Italian Renaissance

Renaissance means a "rebirth and Floranece Italy is the home of this rebirth known throughout the world. The Italian renaissance took place from 1400-1600 and began after the return from the crusades. A big part of the Italian Renaissance was a switch from a religious to a secular emphasis as well as a movement toward humanism among the people of the time. During the Renaissance everyone was interested in art, and this really began the idea/profession of interior design. Homeowners now began to care about not just function and safety but wanted to add beauty and luxury to their homes; some of these touches included decorative moldings, elaborate coffered ceilings, elaborate frescos, and beautiful fireplace mantels.

The Palazzo Medici Riccardi is a famous building from the Italian Renaissance located in Florence Italy. This building really shows three guiding principles of this time period, they are as follows: 

-Symmetry

-Public rooms are located right off of entrance and private rooms are located deeper in the floor plan

- Dividing the Palazzo into multiple small apartments rather than one large space

Below are some pictures of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in which you can see many of the features mentioned above such as the symmetry of the exterior, coffered ceilings, and an extravagant fresco. 

Modern Application

Here is an example of Palazzo inspired architecture. 

This interior is really inspired by the Italian Renaissance with its coffered ceiling and ornate fireplace. 

Peer Reviews:

I read Alexandra's blog post this week, I thought she did a great job giving a thorough explanation of what an Italian Renaissance interior consisted of and she posted very accurate pictures to further explain her point. 

I also read Mackenzie's blog on the Italian Renaissance. She gave a really good overview of the importance and characteristics of this time period. I also enjoyed her modern application pictures that she posted, I thought they accurately represented the timer period but in a new and modern way.