It was created by the 3rd Earl of Burlington, who was inspired by 16th-century Italian architects, most notably Andrea Palladio, who attempted to replicate the type of villa that would have been found in ancient Rome.
Burlington acquired vast amounts of land in England and Ireland, and built himself a magnificent country house, which he named "Quarendon". He planted gardens at Quarendon filled with exotics from around the world and constructed canals and bridges over them. The result was a new type of country house that came to be known as "Georgian".
Although Burlington was not trained as an architect, his influence on British architecture was enormous. His plans were published widely and many other architects took notes from them; for example, James Stuart designed several houses in accordance with those of Burlington. In addition, the Italianate style emerged from efforts to copy aspects of Roman buildings such as porticos and temples.
Burlington was also responsible for introducing French garden designs into England. Prior to this time, English gardens had been flat areas with some trees here and there. But at Quarendon, Burlington created two large formal gardens, one representing a scene from classical mythology and the other a view from a mountain top. These examples of French gardening style soon became popular everywhere in Europe.
The spirit of the Renaissance greatly inspired Italian architecture. Many churches, palaces, and gigantic structures were built during this period in the style and pattern of ancient Greece and Rome. These buildings displayed an unprecedented degree of freedom of design and use of materials. The power of the Italian state at that time allowed for many projects to be completed successfully.
There was one major setback for Italian architecture during the Renaissance: many great builders died young. Michelangelo Buonarroti was only 46 when he died. Raphael Sanzio was only 42. They were both genius artists who left their unique styles that can still be seen in modern buildings. But because they were not successful businessmen, they had to rely on patrons for support. Both men were hired by the Pope to decorate various rooms in the Vatican Palace and elsewhere. Despite these hardships, several famous architects emerged during this time in Italy, including Raffaello Sanzio, Antonio Sangiorgio, Andrea Palladio, Giacomo Barabino de' Cocci, and Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
The Renaissance influenced European architecture through works such as Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Michelangelo's David. These structures showed how art could make people feel proud of their country and help them see it from a new perspective.
Along with prehistoric architecture, the Greeks and Etruscans were the first people in Italy to actually establish a succession of styles. The Etruscans were the architects who led the way in Northern and Central Italy at the period. Etruscan structures were built of brick and wood... along with some stone elements now lost to time. They used wooden beams in their buildings, which later gave rise to the term "wooden overshot door". The Greeks came after the Etruscans and they too used wood but also marble and stone as well. They established colonies all over the Mediterranean Sea coast and among these were Padua, Ardea, Sorrento, Rhegium (Reggio Calabria), Cuma (Cumae), Massilia (Marseille), Metapontum (Metaponto) and Levico (Lezignano). Some historians believe that these cities may have been inspired by Greek culture and not the other way around.
The Romans came next and they too used wood for their buildings but only marble was available so they used it instead. They also used concrete in some of their projects which is another form of cement. The word we use today for concrete comes from the Latin word for clay - calcareous - because it was originally made of limestone mixed with water and sand. The Romans were interested in building both large and small structures using wood as a main material.
The Santa Susanna church, erected in the Baroque architectural style, was one of the earliest structures completed in Rome. Caserta Palace was Europe's largest 18th-century edifice, and it was the penultimate example of Baroque architecture in Italy. Baroque architecture was brought to Malta in the 17th century. The most important early architect was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1598-1669). His son Vittorio Amedeo (1671-1764) continued his work.
Bologna is known as the city of churches because of its large number of baroque buildings. One of them is the San Petronio church, which has a unique structure consisting of an elliptical nave without a transept or aisles. It was built between 1613 and 1631 by Giacomo Benttignoli who had been commissioned by the Petrucci family, wealthy merchants from Bologna. The interior of the church is decorated with paintings by Luca Signorelli and others.
Venice has more than its fair share of baroque buildings including the Venice International University, the Palazzo Mocenigo, and the Redentore church. The former two are examples of classic Venetian architecture while the latter is a Gothic structure with Renaissance additions. All three were built during the period 1580-1640.
Caserta Palace is an extravagant building located just outside Naples.
Italy was also widely recognized for several rather avant-garde architecture in the mid-nineteenth century. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, completed in 1865, was Italy's first iron, glass, and steel structure and the world's oldest purpose-built retail gallery, influencing the Galleria Umberto I in Naples. Two other notable buildings are Giuseppe Piermarini's Teatro San Carlo in Naples, which opened in 1816, and Antonio Canevacci Janzé's Palazzo di Propaganda Fide on Rome's Via Veneto, built between 1854 and 1858.
In addition to these structures, Italy at the time was also known for its paintings. Especially in Venice there were many artists who painted allegories of music, dance, and love. These paintings can be seen in the Museo del Violino in Venice.
Another famous artist from this time period is Michelangelo. He lived from 1475 to 1564. His works include the David inside the Duomo in Florence and the Moses inside the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
Michelangelo was a great innovator in art history because he introduced new techniques into painting that later artists used themselves. For example, he is considered the first true painter because he was the first one to use oil paint instead of fresco (which is a type of mural painting).
Garden of the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden that emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landscape beyond, contemplation, and enjoyment of the sights, sounds, and smells. It replaced the medieval herbaceous border as the preferred method of cultivating plants for display in the home.
The Italian Renaissance garden was not just another formal garden with rows of vegetables or flowers. It included many elements found in no other garden before or since. The owner of the house could choose which plants to include in his garden, so some gardens were much more interesting than others. Even within the same garden, different areas might have been created by specialists who knew what would grow well in which conditions. A garden could also be modified over time to meet changing tastes or reflect the owners' interests.
In Rome, one-third of the city is made up of churches and other religious buildings, so the artists and scientists of Europe went there to see what plants grew in the great heat and dryness of the Roman climate. They returned with ideas about how to grow exotic plants in their own countries, often taking seeds or cuttings with them when they left Italy.
Flowers were used in cooking too!
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