| The Bottega (Shop) and the Street |
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An important element that conditioned the townscape in the
context of the continuous facade that lined the street, were the
botteghe or shops. As already in the Middle Ages they opened onto
the street with the entrance flanked by one or two low walls
which could be used as benches and/or counters for displaying the
merchandise. Rare examples still exist (Ponte Vecchio, Borgo S.
Jacopo). When the building had neither an overhang nor eaves, the
passersby, the benches in the street and the shops were protected
by small lean-to roofs covered with tiles at a height which the
law set as no less than five braccia. Wooden struts set in holes
in the wall supported the lower horizontal roof beam while
further up strong wrought iron rightangle spikes held the upper
beam close to the wall. To make up for the loss of light inherent
in this type of roof, small windows were opened in the wall right
above. Many of these holes and small windows can be identified in
the center of Florence (Via dei Calzaiuoli, in the stretch
between Orsanmichele and Piazza della Signoria). The light of day
dictated working hours and the tolling of the hell kept track of
the passing of time. The activity of the shops tended to spill
out beyond the overhangs and the lean-to roofs, into the street,
where priming materials and varnishes, glues, wood, leather,
yarns were tested by setting them out in the sun. Brunelleschi
went to the shop of Grasso the legnaiuolo "about the time it
was customary to close the shop of this kind to then work inside
by lamplight" (A. Manetti). Dinner was no later than eleven,
and supper shortly before sunset; and it was also early to bed.
When friends got together after supper, a lantern in iron and
glass or oiled paper, with a beeswax candle, was set on the table
in the center of the room. For the great feast day's there were
torches and candelabra. Illumination in the streets was limited
to the torches of the large palaces and the lamps of the many
tabernacles to which an important visual and symbolic presence
was assigned. The public fountains were also of vital importance,
such as those on the Prato or in Piazza S. Croce. Most of the
streets were paved in stone while Piazza della Signoria and a few
streets were paved in brick. The first sidewalks began to appear
around a few of the large palaces (Pal. Rucellai, Antinori,
Strozzi).
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