755-1815 1801 the King of Etruria

appointed Mascagni as professor of anatomy at University of Pisa. This forced him to take classes twice a week in Florence, at Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. During these years he studied mainly the lymphatic vessels