Part of an accessibly written and generously illustrated series on architecture through the ages, this book features the Renaissance period's most important architects, buildings and cities, interior and exterior photographs, detailed images, and drawings and plans. The book offers a general introduction to the period and discusses the primary characteristics of the style, along with commonly used techniques and materials. Renaissance began in fifteenth-century Italy as an attempt to revive Rome's Golden Age. Its orderly use of columns, domes, arches, and entablatures recalls classic Roman architecture, but adapted for contemporary use in churches and urban dwellings. Some of the most recognizable Renaissance structures are the Chateau de Fontainebleau, the Ducal Palace at Urbino, England's Greenwich Hospital, and St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City.