Foto D'Arte Firenze

Close to Piazza della Repubblica, in the heart of Florence, Palazzo Davanzati is a "must" for anyone who wants to feel the atmosphere of a typical Florentine mansion during the Renaissance.

It has survived the ravages of time when Florence was the capital of Italy and is a rare example of hybrid architecture between two epochs, combining the typical verticality of the medieval house with its tower and the spaciousness of the Renaissance Palace spread around its central court. For centuries, it has been the frame of the public and private lives of rich Florentine merchants and their families: first the Davizzi, who built it around the middle of 14^th century, then the Bartolini Salimbeni, who bought it in 1516 and finally the Davanzati, who owned it from 1578 to 1838, the year in which Carlo, the last male heir of the Palace committed suicide. 

Since then, several structural modifications have determined the building we can see today, the most significant that of the eclectic antiquarian Elia Volpi, who bought it at the beginning of 20^th century and furnished it in 14^th century style to destine it as a private Museum "della Casa Fiorentina Antica". It soon became a Neo-Renaissance inspiration for foreign tourists, especially Americans.

Finally, in 1951 the building became the property of the Italian State and was destined as a Public Museum. Over the years it has gathered collections and precious objects from Florentine Galleries and donations resulting in a typical domestic Renaissance environment.

Visitors can admire the rich decorations, statues, pictures, affreschi with their stories of knights, tapestries and a precious collection of finely carved furniture with objects of every day use. You can relive the atmosphere of Renaissance daily life, its commerce, chivalric love, domestic work and pastimes when Florence was "the hub" of art, culture and wealth.

The Museum was closed to the public for a number of years due to restoration. Foto D'Arte Firenze shot a photographic campaign to document its new splendour, a work of prestige which required great accuracy and competence.

© Foto D'Arte Firenze

To follow: a link for the Polo Museale Fiorentino to take a virtual tour of the Museum.

Polo Museale Fiorentino | Museum of Palazzo Davanzati

Cristian Ceccanti & Ivan Rossi photographers | Foto D'Arte Firenze @ Museum of Palazzo Davanzati | Via Porta Rossa 13, Florence

2004 - 2010 Meetings organized by the Osservatorio sull'Architettura

The Osservatorio sull'Architettura is a series of meetings aimed at investigating and analysing the intricacies of contemporary architecture.

Since light is what places man in relation to space, it is easy to see how the Targetti Foundation came to occupy itself with architecture.

The occasion, a meeting with a group of architects and critics who, with their research and design work advocated a precise idea: that architecture is first and foremost a thought, a complex intellectual process to be built around man.

This is how the Osservatorio sull'Architettura was born, and the inspiration for the meetings organised to investigate and analyse the complex phenomenon associated to the world of contemporary architecture and its interaction with the arts, sciences, techniques, philosophy, sociology, economics and politics.

Since 2004, the Osservatorio sull'Architettura has invited a variety of different people such as Norman Foster, Yona Friedman, Thom Mayne, Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tschumi, Vito Acconci, Greg Lynn and Alvaro Siza. And, also Dennis Frenchman, Cecil Balmond, Sergio Fajardo, Diller and Scofidio.

Despite the evident differences between these people, they are all united by the fact of being absolute protagonists of their time, but also "cultivators of ideas", intepreters of a discipline that reflects society and its continuous transformations.

Foto D'Arte Firenze @ Osservatorio sull'Architettura

Foto D'Arte Firenze has been asked to document all the meetings since 2004 that have taken place with the most famous architects in the world, guests and speakers at the conferences organised in Florence, often with the splended frame of the Salone dei Cinquecento, the largest and most important as far as regards the historic-artistic profile of the Palazzo Vecchio. 

Cristian Ceccanti photographer | Foto D'Arte Firenze Media Partner 2004-2010 @ OSSERVATORIO SULL'ARCHITETTURA - Targetti Foundation

 THE INVISIBLE RED LINE

The transcriptions of the projects of some of the great names that have given life to the Observatory's activities and the accompanying critical contributions are brought together in the book "L'invisibile linea rossa" (The Invisible Red Line) by Quodlibet. 

The publication, edited by the director of the Observatory, Pino Brugellis, brings together the reflections of individuals from backgrounds and languages that are often very different to each other, but nevertheless similar, since they all work with demonstrated humility despite their outstanding careers and many accolades. They have the humility to interrogate themselves on the sense of their work and on doing architecture today.

WHO IS TARGETTI?

Founded in 1928 with its headquarters in Florence, Targetti operates in the field of interior and exterior architectural lighting offering products and ad ho solutions, developed in response to specific functional and aesthetic challenges.

Past and present

Targetti was born in 1928 in the heart of Florence as a small shop selling lamps and related products. Today Targetti continues to effortlessy combine functionality and design in its production and marketing off over 2,000 lighting system and products. 

Technically-advances lighting solutions and detailed research meet pure forms and clean lines, synonymous with contemporary design, and suitable for installation within any architectural setting.

Targetti Poulsen Industries is the Holding company which heads a Group credited to third place among the European players of indoor & outdoor architectural lighting. Targetti is the leader of this Group, a unique reality on the international scene, having Louis Poulsen and Neri as the other two strategic brands of reference.

TARGETTI FOUNDATION

Established and sponsored by Targetti to promote, support and develop the culture of light, art and architecture, the Targetti Foundation is a unique point of meeting, integration, comparison and cultural exchange for lighting professionals and enthusiasts alike.

The Foundation's activities are based on three separate initiatives: training, consisting of a program of courses and workshops organized by the Lighting Academy; architecture and design, involving a cycle of meetings and conferences held at the "Osservatorio sull'Architettura" (Architectural Observatory); and art, involving the Targetti Light Art Collection, the ralative award and theory of on-site exhibitions organised in major museums worldwide.