Editing Renaissance architecture (section)

=== 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.]]