CRONACA
(b. 1457, Firenze, d. 1508, Firenze)

Biography

Il Cronaca, byname of Simone del Pollaiuolo, Italian architect and stonemason, not related to Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo. According to Vasari, it was his accurate accounts of the marvels of Rome, where he studied, that earned him the nickname of 'Il Cronaca' ('The Chronicler'). In 1480 he returned to Florence, where he designed the courtyard and monumental cornice of the Strozzi Palace, the cornice reflecting his study of Roman architecture. He collaborated with Giuliano da Sangallo on a number of projects, including the Sacristy of Santo Spirito, the Casa Horne and the Palazzo Strozzi. The aisleless church of San Francesco al Monte, with its simple pietra serena articulation, shows his understanding of Classical architecture which he studied in Rome (1475-85), and is also related to the drawings and measurements he took from early Romanesque buildings in Florence, such as the Baptistery, which were thought in the Renaissance to be antique structures.

Cronaca was also involved in the construction of the Salone degli Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio, built between July 1495 and February 1496 to house the Grand Council instituted by Savonarola.