Academic Year 2025 – 2026
History of Architecture
Prof.ssa Sara Bova (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
2024/2025 - MS Teams Class | 2025/26
Timetable
Renaissance Rome. From Alberti to Michelangelo
Important in order to get a general idea of the subject, the students are expected to read the following book
Wittkower Rudolf, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. 1st American Edition, New York: Random House, 1965 (several editions starting from 1949).
Week 1
Important: The first lecture, originally scheduled for Wednesday 8th April, has been postponed to Thursday 9th April. That same afternoon, the first course visit will take place (see below).
Lecture 1 | Thursday, 9th April 2026, 8 am – 11 am | Tor Vergata, T33
Introduction to the course
Main objectives, and explanation of the written exam assignment and of the oral examination criteria | 30 m
Early Renaissance architecture in Florence: a general outline
This section of the lecture focuses mainly on Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Michelozzo and the rise of a novel architectural system | 1 h
Rome and Leon Battista Alberti (1432-1472)
This section of the lecture deals with the conditions of Rome in the early 15th century and how the presence of the humanist and architect Leon Battista Alberti favored the start of a change | 1h 30 m
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 13-26, 31-48, 51-54.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 26-86.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 13-24, 35-44, 55-58.
Additional selected references
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 39-47.
C.W. Westfall, “Alberti and the Vatican Palace type”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 33 1974, 2, pp. 101-121.
Visit 1 | Thursday, 9th April 2026, 1 pm – 4 pm | Meeting point: main courtyard of the ViVe Museum, freely accessible either from via del Plebiscito or from piazza San Marco
The main Roman palaces of the 15th century: Palazzo Venezia and Palazzo della Cancelleria
How did patricians live in early-Renaissance Rome? The path will show the characteristics of the Rome’s Palace Type and its evolution leading us form the mid-15th to the early 16th century.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 45-47.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 51-53.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 69-71, 71-73.
Additional selected references
M.D. Davis, “‘Opus isodomum’ at the Palazzo della Cancelleria: Vitruvian studies and archeological and antiquarian interests at the Court of Raffaele Riario”, in Roma, centro ideale della cultura dell’Antico nei secoli XV e XVI: da Martino V al Sacco di Roma 1417-1527, convegno internazionale di studi (Roma, 25-30 novembre 1985), a cura di Silvia Danesi Squarzina, Milano 1989, pp. 442-457.
T. Magnuson, Studies in Roman Quattrocento Architecture, Stockholm 1958. pp. 245-296.
Week 2
Lecture 2 | Wednesday, 15th April 2026, 8 am – 11 am | Tor Vergata, T23B
Rome and other humanistic centers in the late 15th century
Florence, Pienza, Urbino, Mantova | 1 h 30 m
Rome under the papacies of Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII and Alexander VI | 1 h 30 m
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 47-50.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 54-70, 91-98.
L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, introduction and notes by P. Davies, New Haven 1996 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 58-85.
Additional selected references
T. Magnuson, Studies in Roman Quattrocento Architecture, Stockholm 1958, pp. 297-340.
Lecture 3 | Thursday, 16th April 2026, 8 am – 11 am | Tor Vergata, T33
Renaissance Architectural Theory
Which were the theoretical sources adopted by architect and artists for architectural design? Among the treatise analyzed, particular attention will be paid to the following works:
a. De architectura by Vitruvius
b. De re aredificatoria by Leon Battista Alberti
c. 16th century editions of Vitruvius’ De architectura: Fra’ Giocondo’s and Cesare Cesariano’s works
d. Novel architectural treatises: Serlio’s, Vignola’s and Palladio’s works
Bibliography
Architectural theory: pioneering texts on architecture from the Renaissance to today, vol. 1, Köln 2022, pp. 22-27, 60-95, 110-117.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 188-190.
Additional selected references
M. Carpo, Architecture in the age of printing: orality, writing, typography, and printed images in the history of architectural theory, Cambridge (Mass.) 2001, pp. 16-22, 42-56, 103-109, 119-124.
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 33-40, 147-157, 263-286.
Week 3
Lecture 4| Wednesday, 22nd April 2026, 8 am – 11 am | Tor Vergata, T23B
Rome in the age of pope Julius II: Donato Bramante’s architectural works
This lecture will provide a comprehensive overview of the architectural and artistic achievements of early 16th-century Rome, with a particular emphasis on the pivotal role played by Bramante.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 99-112.
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 50-54.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 114-159.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 11-25.
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, “The Belvedere as a classical villa”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 14 1951, pp. 70-91.
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 225-246.
Visit 2 | Thursday, 23rd April 2026, 9 am – 12 pm | Meeting point: Piazza di S. Pietro in Montorio, 2, 00153 Roma RM
Bramante’s Rome
The visit path includes the following places: the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio, via Giulia, the rests of the Palazzo dei Tribunali and the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace. Along the path we are also getting some preview of Raphael’s and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger’s works: respectively, Palazzo Alberini and the Mint Palace.
Bibliography
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 125-126, 149-157, 164-166, 176-187.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 11-12, 13, 35-37, 49-51, 57-60.
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael as Architect”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 116 1968, pp. 388-409.
Additional selected references
A. Bruschi, Bramante, London 1977, pp. 71-85, 129-143.
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael, Rome, and the Codex Escurialensis”, Master drawings, 15 1977, pp. 107-146.
Week 4
Lecture 5| Wednesday, 29th April 2026, 8am – 11 am | Tor Vergata, T23B
Rome from Bramante’s death to the Sack of Rome (1513-1527): Raphael and his legacy
The aim of the lecture is to discuss the role of Raphael as an architect, comparing his works to Bramante’s, as well as to the ones realized by other important artists he worked with, such as Baldassarre Peruzzi, Giulio Romano and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 55-60.
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 115-125.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 27-34, 35-39, 45-60.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 159-176, 180-187, 188-190.
Additional selected references
J. Onians, Bearers of meaning: the classical orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, Princeton (NJ) 1988, pp. 247-262.
J.K.G. Shearman, “The Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo”, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 24 1961, pp. 129-160.
Visit 3 | Thursday, 30th April 2026, 9 am – 12 pm | Meeting point: Piazza della Città Leonina (close to Piazza San Pietro)
A walk through 16th century Rome: Roman ruins and ‘novel antiquities’
The visit path includes the following places: Palazzo di Iacopo da Brescia, Palazzo Alberini, Cesi Chapel in San Giacomo degli Spagnoli (now, Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore), Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, Palazzo Farnese
Bibliography
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael as Architect”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 116 1968, pp. 388-409.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 164-166, 176-187.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 35-37, 49-51, 57-60.
Additional selected references
J.K.G. Shearman, “Raphael, Rome, and the Codex Escurialensis”, Master drawings, 15 1977, pp. 107-146.
Week 5
Lecture 6 | Wednesday, 6th May 2026, 8 am – 11 pm | Tor Vergata: T23B
Michelangelo’s Rome: challenging Vitruvianism (1534-1564)
The purpose of the lecture is to trace the main characteristics of Michelangelo’s architecture, discussing how it diverges from the Vitruvian canon, which had been philologically applied by most of his contemporaries.
Bibliography
C.L. Frommel, The architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London 2007, pp. 135-144, 171-184.
C.L. Frommel, “Papal policy: the planning of Rome during the Renaissance”, in Art and history: images and their meaning, ed. by Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, Cambridge 1988, pp. 39-65: 60-65.
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 89-106.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 209-297 (in particular, pp. 209-227, 260-274).
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, The architecture of Michelangelo, London 1995 (1st ed. 1961), pp. 25-36, 37-52, 171-192, 193-220, 260-268.
Week 5
Visit 4 | Thursday, 7th May 2026, 9 am – 12 pm | Meeting point: at the end of the via XX Settembre, close to the Aurelian Walls
Michelangelo’s Rome
The visit path includes the following places: Porta Pia, the Sforza Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, the Capitolium.
Bibliography
W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600, introduction and notes by D. Howard, New Haven 1995 (1st ed. 1974), pp. 94-97, 103-104.
D. Hemsoll, Emulating Antiquity: Renaissance buildings from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo, New Haven-London 2019, pp. 275-297.
Additional selected references
J.S. Ackerman, The architecture of Michelangelo, London 1995 (1st ed. 1961), pp. 136-170, 221-242, 243-259).