Ferro (architecture) explained

Ferro da facciata
Material:	Wrought iron

A ferro (plural ferri) or Italian: '''ferro da facciata''' is an item of functional wrought-iron work on the façade of an Italian building. Ferri are a common feature of Medieval and Renaissance architecture in Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria. They are of three main types: Italian: ferri da cavallo have a ring for tethering horses, and are set at about from the ground; holders for standards and torches are placed higher on the façade and on the corners of the building; Italian: arpioni have a cup-shaped hook or hooks to support cloth for shade or to be dried, and are set near balconies.

In Florence, ferri da cavallo and arpioni were often made to resemble the head of a lion, the symbolic marzocco of the Republic of Florence. Later, cats, dragons, horses and fantastic animals were also represented.

Further reading

• Assunta Maria Adorisio (1996). Per Uso e Per Decoro: L’arte del ferro a Firenze e in Toscana dal eta gotica al XX secolo. Florence: Maria Christina de Montemayor.
• Giulio Ferrari. ([1920?]) Il ferro nell'arte Italiana. Centosettanta tavole riproduzioni in parte inedite di 368 soggetti, del medio evo, del rinascimento, del periodo barocco e neo-classico raccolte e ordinate con testo esplicativo. Kraus Reprint, 1973.
• James Lindow (2007). The Renaissance Palace in Florence: magnificence and splendor in fifteenth-century Italy. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
• Claudio Paolini. Repertorio delle architettura civili di Firenze. [Database] Palazzo Spinelli – Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze.
• Augusto Pedrini (1929). Il ferro battuto, sbalzato e cesellato, nell-arte italiana, dal secolo undicesimo al secolo diciottesimo. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli. (Published in English: Decorative ironwork of Italy. Atglen PA: Schiffer Publishers, 2010.)
• Urbano Quinto (1998). Gli antichi segreti del fabbro. Galleria Urbano Quinto.
• Herbert Railton (1900). Pen drawings of Florence. Cleveland, Ohio: J.H. Jansen.
• John Superti (2014). I Cavalli di Firenze = The Horses of Florence. Florence: Polistampa.
• John Superti (2013) Florence's Ironworks - Ferri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQ5s9Lk1Bo