Viking Cruises

42 | Viking Explorer Society News RENAISSANCE BAROQUE (+/-1450 –1600 AD) In the 15th century, Florence gave birth to the Renaissance as well as Renaissance architecture—a new, clean-lined and simpler style. This architectural direction resulted from a renewed interest in ancient Greece and Rome, surviving Roman ruins, and a desire to return to classicism. Architect/engineer Filippo Brunelleschi was one of its early pioneers, supported by the patronage and wealth of the Medici family. Buildings possessed an elegance created by symmetry and geometric plans. Columns and pilasters—rectangular piers semi-embedded in the walls—were used generously, often to support triangular pediments that reflected the classic architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. Domes, arches and sculpture-filled niches were also characteristic. Italy contains some of the best examples of this style, including Florence Cathedral, for which Brunelleschi engineered a groundbreaking dome, and the Palazzo Medici. (+/-1550 –1775 AD) The Baroque built on the Renaissance architectural elements, but emphasised movement and theatrical embellishment. This excess was embraced by painters as well as architects in reaction to the austerity of the Protestant Reformation. Baroque works sought to move the emotions through dramatic lighting, opulent colour and heavy ornamentation in plaster, stucco and marble, often with faux finishes. Scrolls, twisted columns, grand stairways and plaster ribbons emphasised visual movement. Interior rooms were ornamented with paintings, sculptures and elaborate stucco details. Most Baroque structures were royal palaces or churches; striking examples include Germany's Würzburg Residence and Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles. NEOCLASSICISM (+/-1775–1875 AD) The ornate, visual complexity of Baroque and Rococo prompted a return to the simpler lines of classic and ancient Greek architecture. In England, the movement was inspired by excavations at Pompeii; the Grand Tour, which was de rigueur for Britain's upper class at the time; and the work of architects William Chambers and Robert Adam. The style made use of columns, symmetry, triangular pediments, and domed roofs. The three-dimensional, exuberant decoration of the Baroque and Rococo was abandoned for a focus on flat, exterior planes. Neoclassicism in architecture was adopted internationally, and examples can be seen as far away as Washington, DC, where many of the government buildings follow this style, and in Germany with Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. Columns may be functional—carrying the weight of a building's structure—or purely decorative. All civilisations since the Iron Age have used these. There are three main classical Greek foundational styles and two Roman; here is how to tell the different styles apart. The oldest, simplest style, originating in Greece. Greek columns with elaborate scroll and flower decoration. COLUMNS DORIC CORINTHIAN MUST SEE: Lincoln Memorial, USA MUST SEE: The Pantheon, Rome. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Florence, Italy Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy

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