15th century Italian buildings

[Rhodes]

Hello,

I'm embarking on a small Italian condottiere project, and would like to construct a couple of buildings for it.  I'm looking to produce a smallish farm to begin with, but am a little lost on the appropriate design.  Would anyone happen to be able to point me towards any reference material?  I tend to associate clay tile and brick with Italian buildings, but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate for a more rural dwelling.  Would thatch roofing be appropriate?  If anyone has any pointers, that would be very welcome.

Thanks very much,
Chris

[sukhe_bator]

I've only ever seen Italian brick and tile, with shallow pitched tile rooves and flaking stucco/plaster... Presumably this was the evolution of the Roman villa style into medieval and renaissance vernacular architecture... Rural farms were more ranch style and spread out, while most of the available resin 'mediterranean' terrain attempts to depict the more cramped urban buildings. The thatch roofing tradition was generally confined to Northern Europe, probably because the climate was colder, wetter and there was less risk of fire?
There may be little background details you can pick out in contemporary illustrations/depictions of condottieri and art of the period. I chanced across this site and it seemed kinda worth digging around
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Insights/Equestrian/Equestrians.htm
Perhaps the best way would be to scan the travel and tourist sites to find a suitable farm of the right period you like the look of and model that in detail...

[Poiter50]

Have a look at the Italeri 1/72 buildings, I think they might suit for style.

[Malatesta]

Manorhouse Workshop from Italy has some great pieces that would be very suitable:

https://manorhouseworkshop.com/mh-w-catalogue/village-and-town/six-houses-1-watermill-02/

Various product photos may provide ideas for the appearance of buildings.

Also, don't discount stone farmhouses from the mix of building types, especially in Tuscany and north. Not everything is or was stucco and tile.

Cheers,

John

[Hu Rhu]

You might want to have a look at this blog.  There are some great shots of various Italian buildings.

http://olicanalad.blogspot.co.uk/

It's not my blog but I have used it for inspiration in the past.

[katie]

These guys;

http://tablescape.co.uk/Catalogue/Mediterranean/MediterraneanRange.htm

They cast the range in an expanded foam stuff. So it's light, the casting is beautiful and crisp, it paints up fantastically and it's fairly cheap so you can buy a bunch of it and make a proper town.

It comes painted, but if you ask nicely, they do a decent discount for unpainted -- I did that and painted them so they would match my other buildings. Here they are being used as Spain for Flintloque:

[Arlequín]

Like most of Europe back then, tile roofs cost money. If you had none you used what was around, which in Italy could be reeds, rye stalks, or even stone (resulting in round buildings that looked like large beehives). Northern Italy was fairly well-blessed with all these materials.

This photo is from a town in Trentino c.1914. The buildings closer to the castle are tiled, while the ones nearer to the photographer are thatched with rye stalks over branches.



Walls are Mediterranean flat bricks and/or local stone, which were usually rendered. The newer 'posh houses' at the back look to have quite 'square' corners, while the nearer ones are a bit more haphazard. That being said, even high-quality dwellings go out of square and plumb over time, as successive layers of rendering and repairs cause walls to look like they are bulging out.

As John says, not everyone had rendered walls either, so rough bare stone dwellings will also work for low-status buildings out in the sticks.

Thanks to those offering links to manufacturers btw! It's always good to have a variety to choose from. I don't suppose Italy is very different to Spain, in that almost every old building is uniquely different to the next and having two or more the same looks wrong unless you spread them out a bit.

 

[Rhodes]

Thanks very much to everyone for your replies.  I think I might have the beginnings of a plan now.  I appreciate you all taking the time to reply.

Chris

[Captain Blood]

Another vote for Manorhouse Workshop. Superb Italian buildings for the Italian late medieval/Renaissance period.
https://manorhouseworkshop.com/mh-w-catalogue/village-and-town/

[Colonel Tubby]

You might also want to see if any of these from the TT Combat Vience range could be adapted?

http://ttcombat.com/collections/streets-of-venice-scenics

[painterman]

Some medieval paintings from Italy, show a mix of rendered rural buildings with wattle type sides in evidence and a thatched roofs.
See here https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485333297333951185/

Maybe of use? Probably needs scratch building Too?
Simon

[commissarmoody]

You might also want to see if any of these from the TT Combat Vience range could be adapted?

http://ttcombat.com/collections/streets-of-venice-scenics

The link lead to a dead end so I am reposting it for you. 
https://ttcombat.com/collections/streets-of-venice