CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN VERSION
Daniela Lamberini
Il Principe difeso
Vita e opere di Bernardo Puccini
[The Defended Prince. Life and Work of Bernardo Puccini]
Florence, La Giuntina, 1990
 |
| Florence, Fortezza da Basso (by Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane, 1534-1537) |
[1] Although the present work, dedicated to the Florentine Bernardo Puccini (1521-1575), was chronologically released much before the monograph by Daniela Lamberini on Giovan Battista Belluzzi, said Sanmarino, it could nevertheless be seen as a sort of ideal continuation of that writing. Bernardo Puccini was, in fact, the only student of Sanmarino, and also his successor as the first military engineer of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. Moreover, as already written by Vasari (who clashed repeatedly with Puccini during the long years in which the latter held the post of general superintendent in the Fabric of the Uffizi - cfr. Section IV), Bernardo was the depositary of the manuscripts of Sanmarino’s treatises upon his sudden death (1554), which took place during the war against Siena. It is known that Belluzzi worked for years - also on behalf of Cosimo – at the preparation of a great treatise of military architecture; when Belluzzi died, his manuscript production was taken over by Puccini. He was commissioned by the Duke to implement the same task: completing the project of Sanmarino and giving it to the press. However, this did not materialise. Thus, we can summarize what Puccini was able to produce in the following way:
• a “ristretto di fortificazioni” (Summary on fortifications), dating back to 1558 and dedicated to Francesco de' Medici, the then seventeen year old son of the Duke. Preserved today at the National Central Library of Florence with signature Magl., XIX, 18, Ms Lamberini publishes it in full, along with the variants (especially in iconography) who are contained in a copy having the immediately following mark (Magl., XIX, 18a;
• an unfinished project of a larger treaty of military architecture, consisting of a Proemio (Preface) and the Book I (we do not know of how many books it was composed). The manuscript is now in the folder of Acquisti e Doni (Purchases and Gifts), 214 of the Laurentian Library. Only the Proemio of the latter work is reproduced in its entirety.
The many commitments in which Puccini embarked over the years impeded the completion of the work; it should also be said that probably Bernardo felt more attracted by more scientific-mathematically studies, at least for a long time (although always related in some way with the military architecture); an example hereof is the Trattato del «modo di misurar con la vista» (Treatise on the "method of view measuring” (National Fund II of the National Central Library of Florence), the complete edition of which is also presented here.
 |
| Fortezza da Basso di Firenze Source: http://www.firenzefiera.it/it/strutture-congressi-firenze/fortezza-da-basso |
[2] There is no doubt (and it could not be otherwise, given the task he had been given) that the writings of Puccini are mainly (but not exclusively - cf. pp. 122-123) influenced by the manuscripts of Belluzzi. However, there are plenty of personal contributions (based on the experience gained in the field) and objective changes in the setting of writings, changes that help to vary somewhat purpose and meaning. Times are changing; the war with Siena is now over, war risks fade away and Puccini (as good courtier) feels the need to adapt his work to an audience of young noblemen of the court - Francesco is the highest expression hereof - that (while perhaps less interested in operational details) should instead receive an education on a theoretical level on the basics of the military. "It is significant to note that Puccini never dwells on construction details - which are Belluzzi’s comparative advantage - nor on organizational problems that, in the economy of his speech, he considers marginal, such as the problem of building decks and scaffolding safety for the construction site ... Another source of much debate, completely ignored in this treaty, is drawing, intended both as a detection method as well as a way to return on paper plants and detected territories ... It is evident that, in Puccini’s technical training, drawing did not constitute a reference point; clear evidence hereof are the small number of autographs reaching us, all of not-excellent quality, ... and especially the repeated use of copyists and designers, much more adept than him to beautify his works, as evidenced by the two versions of the Summary (ristretto) on the fortifications ... A last point of divergence between this treatise and its model is Puccini’s indifference to the aesthetic side of fortifications. While Belluzzi ... granted a chapter, albeit a laconic one, of his treatise to the «lascivia degli ornamenti» (the lust of the ornaments) and recommended to model carefully the details of construction, even in the fortifications of earth, so that the fortress was always "nice to see", Puccini - following the more traditional line of military engineers does not enter into this issue, if not with a vague reference to a "little grace" needed to mark the finishing of merlons" (pp. 116-118). Finally, the full discussion of the topic is drafted in a dry and very concise style, designed to teach and inform the reader clearly, but without boring him. All these aspects contribute - according to Ms Lamberini - to give new feautures to the writings of Puccini (above all the "ristretto”), making it a tool for dissemination of military theory as a discipline of study.
 |
| Bernardo Puccini, Treatise on the method of view measuring, 1570 ca. Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Fondo Nazionale, MS II-282, fasc 15 c. 39. Source: http://redi.imss.fi.it/invenzioni/index.php/Gnomone |
 |
| Bernardo Puccini, Treatise on the method of view measuring, 1570 ca. Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Fondo Nazionale, MS II-282, fasc 15 c. 36. Source: http://redi.imss.fi.it/invenzioni/index.php/Gnomone |
[3] The writings of Puccini had, in the end, a similar fate to those of Sanmarino: they are circulated in manuscript copies among a small group of architects, engineers and scholars who do not hesitate to plagiarize them without scruples. On some occasions, it is written that these precepts originate from Sanmarino; in other cases, silence on the source prevails, without raising too many problems (this is certainly not the first case; we must always keep in mind that the concept of plagiarism did not exist in the Renaissance in absolute terms and that no form of protection of copyright existed at the time, if not related to often totally ineffective "privileges". In conclusion, any memory of Puccini is lost very soon. Nevertheless, the authoress tries to list a number of authors who, in a more or less marked way, drew from the "ristretto" or from the manuscript of the Laurentian Library, clearly welcoming both the didactic character and the brevity of style. Let us review them:
• Giacomo Lanteri: Giacomo Lanteri was already mentioned in our post on Sanmarino. It can, however, be the case that his plagiarism in the Duo libri del modo di fare le fortificazioni di terra (Two books on the way of producing earth fortifications) (Venice, 1559) is mediated or occurs through the manuscripts of Puccini;
• Bartolomeo Ammannati; it is known that Bartolomeo Ammannati works a long time to compose a treatise on architecture which never sees the light. His notes, found in the Fondo Edizioni Rare (ms. 120) of the Riccardiana Library, were published by Mazzino Fossi in 1970. The project also includes a section devoted to architecture fortifications. Well, Ammanati’s Appunti di fortificazioni (Notes on fortifications) are an almost literal copy of the "ristretto" by Puccini (see. Bartolomeo Ammannati, La città. Appunti per un trattato - The City. Notes for a treaty, pages 363-423), including the drawings. Only in passing Ammannati merely cites Sanmarino (cfr. Bartolomeo Ammannati, The city ... quoted, p. 380), but never Puccini, whom he knew in person and whose writings he just copied without too much trouble;
• Galileo Galilei: the most famous Pisan scientist writes a treatise on fortifications, which has also come to this day. The work dates back to the period of his stay in Padua (1592-1610) during which Galilei devotes himself, in addition to publicly teaching mathematics, also to private teaching of various disciplines, including military architecture. The students of Galileo were "young gentlemen" of noble rank. To them the Pisa-borne scientist presented a treaty that actually was nothing else but a plagiarism of Puccini’s manuscript of the Laurentian Library, which was particularly favourable to be used for didactic purposes, as already discussed;
• Bonaiuto Lorini: the Tuscan Bonaiuto Lorini was the author of a treatise Delle fortificazioni (On fortifications), published in Venice in 1597. "Puccini’s echoes can be found anywhere in the five books of Bonaiuto Lorini: in the order used to divide and present the matter, especially for the fortifications of earth and for defence works, for the old distinction between royal and not royal architecture ... or for the disquisition on the various sites and ways to strengthen them"(p. 139);
• Giorgio Vasari the Younger: "between 1590 and 1596 Vasari the Younger accomplished ... a treatise on fortifications which, unpublished, was delivered to the National Library of Florence in the last century... In fact, with the exception … of the last ten fiches, the code of Vasari is nothing but a literal copy of the Laurentian Treaty of Bernardo Puccini, missing only of some drawings, mostly in the part relating to the fortifications of the earth ... but identical in all to the rest" (p. 141). It seems that - at least - Vasari cites his source, but - like Ammannati - his reference is Sanmarino. No mention of Puccini;
• Giovan Francesco Fiammelli: the work of Giovan Francesco Fiammelli closes the series of those who plagiarized Puccini. "From the titles of his works, it is obvious that the privileged interlocutor of Fiammelli are the prince and the noble lords around the court; it is not strange then to find, in the eight books of his treatise on military architecture in 1604, entitled Il Principe difeso (The Defended Prince) and dedicated to King Philip III of Austria, the revival of the old model of his countryman Bernardo Puccini, with a few variations and a rather weak selection of illustrations (which leads us to suppose that he also had in his hands a copy of the Treaty of Laurentian of a mediocre quality)."(p. 142). And exactly the title of Fiammelli’s treatise is used by Ms Lamberini for her monograph, as a partial and caring compensation towards the poor Bernardo Puccini.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento