LANDINI, Taddeo

Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1572 to his death in 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally accepted civil calendar to this day.

In Rome Guglielmo della Porta’s successors were Taddeo Landini and the bronze-caster Vastiano Torrigiani, whose three bronze busts of Pope Sixtus V are the most penetrating portrait sculptures produced in Rome between the death of Paul III and the advent of Bernini.

Roman Baroque fountains stand out as a novel reworking of a venerable civic tradition, especially when compared with fountains produced elsewhere in Italy. The major factor contributing to the new prominence of fountain design in Rome was a practical one: the restoration of the city’s extensive network of ancient aqueducts. From the reign of Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) onwards, most pontiffs paid attention to the city’s water supply, both out of necessity and in emulation of their imperial predecessors. Some twenty fountains were erected between the reigns of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) and Clement VIII (1592-1602) Most of these - such as the many created in Rome by Giacomo della Porta - remained essentially geometric in design.

The Fontana delle Tartarughe, Landini’s most famous work, was named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta (1533-1602), Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys, whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation.

Between 1585 and 1588 Landini executed his most famous work, the so-called Fontana delle Tartarughe, named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta, Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys, whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation.

Roman Baroque fountains stand out as a novel reworking of a venerable civic tradition, especially when compared with fountains produced elsewhere in Italy. The major factor contributing to the new prominence of fountain design in Rome was a practical one: the restoration of the city’s extensive network of ancient aqueducts. From the reign of Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) onwards, most pontiffs paid attention to the city’s water supply, both out of necessity and in emulation of their imperial predecessors. Some twenty fountains were erected between the reigns of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) and Clement VIII (1592-1602) Most of these - such as the many created in Rome by Giacomo della Porta - remained essentially geometric in design.

The Fontana delle Tartarughe, Landini’s most famous work, was named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta (1533-1602), Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys, whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation.

Roman Baroque fountains stand out as a novel reworking of a venerable civic tradition, especially when compared with fountains produced elsewhere in Italy. The major factor contributing to the new prominence of fountain design in Rome was a practical one: the restoration of the city’s extensive network of ancient aqueducts. From the reign of Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) onwards, most pontiffs paid attention to the city’s water supply, both out of necessity and in emulation of their imperial predecessors. Some twenty fountains were erected between the reigns of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) and Clement VIII (1592-1602) Most of these - such as the many created in Rome by Giacomo della Porta - remained essentially geometric in design.

The Fontana delle Tartarughe, Landini’s most famous work, was named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta (1533-1602), Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys, whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation.

Giovanni Battista Caccini’s garden sculptures Summer and Autumn (1592-93), commissioned by Alessandro Acciaioli, were later purchased by Ferdinando I to ornament the Ponte Santa Trinita with statues of the Four Seasons on the occasion of the marriage of Cosimo II de’ Medici to Maria Maddalena of Austria in 1608. Spring by Pietro Francavilla and Winter by Taddeo Landini complemented the series. The figure of Winter continues in the vein of Caccini’s earlier figures.

In August 1944 the Ponte Santa Trinita was one of the three ancient bridges that were blown up by the retreating German forces. It was rebuilt between 1952 and 1958, using the same stones wherever possible. The four statues were also fished out of the river, reassembled and replaced on the bridge.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 11 minutes):

Vivaldi: Concerto in F minor RV 297 op. 8 No. 4 (Winter)