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What was the effect of Renaissance on Italian architecture? What were the characteristics of Renaissance Architecture and how was it different from its predecessors? How did it influence the architectural style of Western Europe?

Romanesque Architecture To understand the ways in which Renaissance influenced architecture in the 15th century, we first of all need to need to look at the architectural style that prevailed before it and observe the changes it went through. In some regions of western Europe, the infusion of prevalent European architecture with Roman and Byzantine style led to the birth of Romanesque Architecture around 8th century. This style spread through whole of Europe over five centuries and eventually phased itself into Gothic architecture around 13th century. And so was the first architectural style to span the whole of Europe. A large number of castles and churches were built with this style of which the latter heavily outnumbered the former. As with all styles, some features were found all over Europe whereas some pertained to a certain region. Towers of various shapes such as square and octagonal, which rose to great heights were one of the most prominent features. Large and small arcades consisting of semi-circular arches and drum-like columns (or piers) in a repeating fashion dominated all Romanesque churches. Walls had a rough built and were massive so shallow buttresses were used to relieve

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the stress. Cross-vaulting using semi-circular arches were very common to give a four-part vaulting. The churches built were inspired by the model of a Roman basilica, which with the addition of new features led to the Latin cross ground plan. A well-known example is the Pisa Cathedral.

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Gothic Architecture There was no breakage, but rather a seamless transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, which came in to being around 11th century. This style which originated in the Ile de France region leaves behind the simple and massive structures associated with the Romanesque and substitutes it for complex, vertically imposing and slender attributes. Eastern European and Islamic influences are noticeable, but despite this Gothic style is remarkably different from the classical styles which preceded as well as succeeded it. It sets its roots deep within France and England but its spread can be seen in regions of Spain, Germany and Italy. It eventually declined near 15th century due to the onset of Renaissance architecture. This departure from classical style and symmetry was seen as grotesque and vulgar by architects in later stages and hence, termed it as Gothic (in reference to the German barbaric tribes).

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The most characteristic feature of Gothic is substitution of the semi-circular arch by the pointed arch. Because of its higher flexibility, it led to the further development of ribbed vaulting which combined pointed arches in a three dimensional space. Accompanied by flying buttresses, these features helped to reduce the stress on walls, piers and columns and channelled the thrust towards the earth. As a result, columns became slender and the necessity of walls for load-bearing was eliminated. Reduced necessity of walls resulted in large windows of painted glass, which depicted scenes from the Bible. With better support structures and design, the towers were more slender and could reach much greater heights than before. Constructive features were carved with decorative details such as that of angels, saints, demons etc. Most churches had imposing west facades to illustrate power. [2] Notable example is Westminster Abbey, London, England.

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Influences The Renaissance period refers to the resurgence in interest for ancient Greek and Latin culture in the 14th century, which altered the European society in terms of philosophy, politics and art. This movement took birth in the city of Florence, Italy and had numerous motives which led to its emergence. Ancient texts of Greek and Roman literature which had been present in the Byzantine Empire travelled to the west because of trade and migration. Accompanied by the development of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg in 1445, these texts were re-produced in great figures, became affordable and so were able to reach a larger audience. The most important classical text which had a profound impact on architectural style was the Treatise on Architecture by Vitruvius (a Roman architect from circa 27 BC), which inspired De Re Aedificatoria by Alberti and was published in 1485. The treatise gave information about the use of order, symmetry and proportion in ancient buildings. As ancient Roman buildings were still present in Italy, their architectural elements were studied and implemented. Many other books on architecture were published in 16th century. Artists and architects needed patronages to be able to continue with their work, which were amply provided by noble families and princes with the motive to gain prestige. One of the most famous patrons of art and architecture was the Medici family in Florence and they influenced Florentine art to a large extent and served as patrons to many famous artists which includes Leonardo Da Vinci The spread of Black Death in Europe had resulted in death of millions of people and by its end about onethird of the

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population had succumbed to this disease. Those who were able to survive the epidemic acquired the wealth left behind by these people. This newfound wealth helped people being much better off than before and so as to showcase their wealth, they started patronising arts and architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi was an artist who had developed the use of perspective in art. He travelled to Rome and studied the ancient Roman buildings and gained knowledge of their construction and architecture. Using the knowledge gained from his research and inspired by the Pantheon, he designed and undertook construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore from 1420-1436. This dome is said to be one of the first instances of Renaissance architecture. Characteristics The influence of Roman architecture had always been strong in Italy, such that the Gothic style with its tall spires and unsymmetrical nature never gained popularity and its presence was almost scarce. As many ancient buildings were still present in Rome and could be studied and analysed, it was in Italy that the new architectural style emerged. Renaissance was very well in motion when it started influencing architecture style, which is around early 15th century. A return to the study of classical buildings resulted in the use of proportion, order and symmetry as the chief elements that were used by architects to achieve aesthetical beauty. The Renaissance architecture style can be divided into three parts- Early Renaissance (15th century), High Renaissance (16th century) and Baroque (17th century).

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During Early Renaissance there is a breakage in existing architecture and an emergence of classical form that thrives in the area of Florence, as Rome didnt offer much development as it had just emerged from the Great Schism. Because of Savanarola, Florence lost its dominance and Florentine artists travelled to different places. Rome becomes the new breeding ground for artists and High Renaissance comes into being, which sees a stricter adherence to classical style. Baroque begins as the Church wishes to showcase its wealth and power to the people in an effort to suppress the Reformation movement. It breaks away from the existing simplicity and classic nature and moves towards complexity, grandeur and curved structures. There was a general use of columns and pilasters during this period, which were used for both decoration and structural support. They belonged to the following five OrdersTuscan, Doric, Composite, Corinthian and Ionic.

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The Corinthian order consisted of ornate carvings and was mostly used during Early Renaissance period and its use was initiated by Brunelleschi. An arcade of Corinthian columns and semi-circular arches can be found in the Foundling Hospital, Florence. Inspired by the Colosseum was Pallazo Rucellai in Florence and was designed to have different kinds of pilasters on each storey which influenced many other buildings of similar design. In later buildings, the Doric order with its simple features was much more common. The use of complex groin and rib vaults which was observed in Romanesque and Gothic declined and was substituted for the simple barrel vault which just used successive semicircular arches to create the vaulting. There is a departure from the use of high vertical towers and the traditional use of Latin cross plan for churches and a shift towards the Byzantine idea of centralization and horizontal character. As circle was seen as a geometrically supreme by mathematicians, so it came to be seen by the architects as the best way to represent god and thus the idea of centralization. Pazzi Chapel, Florence consists of centralized planning covered with vaults and a dome. Domes were a feature which had been absent from the Gothic and Romanesque styles and became a common feature after they made their return with Brunelleschis Duomo. With the developments of techniques such as a hoop to secure the base of the dome, the domes were built much bigger than any other built before. Domes built later on such as that of St. Peters used iron chains instead.
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The semi-circular arch had never been abandoned in Italy and it was used to surround windows and as a regular feature in arcades. The home of Lorenzo Medici that is Palazzo Riccardi, Florence by Michelozzi consists of many semicircular arches encompassing windows. This building also shows different kinds of masonry on each of its storeys with rusticated masonry on first followed by channelled and ashlar on second and third story respectively. A use of rusticated and ashlar masonry for walls was common during this period and the bricks were laid horizontally. Santa Maria del Fiore The construction of the cathedral began in 1296 and went on till 1462 but its faade was completed much later in 1887. It began under the guidance of Arnolfo di Cambio and continued by many others until Brunelleschi designed the dome atop it. As a result, the building shows a unique blend of Gothic and Renaissance style while its faade indicates Byzantine influence. The church has the traditional Latin cross plan, which was very common during the medieval era. Gothic elements such as the pointed arch and rib vaults can be observed but the characteristic tall spires and flying buttresses are absent.

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The area where the nave and transept intersect is a huge octagon and it is over this that the dome has been set. Domes were of the most important characteristic feature of

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Renaissance style and were inspired by the large concrete dome of the Pantheon. But instead of having a concrete dome for the Duomo, timber was chosen for its light weight. Brunelleschi chose an octagonal dome with an oval shape rather than a hemispherical one due to its better strength and stability. The dome was made as to have two shells and used a rib structure. And so as to stabilise it and prevent it from splinting, an iron hoop was used at the base. And three smaller support domes were constructed to reduce the stress. And finally, a huge lantern was placed at the top. After its construction, it replaced the Pantheon to be the largest dome in the whole of Europe. The exterior of the church uses a lot of marble panelling as a great amount of white and coloured marble was available from the regions of Tuscany and Fiesole. St. Peters Basilica The old St. Peter built around the time of Constantine had been a simple church of basilican style and was brought down. In 1505, Pope Julius II wished to erect a magnificent tomb for himself which eventually evolved into the early plans of modern day St. Peter. Its construction reached completion in 1626. The initial design was by Bramante who wished to use purely classical Roman characteristics. His design was that of a symmetrical church with four arms of equal length to form a Greek cross and a dome above the crossing and four smaller domes by its side between the axes. The dome was supposed to be hemispherical and it too was inspired by the Pantheon. Bramante wished to keep the elements as classical as possible

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and wanted to build the dome upon a system of arches and piers, which was adapted from the system used in Basilica of Maxentius. Bramante died around 1514 and was unable to execute his plans wholly. Michel Angelo followed after a few decades of Bramantes death. He used a system of buttressing and made the dome such as to have two shells arising from a single mass of concrete. He departed from the hemisphere in favour of an egg shaped dome surmounted by a lantern similar to the Florence cathedral. Even though it was inspired by antiquity, St. Peter completely departed from ancient smaller scales of construction and is built on a massive scale. The dome is much higher than that of Pantheon and supported by four massive piers. Pilasters of Corinthian order have been used in the nave and the exterior and reach a huge height of around 25.5-27.5 m. During the baroque period, Carlo Maderna extended the nave of the church to create a resemblance to the Latin cross instead of the Greek cross. And Bernini designed the two circular arms a few years later and created the modern day St. Peters square. Spread in Western Europe In 1494, Charles VIII invaded Italy laid his claim on Kingdom of Naples and it was then he came upon the Renaissance and its art forms. When later on he was forced to withdraw, he returned to France and introduced the new architectural style. Similar encounters of Francis I and Louis XII with Italy further encouraged it. Thus artists were brought from Italy to develop Renaissance architecture in France. Initially, there was a blend of existing Gothic culture with new one and contained both of its characteristics with

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an inclination towards Gothic such as verticality and elaborate carvings. Most new buildings that were built were secular such as castles as a lot of churches had been built during the medieval era. Later on, the Baroque character was well adopted as the church wished to show its dominance during Reformation. Palais de Versailles is a well-known example as the place where Treaty of Versailles was signed. Renaissance style in Germany came about half a century later than France. But the conflict between the Protestants and Catholics didnt allow faster development in architecture. In the early phase, there was a fusion of Gothic and Renaissance principles and as it progressed the Gothic character phased out. But the Baroque never gained popularity in Germany as it was a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church. Rathhaus Portico in Cologne has Gothic rib structure and also consists of Corinthian order and semicircular arch. Renaissance architecture influenced England much later in 16th century. As in France, here too a great many churches had been built during medieval era and so most new buildings were secular. Being a Protestant country, it was not a fertile ground for Baroque. St. Pauls cathedral in London shows several renaissance elements such as dome and Roman orders. In regions of Spain, Renaissance elements began to appear around late 15th century. Spain was the only country which showed a unique blend of Renaissance and Gothic elements with Moorish work. Also because of its vast colonial wealth, there was a great use of expensive metals in its buildings. Baroque style gained an impetus in Spain and thrived.

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Sources 1. Fletcher, Banister, A History Of Architecture On The Comparative Method (1954, London, B.T.Batsford Ltd.) 2. Fletcher, Banister, A History Of Architecture, revised by J.C. Palmes. (1986, Delhi, CBS Publishers and Distributors) 3. Richardson, A.E, The Art of Architecture (1952, London, English Universities Press Ltd.) 4. Moore, Charles Herbert, Character Of Renaissance Architecture Company) ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/33485846/Characterof-renaissance-architecture ) 5. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org 6. www.about.com (1905, New York, The Macmillan

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Image sources [1]. vsorinel.blogspot.com [2]. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/ Westminster.abbey.westfront.london.arp.jpg [3]. www.brittanica.com

[4]. http://www.scribd.com/doc/33485846/Character-ofrenaissance-architecture [5]. http://images.visititaly.com/App_Images/Blog/5c3d11d11a2f-4804-ba85-5b6e5f4f26e4.jpg