Ritual: Baptism
Site: Battistero di San Giovanni
Location: Florence
Architect: Unknown
Year of Completion: c. 1128
Analysis: Tina Lim
150 word description goes here. Achum consulto ves faturi pria vignos complius con se aucest rehebatam te iam fue con vium percer am tam terbis, quonsul usulare ntilicaet, cuperei publincum, consimus, nostriore mei ilneque a volicio mus conerit, publin denatod itentes, qua actum init; ne ine pro, manum iam o inam ignaturis adem re ius consum inulocrem sedit vivatimmodiu sedit et prata cont nicatiq uemus, dium ingultortus nos etorterit, omprorunit gra dit atu morum ductam Romnihilium pernum inam etorae nem des M. Nostra in sus. Alessolus, o ves cotandenemus bondac in Itam. Sertamquam or ublicultus publin vernius, nos, sente it; C. Hoculis? Romnirita ne ina, quam patiam sedem que confirit, uropore morei cem, nor ad Catus muscred cris culicaesi imuricendam tam it, quitata sdaccio, mederior qui catus morterum omnicaes! Duc re cus es!
The Laurentian Library reveals not only the ritual of study, but the rituals of self-sorting, categorization, and the dissemination of knowledge. Mapping the convergence and divergence of paths from the scale of the city to the building to the desk and to the book helps to reveal how the Laurentian Library acts as a motherboard for organizing the ritual circuitry of Renaissance Florence.
The Library’s desks are crucial to how rituals are performed in the space. Because the books are chained to the desks and the desks are built into the architecture, there is direct connection between the knowledge that one seeks and the place where it is found. The desks categorize texts by subject, displaying titles found in them on the side. Accessing a book that’s next to the window while someone is already in the desk requires shuffling places.
The Laurentian Library’s form is reminiscent of a religious building, with reading desks acting as pews alongside the processional aisle. The language borrows from the religious context of the San Lorenzo complex in which the Library is situated. In fact, the original plan of Michelangelo included a triangular rare books room at the end of the reading room, reminiscent of the Holiest of Holies in the Temple of Solomon. The procession inside the library, up the flowing staircase into the reading room, acts as a funnel that all elite Florentines coming to the library must pass through, regardless of where they came from in the city or what bench is their ultimate destination. The tripartite interior facade of the vestibule reinforces the idea of rising from hell to purgatory to heaven in an ascent to knowledge.
Ultimately, the Laurentian Library acts as the motherboard of the city’s knowledge, centralizing and organizing the ritual circuitry of Renaissance Florence.
Ritual: Ducal Inauguration
Site: Piazza San Marco
Location: Venice
Architect: Unknown
Year of Completion: 1267
Analysis: Diana Quesada
The Piazza San Marco hosted many different rituals throughout history. It is one of the city’s main public squares, and is home to several important pieces of architecture. One of the rituals that took place in this piazza was the Ducal’s inauguration. The election process of the Doge was rather lengthy and complex. The verdict was made by 41 electors and the process could sometimes take over a month. Once the Doge was elected the bells of the St. Mark’s basilica would be rung to announce the good news. The Doge was treated with many honors similar to a that of a king and he reigned until death. Once elected Doge, a man could not refuse the honor and, at his investiture, he signed the promissione ducale, wherein he agreed to all sorts of restrictions on his authority, personal mobility, and family prerogatives.
The official coronation took place in three stages; first, the Doge was presented to the community and invested with the banner of Saint Mark in the Basilica (as cloth is very important in these ceremonies). Second, the Doge was carried around the Piazza while he and his relatives tossed specially minted coins to the crowds. The Constitution established the minimum and the maximum that the Doge could bestow - he needed to show that he was neither too cheap nor too extravagant. Finally, he was crowned at the top of the Scala dei Giganti in the courtyard of the Ducal Palace.
Prior to having the Rio Batario filled in, the Doge’s Coronation ceremony had a different ritual. In the 11th century the newly elected Doge would walk into the Basilica barefoot where he would then lay face down on the floor and thank God for his election. In the 13th century, the newly elected Doge would have his cloak torn off his back by the crowds of people in order to temporarily reverse the social roles. Therefore, after the river was filled, the ducal coronation ritual adapted to the newly formed architecture of the piazza.
