Architecture of the Placa in Dubrovnik: A Sixteenth-Century Project

Based on the results of most recent research concerning the so-called fourth block of communal houses in the early 1560s, this article argues in favour of the assumption that the facade of this particular block was used as a model for all the house facades later constructed on the north side of the Placa, at first, directly—in the hitherto unknown construction undertakings of two new blocks of communal houses in the westernmost part of the city’s main thoroughfare (near the Franciscan Church) in the early, i.e., mid-seventeenth century—and later, indirectly, in the reconstruction after the 1667 earthquake. Further examined are the issues that result from the analysis of present-day architectural structures in the light of previously known and recently discovered archival and visual evidence, as well as the role of certain participants in the processes of decision-making, design and construction, notably Ragusan authorities as initiators, investors and commissioners, along with two foreign architects—Jacques de Spinis, who arrived in Dubrovnik from Venice in the mid-sixteenth century, and papal architect Giulio Cerruti, sent directly from Rome in the autumn of 1667

Proclamationes of the Šibenik duke Fantino de Cha de Pesaro (1441–1443)

Predmet je rada sveščić naslovljen “Proclamationes”, izvorno dio knjige kancelarije šibenskoga kneza Fantina de Cha de Pesaro (1441.–1443.), nedavno pronađen u ostavštini Ivana Kukuljevića u Arhivu HAZU u Zagrebu. U sveščiću su zabilježeni tekstovi pedesetak proglasa koje su najprije na početku, a potom i tijekom dvogodišnjega mandata toga predstavnika vrhovne vlasti, kada bi bilo potrebno, po kneževom naređenju na javnim mjestima grada Šibenika izvikivali gradski glasnici. Uz sažeti prikaz sadržaja i strukture toga pravnopovijesnog izvora, u tekstu se daje analiza pravnih izvorišta zakonskih odredaba u proklamacijama i iznose opće napomene o njihovu odnosu prema drugim šibenskim zakonskim tekstovima, poglavito gradskom statutu. Na temelju usporedbe s podatcima u drugim suvremenim vrelima iznose se i zaključci o mjestu kaznenopravnih odredaba obuhvaćenih proklamacijama u zakonodavstvu razdoblja mletačke uprave te o ulozi proglasa u gradskoj svakodnevici i njihovu odnosu s otprije poznatim, stotinjak godina mlađim, šibenskim proklamacijama iz 1543. godine. Naposljetku, upozorava se na važnost šibenskih proklamacija kao svjedočanstva političke stvarnosti gradova mletačke Dalmacije potkraj prve polovice 15. stoljeća, posebice na činjenicu da su proglasi – premda zapisani na latinskom – zacijelo bili javno izvikivani na hrvatskom jeziku. U prilogu se donosi cjelovita transkripcija teksta sveščića.This essay examines a small volume titled Proclamationes, originally a part of the official book of the chancellery of the Šibenik count Fantino de Cha de Pesaro (1441–1443), discovered by the author in the legacy of Ivan Kukuljević, in the Archives of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb. The volume records around fifty deliberations of the count, representative of the supreme Venetian rule in the town, that were proclamed by town criers. For the understanding of the multilingual reality of late medieval Šibenik it is important to note that proclamations, although written in Latin, the official language of administration, were publicly proclaimed in Croatian. After a brief overview of the content and structure of this juridical source, the author analyzes their relationship with other legal texts from Šibenik of that period, starting with the municipal statute. A comparison with contemporary sources and with the already known Šibenik proclamations from 1543 helps to draw conclusions on the place of criminal justice in the administration of the town, as well as the role of proclamations in everyday urban life. Finally, the Šibenik proclamations are discussed within a broader context of sources related to political history of the urban communities in Venetian Dalmatia towards the mid-fifteenth century. A full transcription of the volume is edited and printed as an appendix to the essay

Two Fires, Two Renewals, Two Styles: a Contribution to the Knowledge of 16th Century Residential Architecture of Dubrovnik

U tekstu se analiziraju vijesti o obnovama jedne privatne i jedne općinske kuće u najužem središtu Dubrovnika u šestom desetljeću 16. stoljeća – kući braće Babalio, na uglu ulica Lučarice i Od puča, i četvrtom bloku općinskih kuća na istočnom dijelu sjevernog pročelja Place. Dva zahvata povezuju činjenice da su im povod bili požari i da je u njima sudjelovao naturalizirani francuski klesar i kipar Jakov de Spinis iz Orléansa, a razlikuje odabir arhitektonskog vokabulara na pročeljima – u prvom slučaju iz gotičkog, u drugom iz renesansnog repertoara. U razmatranju obnove kuće braće Babalio (1552.), upozorava se na dosad neuočeni podatak o požaru te kuće u ljetopisu Nikše Ragnine, a zahvat na obnovi četvrtog bloka općinskih kuća (1559.–1561.) pokušava se, osim u svjetlu arhivskih dokumenata, interpretirati na osnovi tragova do danas sačuvanih na njegovu pročelju, ali i dragocjenoga vizualnog izvora – vedute grada prije potresa koju je nedavno nabavilo i dalo restaurirati Društvo prijatelja dubrovačke starine

Pokrovi svjetlonosnom

Recenzija, prikaz knjige "HOC TIGMEN – Ciboriji ranoga srednjeg vijeka na tlu Istre i Dalmacije" Pavuše Vežića i Milenka Lončara

Contributions to the History of Art in 15th century Trogir: Monastery of the Holy Cross on the island of Čiovo, Goldsmith Matej Pomenić and the Chapel of St Jerome in St Lawrence Cathedral

Poticaj za istraživanje čiji se rezultati objavljuju u ovom članku bio je pronalazak nekolicine dokumenata u fragmentima građe trogirskog notarijata 15. stoljeća u ostavštini Ivana Kukuljevića Sakcinskog, u Arhivu Hrvatske akademije u Zagrebu. Podatci u tim dokumentima, djelomice preneseni ili interpretirani u Kukuljevićevu »Slovniku umjetnikah jugoslavenskih« (Zagreb, 1858–1860), bili su povod da se rezimiraju i nadopune postojeće spoznaje o pojedinim trogirskim spomenicima i umjetničkim ličnostima prve polovine 15. stoljeća. Članak je podijeljen na nekoliko cjelina u kojima se raspravlja o Dominikanskom samostanu sv. Križa na Čiovu, zlataru Mateju Pomeniću i kapeli sv. Jeronima u katedrali sv. Lovre, a svi relevantni dokumenti, kako iz Kukuljevićeve ostavštine, tako i iz drugih arhivskih zbirki, donose se u prilogu.The research presented in this article was made possible by the discovery of a certain number of fragments originating from the 15th century Trogir notary books, kept within the legacy of Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski in the Archives of Croatian Academy of Science and Arts in Zagreb. Those pages with documents of art-historical interest were collected by Kukuljević during his brief stay in Trogir in mid-19th century. Some of them are mentioned or interpreted in his biographical dictionary of South Slavic artists (Slovnik umjetnikah jugoslavenskih, published in Zagreb, 1858–1860) but since then those documents have not been studied by art historians. This article discusses the evidence concerning monuments and artists of the fi rst half of the 15th century. The fi rst part of the text is dedicated to the construction of Dominican monastery of the Holy Cross on the island of Čiovo, in the vicinity of Trogir, in the years 1436–1458, and the role played by prothomagister Stephanus Brachus of Split. Second part is about goldsmith Matej Pomenić, a native of Trogir who made his career in Šibenik. The documentary evidence presented here – a commission for the silver cross for the monastery of the Holy Cross, as well as the testament he made before pilgrimage to Rome in the Holy Year of 1450 – shows that he had also lived and worked in Trogir. The last chapter deals with the commission and construction of the fi rst of 15th century building annexes to the Romanesque Trogir Cathedral – the Gothic St Jerome’s chapel (1438–1446) – made by builders Marco Gruato from Venice and Nikola Račić from Trogir. All documents, along with supplementary written evidence found in Trogir notary archive (in Zadar State archives) and in the Archives of Croatian Academy in Zagreb, are published in the appendix

Urbis conditor ex machina

Prikaz knjige: Joško Belamarić, Osnutak grada Korčule, Zagreb, 2005

Chiese in Trau – rukopis Pavla Andreisa u Muzeju grada Trogira

Rukopis Chiese in Trau u Muzeju grada Trogira (fond Knjižnice obitelji Garagnin-Fanfogna) sadrži povijesne bilješke i kraće opise arhitekture i unutrašnjosti Katedrale i četrnaest manjih sakralnih građevina unutar gradskih zidina Trogira. Analiza teksta pokazuje da je nastao između 1673. i 1676. godine, a na temelju vanjskih i unutarnjih obilježja autorstvo se pripisuje trogirskom povjesničaru Pavlu Andreisu. U bilježnicu s Andreisovim tekstom naknadno je umetnuto nekoliko svežnjića s dva prijepisa/redakcije izvornog teksta, nastala stotinjak godina poslije izvornika, pisana, kako se čini, istom rukom. U prilogu članka donosi se prijepis cjelovitog izvornog teksta s naznačenim sadržajnim razlikama, odnosno dopunama koje donose prijepisi

Logica suis ipsius instrumentis formata auctore Foelice Vero Siceno: the editio princeps of Faust Vrančić’s autograph in the State Archives in Zadar

Nedavno je u Državnom arhivu u Zadru otkriven rukopis Logike Fausta Vrančića, koji se ovdje objavljuje popraćen uvodom, bilješkama i faksimilom autografa. Taj je rukopis, kako slijedi iz analize njegovih vanjskih obilježja, nedvojbeno stariji od Vrančićeve Logike tiskane 1608. godine, ali nije riječ o pripremnom ili radnom tekstu, nego o posve dovršenu djelu, koje je autor upravo u tom obliku naumio objelodaniti tiskom. U zaključnom se dijelu rada iznose argumenti u prilog hipotezi da je Faust Vrančić svoje poimanje logike odlučio uobličiti u zasebnu raspravu znatno ranije no što se to moglo pretpostavljati na temelju do danas poznatih pokazatelja – vjerojatno početkom devedesetih godina 16. stoljeća, a možda još i u vremenu svog studija u Padovi (1568–1572).Accompanied by introduction, notes and facsimiles, here presented is the editio princeps of a recently discovered and so far completely unknown Faust Vrančić’s autograph treatise on logic that was purchased (along with the meagre remains of his personal archive) in 1948 from Vrančić’s distant descendants in Prvić Šepurine, the Island of Prvić, in the vicinity of Šibenik. Other than being the only surviving autograph―in addition to the two thus far well-known printed editions, Logica suis ipsius instrumentis formata a Yusto Verace Siceno (Venice, 1608) and Logica nova suis ipsius instrumentis formata et recognita a Fausto Verancio episcopo Chanadii (Venice, 1616)―the manuscript in the State Archives in Zadar, transcribed and published in this volume contains arguably the oldest version of Vrančić’s Logic. The examination of external features of the manuscript shows that the text of the treatise itself―although being identical in title and quite analogous in structure―is considerably shorter in length and accordingly of an earlier date than the text of the 1608 edition. It should, however, be explicitly stressed that the autograph script in Zadar is not a draft of the latter, but, quite the contrary, a completed, fully finalized work in its own right. In fact, judging from the manuscript’s thoroughly considered layout and different, ‘hierarchically’ arranged and used types of handwriting, it was prepared by the author himself in order to be sent directly to the printer and used by the typesetter as a template for the final layout of the book. However, given the fact that there is no evidence of the opposite, it should be inferred that this manuscript version of Vrančić’s Logica never came to be printed. In the concluding part of the article some preliminary thoughts regarding the dating of the manuscript are briefly formulated. On the one hand, the name by which Vrančić signed his treatise―the until recently otherwise unknown pseudonym Foelix Verus―matches the name Felice Vero under which he supplicated and eventually obtained the patent privilege from the Venetian Senate for his own invention of the mill mechanism in 1590. Thus, the possibility that he was working on his treatise on logic by the beginning of the last decade of the sixteenth century should not be dismissed. Another potential clue, perhaps not for the dating of the particular manuscript, but certainly for the enquiry regarding the time in which Vrančić wrote his ‘first’ Logic, is the identity of the still enigmatic Antonius Cornicinus, the author of the dedicatory four-verse epigram included in all three versions of Vrančić’s Logic. Cornicinus is positively a humanistic name, in all probability derived from cornix (Latin for crow). Since the family name Vrančić, based on the Croatian word for crow (vrana), is a derivative of a very similar kind, Cornicinus is presumably the last name that Faust Vrančić had ‘invented’ for his paternal uncle Antun Vrančić (Antonius Verantius in order not to reveal the last name common both to the author of the treatise, and to the person who on that occasion wrote encouraging verses. Faust’s uncle, to whom he was deeply indebted for his education, was truly a remarkable intellectual and a man of outstanding political and ecclesiastical career in the service of the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty. At the time of his death, in 1573, he was the Archbishop of Esztergom, i.e. the primate of Hungary, and held the post of the Imperial-Royal locum tenens (a governor) for Hungary. If Antonius Cornicinus is indeed a pseudonym that Faust used to conceal the identity of Antun Vrančić, it would also imply that he wrote his first logical treatise (and sent it to his uncle who would respond with an epigram) while studying at the university of Padua (1568–1572)