BORROMINI

05 - MICHELANGELO

Laurentian Library, San Lorenzo Florence, Italy

Several different Mannerist aspects can be observed from Michelangelo’s ricetto of the Biblioteca Laurenziana, where through a meticulous self-reference to the interior itself, an effective visual disposition is created. As the ricetto is designed independently from the exterior, it seems as though Michelangelo had created an inverted exterior within the ricetto, paired with the staircase as a reinvigorated approach towards the library. The double columns holding up the entablature, being disassociated from the wall create an exterior-like ambiance within the ricetto. When interpreting the side walls as three divisions (division line going between the coupled columns), hiding the pilaster in the corner of the room completes an a-b-a relationship, which strengthens b over a. The accentuation is further evident in the alteration of the gables of the mock-up window in the b division, also an entrance to the library on the front wall, strengthening the central axis of entry. The staircase seems to be a synthesis of the twin stairs generally employed in sacred buildings with the once-held idea of a single staircase covering the whole breadth of the ricetto. However, the twin stairs are rather depreciated in favor of the central flight, strengthening the central axis towards the library; the steps of the central flight start before the side flights, and the landing required to connect all three flights is in fact discretely treated by creating an additional step towards the middle. Furthermore, the oval steps converging towards the entrance of the library create fluidity and motion in the middle flight distinguishing from the orthogonal side flights. These tactful operations on the interior walls combined with the execution of the staircase regenerate a dramatic entry towards the subsequent interior (library).