Bartolomeo Ammannati (18 June 1511 – 13 April 1592) was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino (assisting on the Library of St. Mark's, the Biblioteca Marciana, Venice) and closely imitated the style of Michelangelo.
He was more distinguished in architecture than in sculpture. He designed many buildings in Rome, which included work at the Villa Giulia complex (in collaboration with Vignola and Vasari), also at Lucca and Florence. His work at the completion of Pitti Palace, commissioned by Eleonora of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, is one of his most celebrated achievements (1558–1570), respecting the original style of Filippo Brunelleschi. He was also named Console of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, founded by the Duke Cosimo I, at 13 January 1563, under the influence of Vasari.
He was then employed in 1569 to build the beautiful bridge over the Arno, known as Ponte Santa Trinita and one of his most celebrated works. The three arches are elliptic, and though very light and elegant, have resisted the fury of the river, which has swept away several other bridges at different times. It was destroyed in 1944, during World War II, and rebuilt in 1957.
Florence (Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ( listen), alternative obsolete form: Fiorenza; Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.
Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city was also the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.
The historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year, and Euromonitor International ranked the city as the world's 72nd most visited in 2009, with 1,685,000 visitors. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the city is noted for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, amongst others, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.