Baldinucci, Notizie sull’architettura

Unlike Vasari, in his Notizie Baldinucci did not publish biographies of renowned architects of the past. And unlike Vasari, Baldinucci’s interest in architecture was definitely limited, though his Notizie testify his sensibility, grown and perfected through his courtly relations, and his dialogue with artists and scholars. Baldinucci selected reliable sources, though he was unable to form original opinions on architecture. His knowledge was shallow, and mostly based on available graphic materials. And yet, from Michelangelo, Ammannati and Buontalenti, to Bernini, Borromini and Cortona, Baldinucci draws a personal vision of the development of architecture that links Renaissance Florence to contemporary, Baroque Rome.