Niccolò da Uzzano

Niccolò da Uzzano (* 1359 in Florence ; † April 20, 1431 ibid) was a politician in the medieval republic of Florence .

polychrome terracotta bust of Niccolò da Uzzanos by Donatello

Life

Uzzano comes from a family that takes its name from the Castello di Uzzano in Greve in Chianti . In 1417 he was elected Gonfaloniere di Giustizia, the de jure - head of state of Florence. During the power struggles of the political forces in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century between the aristocratic party under the Albizzi and the people's party, which was ruled by the rising Medici , he sided with the Albizzi until his death. Only after his death could Cosimo de 'Medici , the elder, achieve the rank of Gonfaloniere di Giustizia.

Buildings

Around 1426, Uzzano commissioned Lorenzo di Bicci to design and build the Palazzo Capponi delle Rovinate in Florence. There are no more traces of the frescoes commissioned and paid for by him in Florence and an altar in the church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli .

Terracotta bust

After Uzzano's death, his estate administrator commissioned the sculptor Donatello with the execution of a colored terracotta bust , which the family sold to the state in 1881 and which is located in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.