| This study clarifies some long-standing questions related to five monuments associated with the Bentivoglio, the dominant family in Bologna in the fifteenth century: the Bentivoglio Chapel in S. Giacomo Maggiore and the nature of its reconstruction; the author of the frieze of the portico of S. Giacomo Maggiore; and the identity of the architects of the Sanuti Palace, the Palace of the Podesta, and the Bentivoglio Palace. It is contended here that Filarete was involved in construction of the Bentivoglio Palace, that he may have designed the moulds for a frieze for the palace which drew on an inconspicuous decorative strip on his bronze doors on St. Peter's in Rome, and that the moulds were later reused on the portico of S. Giacomo Maggiore and the cortile of the Sanuti Palace. The contributions of Filarete and Aristotele Fioravante to the appearance of the Sanuti Palace and the Palace of the Podesta are also examined. Finally, a reconstruction of the Bentivoglio Palace is presented, one which is more consistent with available data than previous efforts. Reviews of the oeuvres of the sculptors Pagno di Lapo Portigiani and Francesco di Simone Ferrucci are included as excursuses with the Appendix. |
