Renaissance Architecture

Vocabulary flashcards covering key periods, architectural principles, architects, and landmark structures from Italian, French, and English Renaissance Architecture.

Renaissance Architecture

A European architectural style originating between the 14th and 16th centuries in Florence, Italy, characterized by a revival of ancient Greek and Roman principles such as symmetry, proportion, humanism, and harmony.

Early Renaissance Architecture

A 15th-century architectural style originating in Florence, Italy, defined by Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, marked by strict symmetry, semicircular arches, classical columns, and hemispherical domes.

High Renaissance Architecture

An architectural period originating in Rome during the early 16th century under papal patronage, focusing on monumental dignity, balanced designs, classical orders, and centralized floor plans.

Mannerism (Late Renaissance Architecture)

A 16th-century architectural style spanning roughly from 1520 to 1600 that broke away from High Renaissance harmony by using playful geometry, exaggerated details, and surprising visual tension.

Giant Order

An architectural feature popularized by Michelangelo during the Mannerist period in which pilasters or columns reach continuously from the ground level to the top of a building's facade.

Filippo Brunelleschi

An Italian Early Renaissance architect who defined the period's style through major works in Florence, including the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Basilica di San Lorenzo.

Leon Battista Alberti

A key Early Renaissance architectural theorist and designer who helped establish Renaissance principles by shifting design toward mathematical harmony and classical Roman principles.

Santa Maria del Fiore

Also known as The Florence Duomo, a cathedral in Florence, Italy, renowned for its Renaissance dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

A major church complex in Florence, Italy, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, containing the Old Sacristy, New Sacristy, and Laurentian Library.

Santa Maria delle Carceri

A Renaissance basilica church in Prato, Italy, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo, exemplifying architectural harmony and consistency.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

A palace in Florence, Italy, designed by the Renaissance architect Michelozzo.

Tempietto of San Pietro

A High Renaissance circular sanctuary in Rome, Italy, designed by Donato Bramante at the beginning of the 16th century.

St. Peter's Basilica

A papal basilica in Vatican City reconstructed between 1506 and 1626 by major Renaissance and Baroque architects, featuring Michelangelo's dome, Maderno's facade, and Bernini's colonnade.

St. Peter's Baldachin

A Baroque altar canopy situated over the central altar in St. Peter's Basilica, designed by Bernini and featuring four Solomonic columns.

Basilica Palladiana

Also known as Palazzo della Ragione, a landmark public building located in Vicenza, Italy, redesigned by Andrea Palladio.

Piazza del Campidoglio

A civic square on Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy, designed by Michelangelo, featuring the Palazzo Senatorio, Palazzo dei Conservatori, and Palazzo Nuovo.

Villa La Rotonda (Villa Capra)

A landmark Renaissance villa outside Vicenza, Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, famous for its centralized floor plan and symmetrical classical porticos.

Palazzo Farnese

A prominent Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Giacomo da Vignola, and Giacomo della Porta.

Château de Chambord

A landmark French Renaissance castle in Chambord, France, designed by Domenico da Cortona.

Lescot Wing

A major wing of the Palais du Louvre in France, designed by architect Pierre Lescot during the French Renaissance.

Elizabethan Style

The early period of English Renaissance architecture under Queen Elizabeth, characterized by grand symmetrical country 'prodigy houses', decorative gateways, formal gardens, and large expanses of glass.

Jacobean Style

A phase of English Renaissance architecture during the reign of King James I, marked by a shift toward sober regularity with colossal columns and entablatures.

Wollaton Hall

An English Renaissance prodigy house set in gardens and a deer park in Nottingham, England, designed by Robert Smythson.