Editing Renaissance architecture (section)

== Characteristics ==
[[File:SaintPierreRaphael.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Raphael's unused plan for St. Peter's Basilica]]

The [[Classical order]]s were analysed and reconstructed to serve new purposes.{{NoteTag|The list of characteristics below is expanded from a list based on [[Banister Fletcher]]. See below.}} While the obvious distinguishing features of Classical Roman architecture were adopted by Renaissance architects, the forms and purposes of buildings had changed over time, as had the structure of cities. Among the earliest buildings of the reborn Classicism were the type of churches that the Romans had never constructed. Neither were there models for the type of large city dwellings required by wealthy merchants of the 15th century. Conversely, there was no call for enormous sporting fixtures and [[Thermae|public bath houses]] such as the Romans had built.

=== Plan ===
The plans of Renaissance buildings have a square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module. Within a church, the module is often the width of an aisle. The need to integrate the design of the plan with the façade was introduced as an issue in the work of [[Filippo Brunelleschi]], but he was never able to carry this aspect of his work into fruition. The first building to demonstrate this was [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua]] by [[Leone Battista Alberti]]. The development of the plan in secular architecture was to take place in the 16th century and culminated with the work of [[Palladio]].

[[File:Sant Agostino Fassade.jpg|thumb|Façade of [[Sant'Agostino, Rome]], built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta]]

=== Façade ===
[[Façade]]s are symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church façades are generally surmounted by a [[pediment]] and organised by a system of [[pilaster]]s, arches and [[entablature]]s. The columns and windows show a progression towards the centre. One of the first true Renaissance façades was [[Pienza Cathedral]] (1459–62), which has been attributed to the Florentine architect Bernardo Gambarelli (known as [[Rossellino]]) with [[Leone Battista Alberti]] perhaps having some responsibility in its design as well.

Domestic buildings are often surmounted by a [[cornice]]. There is a regular repetition of openings on each floor, and the centrally placed door is marked by a feature such as a balcony, or rusticated surround. An early and much copied prototype was the façade for the [[Palazzo Rucellai]] (1446 and 1451) in Florence with its three registers of [[pilasters]].

[[File:Classical orders from the Encyclopedie.png|thumb|left|Classical Orders, engraving from the ''Encyclopédie vol. 18.'' 18th century.]]

=== Columns and pilasters ===
Roman and Greek orders of columns are used: [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]], [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Ionic order|Ionic]], [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] and [[Composite order|Composite]]. The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters. During the Renaissance, architects aimed to use columns, [[pilaster]]s, and [[entablatures]] as an integrated system. One of the first buildings to use pilasters as an integrated system was in the [[Sagrestia Vecchia|Old Sacristy]] (1421–1440) by Brunelleschi.

=== Arches ===
Arches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental. Arches are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals. There may be a section of entablature between the capital and the springing of the arch. Alberti was one of the first to use the arch on a monumental scale at the [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua]].

=== Vaults ===
Vaults do not have ribs. They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular. The [[barrel vault]] is returned to architectural vocabulary as at St. Andrea in Mantua.

=== Domes ===
{{main|History of Italian Renaissance domes}}

[[File:StPetersDomePD.jpg|thumb|The Dome of St Peter's Basilica, Rome.<!--- This is an image that speaks for itself! The rest of the info is further down the page. --->]]

The dome is used frequently, both as a very large structural feature that is visible from the exterior, and also as a means of roofing smaller spaces where they are only visible internally. After the success of the dome in Brunelleschi's design for [[Florence Cathedral]] and its use in Bramante's plan for [[St. Peter's Basilica]] (1506) in Rome, the dome became an indispensable element in church architecture and later even for secular architecture, such as Palladio's [[Villa Rotonda]].{{NoteTag|A major use of this feature is great dome of the [[US Capitol Building]] (begun 1856) in [[Washington, D.C.]] and all the subsequent State Capitals buildings in the [[Renaissance Revival]] style.}}

=== Ceilings ===
Roofs are fitted with flat or [[coffered]] ceilings. They are not left open as in Medieval architecture. They are frequently painted or decorated.

=== Doors ===
[[Door]]s usually have square lintels. They may be set with in an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment. Openings that do not have doors are usually arched and frequently have a large or decorative keystone.

=== Windows ===
Windows may be paired and set within a [[semi-circular arch]]. They may have square lintels and triangular or segmental [[pediment]]s, which are often used alternately. Emblematic in this respect is the [[Palazzo Farnese]] in Rome, begun in 1517.

[[File:Palazzo Strozzi - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|Courtyard of [[Palazzo Strozzi]], Florence]]

In the Mannerist period the [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] arch was employed, using a motif of a high semi-circular topped opening flanked with two lower square-topped openings. Windows are used to bring light into the building and in domestic architecture, to give views. Stained glass, although sometimes present, is not a feature.

=== Walls ===
External walls are generally constructed of brick, rendered, or faced with stone in highly finished [[ashlar]] masonry, laid in straight courses. The corners of buildings are often emphasized by rusticated [[quoin (architecture)|quoins]]. Basements and ground floors were often [[Rustication (architecture)|rusticated]], as at the [[Palazzo Medici Riccardi]] (1444–1460) in Florence. Internal walls are smoothly plastered and surfaced with [[lime wash]]. For more formal spaces, internal surfaces are decorated with [[fresco]]es.

=== Details ===
Courses, mouldings and all decorative details are carved with great precision. Studying and mastering the details of the ancient Romans was one of the important aspects of Renaissance theory. The different orders each required different sets of details. Some architects were stricter in their use of classical details than others, but there was also a good deal of innovation in solving problems, especially at corners. Mouldings stand out around doors and windows rather than being recessed, as in Gothic architecture. Sculptured figures may be set in niches or placed on plinths. They are not integral to the building as in Medieval architecture.<ref name="BF">[[Banister Fletcher]], ''History of Architecture on the Comparative Method''(first published 1896, current edition 2001, Elsevier Science & Technology {{ISBN|0-7506-2267-9}}).</ref>