Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Renaissance
Florence, rather than Rome, is generally regarded as Italy's great Renaissance city. But
while many of the movement's early architects hailed from Tuscany, the city they turned to
for inspiration was Rome. The Eternal City might have been in pretty poor nick in the late
15th century, but as the centre of classical antiquity it was much revered by budding archi-
tects; a trip to study the Colosseum and the Pantheon was considered a fundamental part of
an architect's training.
One of the key aspects they studied, and which informs much Renaissance architecture,
is the idea of harmony. This is achieved, or sought, by the application of symmetry, order
and proportion. To this end many Renaissance buildings incorporate structural features
copied from the ancients - columns, pilasters, arches and, most dramatically, domes. The
Pantheon's dome, in particular, proved immensely influential, serving as a blueprint for
many later works.
Designed by Paolo Portoghesi, Rome's postmodernist mosque is one of Europe's largest. Its critically ac-
claimed design is centred on a beautiful, luminous interior capped by a cupola and 16 surrounding domes.
Early Years
It's impossible to pinpoint the exact year the Renaissance arrived in Rome, but many claim
it was the election of Pope Nicholas V in 1447 that sparked the artistic and architectural
furore that swept the city in the next century or so. Nicholas believed that as head of the
Christian world Rome had a duty to impress, a theory that was eagerly taken up by his suc-
cessors, and it was at the behest of the great papal dynasties − the Barberini, Farnese and
Pamphilj - that the leading artists of the day were summoned to Rome.
The Venetian Pope Paul II (r 1464−71) commissioned many works, including Palazzo
Venezia, Rome's first great Renaissance
palazzo
. Built in 1455, when Paul was still a car-
dinal, it was enlarged in 1464 when he became pope. Sixtus IV (r 1471−84) had the Sistine
Chapel built and enlarged the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo.
High Renaissance
It was under Pope Julius II (1503−13) that the Roman Renaissance reached its peak, thanks
largely to a classically minded architect from Milan, Donato Bramante (1444−1514).
