Ferdinando III's Return
With the fall of Napoleon In 1814, Ferdinando III returned to Florence and work on the palace began anew. One of the first major projects was the creation of connection between the central courtyard and the Cortile delle Colonne. Ammannati’s beautiful staircase “a lumaca” stood squarely in the way, and it was completely demolished. In its place, Pasquale Poccianti planned a monumental staircase in stone and construction of this staircase continued until its completion in 1847. And so, once again, the realization of a new project required the destruction and sacrifice of something from the past. In this case, not only was Ammannati’s staircase lost, but also lost was a major part of the Muletto Mezzanine (mezzanine della Muletta), which was so badly mutilated that it was lost and forgotten for almost two centuries.
Poccianti set to work on a variety of projects. He designed new apartments for the Crown Prince Leopoldo out of what had been previously known as the Salvatico Quarters. He also undertook a reorganization of the arch duchess’s quarters along the façade, and the completion of Paoletti's plans (1766) for an improved Winter Quarters in the right wing. Here, Poccianti created a new Guards' Room, and Ballroom, and the Gallery of the Muses. Various sculptors -- Giovannozzi, Santarelli, and Spedolo -- supplied the models for the bas-reliefs and other plastic decorations. An "orchestra" was made above the Guards' Room, facing the Ballroom, with three camouflaged openings made of wooden panels decorated like the walls. All this work began about 1814. At about this same time, with the opening of the Palatine Gallery, Poccianti also enclosed the wall of the Corridorio del Poccetti facing the Boboli.
The appearance of the rooms of the north wing, the New Quarter, changed radically. The decorated wooden planking – perhaps analogous to what can still be seen today, decorated with elaborate friezes, in the only three rooms in this wing that were not altered – were replaced or covered with vaults and matting and painted with educational, historical or celebratory themes. The new decoration of the apartment was completed by the white and gilded stucco work, the wall paneling, the monochrome painting of friezes and baseboards, and the mock-Venetian floors. The result – as had already been the case with the Napoleonic Quarters of the piano nobile – conformed completely to the neo-classical canons then in vogue. The new Ballroom was particularly striking.
The work went on for several years. Poccianti’s Account, written in 1825, describes the state of all the work underway in the Pitti Palace, and clearly indicates that by then there remained little to do: the ornamentation of the walls, vault and fresco in the Ballroom (work which was never actually completed), some stucco work in the Chapel, the double doors of mahogany.
The architect not only oversaw the architectonic work but also concerned himself with the choice of the decorative themes, even deciding on the pictorial subjects and the way of representing them. The considerable documentation available makes very clear the wide decision-making authority granted to Poccianti, as well as the inferior position in which the painters were obliged to operate. Poccianti even dictated the choice of poses and of the clothing worn by painted figures, thus reducing the painters to mere executors of a figurative plan subject to the Chief Architect’s meticulous examination, leaving little room for their own imaginations.
The work in the entire north wing was completed by 1830, although a number of rooms, including the Ballroom, were left without the planned decoration. This was, perhaps, due to the fact that Leopoldo, who succeeded to the throne in 1824 after the death of Ferdinando III, had moved into other quarters in the Southern Palace (palazzina Meridiana), before then going into exile in 1859.
See also: Baldini Giusti, Laura, "Vicende costruttive (e distuttive)", Palazzo Pitti: la'arte e la storia, Nardini editore, 2000-2003, Firenze, pp. 156-177.
Poccianti set to work on a variety of projects. He designed new apartments for the Crown Prince Leopoldo out of what had been previously known as the Salvatico Quarters. He also undertook a reorganization of the arch duchess’s quarters along the façade, and the completion of Paoletti's plans (1766) for an improved Winter Quarters in the right wing. Here, Poccianti created a new Guards' Room, and Ballroom, and the Gallery of the Muses. Various sculptors -- Giovannozzi, Santarelli, and Spedolo -- supplied the models for the bas-reliefs and other plastic decorations. An "orchestra" was made above the Guards' Room, facing the Ballroom, with three camouflaged openings made of wooden panels decorated like the walls. All this work began about 1814. At about this same time, with the opening of the Palatine Gallery, Poccianti also enclosed the wall of the Corridorio del Poccetti facing the Boboli.
The appearance of the rooms of the north wing, the New Quarter, changed radically. The decorated wooden planking – perhaps analogous to what can still be seen today, decorated with elaborate friezes, in the only three rooms in this wing that were not altered – were replaced or covered with vaults and matting and painted with educational, historical or celebratory themes. The new decoration of the apartment was completed by the white and gilded stucco work, the wall paneling, the monochrome painting of friezes and baseboards, and the mock-Venetian floors. The result – as had already been the case with the Napoleonic Quarters of the piano nobile – conformed completely to the neo-classical canons then in vogue. The new Ballroom was particularly striking.
The work went on for several years. Poccianti’s Account, written in 1825, describes the state of all the work underway in the Pitti Palace, and clearly indicates that by then there remained little to do: the ornamentation of the walls, vault and fresco in the Ballroom (work which was never actually completed), some stucco work in the Chapel, the double doors of mahogany.
The architect not only oversaw the architectonic work but also concerned himself with the choice of the decorative themes, even deciding on the pictorial subjects and the way of representing them. The considerable documentation available makes very clear the wide decision-making authority granted to Poccianti, as well as the inferior position in which the painters were obliged to operate. Poccianti even dictated the choice of poses and of the clothing worn by painted figures, thus reducing the painters to mere executors of a figurative plan subject to the Chief Architect’s meticulous examination, leaving little room for their own imaginations.
The work in the entire north wing was completed by 1830, although a number of rooms, including the Ballroom, were left without the planned decoration. This was, perhaps, due to the fact that Leopoldo, who succeeded to the throne in 1824 after the death of Ferdinando III, had moved into other quarters in the Southern Palace (palazzina Meridiana), before then going into exile in 1859.
See also: Baldini Giusti, Laura, "Vicende costruttive (e distuttive)", Palazzo Pitti: la'arte e la storia, Nardini editore, 2000-2003, Firenze, pp. 156-177.