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 and importance of the state dictates the need for walls or military
gracis around baroque cities to protect them from other strong enemies.
These cities had various spaces pre-allocated for different purposes.

This seminar would touch upon the following topics :

1. ZONING
2. PLANNING
3. STUDY OF VENICE

ZONING
Strict zoning
Land use is divided into several
functions.
Public versus private and residential
versus industrial are common trends in the
spatial layout.
The purpose of a baroque layout is to
display the citys power and strength,
resulting in the construction of monuments.
It was also 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.

This decrease in importance is illustrated

by the decreasing accessibility to the center
and its important functions.
The government district is usually in the
center square or 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 and parks also display a

hierarchy of space: as sections are pushed
farther from the center, the size of the 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
The measured hierarchy of space and the impressive symbols of state power were
confined to limited space.

Open space, though not abundant because of the citys small size, was set aside as
the six sesteri developed around squares.
Gardens are also present along the outskirts of the city.
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
several impressive monuments and
buildings.
Although this focus was not in the exact
center of the city, but on the southern edge,
hierarchy of space still revolved around it.
For example, the Ghetto was placed in
Cannaregio, the northern most district of
Venice, signifying the inferior status of the
Jews in relation to the ruling class.
If thought of as a wide avenue with direct
access to the center, the Canal Grande
reflects both the hierarchy of space and the
separation of classes.

Lined with palazzos, the main thoroughfare

was only home to the elite.

WINGED LION,
Symbol of Venice

SAN MARCO,
Venice

A relatively small clearing, the Piazza San

Marco dominates less than 1,000 square
meters of Venices surface.
Still, it is the largest public open space in
Venice.
Laid out in Doge Sebastiano 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 institutions.

AN ARTISTS IMPRESSION
OF THE CANAL,
Venice

THE SESTERI
The Historic Center of Venice is divided
into six sesteri or districts, three on 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 and
successful.Traveling away from San
Marco, the sesteri become quieter, more
residential, and poorer.