1400 to 1600 — Renaissance

Villa Rotonda (Villa Almerico-Capra), near Venice, Italy, 1566-1590, Andrea

Palladio. Massimo Maria Canevarolo via Wikimedia Commons, Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A return to Classical ideas ushered an "age of awakening" in Italy, France, and
England. During the Renaissance era architects and builders were inspired by the
carefully proportioned buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. Italian
Renaissance master Andrea Palladio helped awaken a passion for classical
architecture when he designed beautiful, highly symmetrical villas such as Villa
Rotonda near Venice, Italy.
More than 1,500 years after the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote his important
book, the Renaissance architect Giacomo da Vignola outlined Vitruvius's ideas.
Published in 1563, Vignola's The Five Orders of Architecture became a guide for
builders throughout western Europe. In 1570, Andrea Palladio used the new
technology of movable type to publish I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, or The
Four Books of Architecture. In this book, Palladio showed how Classical rules
could be used not just for grand temples but also for private villas.
Palladio's ideas did not imitate the Classical order of architecture but his designs
were in the manner of ancient designs. The work of the Renaissance masters
spread across Europe, and long after the era ended, architects in the Western
world would find inspiration in the beautifully proportioned architecture of the
period. In the United States its descendant designs have been called neoclassical.

1600 to 1830 — Baroque

The Baroque Palace of Versailles in France. Loop Images Tiara
Anggamulia/Getty Images (cropped)
Early in the 1600s, an elaborate new architectural style lavished buildings. What
became known as Baroque was characterized by complex shapes, extravagant
ornaments, opulent paintings, and bold contrasts.
In Italy, the Baroque style is reflected in opulent and dramatic churches with
irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation. In France, the highly
ornamented Baroque style combines with Classical restraint. Russian aristocrats
were impressed by the Palace of Versailles, France and incorporated Baroque
ideas in the building of St. Petersburg. Elements of the elaborate Baroque style
are found throughout Europe.
Architecture was only one expression of the Baroque style. In music, famous
names included Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi. In the art world, Caravaggio, Bernini,
Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Velázquez are remembered. Famous
inventors and scientists of the day include Blaise Pascal and Isaac Newton.