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INTRODUCTION

In this report we will detail the aspects in which Architecture was influenced
during the Renaissance, a cultural movement that emerged in Europe in the
14th century, and whose essential characteristic
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos11/tebas/tebas.shtmlis its admiration for Greco-
Roman antiquity. This enthusiasm, which considers classical cultures as the
supreme realization of an ideal of perfection, proposes limitation in all
orders, which explains the qualification of Renaissance, because in truth, it
was a rebirth, a giving life again to the ideals that had inspired those
peoples.
The Renaissance, of course, was not a simple exhumation of ancient arts.

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ARCHITECTURE IN THE RENAISSANCE

Renaissance: This is the name given to a broad cultural movement that

took place in Western Europe during the 15TH and 16TH CENTURIES. Its main
exponents are found in the field of the arts, although there was also a
renewal in the sciences, both natural and human. The city of Florence, in
Italy, was the birthplace and development of this movement, which later
spread throughout Europe.
The Renaissance was the result of the spread of the ideas of humanism,
which determined a new conception of man and the world.
Thus arose a more anthropocentric vision of the world, detached from
religion and medieval theocentrism, in which man and scientific advances
would represent the new way of evaluating the world: humanism, a term
initially applied to specialists in Greco-Latin disciplines (law, rhetoric,
theology and art), which would be extended to philosophers, artists,
scientists and any scholar of the various branches of knowledge that then
began to come together in a concept of general culture.

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Characteristics
In a generic way, the characteristics of the Renaissance can be established
as follows:

• The "return to antiquity": both ancient architectural forms and the

classical order and the use of ancient formal and plastic motifs
resurfaced. Likewise, classical mythology and history were taken as
thematic motifs, as well as the adoption of ancient symbolic elements, as
well as the recovery of classical treatises such as those of Vitruvius,
essential in the renewal of architecture.

• Emergence of a new "relationship with nature", which was linked to an

ideal and realistic conception of science. Mathematics will become the
main aid of an art that is incessantly concerned with rationally
establishing its ideal of beauty.

• The Renaissance makes "man" the measure of all things. It presupposes

that the artist has a scientific education, which allows him to free himself
from the guild-based and mechanistic attitudes more typical of the
Middle Ages and to rise in the social ladder. This means giving the artist
a new consideration, that of "creator."

• "Patronage": the upper classes constantly sponsored and commissioned

works, as art was seen as an instrument of prestige and refinement,
which led to a time of great brilliance in all artistic disciplines. The main
centers of patronage were Medici Florence in the Quattrocento and papal
Rome in the Cinquecento.

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INTRODUCTION TO RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Renaissance architecture is architecture designed and built during the
artistic period of the European Renaissance, which spanned the 15th and
16th centuries. It is characterized by being a moment of rupture in the
History of Architecture, especially with respect to the previous architectural
style: Gothic; while, on the contrary, it seeks its inspiration in its own
interpretation of Classical Art, particularly in its architectural aspect, which
was considered a perfect model of the Fine Arts.
Another of the notes that characterizes this movement is the new attitude of
the architects, who went from the anonymity of the craftsman to a new
conception of professionalism, marking their personal style in each work:
they considered themselves, and ended up achieving this social
consideration, as interdisciplinary and humanist artists, as corresponded to
the integral conception of Renaissance humanism. We know little about the
Romanesque master builders and the daring architects of the great Gothic
cathedrals, while not only the great Renaissance works, but also many small
buildings or even mere projects, were carefully documented from their
origins and were the subject of study by contemporary writers.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE
• Search for the classical ideal: Through classicism, the men of the
Renaissance looked towards the Greco-Roman world as a model for
their contemporary society, seeking to apply to everyday material
reality that which they considered to belong to a world that was more
idyllic than real. In this sense, Architecture, in particular, attempted to
concretize classical concepts such as beauty, thus giving rise to the
theorization and organization of movement, based on classical Greek
and Roman Architecture.

• Profane vision of religious themes: Classical values, from the point

of view of Christianity, which had enormous influence in this period
(taking into account that the Renaissance arose in Italy, where the
presence of the Catholic Church was decisive for Art), were
considered pagan and of a sinful nature.

• Influence of nature: Nature was seen as the supreme creation of

God's work and the element closest to perfection (another of the
ideals that had to be sought through classical aesthetics). Thus, we
move from searching for inspiration in nature to inspiration in the
forms of nature itself, such as

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as the classics propose, making this an autonomous value.

• Anthropocentrism and humanism: In addition to nature as a
perfect creation, the focus turns to the human being: medieval
theocentrism is left behind to enter anthropocentrism. Man is
analyzed, instead of as a being created in the image and likeness of
God, as a measure and reference of the Universe. Thus, it will be the
central object of artistic manifestation, with even greater importance
than during classical antiquity.

HISTORY OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE Renaissance

architecture developed from the 15th century mainly in Italy. It is
common to attribute the place of genesis to the Italian city of
Florence, a city where Gothic had barely penetrated, at the time of
the construction of the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Such an episode is not only a mere
change in the stylistic profile that predominated in the Florentine
architectural scene, but also a clear demonstration of the rupture that
would come later in the very way of producing architecture, paving
the way not only for the rediscovery of classicism, but also for the
promotion of treatises and for an unprecedented theorization on the
subject. Many scholars claim that Brunelleschi built, in fact, not only a
dome, but the concept of a new type of architect: he altered the rules
of civil construction, initiating a process that would gradually separate
the designer from the builder.

One thing to note about Brunelleschi's work is that he places more

emphasis on construction than on style. This can be understood when
looking at the work as a whole, and it can be seen that, despite
wanting to follow classical canonization, a building is produced that is
not completely committed to these classical rules. This is caused by
the architect's lack of in-depth knowledge of classical standards,
which he accessed more through observation of existing Roman ruins
than through the study of treaties.

Brunelleschi also began a tradition that separated architects from the

old medieval guilds, whose professionalism was increasingly evident
at the time, establishing themselves as intellectuals removed from
construction itself. Many critics who analyze the phenomenon from a
Marxist perspective identify here the moment in which the incipient
bourgeoisie takes control of the means of production from the popular
classes (they will no longer be able to build and will be able to
design), thus making it possible

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a process of exploitation of the proletariat by Capital, which will

intensify during the Industrial Revolution.

START
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, was initially built in the
late Romanesque style, but its construction lasted several generations (it
was started in 1296 and had not yet been completed when Brunelleschi
died in 1446). It was not a planned building: its design and construction
were put together in parallel. Although there was a general plan for its
shape and internal layout, the construction details, as was common in
medieval building practice, were resolved as construction progressed, on
the site itself. Therefore, although the need to build a large dome over a
certain point of the church pre-existed, its shape had not been decided in
advance. When the time came to erect it, the Florentine craftsmen found
themselves faced with a 40-metre span, impossible to cover using
traditional construction techniques.

The solution found in 1418, when the Republic of Florence was already
clearly showing its intentions to demonstrate its economic power in the
architecture of the city - with which the cathedral became, therefore,
almost a calling card - was to promote a kind of competition of ideas for
the completion of the temple, which entailed, of course, the solution to
the problem of the dome. Filippo Brunelleschi, who was, at the time, a
relatively renowned craftsman, accepted the challenge. To do so, he
decided to travel to Rome in search of inspiration. Rome, at that period,
was the place in the world where the ruins of classical antiquity were
most visible, almost integrated into the landscape. Brunelleschi's main
source of inspiration was the Pantheon of Agrippa: a structure with a
diameter similar to that of Santa Maria dei Fiori, topped with a full-arched
dome. Brunelleschi not only observed the constructive solution used in
the Pantheon, but also began to study the stylistic, proportional and
formal relationships between the different elements that made up that
space. And it was indeed this attitude that gave rise to the spirit of the
Renaissance: an individual observes a certain reality through the desire
and intention with which he interferes in that ancient reality to seek
useful solutions applicable to modern reality. Brunelleschi was not fully
aware of classical theory, but he recognized a stylistic model that he
would use to build and devise his own architecture.

On his return to Florence, filled with his experience of the classical world,
Brunelleschi proposed a solution for the Florentine cathedral: a large 42-
metre dome topped by a lantern, based on his research in Rome. But he
did not limit himself to reproducing the Roman model, but proposed a
totally innovative form: its dome would be the first with an octagonal
drum in the history of architecture. This dome has an aesthetic function
(beautiful but austere, without giving a feeling of heaviness), but also an

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ideological function: it represents Christian unity. For its construction,

Brunelleschi used a set of double domes, one internal and one external,
formed by two layers built with two brick threads separated by a brick
thread on a crossbeam, which advance in a spiral shape that makes the
whole more rigid while configuring a space like an air chamber that gives
lightness to the dome, drawing guiding threads and topped with a
lantern.

Dome of the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore

This construction marked the beginning of Renaissance Architecture

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OTHER WORKS BY BRUNELLESCHI

Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence

Inspired by the early Christian basilicas that Brunelleschi studied, it is a

temple with a Latin cross plan with three naves, designed according to a 2-1
scheme, that is, with the central nave higher and wider.

Pitti Palace
The importance of Filippo Brunelleschi's Pitti Palace is that in it the author
established the Renaissance model of a palace that was widely followed by
his disciples, as is the case of the Medici-Ricardi Palace, the work of
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo.
The external appearance is almost like a fortress. It has a quadrilateral floor
plan in which the rooms are built around a courtyard. It shows a tendency
towards horizontality through a superposition of three floors or
bodies.

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Pazzi Chapel
The Pazzi Chapel is a work of full Renaissance conception. It has a square
floor plan covered with a dome, where the interaction of the square space
with the circular roof takes place.
The façade is structured by a portico with columns that provides access to
the building, combining a central arch with lintelled surfaces. On this surface
there is an entablature that "breaks" in the center in a semicircular arch.
Throughout the building, the search for harmony over monumentality can be
seen.

The architecture of the Quattrocento:

a) General characteristics:
1 .- While Gothic is the consequence of the evolution of Romanesque, the
Renaissance breaks with the preceding style, taking that of ancient Rome
as a model. The Renaissance once again used classical construction and
decorative elements (semicircular arches, pediments, columns and
pilasters, classical orders, barrel vaults, hemispherical domes, etc.)
although with complete freedom.
2 .- Decorative elements of a fantastic type are used in which the artist
capriciously fuses the various kingdoms of nature, creating monstrous

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beings. This decoration is called grotesques because its use became

widespread following the discovery of mural paintings of this type in
Nero's imperial palace. Flowers, fruits, trophies and various objects
hanging from ribbons, crowns and medallions are also frequent themes in
Renaissance decoration.

3 .- In the structure and in the plants, effects of calculated and

mathematical perfection are sought. Spatial unity is sought.

4 .- The wall recovers its tectonic (supporting) function that had

disappeared in Gothic architecture, although it always appears covered
with a striking decoration (colored marble, rustic masonry, etc.).

5 .- The use of simple forms is prioritized (such as the wooden cover that
saves supports, the metal braces that are integrated into the vaults,
eliminating thrusts)

6 .- The five classical orders are recovered.

7 .- In the churches, the centralized plan (in accordance with the classical
image of the universe) and the basilica plan that responds more to the
needs of the liturgy are merged. To achieve synthesis, both forms are
merged and thus a centralized head presided over by a dome is added to
the longitudinal body.

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8 .- Urban palaces are also built (Pitti Palace, Palazzo

Rucellai), villas or country mansions (Palladio's Villa Capra), and
fortresses-

9 .- The main architects of the Quattrocento are Filippo

Brunelleschi and Leon Batista Alberti.

b) Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

The artist who laid the foundations of the new style is the
Florentine
Brunelleschi, whose activity filled the second
quarter of the 15th century.

Brunelleschi had a mathematical

background and was trained not only in
architecture but also as a goldsmith and as
an inventor of machines and construction
techniques. He was, above all, an innovator
who was commissioned to finish the
construction of the cathedral of Florence
(Gothic work of Andrea del Cambio)

His main works are:

1. Dome of the Florence Cathedral (Church of Santa Maria

delle Fiore) (Selectivity).

ID:
Name: Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore
(Florence Cathedral).
Architect: Brunelleschi, Filippo (1377-
1446).
Chronology: 1418-1446
Location: Florence
Style: Renaissance (Quattrocento)
Materials: Brick, stone, marble.
Dimensions: 114 ms -height- and 41
ms- diameter-
Type of building: Religious architecture

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Analysis:
It is considered the first great architectural work of the Renaissance.
Built on the dome of the Gothic cathedral, it must have covered a diameter
similar to that of the Pantheon in Rome (42 metres). It was built between
1418 and 1446 using stone, brick and marble as materials.
Exterior: It has a singularly slender appearance thanks to its pointed
profile, which Brunelleschi achieved through the curvature of the eight 4-
metre-thick white marble ribs that rise to the top, where they join together
to form a stylised lantern. The dome, with eight sides covered with red
tiles, rises above an octagonal drum of stone covered with marble (white,
green and pink) with a large circular window on each of the eight sides.
Interior: (construction system): It was built without using formwork
(wooden frames) or scaffolding from the ground. To make it lighter (and
prevent it from collapsing) he conceived it as a double dome (a
hemispherical interior one and a pointed exterior one) with an empty space
between the two. 2. Basilica of San Lorenzo (Selectivity).

ID:

Name:). Church of San

Lorenzo
Architect: Brunelleschi,
Filippo (1377-1446).
Chronology: 1421-1470
Location: Florence
Style: Renaissance
(Quattrocento)
Materials: Brick, stone,
marble.
Type of building: Religious
architecture

Analysis:

It was commissioned by Cosimo de Medici and is an example of the

patronage that is at the origin of much of the Renaissance work.

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In it, medieval forms have already disappeared and both the constructive
and decorative elements are taken from the classical art of Brunelleschi,
taking the Christian basilicas as a model, the layout of three naves.
The space is arranged based on a longitudinal plan, where the different
architectural elements and the luminosity achieve a perspective view.

He conceived it as a set of independent blocks, in which the larger

ones are multiples of the smaller ones. The roof of the central nave is
lintelled and decorated with large coffers in the Roman style, while the side
naves are vaulted.

The semicircular arches that divide the floor into three naves are enhanced
by the placement of a piece of entablature on the abacus of the capitals.
Columns topped with composite capitals, pilasters, semicircular arches, and
coffers are used in the roof of the central nave. It has large windows in the
upper part of the central nave and oculi on the sides.
3. Pazzi Chapel:

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Identification and Analysis:

In it, Brunelleschi returns to the dome, which would be one of the

obsessions of Renaissance architects. This small chapel is located in the
cloister of the Franciscan convent of Santa Croce in Florence.

It was built between 1430 and 1444. Its structure is very simple; the
building is divided into three areas: a rectangular portico and a square
apse at the back.
It has a rectangular floor plan with a ribbed dome on pendentives and
finished in a lantern.
The layout of the façade is typical: the two lateral parts of the portico
have an entablature, the central part ends in an arch. This scheme was
used very frequently in the 16th century.
The interior is very sober and decorated with white and blue Lucca
Della Robbia medallions, along with fluted marble mouldings and pilasters.

4. Lodge of the Hospital of the Holy Innocents:

It was donated by Cosimo

de Médicis to the city, being
the first public hospital for
abandoned children. The
author shows great concern for
relating the environment (the
square) with the structure of
the building.
It involves the recovery of
the concept of architectural
order (remember: relationship
of all the

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items). The wide semicircular arches, the simplicity of the general

conception and the subordinate role of the sculpture limited to very precise
areas are some of the characteristics of this work.
As an architect, he began with the Lodge in 1419. He used pilasters in
the corner bodies. It consists of 9 semicircular arches, on Corinthian
columns, which emerge from a stepped staircase. The medallions between
the arches are by Andrea Della Robbia and depict children in diapers,
alluding to the building's function as a shelter for abandoned children.
For the first time, it uses the semicircular arch on columns, placing a
triangular pediment over the windows on the first floor. The portico is also
interesting because it is a determining element of the square's urban
planning. The white walls contrast with the grey stone, accentuating the
architectural elements.

5. Pitti Palace

It was built in 1440, although it was considerably expanded in the 16th

century. The Pitti Palace became the prototype or model of a Renaissance
palace by integrating the palace into the urban architecture.

It does away with the defensive tower of medieval Florentine houses,

which gives it a more urban character; however, it takes from Roman
architecture the strong rusticated wall with which it covers the entire
façade.

This façade, with a certain fortress-like appearance, had a great

influence later on.

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c) Leon Batista Alberti (1404-1472)

In the following generation, the other great

Florentine architect is León Batista Alberti. A
scholar and student of antiquity (Vitruvius), he wrote
the treatise De re aedificatoria, where he discussed
the proportions that a building should have.

In 1434 he traveled to Florence and fell in love

with his works. For him, architecture must be subject
to reason.

Among his most important works are:

1. San Francisco or Malatestiano Temple (1450):

This was his first work commissioned by Sigismund.

Malatesta, tyrant of Rimini, to reform the Church of San Francesco: It was to
be a building with a double
function: a church for worship
and a commemorative building
destined to the memory of his
lover Isotta and the artists and
poets he protected, being an
eloquent testimony to
Renaissance paganism. Alberti
made a facade
incomplete and imitation of the
elements of Roman art
(semicircular arches, triangular triumphal arches using for this
purpose
pediments, attached columns, niches, etc.)

2. Facade of Santa Maria Novella.

He used the square as a module in it. The facade (the whole complex)

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can be inscribed in a square. The main body is made up of two other

squares, each side being half the length of the general one. In another
square like these the upper body can be enclosed.
The system of joining the two floors by means of two large S-shaped
volutes later became the distinguishing and defining model of the Baroque
façade, which used volutes and fins to link the central pediment with the
side naves, and to join the lower, wider part with the upper, narrower part.
As a decorative element, it uses two-coloured marble (green and
white), which is very common in Florentine architecture.
On this façade he puts into practice his theories collected in his work
“De re aedificatori”

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3. Rucellai Palace (Selectivity) Identification:

Name: Rucellai Palace.
Architect:Alberti, Leon Battista
(1404-1472)
Chronology: 1446-1451.
Location: Florence (Italy) Materials:
Stone and marble.
Type of building: civil architecture
Analysis
Exterior (Facade):
It adapts to a plot surrounded by
other constructions and therefore
“confined”. What Alberti does is
give it a “beautiful face” by using
classical elements.
It begins with a small plinth crossed by a bench that acts as a “waiting
room” in a context in which the palace served as an office.
The ground floor with Doric pilasters and square openings similar to those of
the Medici Palace and with doors and windows with horizontal lintels
On the first and second floors, Ionic and Corinthian pilasters and mullioned
windows framed by semicircular arches. Each floor is separated from the
other by a classical entablature.
The upper cornice, very protruding and supported by corbels, became a
much imitated model throughout Europe.
Finally, it should be noted that the use of smooth silars of different sizes, the
gradation of the reliefs of piastres, friezes, windows and doors avoids the
feeling of monotony.

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ARCHITECTURE OF THE CINQUECENTO

St. Peter's Cathedral

After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the capital of Renaissance art
moved from Florence to Rome, due to the great influence of Popes Julius II
and Leo X.
The Papal States began a military expansion and the Popes became patrons
of artists. St. Peter's Basilica will be the building that sets the tone for the
entire century.
It is the era of architects such as Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio, Bramante
and Palladio, who gave rise to Mannerism.
General characteristics

. The classical influence is maintained, which is evident in the use of

constructive orders and elements.
. At this stage the buildings tend towards monumentality and grandeur.
. In the temples, a new approach is sought with the development of the
central floors. The building par excellence of this period is the church of St.
Peter in Rome.
. During this period, the construction of villas began, among which those of
Andrea Palladio stand out.

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. Michelangelo introduces the “giant order” for his project and breaks with
the concept of architecture made to measure for man.
. At this time, the idea of wealth and luxury predominated and was the origin
of the Baroque.

. Mannerism, typical of the late 16th century, introduced increasingly

sumptuous buildings into architecture, with elaborate decorations and
elements intended to capture the viewer's attention.

Donato DÀngelo Bramante (1444-1514)

. He had a quattrocento training, but reached his artistic peak in the 16th
century. Its architecture is characterized by severity and the use of a central
plan covered with a dome.
. In 1503 he was appointed papal architect, carrying out two major projects:
the Palace of the Popes and the new Basilica of St. Peter, which was never
started.

Works:
. St. Peter in Montorio. Rome
It was commissioned by the Catholic Monarchs, who, to commemorate the
Capture of Granada, decided to raise a temple in honour of Saint Peter, in
the place where he is believed to have been martyred.
It is a rotunda with 16 Doric columns that becomes a symbol of the return to
the Roman spirit.
It is considered one of the most harmonious buildings of the Renaissance.
Despite its size, it complies with the proportions and symmetry of
Renaissance constructions.
. St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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He was commissioned by Pope Julius II to carry out the project.

His project had a floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross inscribed in a
square from which four apses protruded, with domes in the transept and the
side chapels.
Bramante died when the master pillars had barely been completed.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Caprese 1475-1564)

Dome of St. Peter's Basilica

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Interior of the dome of St. Peter's

Architect, sculptor and painter, considered one of the greatest artists in

history. He developed his work between Florence and Rome.

Works:
. Dome of St. Peter's Cathedral.
When he returned to the project, he took up Bramante's design, with some
modifications regarding the use of light. His great contribution is the dome,
which he modified by giving it a higher profile.
It is located above the main altar and the tomb of Saint Peter. It has a
colossal size, it is a ribbed structure 42 meters in diameter and more than
130 meters high. Its style is completely Renaissance and it has a series of
windows that let in light. It is built on pendentives with a drum and
decorated with mosaics.

Laurentian Staircase

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. The New Sacristy.

Commissioned by Pope Leo X to serve as a funeral chapel for some members
of the Medici family.
. Staircase of the Laurentian Library.
The library consists of a reading room and a hall, in which the columns are
modified to conceal them and the stairs are used as a unifying element.

Andrea Palladio (1508- 1580)

Villa Rotonda

The detailed study of ancient buildings was the basis for forming his
absolutely classicist style, but innovative with respect to what was done at
the time. He adapted the forms of antiquity to modern needs.
His country villas and other works have had an important influence on
Neoclassical architecture.

Works:
. The Villa Capra or “The Rotonda” in Vicenza.
It is a country palace with a central floor plan. I use a whole range of basic
geometric shapes in my design, such as the cylinder, the sphere and the
cube.

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Both the plant and the exterior conformation are totally symmetrical and
proportionate. Length, height and geometry are determined by a system of
rational proportions, derived from Vitruvius and Alberti.

WRITERS OF CLASSICISM
In the middle of the XVI already has been reached the maturity
of style, were
contemporaries of the mannerists, no They contribute nothing
conceptual nor
new structural, but with a greater number of architectural elements for
decorative purposes.
MAIN AUTHORS AND WORKS:

JACOPO VIGNOLA

MAIN WORKS:

• CHURCH OF THE GESU IN ROME:

I. Concept:
He created the type of Jesuit church and the spirit of the Counter-Reformation,
following the ideas of Alberti, with a different concept than the previous
Renaissance temples: a Latin cross plan with a very wide central nave with a gallery
and low, dark side chapels.
V Start of construction: 1568
V Completed: 1584
V Architectural Style: Renaissance Architecture
{ Location: Monte del Capiloto, Rome, Italy

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II. Architectural Analysis

Location
Via aeua '

Scholars Lounge
Irish pub

Palazzo Altieri

Church of Jesus
Elegant mother church
Piazza of the Jesuits
del
Gesi
Square of
S. Frame
Fontana
of the
Pinna

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> Shape:
The church is inspired by Alberti's Saint Andrew of Mantua.
It has a Latin cross plan with a low transept and a wide central nave.
This ship is flanked
by side chapels between
the buttresses with altars and images of saints whose cult was promoted by the
Counter-Reformation as intercessors.
In the transept, the large dome on pendentives, which acts as a large distributor of
light, creates the effect of a luminous space between two spaces with softer light:
the altar and the central nave.

It has a low rectangular body that corresponds to the width of the central nave and
the side chapels, with pillars
Corinthian doubles that divide it into five streets: in the central one there is a door
with a curved pediment and in the two side streets there are small doors with a
triangular pediment and niches with
> Facade:
saints with a curved pediment. This body is
crowned by a large curved pediment that
encompasses
another
triangular, an aspect that breaks with
classicism, using classical elements in its
own way.
The smaller upper body, corresponding to
the width of the central nave, partly
repeats the previous scheme: double
Ionic pilasters and three aisles with
windows with triangular pediments. This
body is crowned with a large triangular
pediment whose vertex acts as the axis of
symmetry of the façade that continues
with the vertex of the pediment of the second and first levels.

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> Central Nave:

Inside, behind the façade, you can see a
large fresco depicting “Heliodorus expelled
from the Temple of Jerusalem.”
The main chapel and transept are very
bright and profusely decorated; these
plays of light and shadow and the
abundant decoration bring this
architecture closer to the Baroque.
MAIN WORKS:

Andrea Palladio

• THE CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE IN VENICE

I. Concept:
He uses the forms of Antiquity, but in a different way: he creates the "giant order",
columns on two different scales; he mixes Greek statism with Roman dynamism.
V Start of construction: 1568
V Completed: 1576
V Architectural Style: Renaissance Architecture
{ Location: Venice, Italy

II. Architectural Analysis

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> Location:

> Shape and Facade:

Both inside and outside the church,
very interesting details can be
appreciated, such as the façade,
which has a unique entrance with a
giant order of four columns
composed of high plinths topped by
an entablature supporting a classic
pediment.
Its white facade is immediately
recognizable when looking from St.
Mark's Square, and reminds us that
this church has been a great period
setting, not only spiritual, but also a
cultural and artistic center.

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The Corinthian columns stand out on the façade, which have a subdivision that
reflects the three cubes surmounted by the large vault in the crossing of the axes of
the Latin cross plan. The most recognizable emblem of this island, along with the
church, is its bell tower, which measures about 75 meters in height. It was built in
1467 and rebuilt in neoclassical style in 1791.
> Structure and Materials
Palladio's classicism is also evident, albeit with a touch of Mannerism, in the

5. CHIOKCIO MACCIOKE . VENICE.

CO/ÍCI T DIIAl- SECTION

churches he built in Venice: San Giorgio Maggiore (1565), "with three naves and a
deep choir behind the main chapel, located on the island of the same name, has
"domes and gables and giant columns supporting clear classical pediments.
With a two-level marble façade and tall, symmetrical columns. Inside, light streams
through the windows to illuminate the high arches and simple layout of white and
terracotta tiles.

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The windows are inspired by those found in various Roman public baths. Here you
can admire the paintings that adorn the walls of the church and its various chapels.
The ceiling is a simple vault with barrel windows opening out. And the columns
supported on pedestals will be responsible for delimiting the space.

MANNERIST ARCHITECTURE
Mannerist architecture is the phase of
European architecture that developed
between 1530 and 1610, that is, between
the end of Renaissance architecture and
the beginning of Baroque architecture.1
Historians consider Mannerism to be the
last phase of the Renaissance, preceded
by Florentine humanism and Roman
classicism; however, if the first two phases
are distinguishable temporally, this is not
so clear with regard to classicism and
mannerism, which coexisted from the
beginning of the 16th century.2
The term "maniera", used as early as the Facade of the Church of del Gesu, Rome
15th century to indicate the style of an artist, was used by Giorgio Vasari in the
following century to describe one of the four requisites of the arts (order, measure,
design and maniera), with particular reference to the works of Michelangelo; later
used by Jacob Burckhardt to pejoratively define Italian art between the Renaissance
and the Baroque. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, in light of the
emerging surrealist and expressionist cultures, critics revalued mannerist culture.
Mannerism developed in Italy and influenced the architecture of much of Europe.
That is why it helps to know the historical context of the continent.
At the end of the 15th century, great monarchies developed in Spain, France and
England; in 1493 Maximilian I of Habsburg became Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, while Russia found political unity under Ivan III. Furthermore, with the
accession to the French throne of Francis I and the coronation of Charles V, the
European scenario changed radically, with the annexation of Germany and other
territories, such as Milan, Naples and the Mezzogiorno, to Spain.
In Italy, in 1527 the Sack of Rome took place by the Landsknechts; this event marks
the beginning of Mannerism. Many artists had to leave Rome, moving to Florence
and Venice. In Florence, the events of 1527 favoured the persecution of the Medici;
the rebellion was only suppressed after a long siege, between 1529 and 1530,
which re-established the family in the government of the city. Venice, on the other
hand, was Italy's most important arsenal and a first-rate cultural centre, thanks to
the widespread use of publishing activity.
In 1542, Pope Paul III reestablished the Inquisition tribunal, which preceded the
convening of the Council of Trent by a few years. The counter-reformation climate

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led to the founding of the Society of Jesus, which also had a notable influence in the
artistic field by directing religious architecture towards the Baroque style.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MANNERIST ARCHITECTURE:
Mannerism rejects the balance and harmony of classical architecture, concentrating
instead on the contrast between norm and transgression, nature and artifice, sign
and subsign.
In this way, the load loses its weight, while the support holds nothing; the vanishing
point does not end in a focal point, as in Baroque architecture, but ends in nothing;
the vertical structures assume excessive dimensions and give the whole a
disturbing "oscillating" balance.
While in Renaissance architecture the factory of buildings often reveals its own
internal conformation also towards the exterior (through, for example, the presence
of an intermediate cornice, extrados and intrados), Mannerist works generally move
away from this tendency, hiding their own basic structure.4
From a decorative point of view, the phenomenon of the grotesque, a pictorial
theme from the time of the Roman Empire, rediscovered at the end of the 15th
century during some archaeological excavations, assumes particular importance.
These paintings, focused on fantastic and irrational representations, were
fashionable during Mannerism (for example in the decorations of the Palazzo del Tè)
and, although sporadically, influenced architecture itself; this is evident in the
bizarre openings in the front of the Palazzo Zuccari in Rome and in the Orsini
Garden (known as the Park of Monsters) in Bomarzo. Other influences, mainly linked
to zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and phytomorphic themes, are found in the
decoration of buildings such as the Casina di Pio IV in Vatican City, by Pirro Ligorio,
the Palazzo Marino and the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso by Galeazzo
Alessi in Milan.

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Palazzo te Mantua, Giulio Romano (1526 AD)

IMPORTANT AUTHORS AND WORKS:

The task assigned to the individual personality is less determined, but different and
more modest than that required in the early Renaissance. Having to refer to a
system of absolutely obligatory rules, the artist's commitment had no graduation:
he had the duty, in a certain way, to always be a genius, to rise to the level of his
ideal. If the figure of the “Genius” was born in the Renaissance, now the figure of
the professional is emerging as we understand it today, who does not necessarily
have to be an exceptional individual. However, there are true masters from this
period whose works have influenced us to this day.
> MIGUEL ANGEL BUONARROTI :
He is one of the most prolific artists of this period and his field of action includes
sculpture, painting, architecture, military constructions and urban planning,
expressing himself creatively with innovative solutions at all levels of artistic
creation.
In each area he carried out works that have transcended to our days and exerted
a strong influence on later generations, however in the field of architecture his
works were:
• DOME OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH IN THE VATICAN (1547):
In 1547, Paul III gave Michelangelo the direction of all the works of St.
Peter's. Miguel takes Bramante's form of the Dome but abandons the two
towers at the ends. By the time of Michelangelo's death

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in 1564, the cylindrical body that serves as the base of the dome had been
completed.
Michelangelo resumes the Greek cross plan, but simplifies the corner chapels.
And with this the exterior wall is transformed into a continuous envelope,
created to support the colossal dome. To build it, Bounarroti studied the one
built by Brunelleschi in Florence and decided to apply the same principles. The
Dome was built by Giacomo della Porta between 1588 and 1591.

• NEW CHAPEL OF SAN LORENZO (1521).

Commissioned by Leo X to house the tombs of the last male heirs of the
Medici family. Michelangelo proposed a unitary solution for the architectural
elements and the tombs, thereby preserving the unitary space and the
central dome from Brunelleschi's project, but altering the perception of
space.
The Chapel is divided into two levels, in height: the space that defines and
frames the sculptural elements and the upper part, linked to the spatiality of
the dome.

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To energize the space and change its perception by accentuating the height
escape, raise the dome to the highest possible height and create a
prospective effect through the escaped coffered ceiling towards the oculus.
This effect is accentuated by the shape of the blind windows on the walls.

• LAURENZIANA LIBRARY (1524 – 1559)

It is located next to the church of San Lorenzo and was built over the monks'
dormitory to house the Medici family's book collection. The design included
three successive spaces: The Ricetto, a square space on a lower level like a
lobby, which has a strong volumetry of the walls and is

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characterized by the presence of a triple sculptural staircase, which seems to

repel the visitor. In the treatment of the walls, the columns and pilasters lose
tectonic value and are treated as simple decorative elements.

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> GIULIO ROMANO:

It is one of the first and best representatives of what is Mannerist
architecture. In his Tea Palace in Mantua, he created a building lacking
unity. It uses few decorative elements, but combines them in a strange
and whimsical way (rough shafts, hanging triglyphs acting as corbels,
Serlian motif, etc.). This building may be the first in which play and the
transgression of all norms is its reason for being.

> BARTOLOMEO AMMANNATI:

He extended the Pitti Palace in Florence with a rear courtyard where he
played with the rustication, creating a much more lively setting than
Brunelleschi's façade. The open courtyard with its angled wings,
vegetation and fountains will be widely used in France, particularly at the
Luxembourg Palace in Paris.

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SPREAD OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE:

The architectural language of the Italian Renaissance did not displace the
late Gothic forms predominant in the rest of Europe until well into the 16th
century. International contacts in the economic, political and military
spheres, intensified on the basis of those already abundant since the Late
Middle Ages, the travels of artists, requested by the various courts, as well
as the decisive dissemination of documents and images thanks to printing
and engraving, allowed for a crucial exchange of information.
Paradoxically, the assimilation of the anticlassical ideas forged in Mannerism
(which can be considered more of a new and opposite style than the final
phase of the Renaissance) was what caused the definitive triumph of Italian
taste. Classical treatise writing was already fully developed, so that
architects outside Italy generally mastered the classical compositional rules
and their theory, which already allowed them to take certain creative
licenses. Thus, the introduction of the Renaissance in Europe was largely an
eclecticism between medieval survivals and post-Renaissance features; in
addition to differing in each country, according to the different ways in which
the Italian influence provided new elements to its own medieval context.

1. SPAIN:
The architecture of the Spanish Renaissance can be divided into three
phases: the first is called Plateresque, the second Roman classicism
and the third Herrerian. From Italy, the Renaissance spread to the
different countries of Europe, which, if at first they welcomed the new style
without abandoning the new Gothic structures, soon fell fully into the new
style, which in each country presented its variants. In Spain, the 15th
century Renaissance spread when it was coming to an end in Italy, that is,
when the reaction of the second Renaissance began there, a reaction that
did not take place in Spain until the middle of the 16th century. The style
corresponding to the Italian fifteenth century, although with the natural
differences, is the Plateresque, so called because of its similarity between
the ornamentation of the buildings and the work of the goldsmiths in silver
and also because these artists projected the decoration on their
monstrances and sacred vessels. This style covers two thirds of the century
and corresponds to the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. During the
Plateresque period, the structures of the late Gothic period did not vary, the
survival of the Gothic continued, and the new style can only be seen in the
ornamentation, which is what gives character to the period.
1st stage The plateresque
characterized by the following reasons:
a) candlesticks or balustraded columns decorated with flowers, fruit and
garlands;
b) classical, highly ornate capitals;

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c) Medallions with warrior motifs that usually adorn the spandrels of

arches, war motifs of maces, axes and helmets, as well as fantastic animals
such as winged horses and cupids that intermingle in combinations of
fantastic imagination
d) use of grotesque (bas-relief decoration with animal, plant or
anthropomorphic themes); e) altarpiece façade, which imitates the
composition of the altarpieces inside churches and cathedrals.

The Palace of Santa Cruz (1486-1491) in Valladolid

It was the first Renaissance building built in Spain.

I. INTRODUCTION:
The school has a square floor plan and is built entirely of ashlar
limestone, with the only courtyard that the building had opening up in
its centre. The main façade is supported by buttresses in which the
change in style that took place when construction had barely begun is
visible; its Gothic tracery was replaced by Renaissance pilasters. The
semicircular arched doorway was decorated with fine grotesques, and

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also featured griffins, dolphins and botanical themes. The Cross of

Jerusalem, the College's emblem, appears in the spandrels, while a
relief, still Gothic, was placed on the entablature, in which Cardinal
Mendoza appears kneeling in the presence of Saint Helena of
Constantinople, discoverer of the Holy Cross. The background of the
entire cloth that occupies the cover is upholstered
by quilting of carved surface. The upward momentum of the
buttresses was contained by a large cornice, decorated with classical
motifs and topped with a balustrade and pinnacles, which gives the
building a civil character and a distinctly Renaissance horizontality.
The entrance hall is covered with a simple ribbed vault decorated with
angels holding shields similar to those preserved in the Aula Triste
and in the corners of the upper part of the first body of the courtyard,
they correspond to the sculptor Alejo de Vahía.
The main staircase and some doorways were renovated in the 18th
century, as was the chapel that opens onto the entrance hall and
where you can admire the Cristo de la Luz, a deposit from the Museo
Nacional Colegio de San Gregorio, made by Gregorio Fernández in
1621 for a chapel in the Monastery of San Benito el Real.
The building houses the library that belonged to the College of the
Cardinal, expanded with funds from the Mendizábal confiscation,
which is accessed through a Plateresque door in which there are
carved reliefs of Holy Doctors, also originals by Alejo de Vahía. The
Solomonic shelf inside was built in 1705 by the assembler Alonso
Manzano and is presided over by the equestrian portrait of the
founding cardinal, a work by Manuel Peti from Valladolid. The library's
content is very rich, with the Mozarabic copy of the Beatus of
Valcavado, made by Oveco in the year 970, being particularly
noteworthy.
The college's hostel has a square floor plan and its courtyard, in the
center, has a severe design in its two bodies of galleries organized by
square pillars and semicircular arches.
II. ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS:
a) LOCATION:
Located in Valladolid, Province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain,
the palace is currently the headquarters of the rectorate of the
University of Valladolid, the Museum of the University of Valladolid
(MUVa) and the Arellano Alonso Museum of African Art, whose
collections of African art were also donated to the University of
Valladolid.

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b) CHARACTERISTICS:
The school building has a rectangular floor plan with a geometric
character that is already fully Renaissance. It is distributed in a
basement, three floors and an attic located above the library bay.

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THE MAIN FACADE: is taller than the side sections and is divided into five
sections by six buttresses, of which the two central ones at the height of the
first body have blind decorations in the Spanish-Flemish Gothic style. From
the second one onwards, the Renaissance decoration appears, consisting of
paired fluted pilasters, above which the shields of Cardinal Mendoza can be
seen.
It is topped with a large cornice decorated with Renaissance motifs, and
above this a balustrade with six pinnacles decorated with balls. The façade
moves slightly to the left and its walls feature rectangular windows and
large fronted balconies. The side facades are more sober, with large
windows on the ground floor and a double row of neoclassical balconies on
the two upper floors.

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THE MAIN entrance is one of the most important architectural works of the
Spanish Renaissance. Its door opens into a semicircular arch supported by a
pilaster and a quarter-column with Renaissance candelieri work. The
entablature is decorated with winged lions among plants and above it, a
semicircular frontispiece decorated with facing dolphins, palm trees, and
standing incense burners. The interior tympanum depicts Cardinal Mendoza
kneeling before Saint Helena, discoverer of the Holy Cross.

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The central balcony is similar to the rest of the balconies on the main
façade, although more decorated. Above its triangular pediment there is an
empty clipeus and above this is the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs, in
which the lack of the pomegranate can be seen. To the left of this is the coat
of arms of the Mendoza lineage, and to the right is the coat of arms of the
Figueroa family. The entire cloth that occupies the cover is covered with
quilting, influenced by the Italian school.

The interior is accessed through a hall covered with a simple ribbed vault
supported by corbels located at the corners with Gothic decorations of
angels carrying coats of arms displaying the founder's arms. On the right
side, you enter the chapel and the sacristy through a pointed arch with a
wooden door decorated with flamboyant tracery. In the chapel, the altar is
presided over by a wooden crucifix, a masterpiece by Gregorio Fernández,
known as “El Cristo de la Luz” (163136).

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Cloister of the Santa Cruz Palace

From the entrance hall you can also reach the cloister, a model courtyard in
its proportions, consisting of three floors of arches with seven semicircular
arches raised on octagonal pillars. The cloister, although still

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It retains a certain Gothic character, giving a feeling of spaciousness and

proportion proper to the spirit of the Renaissance, the second floor's
parapets show Gothic decoration, and those of the last body present
kidney-shaped balusters, due to an 18th century renovation. The spandrels
of the arches are decorated with Jerusalem Crosses and shields of the
founder's family. A two-way staircase located in a corner of the cloister
connects the different floors. It is in neoclassical style and is accessed
through a doorway with a very beautiful Doric design, covered with a vault
with lunettes.

2nd STAGE: PURISM

As the decades passed, the influence of Gothic art diminished, leading to a more
refined and orthodox style from the point of view of classical forms. Purism is
characterized by greater decorative austerity, limited to a few specific elements,
generally of Greco-Roman inspiration. There was a certain weariness of the
Italianate decorative exuberance in the mid-16th century and buildings with a more
serene, harmonious and balanced appearance became more prevalent. Some
architects managed to recycle their late Gothic production to initiate themselves in
this new style: such is the case, for example, of Alonso de Covarrubias, Rodrigo Gil
de Hontañón and Pedro de Ibarra. In addition to the Meseta, where they developed
their work, an extraordinary center of Renaissance production was located in
Andalusia, where the figures of Diego de Siloé stand out (facade of the Cathedral of
Granada and Sacra Capilla del Salvador de Úbeda), Pedro Machuca (the most
decidedly classical, with his daring intervention in the Alhambra of Granada: the
Palace of Carlos

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V), Andrés de Vandelvira (cathedrals of Jaén and Baeza) and Diego de

Riaño (Seville City Hall).

The influence of Italian treatises, especially those of Sebastiano Serlio, has allowed
this period to be called the Serlian phase. It is very notable that Spain was the first
country to develop its own architectural literature within the Renaissance canons,
with Diego de Sagredo (Las Medidas del Romano, 1526).

PALACE OF CHARLES V:
1. ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS:
A) LOCATION:
The palace of Charles V of Granada, community
autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, is a Renaissance building located on
the Alhambra hill. Since 1958, it has been the home of the Granada Museum of Fine
Arts and, since 1994, it has also been the home of the Alhambra Museum.

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B) CHARACTERISTICS:

The palace's layout is made up of a square measuring 63 metres on each side with
a circular courtyard inscribed within it. This arrangement, the main Mannerist
feature of the palace, is unprecedented in Renaissance architecture, and places the
construction in what is considered the artistic avant-garde of the time. The building
consists of two levels: the ground floor is of the Tuscan order, completely
cushioned, with large decorated bronze rings inserted into the pilasters. The upper
floor is of the Ionic order and its pilasters alternate with lintelled openings with a
pediment. The two main facades have doorways made of Sierra Elvira stone. The
circular courtyard also shows two floors. The lower part is presided over by a Doric
colonnade of pudding stone with a very orthodox entablature, formed by triglyphs
and metopes with garland and bucranium motifs. The upper floor is formed by a
lighter Ionic colonnade with a smooth entablature. This general structure of the
courtyard shows a clear knowledge of Roman imperial architecture, and would be
classified as pure Renaissance if it were not for its curved layout, which causes
confusion in the viewer when entering through its main facades, and subordinates
the interior spaces and stairs to the generating idea. Later, Michelangelo and
Palladio would build buildings with similar solutions, under the label of mannerism.

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SECTIONAL DRAWING OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.

GRENADE

FLOOR PLAN:

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The palace is square, with a main façade measuring 63 metres wide by 17 metres
high. Its circular courtyard in the center stands out, unique in its style and the most
outstanding work of the Renaissance in Spain. Only the south and west facades are
fully decorated. The north and east only partially, because the building is connected
to the Alcazar of the Alhambra.
3rd STAGE: HERRERIAN:
In the mid-16th century, the initiation of the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
as a symbol of the power of Philip II of Spain by Juan Bautista de Toledo (died 1567)
and Juan de Herrera marked the emergence of a new style, characterized by the
predominance of constructive elements, the absence of decoration, straight lines
and cubic volumes. It also means the definitive triumph of the mannerist postulates
from Italy, with the contribution of Castilian sobriety.
This style, later named "Herrerian" in honour of Juan de Herrera, dominated Spanish
architecture for almost a century, and its followers include such important figures as
Francisco de Mora, Juan Gómez de Mora and Juan Gómez de Trasmonte.
The architectural and urban planning concepts of the Spanish Renaissance were
taken to the Spanish colonies in America, where they found fertile ground for their
dissemination given the extensive urbanization that took place over three centuries
and which was also impacted by later styles such as Baroque and Neoclassical.
Basilica of El Escorial:
I. Location:
The Basilica of El Escorial is a Catholic temple that is part of the Monastery of El
Escorial, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid, Spain.

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II. DISTRIBUTION SCHEME:

The church occupies the central part of the monastic complex, with access through
the Patio de los Reyes. After ascending a staircase that spans the entire façade, you
reach an atrium flanked by two towers. Next is what José de Sigüenza, chronicler of
the work, called "the small temple", a square space under the choir that was used
as a church for the faithful outside the monastery. From here, through an area that
acts as a second interior atrium, one enters the temple itself, at the back of which is
the main chapel that houses the altar. As an annex there is a sacristy.
The temple is a basilica in the liturgical sense, that is, due to the papal privilege
that allows it to hold this title; however, it is not one in the architectural sense, since
it does not have a basilica plan. It is a perfect square measuring 50 metres on each
side with four pillars arranged in a central position that give rise to the formation of
three naves in any direction. This centralized plan responded to the concept of
universal harmony that had existed since the 15th century and was reflected in
sacred places. However, construction of the monastery began in 1563, the same
year that the Council of Trent ended, at which it had been agreed that all churches
should have a Latin cross plan. To resolve this disagreement, the roof of the temple
was extended to the east, sheltering the main chapel, and to the west, covering the
choir and the atrium; in this way, the exterior appearance of a large nave was
given. In the same way,

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The central nave perpendicular to this axis was enhanced with a covering of the
same height as the previous one, forming the whole a perfect Latin cross that, in
reality, does not correspond to the plan of the temple.
Inside, in addition to the main chapel, there are two large chapels at the back of the
side naves and a large number of smaller chapels and niches in which there are
several altars. In the plan by Juan de Herrera (see image) the author numbers them
from 1 to 36, saying about them in the "Summary": "They are all altars that serve
within the Temple, and without them there is the main altar, and the two collateral
altars of the Relics marked LM And in the Oratories DD.EE there are two other
altars, and in the Sotachoro there are two other altars where Mass is said. There are
44 altars in total.

1. Presbytery. Below, the funerary pantheon

2. Rooms of Philip II
3. Dome mounted on pendentives
4. High chorus. Below, sotacoro or "small temple"
5. Atrium or narthex
6. Facade of the Patio de los Reyes
7. Towers
8. Stairs leading to the basilica
9. Cenotaph of Charles I
10. Cenotaph of Philip II

III. CONSTRUCTIVE ASPECTS:

The naves of the temple are covered by barrel vaults supported by transverse
arches. All this rests on the perimeter walls and on four thick central Doric
pillarshttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columna_(arquitectura), measuring 8 metres on each
side and 15.50 metres apart. The space they define, like a transept, is closed by a
circular drum supported by four pendentives; eight windows open into it, providing
natural light. It is covered by a dome measuring 17 metres in diameter topped by a
small cupola and, at its end, by a metal ball measuring 2 metres in diameter on
which a cross stands. The total height of the highest point of the cross taken in
relation to the church floor is 95 metres.
The "small temple" or sotacoro reproduces the shape of the main temple on a
reduced scale. With a square floor plan, it has four centred pillars

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that support a circular vault supported by pendentives (flat dome: circular, with
pendentives and its voussoirs and keystone). Since this space is below the choir and
is therefore low, the toral arches are not semicircular but basket-shaped, and the
vault is so low that it appears to be almost flat.
The entire work is made of granite ashlar. The flooring is made of white and grey
marble.

FACADE:

2. FRANCE:
France was the only major European country, apart from Italy, where buildings in
Renaissance forms were built before the 16th century. But even there no works
were seen until the end of the 15th century. The buildings of the first half of the
16th century were eminently Gothic in structure and had only classical details. This
ornamentation was applied without a proper understanding of classical forms; the

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buildings were mannerist. The Renaissance in France acquired its genuine and
architectural character under Francis I, from 1515 to 1547, and then continued in a
second stage of a purely classical aspect, especially during the reign of Henry II.
The early Renaissance in France preserved the structure of medieval architecture.
The facades were divided into tall, vertical sections by pilasters that framed the
windows and overlapped up to the crowning pinnacles and the lace crests that
crowned the skylights. The most commonly used elements of Italian architecture
were Bramante's rhythmic sections, the bas-relief ornamentation of arabesques and
medallions. But the overall composition was completely different. The Italian palace
features flat facades without protruding bodies, invisible roofs, terraces and large
cornices. In France it is quite the opposite, imposed by tradition and climate: the
facades are lively, with projections and recesses, towers, turrets and dormers, the
roofs are very high, bristling with chimneys and crests, the decoration is the new
clothing given to already resolved structural systems. French Renaissance buildings
tend to be more academic, less warm, less monumental, less plastic. The
Renaissance emerges like a spring sprout. Small flowers, plant decorations,
arabesques, grotesques, emblems or personal symbols, cartouches and medallions
in low and high relief embroidered the pilasters, capitals and entablatures. Small
columns appeared in the shape of candelabras, baluster columns turned as if they
were made of wood, square windows were divided into wide stone crosses, dormers
or mansards (a construction projecting from a sloping roof, protected by a small roof
and giving rise to a vertical window) constituted a unique element where Gothic
shone in its last, small flares.
Two groups of famous castles constitute the main examples of the architecture of
the time of Francis I, considered the first stage of the Renaissance in France: the
castles of the Loire and those of the Île-de-France. The Loire castles generally retain
a medieval silhouette due to the presence of all their defensive finery such as
towers, crenellations, battlements, dormers and ditches, which, by tradition, were
preserved for heraldic and decorative purposes.
In the many chateaux built in the early Renaissance in France, varying proportions
of medieval elements can be seen.

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Some are completely medieval in their layout and structure, but contain
classical details and ornamentation. The vaults are based on coffered
ceilings in the form of boxes or made of sculpted tiles, the intersection
points were decorated with rosettes or keystones. They used Corinthian
style entablatures with decorated cornices whose background is a shell.
They are still fortified, surrounded in many cases.
a moat or a lake and retain the picturesque French style of the roofs,
dormer windows and gables (a double-pitched roof that forms a triangular
top. Synonym: pinion or skirt). You can see a mixture of Gothic and
Renaissance styles.

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LOIRE CASTLE:
The name Loire castles (in French: Châteaux de la
Loire) includes a group of castles located in the middle and lower reaches of
the Loire River, in central France. They were mostly built or rebuilt during
the French Renaissance (15th–16th centuries), at a time when royal power
rested on or near the banks of the Loire River, or some of its tributaries
(Indre, Cher, Vienne, Maine and Loir).

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Chambord Castle
(1519-1547)

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The second period of Renaissance architecture determines classicism in

France. Architecture became theoretical and wise. The orders were directly
inspired by classical antiquity, the facades were sober, the attics were
crowned with pediments, the lines were simple and exact and the
“portholes” were characteristic. All the fresh, fine ornamentation was lost.
The most famous example of this style is the central courtyard and the new
west wing of the Louvre by Pierre Lescot. It is a measured and elegant work
of art with beautiful proportions, fine profiles and absolute harmony between
the sculpture and the construction elements. Logic and clarity are its
characteristics. There are three floors, treated as a single façade,
interrupted only by protruding gables. The layout is Italian but the treatment
is French. The Lescot façade is correctly classical in its proportions and
execution; it is not Italianate, as can be seen from the use of the Composite
and Corinthian orders, instead of the Doric and Ionic, and from the use of
pilasters throughout the elevation, reserving the columns only for the
pavilions of the frontispiece. The finishing touch, the crowning of the
building, is an example of grace and ingenuity, it is the solution of the
Mediterranean cornice with a Nordic roof. Of particular interest are the
exterior figures on the ground floor and the reliefs in the attics; also on the
exterior, the figures of caryatids in the galleries.
The castles no longer retained anything traditional. The pavilions were
squared instead of forming circular towers, the pilasters became projecting
and superimposed columns, stone chains reinforced corners and window
jambs, and the palatial appearance of the sumptuous, country room was
accentuated with greater unity. Philibert Delorme, considered the greatest
architect of the Renaissance in France, built, among other works, the
Tuileries, the Château d'Anet and part of the Château de Chenonceaux.
Delorme invented what is called the French order, that is, columns whose
shafts are lined with thick cushioned rings. The architecture of the second
period was a wise toning down of the Fontainebleau school in terms of
decorative profusion; classical cornices and frames emerged and wood was
sculpted with great richness of relief.

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The Louvre,
Paris

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3. ENGLAND:
The Renaissance arrived in England later than in France, and it arrived slowly;
the development of Renaissance construction in England was totally different
from that in Italy; it was only in the mid-16th century, in the Elizabethan era, that
new and defined architectural characteristics appeared, refreshing the Gothic
style, but not in temples or monuments, but in country houses. Henry VIII,
wishing to give his court a brilliance superior to that of other European courts,
initiated the Renaissance movement, however, Henry's break with Rome delayed
any possible change in style. It was the era of picturesque and charming wooden
buildings. The mansions and castles displayed marked features such as halls
entirely covered with small wooden panels, beautifully carved oak staircases
leading to high, visible galleries, the lighting of these sumptuous spaces thanks
to an immense stained glass window, and plaster ceilings with fine, dry designs.
The interplay of projections and recesses that enlivens the large façades covered
by leaded glass windows demonstrates the concern for a fundamental
renovation.

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Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

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Queen's House. Greenwich.

Longleat House, Wiltshire

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