«Si è fatto tanto avanti che ha uguagliato li altri». Architetture e scritti di Pietro Fiorini architetto bolognese (1539-1629)

Abstract

In the field of architectural history regarding building production in Bologna between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
Pietro Fiorini’s role (1539-1629) is poorly investigated. Furthermore, recent studies have little to offer regarding his figure
and an updated critical interpretation of his work: the state of the art is at a standstill since the early years of the twentieth
century. Pietro Fiorini was an important architect in the city and his presence on the main building sites is underlined by the
most important literary sources found the seventeenth century; despite this, his artistic position is totally obscured by other
artists active in Bologna in the same years who were important protagonists of architectural production during the counterreformation,
for example: Pellegrino (1527-1596) and Domenico Tibaldi (1541-1583), Floriano Ambrosini (1557-1621),
Ottaviano Mascarino (1536-1606). A key source when initiating research about Pietro Fiorini is the so-called Raccolta Fiorini,
a substantial archival collection composed of drawings and a manuscript diary, written by the architect from 1616 onwards.
This paper aims to outline a first critical interpretation of the architect, his works and his artistic training, and to provide a new
consultation tool regarding the archival collection, through transcription and a number of synoptic charts.