Piazza Duca Federico, Urbino

Piazza Ducale, Sabbioneta

The decorum of the square is maintained by the comparative simplicity of the structures which surround it. The edges are lined by three-storeyd buildings, arcaded on the southern side, unremarkable but dignified in proportion. Against this background of largely private structures, then, the monumental buildings are individually treated. Santa Maria Assunta is distinguished by its facade clad in pink and white marble, and the presence of its tall campanile. The Palazzo della Ragione sits almost as a pavilion moored at the eastern end of the square, the wide spacing of its six bay colonnade and its comparatively low eaves line distinguishing it from its context. Finally, the Palazzo Ducale dominates the square, as its patron Vespasiano no doubt intended. Its scale is grander than its context, with five bays, two large storeys and crowned by a central tower which rises from the pyramidal roof. A short flight of steps raises the level of the spacious ground floor arcade, which is faced in rusticated stone work. Above, the stucco of the facade is pierced by five framed and pedimented windows, the central one emphasised by a shallow balcony, from where the duke could address his subjects. The foregoing description suggests that Sabbioneta is entirely conventional in its layout as the seat of power of a minor autocrat. What is unusual is its completeness and its date, which places it as contemporaneous with the influence of renaissance urban theorists. The piazza roughly accords with the double square proportion recommended by Alberti. In so far as this scale of application of architectural instruction tends towards the pragmatic, the theoretical origins of the planning of Sabbioneta are perhaps more closely related to the connections between theatrical and urban design outlined by Serlio, and the last structure to be completed during Vespasiano’s life was the theatre, designed by Scamozzi.

Piazza Ducale, Vigevano

The town of Vigevano, situated south-west of Milan across the River Ticino, is commanded by the fortress developed by successive Milanese rulers. It was the birthplace in 1451 of Ludovico Maria Sforza, also known as il Moro, the Regent and Duke of Milan who developed the new piazza in a single campaign between 1492 and 1494. As it survives today, Piazza Ducale is very different from Bramante’s original scheme, although it is still largely defined by the arcades he introduced. They form now a continuous range around north, west and south sides of the piazza, which measures roughly 50 by 130 metres, with the concave baroque facade of the duomo forming the fourth side. In their original condition, however, the arcades would have been broken in the south-western corner to provide an access ramp to the ducal rocca. The upper surfaces are decorated with painted antique architecture, including triumphal arches which indicate the connections to adjacent streets.

Seeing Sabbioneta in two forms

Sabbioneta Storyboard