CHAPTER III.

THE CITY OF FLORENCE TO THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

Situation and Origin of Florence—Roman Times and the

Early Part of the Middle Ages—Florence before and

in the Time of Dante—Architecture in the Thirteenth

Century—Towers—Rubacon Bridge—Churches—Sta. Maria

Novella and Sta. Croce—Enlargement of the Town and Third

Wall—Arnolfo di Cambio, called di Lapo—St. Maria del Fiore

and Palace of the Signoria—Churches, Hospitals, Castles

in the Province—Building of Palaces and Houses—Style of

the Churches—Tuscan Gothic—Cimabue and Giotto—Giotto and

the Cathedral—Belfry of the Cathedral—Taddeo Gaddi—The

Hall of Or San Michele—Enlargement of the Palace of the

Podestà—Architecture of the Middle of the Fourteenth

Century—Religious Institutions—St. Anne’s Chapel in Or San

Michele—New Church-building—Society of Artists—Hall of the

Signory (Loggia de Lanzi)—Family Residences—Sculpture—Andrea

Pisano and his School—Painting—Andrea di Cione, called

Arcagna—Hospitals and Monuments—Filippo Brunelleschi—Church

of Sta. Maria del Fiore—The Foundling Hospital (Innocenti)—San

Lorenzo—Sto. Spirito—Other Works of Brunelleschi—Dwelling

Houses—Streets and Pavements—Sculpture of the Fifteenth

Century—Ghiberti and Donatello—Painting—Fra Angelico of

Fiesole and Masaccio—General Appearance of the Town—The

Environs—Fortified Villas and Monasteries 38