Ferro (architecture)

{{Short description|Item of functional wrought-iron work in a façade}}

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{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}

{{Infobox artifact

| name = Ferro da facciata

| image = Ferro - Piazza del Duomo.jpg

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| image_caption = Ferro in Piazza del Duomo, Florence

| material = Wrought iron

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A ferro (plural ferri) or {{lang|it|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: {{lang|it|ferri da cavallo}} have a ring for tethering horses, and are set at about {{nobreak|1.5 metres}} from the ground; holders for standards and torches are placed higher on the façade and on the corners of the building; {{lang|it|arpioni}} have a cup-shaped hook or hooks to support cloth for shade or to be dried, and are set near balconies.{{r|bisol}}

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.{{r|nove}} Later, cats, dragons, horses and fantastic animals were also represented.{{r|nove|john}}

File:Photo_taken_in_Bargello_cortile.jpg|Bargello, Florence

File:Ferri_from_two_ages.jpg|Ferro from two ages, Palazzo degli Altoviti, Florence

File:Castello di montalto, loggetta, ferri 01.JPG|Castello di Montalto, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena

File:Ferro_on_facade_of_Palazzo_Morozzi_Dilaghi,_Florence.jpg|Palazzo Morozzi Dilaghi, Florence

File:Ferro_from_Arezzo,_Italy.jpg|Ferro in Arezzo

File:Portastendardo_by_Niccolo_Grosso_(Il_Caparra)_active_ca.1500.jpg|Niccolò Grosso - "Il Caparra" Palazzo Strozzi c.1500

File:Photograph_of_ferro_taken_in_Pisa,_Italy.jpg|"Ferro" in Pisa, Italy

File:Rome (29278913).jpg|Standard-holder, Rome

File:Borgo San Lorenzo-particolare su casa.jpg|Standard-holder, Borgo San Lorenzo

File:Palazzo degli altoviti 05, ferri.JPG|Arpione, Palazzo degli Altoviti, Florence

File:Borgo albizi 29 angolo via dei giraldi 15, Palazzo Tornaquinci Della Stufa, portabandiera o portafiaccola a forma di drago.jpg|Torch-holder, Via de' Giraldi, Florence