Renaissance Architecture
St. Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica is the principal papal basilica in Vatican City, begun in 1506 under Pope Julius II and consecrated in 1626. Designed and completed by successive masters of the Renaissance and Baroque—including Bramante, Michelangelo, Maderno, and Bernini—it stands over the site traditionally venerated as the tomb of the Apostle Peter and forms the focal complex of St. Peter’s Square.
Villa Capra "La Rotonda"
Villa Capra "La Rotonda" is a 16th‑century hilltop villa just outside Vicenza, Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio for the cleric Paolo Almerico and completed after Palladio’s death by Vincenzo Scamozzi. Distinguished by its perfectly symmetrical plan with temple-front porticoes on all four sides and a domed central hall, it has exercised a profound influence on European and American architecture and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage property "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto."