Ferrara, a Renaissance city and its Delta

Italy

continent: Europe

Approval date: 1995

Approval criteria

In 1995 and 1999, it was listed in the World Heritage List according to the cultural heritage selection criteria C (II) (III) (IV) (V) (VI). Founded in the 6th and 7th centuries BC, Ferrara is a cultural and artistic center in history and is now the capital of Ferrara province.

Urban history:

The city of Ferrara was built across the Po River, and the Roman Avenue leading to Padua crossed the Po River from the city. In the 8th century, a Byzantine fortress was built on the north bank of the Po River to protect the archbishop's palace on the south bank from the Huns. The fortress developed along the banks of the Po River. The riverbed changed with the diversion of rivers in the 7th century. In the 1th century, Tebaldo, the feudal Lord of Ferrara Canosa, built a castle on the north bank of the river. Ferrara developed between its two ends, that is, the fortress and the castle, until its intersection, that is, the cathedral built on the north bank in the 12th century. With the arrival of Esther's family rule in 128, especially in 1332, Ferrara was canonized by the Pope, and the city expanded northward three times in a planned way, each time advancing its fortress. In the largest expansion in 1492, the perspective effect of the city played an important role. Under the rule of Duke Esther, Ferrara, as a free city, is the center of humanistic thought and art. Etro Bembo, Pieto della Francesca, Arriosto and Tasso all lived here and founded the Ferrara Art School. Becoming a part of the papal state in 1598, Ferrara's development was hindered. It was occupied by France and later Austria, and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy in 1859.

Urban structure:

Ferrara is surrounded by uniquely designed fortifications. The vertical axis passes through the city, which provides a basic framework for the planning and expansion, which shows that the city is developing in a straight line. According to the design of architect Biagio Luo Saidi (1465-1516), the perspective view of the city is built around palaces, churches and gardens. Four contemporary palaces surround the square in the north of the city, which perfectly demonstrate the urban planning based on visual perspective. Inside the fortifications are numerous palaces, churches and monasteries. The cathedral, built in the 12th to 16th centuries, has both Romanesque and Gothic styles, and it is surrounded by medieval buildings, including the municipal building and Este Castle. Among these numerous Renaissance-style palaces, the main architect of Schifanaio Building, Lodovic le More Building and Roverella Building is Luo Saidi. Ferrara is a typical example of a Renaissance city, and its urban buildings are well preserved. The evolution of urban design shown by Ferrara will have a far-reaching impact on urban design in the next few centuries. In the two centuries of the fruitful Renaissance, the splendid palace of the Esther family attracted countless famous artists, poets and philosophers, including the new writers of the Italian Renaissance. Duke estay's residence in Delta shows the influence of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape in a special way. Delta is a famous planned cultural landscape, which retains its original features to the greatest extent.

Evaluation

Evaluation:

Ferrara was built around a wadable area of the Po River, where Duke estay carried out land reclamation and architectural planning during the 14th and 16th centuries. This gives this region a unique condition, which makes it closely connected with the city of Ferrara, where the estay family is located. During the 15th and 16th centuries, this city gradually developed into a cultural and artistic center, and at the same time attracted a group of talented Italian Renaissance men. Piero Della francesca, Jacob Beligni and Mantegna participated in decorating the palaces of the estay Dynasty. The ideal city built by Biagio Luo Saidi after 1492 according to the new principle of long-term planning has become a reality here. The completion of this plan marks the birth of modern urban design and its future development.

The ancient civilization in Europe is a colorful historical scroll. From the 5th century BC to the 17th century AD, Europe experienced several historical periods, from slave society represented by ancient Greece and Rome to feudal society, such as the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque. With the changes of society, different political forces occupied a dominant position, which not only brought about the rise and fall of different cities, but also showed corresponding characteristics in urban pattern.

1. Cities of ancient Greece and Rome

Ancient Greece is the birthplace of European civilization. In the 5th century BC, ancient Greece experienced a slavery democracy and formed a series of city-states. In the prosperous period of ancient Greece, the famous architect Hippodamus put forward the Hippodamus model of urban construction. This model takes the road system of the grid as the skeleton and the city square as the center, which fully embodies the spirit of democracy and equality. This model is fully reflected in the planned Milet City (Figure 2-1-5): the city is combined to form an irregular shape and a checkerboard road network. The city center consists of a square and some public buildings, which are mainly used by citizens for gathering and business. There are colonnades around the square for rest and trading.

ancient Rome was a prosperous stage of the development of western slavery. In 3 BC, Rome conquered almost all the Mediterranean region and built a large number of camps in the conquered areas (Figure 1-2-2). Yingzhai City has a certain planning mode: the plane is square or rectangular, with a cross-shaped street in the middle, and the central square formed by the amphitheater or Colosseum and the official residence complex near the intersection. The planning idea of Yingzhai City is deeply influenced by the purpose of military control. With the prosperity of the country, the expansion of territory and the accumulation of wealth, cities have developed on a large scale. In addition to urban facilities such as roads, bridges, city walls and aqueducts, a large number of facilities such as public baths, Colosseum and palaces were built for slave owners to enjoy. In the Roman Empire (in 3 BC, Rome * * and Augustus, the consul of the country, proclaimed himself emperor), the city proposal entered its heyday. In addition to continuing to build public baths, Colosseum and palaces, the city became a tool for emperors to publicize their achievements, and squares, bronze statues, the Arc de Triomphe and merit columns became the core and focus of urban space. The ancient Roman city is the most concentrated embodiment. The center of the city is a group of squares formed during the period of the Republic of China and the Empire. There are bronze statues of emperors, the Arc de Triomphe and memorial pillars, and public baths and Colosseum scattered throughout the city.

2. European cities in the Middle Ages

The demise of the Roman Empire marked the entry of Europe into the Middle Ages of feudal society. Due to the southward movement of Germanic agriculture, the center of social life turned to the countryside, handicrafts and commerce were very depressed, the city was in decline, and the population of ancient Rome was reduced to 4 thousand.

In the Middle Ages, Europe was divided into many small feudal lords' kingdoms. Feudal dramas and wars continued, and many defensive castles appeared. The church in medieval Europe was very powerful, and the church occupied the central position of the city. The size and towering spires of the church became the dominant factors in the urban spatial layout and skyline outline, which made the medieval European urban landscape unique.

after the 1th century, handicrafts and commerce gradually emerged. Some cities got rid of the rule of feudal lords and became autonomous cities. Public buildings (such as city hall, customs office and trade clubs) occupied the dominant position in urban space. With the continued prosperity of handicrafts and commerce, many medieval cities finally broke through closed castles and expanded outward.

3. Renaissance and Baroque Cities

The Renaissance after the 14th century was the embryonic period of European capitalism, and science, technology and art all developed rapidly. Under the influence of humanism, many medieval cities were rebuilt, and the reconstruction was often concentrated in some local areas, such as square buildings. Italian cities have built many squares and streets with classical style and rigorous composition, such as St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and St. Kyle's Square in Venice (Figure 2-1-6).

in the second half of the 17th century, the newly born capitalism urgently needed a powerful state machine to provide shelter. The bourgeoisie and the state had formed an alliance, opposed feudal separatism and church forces, and established a number of centralized monarchical autocratic countries. Influenced by the classical trend of thought in urban construction, it cherishes abstract symmetry and coordination, and spares no effort to emphasize the axis and the master-slave relationship in both plane layout and facade composition. Among them, the reconstruction planning of Paris had the greatest influence, and the streets radiating from the axis (such as Elysee Pastoral Avenue), magnificent palace gardens (such as Versailles Palace) and public squares (such as Place de la Concorde) all became models of urban construction imitation at that time. (Figure 2-1-7)