THE RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE TOWN PLANNING

THE BAROQUE TOWN PLANNING

The Baroque town planning was prevalent in the 17th century A.D.

The Baroque city plan appeared simultaneously with the emergence of strong states.

The strength & importance of the state dictates the need for walls of military gracis
around baroque cities to protect them from strong enemies.

These cities had various spaces pre-allocated for different purposes.

ZONING

Strict zoning

Land use is divided into several

functions.

Public versus private and residential

versus industrial are common trends
in spatial layout.

The purpose of a baroque layout is to

display the citys power and strength,
resulting in the construction of
monuments.

Designed to put people in their place

utilizing hierarchy of space and
separation of the classes.

The center, usually public and commercial, is the largest and most important section.

A radial street network extends from the center and as a section of the citys distance
from the focus increases, its importance decreases.

The government district is usually in the center square attached to it; elite neighborhoods
spring up along the wide avenues, while the poorest residential sections are forced to the
edge of the city.

Green space and open space are found throughout the city and each section is built
around its own square.

Squares & parks also display a hierarchy of space: as sections are pushed farther from the
center, the size of public space decreases.

The physical Urban

Planning of Venice remains
very similar to the layout it
acquired in the Imperial
Age.

The city sprouted with

Doge Sebastiano Ziani
creating public space in the
Piazza San Marco.

It is from this focal point

that the city began to
radiate. (In a winding
fashion), in a Baroque city model.

Venice can be compared to a Baroque city model as long as the scale is kept in
perspective.

PLANNING

Land separation is present in the layout the Arsenale, home of the ship building that
was once Venices primary industry, is located on the farthest edge of the island away
from the administrative and residential districts.

The zoning becomes fuzzy as the city converts many areas to tourist functions.

The focus of the Baroque city can be found

in the role of San Marco and its Piazza,
which housed the administrative functions
(Doges Palace) of the Baroque era and
buildings.

Although this focus was not in the exact

center of the city, but not on the southern
edge, hierarchy of space still revolved

around it.

Lined with palazzos, the main thoroughfare was only home to the elite.

A relatively small clearing, the Piazza

San Marco dominates less than 1000 sq.
m. of Venices surface.

Laid out in Doge Sevastiano Zianis 12th

century urban renewal plan, the Piazza
has always been the active focus of the
city.

The square has bustled with merchants

and natives since its creation.

Its accessible location on the Canal

Grande and the waterfront made it a
strategic site for administrative and trade
transactions.

Grandiose buildings and monuments

define the boundaries of the Piazza.

Destined to be the social, administrative, religious and commercial hub from the time of
its construction, the square boasts the headquarters of these Venetian institututions.

THE SESTERI

The historic Center of Venice is divided into six sesteri or districts, three of each side of
the Canal Grande : Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Polo on the East Bank and Cannaregio,
Castello, and San Marco on the West.

These districts fulfill mainly residential and commercial functions.

Most of the residential districts are found in the Eastern Section of Venice.

Wealthy and poor zones are scattered throughout these neighborhoods.

Each district has its own campi or square, which serves as the local center of each sesteri.

San Marco itself is the focal point of the city and therefore the most crowded &
successful.