Spanish

The 16th century was the most brilliant era in Spanish history. Columbus had voyaged across the Atlantic Ocean and acquired title to the New World, navigation and trading lead to major amounts of gold and silver bullion, and there was a height of power in the middle of the century. By the end of the century however, Spain was bankrupt. Spain was influenced by the Italian Renaissance by their craftsmanship. 

Alhamra is a palace looked in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It originally was built as a small fortress in 889 and until it's remains were found, was ignored. In the mid-11th century it was rebuilt by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current walls. In 1333 it was converted into a palace by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. The exterior of the palace is plain but includes gardens, fountains, and reflecting pools. 

Alhamra, Granada

Castle of the La Mota is a reconstructed medieval fortress located in Medina del Campo, province of Valladolid, Spain. The name comes from it's location on an elevated hill, a moth, from where it dominates the town and surrounding land. The main feature of the castle is the large outer barbican. The interior of the castle has a trapezoidal plan, with 4 towers and a square yard. There is also a large square keep tower, and an inner curtain wall that was used for archers. 

Castle of the La Mota

One of Spain's finest artistic achievements was their inlay work used by cabinetmakers. Minute pieces of bone, ivory, exotic woods, mother-of-pearl, and metal work. They used geometric designs and highly stylized leaf and floral designs. Other characteristics of Spanish furniture included: simplicity and boldness, heavy proportions, crude carving, rectangular shape, repetitive panels, walnut wood, mahogany, and silver.

One famous chair from this time was the Sillon de Frailero (monk's chair). It was a walnut armchair with simple rectangular form, leather seat and back, broad front stretcher, and decorative nailheads.

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I like how Stephanie went into detail and explained her current application pictures. I also think it's awesome that she used a bridge as one!

I also liked in Katie's blog how she pointed out that the residential design wasn't any different from the palace and cathedral design. It was just as extravagant. 

Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance was the "rebirth" that started in Florence, Italy. Classical forms were refined and adapted for new uses. Local quarries were offering an endless supply of marble and the furnished interiors were similar to that of Gothic and Romanesque. The first development was in Italy (Florence, Rome, and Venice). It was a shift from a religious emphasis to a secular emphasis. During this time, residential design had started to become popular and everyone in Italy was focusing more on comfort, convenience, and beauty instead of safety, strength, and protection. The Italian Renaissance palace (palazzo) was one of the best achievements of Italian Renaissance. It showed power and influence of prominent families. 

The Florence Cathedral was built by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1420-1436. He was the first acknowledged Renaissance architect and was known as the Renaissance man. The Florence Cathedral was the main church in Florence, inspired by the Pantheon. 

Another major architect of this time was Andrea Palladio. He wrote The Four Books of Architecture. He designed Villa Rotonda. Each side has a classical temple front including: stairs, six columns, entablature, and a pediment. Rooms are arranged symmetrically around the dome. 

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