Giovanni di Cecco was a Late Gothic architect and sculptor who worked in the region of Siena, Italy, in the 14th century.
Giovanni di Cecco is known for his work on the facade of Siena Cathedral, which was begun by Giovanni Pisano, worked on by several architects and had stalled by 1317. Giovanni di Cecco appears to have taken over direction of the work in the mid 14th century but the date is uncertain. The facade was completed around 1370. Giovanni di Cecco appears to have modified the designs of his predecessors to create a more Gothic appearance with high gables and pinnacles, all decorated with crockets, under the influence of Orvieto Cathedral.
As a sculptor Giovanni di Cecco carved the baptismal font of the Collegiate Church of San Gimignano. It is hexagonal with carved panels, the central one being the Baptism of Jesus. The work is signed and dated, and was commissioned by the Wool-workers Guild. It stands in an open loggia beside the church, beneath a fresco of the Annunciation by Sebastiano Mainardi. [1]
Jacopo della Quercia, also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo.
Nicola Pisano was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.
Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Moore, referring to his statues for the facade of Siena Cathedral, called him "the first modern sculptor".
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form "an unforgettable skyline". Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant' Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for saffron, the dry aged and saffron infused Golden Ham, pecorino cheese and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.
Arnolfo di Cambio was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Duecento, who began as a lead assistant to Nicola Pisano. He is documented as being capomaestro or Head of Works for Florence Cathedral in 1300, and designed the sixth city wall around Florence (1284–1333).
Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo, is a walled 8.87-hectare (21.9-acre) compound in central Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. It was all owned by the Catholic Church and is dominated by four great religious edifices: Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistery, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Camposanto Monumentale. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, which now houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its completion. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, between Florence Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace.
The Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta or Duomo di San Gimignano is a Roman Catholic collegiate church and minor basilica in San Gimignano, in Tuscany in central Italy. It contains important cycles of Renaissance frescoes by artists including Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Taddeo di Bartolo, Lippo Memmi and Bartolo di Fredi. It falls within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the "Historic Centre of San Gimignano", with its frescoes being described by UNESCO as "works of outstanding beauty".
The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and his workshop, Arnolfo di Cambio and with later additions by Niccolò dell'Arca and the young Michelangelo.
Orvieto Cathedral is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 1986, the cathedral in Orvieto has been the episcopal seat of the former Diocese of Todi as well.
Pisa Cathedral, officially the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three structures in the plaza followed by the Pisa Baptistry and the Campanile known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. Consecrated in 1118, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Construction began in 1063 and was completed in 1092. Additional enlargements and a new facade were built in the 12th century and the roof was replaced after damage from a fire in 1595.
Casole d'Elsa [ˈkaːzole] is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Florence and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Siena.
Italian Gothic architecture (also called temperate Gothic architecture, has characteristics that distinguish it considerably from those of the place of origin of Gothic architecture, France, and from other European countries in which this language has spread.
Massa Marittima Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Italy, dedicated to Saint Cerbonius. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Massa Marittima, it is now that of the Diocese of Massa Marittima-Piombino.
Duecento or Dugento is the Italian word for the Italian culture of the 13th century - that is to say 1200 to 1299. During this period the first shoots of the Italian Renaissance appeared, in literature and art, to be developed in the following trecento period.
The Siena Cathedral Pulpit is an octagonal structure in Siena Cathedral sculpted by Nicola Pisano and his assistants Arnolfo di Cambio, Lapo di Ricevuto, and Nicolas' son Giovanni Pisano between the fall of 1265 and the fall of 1268. The pulpit, with its seven narrative panels and nine decorative columns carved out of Carrara marble, showcases Nicola Pisano's talent for integrating classical themes into Christian traditions, making both Nicola Pisano and the Siena pulpit forerunners of the classical revival of the Italian Renaissance.
Volterra Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Volterra, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is the seat of the bishop of Volterra.
Arturo Viligiardi was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and urban planner.
Sozzo Rustichini or Sozzo di Rustichino was an Italian architect from Siena, active between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century.