Outside of Florence, Alberti designed two churches in Mantua. Our example
shows one of these, Sant’ Andrea, designed in 1470 but built after Alberti’s
death. Here, Alberti has produced a great temple, with deep roots in the
imperial Roman architectural tradition. The tripartite façade is derived
directly from the Roman triumphal arch. Compare the Sant’ Andrea façade
and the Arch of Titus (81 A.D.). Instead of the attic story on the Roman arch,
Alberti tops his façade with a temple gable. Our example shows the Sant’
Andrea nave. Its barrel-vaulted single nave and its transverse barrel-vaulted
chapels are borrowed from the Basilica of Constantine in Rome (c. 310–
320 A.D.). This church became one of the most inÀ uential models for later
churches, from Bramante and Michelangelo’s new St. Peter’s in Rome to
well into the 17th and 18th centuries. Alberti is one of the seminal ¿ gures in
Renaissance culture because of his architecture and because of his writings
on art and architectural theory and practice. Ŷ
Leon Battista Alberti:
Church of S. Andrea, begun 1470, Mantua, Italy.
Church of Sta. Maria Novella, 1458–70, Florence, Italy.
Palazzo Rucellai, c. 1452–70, Florence, Italy.
Self-Portrait, 1435, bronze medallion, 8 x 5 ½» (20.3 x 13 cm),
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France.Filippo Brunelleschi:
Cathedral of Sta. Maria del Fiore (Duomo), Florence, Italy.
Church of S. Lorenzo, begun 1419, Florence, Italy.
Ospedale degli Innocenti (Foundling Hospital), 1419–24, Piazza SS.
Annunziata, Florence, Italy.
Pazzi Chapel, c. 1440–61, Church of Sta. Croce, Florence, Italy.Works Discussed