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Ancient Roman Architecture And Humanism

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The time of the Renaissance was a period when old ideas and techniques were brought back to the surface. Ancient Rome helped frame architecture in the Early Renaissance, in comparison will be discussing three buildings in Italy that were influenced by classical heritage.

I will discuss is a town house identified as the Palazzo Rucellai, built by Leon Battista Alberti in Florence, Italy. Alberti was known to be a humanist, which was a belief that Greeks and Romans practiced. (Dr. Beth Harris and David Zucker “Alberti, Palazzo Rucellai”). It was believed that humans and their lives were more, or just as important as the Gods. Humanists also believed that God(s) made humans with a specific talent. According to the dictionary Humanism sparked interest in a system in which human interests, values, and dignity were becoming a central motif for artisans. This building was an important commission that Alberti had completed for a wealthy merchant family known as the Rucellais, and was built after the wealthy Medici family built their palazzo. According to Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, Alberti wrote multiple books. One of those books was titled The Architecture of Leon Battista Alberti Ten Books on Architecture, and was considered the most important book of architecture after the famous Ten Books on Architecture written by the ancient Roman Vitruvius. Using Vitruvius vocabulary of ancient Roman architecture, Alberti used it in a self-conscious way to proclaim its

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