Biccherna

Last updated

The Biccherna was the magistrate or chancellery of finance from the 13th to the 14th century for the republic and then city of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy.

Finances of the City in Time of Peace and War (1468) by Benvenuto di Giovanni, Tavoletta di Biccherna.jpg
Finances of the City in Time of Peace and War (1468) by Benvenuto di Giovanni,

The records of the office are significant not only because Siena was one of the earliest and most important banking centers of medieval Europe, but also because the books that contain these records were bound with painted leather covers, often made by major artists. [1] These covers tend to display secular subject matter that glorifies the city's government and its citizens.

Many of these covers are displayed in the Archives of the State of Siena located in the Palazzo Piccolomini located on via Banchi di Sotto corner via Rinaldini.

Related Research Articles

Simone Martini Italian painter from the 14th century (1284–1344)

Simone Martini was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style.

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church Office of the Papal household

The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regulated in the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus of 1988, the camerlengo is always a cardinal, though this was not the case prior to the 15th century. His heraldic arms are ornamented with two keys – one gold, one silver – in saltire, surmounted by an ombrellino, a canopy or umbrella of alternating red and yellow stripes. These also form part of the coat of arms of the Holy See during a papal interregnum. The camerlengo has been Kevin Farrell since his appointment by Pope Francis on 14 February 2019. The vice camerlengo has been Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari since 1 May 2020.

Grosseto Comune in Tuscany, Italy

Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river.

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi.

Guido of Siena 13th-century Italian painter

Guido of Siena, was an Italian painter, active during the 13th-century in Siena, and painting in an Italo-Byzantine style.

Domenico di Bartolo, born in Asciano, Siena, was a Sienese painter who became active during the early Renaissance period. As documented on text by famous painter, writer and historian Giorgio Vasari, Domenico di Bartolo was the nephew of well reputed Italian artist Taddeo di Bartolo, who is featured in Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. By the early 1400, Domenico di Bartolo was one of the most influenced Sienese artist by the new Florentine style of painting. During the time that he was active and working, Domenico was the only Sienese painter to have received commissions by clients in Florence. Domenico was also employed by Lorenzo Vecchietta, otherwise referred to as Lorenzo di Pietro, to work alongside him for the fresco The Care of the Sick, which is today considered a masterpiece of the Pilgrim's Hall in the hospital Santa Maria della Scala (Siena).

Francesco di Giorgio Martini

Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms: "one of the most interesting later Quattrocento architects". As a military engineer, he executed architectural designs and sculptural projects and built almost seventy fortifications for the Federico da Montefeltro, Count of Urbino, building city walls and early examples of star-shaped fortifications.

Taddeo di Bartolo

Taddeo di Bartolo, also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's biographies of artists or Vite. Vasari claims he is the uncle of Domenico di Bartolo.

Greve in Chianti Comune in Tuscany, Italy

Greve in Chianti is a town and comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is located about 31 kilometres (19 mi) south of Florence and 42 kilometres (26 mi) north of Siena.

Segna di Bonaventura

Segna di Bonaventura, also known as Segna de Bonaventura, and as Segna di Buonaventura, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School. He was active from about 1298 to 1331. In 1306 he painted a panel for the office of the Biccherna in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. In 1317 he painted an altar panel for the convent of Lecceto. In 1319 he repaired a figure of the Virgin in the Palazzo Pubblico. In 1321 he painted a panel for the Palazzo Pubblico. Segna di Bonaventura’s sons Niccolò di Segna and Francesco di Segna di Bonaventura were also painters of the Sienese School

Basilica of San Francesco, Siena

San Francesco is a basilica church in Siena, Tuscany, Italy.

Santo Spirito, Siena

Santo Spirito is a Renaissance style, Roman Catholic church located in piazza Santo Spirito, where Via dei Pispini meets Vicolo del Sasso, in Siena, Italy.

San Raimondo, Siena

San Raimondo, also called San Raimondo al Refugio, is a Baroque style, Roman Catholic church located on the intersection of Via del Refugio and Via di Fiera Vecchia, in the Terzo of Camollia of the city of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. The church is dedicated to St Raymond of Pennafort.

Basilica of San Domenico, Siena

The Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana, is a basilica church in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, one of the most important in the city.

Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio Italian painter

Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio was an Italian painter, active in Siena.

Dietisalvi di Speme

Dietisalvi di Speme was an Italian painter, who worked in Siena between 1250 and 1291. In his work he influenced and was influenced by Cimabue.

Miracle of Lanciano

In Catholicism, the Miracle of Lanciano is a Eucharistic miracle which is alleged to have occurred in the eighth century in the city of Lanciano, Italy. According to tradition, a monk who had doubts about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist found, when he said the words of consecration at Mass, that the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood. The Catholic Church officially claims the miracle as authentic.

Abbey of San Galgano

The Abbey of Saint Galgano was a Cistercian Monastery founded in the valley of the river Merse between the towns of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. Presently, the roofless walls of the Gothic style 13th-century Abbey church still stand. Nearby are the chapel or Eremo or Rotonda di Montesiepi (1185), the tomb of Saint Galgano and the purported site of his death in 1181, a sword said to have been driven into a stone by Galgano, and a chapel with frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.

Fountain of San Maurizio, Siena

The Fountain of San Maurizio, also called Samoreci, is a medieval public fountain located at the intersection of Via di Pantaneto and Via San Girolamo in Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is located just outside one set of medieval city walls and the Arco di San Maurizio.

Francesco di Antonio del Chierico

Francesco di Antonio del Chierico (1433–1484) was a manuscript illuminator of the early Renaissance period in Florence. Francesco began as a goldsmith before changing occupations to become a successful illustrator. He was one of the pupils of Fra Angelico and became famous for being Lorenzo de' Medici's favorite illuminator. He worked under some of the most prestigious patrons of the time, including Lorenzo de' Medici, Piero de’ Cosimo de' Medici, Cosimo il Vecchio, and Vespasiano da Bisticci. He gained a reputation for his well executed illustrations in varying types of books ranging in size from small books of hours to large choir books. His illustrations often included intricate floral arrangements, putti, and candelabras. He decorated both the borders of manuscripts and full pages.

References

  1. Encyclopedia Treccani, entry on Biccherna.