Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Attention turns from height to the horizontal lines of a building. Churches are designed
with a stand-alone
campanile
(bell tower) and baptistry.
13th & 14th Century Gothic
Northern European Gothic gets an Italian makeover, from the Arabesque spice of Venice's
Cá d'Oro to the Romanesque flavour of Siena's cathedral.
Late 14th-15th Century Early Renaissance
Filippo Brunelleschi's elegant dome graces the Duomo in Florence, heralding a return to
classicism and a bold new era of humanist thinking and rational, elegant design.
15th & 16th Century High Renaissance
Rome ousts Florence from its status as the centre of the Renaissance, its newly created
wonders including Il Tempietto and St Peter's Basilica.
Late 16th-Early 18th Century Baroque
Renaissance restraint gives way to theatrical flourishes and sensual curves as the Catholic
Church uses spectacle to upstage the Protestant movement.
Mid-18th-Late 19th Century Neoclassical
Archaeologists rediscover the glories of Pompeii and Herculaneum and architects pay trib-
ute in creations like Vicenza's La Rotonda and Naples' Villa Pignatelli.
19th Century Industrial
A newly unified Italy fuses industrial technology, consumer culture and ecclesial traditions
in Milan's cathedral-like Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Naples' Galleria Umberto I.
Late 19th-Early 20th Century Liberty
Italy's art nouveau ditches classical linearity for whimsical curves and organic motifs.
Early-Mid- 20th Century Modernism
Italian modernism takes the form of futurism (technology-obsessed and anti-historical) and
rationalism (seeking a middle ground between a machine-driven utopia and Fascism's fet-
ish for classicism).
Mid-Late 20th Century Modern
Industrialised and economically booming, mid-century Italy shows off its wealth in com-
mercial projects like Giò Ponti's slim-lined Pirelli skyscraper.
21st Century Contemporary
