Architectural styles: Renaissance

Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts, as demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity and in particular ancient Roman architecture, of which many examples remained. Orderly arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and aediculae replaced the more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.

Examples of renaissance architecture: Kalmar castle (pictured), Vadstena castle, Gripsholm castle, Örebro castle, Ekenäs castle, Malmöhus castle

Photo: Kateryna Baiduzha, Wikimedia Commons