Koching chao

University of York, History of Art, Graduate Student

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I am a PhD candidate in the Department of History of Art at the University of York, UK.
My doctoral dissertation examines the Palazzo Comunale in Montepulciano in the Florentine Republican context.

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Raúl González Arévalo

University of Granada

Kati (Katalin) Prajda

University of Vienna

Grażyna Jurkowlaniec

University of Warsaw

Adrián J. Sáez

Università Ca' Foscari Venezia

Giampaolo Francesconi

Istituto storico italiano per il medioevo

Yale University

Stockholm University

KU Leuven

Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy)

Valeria Vanesio

University of Malta

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‘For honour and utility’: Establishing the Medicean Identity in Montepulciano's Palazzo Comunale, c. 1440

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Papers by Koching chao

The Castellated Façade of Montepulciano’s Palazzo Comunale, 1440: An Image of Florentine Territorial Hegemony

Architectural History

ABSTRACTThis article explores the connection between the castellated façade of Montepulciano’s Pa... more ABSTRACTThis article explores the connection between the castellated façade of Montepulciano’s Palazzo Comunale and Florence’s development into a territorial state in the mid-fifteenth century. In 1440, the comune of Montepulciano commissioned a new façade for its town hall from the prominent Florentine architect Michelozzo. While scholars have widely accepted Michelozzo’s design as an imitation of Florence’s Palazzo della Signoria, hitherto unpublished documents preserved in Montepulciano’s Biblioteca Comunale e Archivio Storico ’Piero Calamandrei’ enable further interpretation of the town hall’s fortress-like profile from a geopolitical and military perspective. According to the new textual evidence, Montepulciano maintained a close cooperation with the Dieci di Balìa — Florence’s war committee — from the late 1430s onwards and contributed to its military efforts against Milan, which climaxed in the battle of Anghiari the same year that the façade renovation was initiated. In view...

The castellated facade of montepulcianos palazzo comunale 1440 an image of florentine territorial hegemony

Architectural History, 2023

This article explores the connection between the castellated façade of Montepulciano's Palazzo Co... more This article explores the connection between the castellated façade of Montepulciano's Palazzo Comunale and Florence's development into a territorial state in the mid-fifteenth century. In 1440, the comune of Montepulciano commissioned a new façade for its town hall from the prominent Florentine architect Michelozzo. While scholars have widely accepted Michelozzo's design as an imitation of Florence's Palazzo della Signoria, hitherto unpublished documents preserved in Montepulciano's Biblioteca Comunale e Archivio Storico 'Piero Calamandrei' enable further interpretation of the town hall's fortress-like profile from a geopolitical and military perspective. According to the new textual evidence, Montepulciano maintained a close cooperation with the Dieci di Balìa-Florence's war committee-from the late 1430s onwards and contributed to its military efforts against Milan, which climaxed in the battle of Anghiari the same year that the façade renovation was initiated. In view of Florence's decisive victory in the battle, this article argues that the familiar castellated appearance of the new façade was a celebratory manifestation of the city's military pride and that this was shared by the town. The architecture of the town hall can also be seen as testifying to the role played by castellation in expressing Florence's territorial ideology.

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Valdichiana and the Rise of Florence in the Late Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries: A Road to Rome, A Road to Territorial Power

Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 2022

From the 1380s to the 1420s, Florence extended its authority over numerous cities and towns along... more From the 1380s to the 1420s, Florence extended its authority over numerous cities and towns along the Valdichiana valley in southeast Tuscany, including three major settlements: Arezzo (1384), Montepulciano (1404), and Cortona (1411). However, the rationale behind Florence's territorial campaign in the valley has not drawn the attention it deserves in Florentine studies. When the Florentines turned their imperialistic gaze on Valdichiana, they found that the swampy conditions along the river valley were unfavorable for settlement. The valley was also not a major traffic route in Tuscany, as the Via Francigena, a well-established pilgrimage road to Rome, was not far distant. A closer look at contemporary Italian geopolitical and diplomatic circumstances, particularly the century-long hostility between Florence and Siena, sheds light on Florence's justifications for striving for a safer and more accessible network to the south that circumvented the territories of Siena. In addition to creating an alternate pilgrimage road leading to Rome, Florence's attempt was most likely to provide the city greater mobility and control in the south, which was vital to the city's rise as a dominant territorial state in Tuscany. In this sense, Valdichiana was a symbolic milestone on Florence's path to political and military hegemony.

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‘For honour and utility’: Establishing the Medicean Identity in Montepulciano's Palazzo Comunale, c. 1440

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The Castellated Façade of Montepulciano’s Palazzo Comunale, 1440: An Image of Florentine Territorial Hegemony

Architectural History

The castellated facade of montepulcianos palazzo comunale 1440 an image of florentine territorial hegemony

Architectural History, 2023

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Valdichiana and the Rise of Florence in the Late Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries: A Road to Rome, A Road to Territorial Power

Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 2022

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