Renaissance Architecture | Examples And Characteristics

What is Renaissance architecture?

Renaissance or Renaissance architecture is a style of architecture which expresses the rebirth of classical culture. It originated in Florence in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe, replacing the medieval Gothic style. The Renaissance refers to an artistic and intellectual historical epoch, which, starting in Italy, continued into the Gothic period and was replaced by the Baroque, with the aim of reviving ancient art and ideas.

During the architecture of the High Renaissance, some of the contributions of Renaissance architecture and its architectural concepts were also developed and utilized with greater certainty, as were certain elements of classical thought, particularly symmetry and classical orders dating back to classical antiquity.

In the 18th century the ancient Roman forms, such as the column and the round arch, the tunnel vault and the dome, were revived. Their basic design element was the order of geometric components. Knowledge of classical architecture came from the ruins of ancient buildings and the writings of Vitruvius.

In the 16th century Renaissance cinquecento architecture was characterized by geometric design as opposed to the disorder of medieval cities. And, while in Renaissance buildings the geometric principle was well suited to their functioning, in a complex organism such as the city, adherence to strict geometric canons was contrasted with the real life needs of the population.

These cities often remained utopian projects, working only theoretically, because the play of geometry, simple or articulated, certainly did not help to resolve the many variants of a complex urban system. However, in some cases these premises were used to create small examples of Renaissance architecture, in excerpts of ideal cities within the wonderful random cities, stratified in their history.

As in the classical era, in summary of Renaissance architecture, architectural proportion was the most important factor of beauty; Renaissance architects found a harmony between human proportions and buildings. This concern for proportion resulted in the larger space and easily understandable clearings that distinguish the Renaissance style from the Gothic.