ASKMECOLLE
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Arnolfo’s Square
The medieval urban organisation is reflected in today’s layout of the town which is divided into Colle Bassa, a manufacturing centre, and Colle Alta, rich in artistic landmarks. In the centre of Colle Bassa there is a wide porticoed square dedicated to the famous architect, sculptor and native son of Colle Arnolfo di Cambio. Its creation dates back to 1865 when the first municipal Administration of Colle was looking for a new space to be assigned to a marketplace and fair; the right area was found in the old ‘“Pian dei Canali” (a plain area that got its name from the canals about one meter in width and depth which bring Elsa’s waters to Colle) since it would have permitted the creation of buildings with porches around the square and access roads. For the realization of the square, part of the old city walls and the 13th-century Church of San Jacopo were knocked down.
Noteworthy today in the square is the old train station now a pharmacy. In front of it there is the big fountain by Daniel Buren that is part of the urban space redevelopment intervention coordinated by the architect Jean Nouvel that involved four artists: Lewis Baltz worked on the rediscovery and enhancement of the canals along Via Mazzini; Daniel Buren took care of the pavement. What is left unfinished are the details curated by Bertrand Lavier, his urban decoration and the porches planned with colored canopies that mark the arches, and by Alessandra Tesi for the lighting and vaults. On the opposite side there’s the monument for the Fallen of WWI, created by the sculptor, Mario Sabbatelli, officially inaugurated on November 4 1925 by King Vittorio Emanuele III.
Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio, also known as Arnolfo di Lapo, was born in 1245 in Colle di Val d’Elsa. He was a sculptor, an architect and an urbanist that worked mostly in Rome and Florence at the end of the 12th and at the beginning of the 13th century. His greatest work is certainly the architectural designing of the cathedral of “Santa Maria del Fiore ”. He was also the architect of Palazzo Vecchio the Florentine Town Hall. As a sculptor he made the pulpit of Siena Cathedral and the monument to De Braye in Orvieto as well as other works for Orvieto’s Cathedral.
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