Features of Renaissance buildings include the use of the classical orders and mathematically precise ratios of height and width combined with a desire for symmetry, proportion, and harmony. Columns, pediments, arches and domes are imaginatively used in buildings of all types.

(1) A reverent revival of Classical Greek/Roman art forms and styles; (2) A faith in the nobility of Man (Humanism); (3) The mastery of illusionistic painting techniques, maximizing ‘depth’ in a picture, including: linear perspective, foreshortening and, later, quadratura; and (4) The naturalistic realism of its faces …

An equally important feature of Renaissance art was its naturalism. In sculpture, this was evident in the increase of contemporary subjects, together with a more naturalistic handling of proportions, drapery, anatomy, and perspective. A third feature was the reemergence of classical subjects and forms.

What was a prevailing characteristic of Renaissance architecture? The buildings were characterized by Roman architectural features such as domes, rounded barrel vaults, and semicircular arches. However, when this form was translated through the Byzantine filter, the overall look was solid and heavy.

The primary features of 16th century structures, which fused classical Roman technique with Renaissance aesthetics , were based in several foundational architectural concepts: facades, columns and pilasters , arches , vaults , domes , windows, and walls.

As in the Classical period, proportion was the most important factor of beauty; Renaissance architects found a harmony between human proportions and buildings. This concern for proportion resulted in clear, easily comprehended space and mass, which distinguishes the Renaissance style from the more complex Gothic.

The characteristics that distinguish a work of architecture from other built structures are (1) the suitability of the work to use by human beings in general and the adaptability of it to particular human activities, (2) the stability and permanence of the work’s construction, and (3) the communication of experience …

Renaissance architecture is often described as rational, structured and mathematical. For example, the Roman architectural rule that a semi-circular arch have a width that is exactly twice its height. At first this may appear to be logical but it places artificial constraints on designs in the search of simplistic mathematical uniformity.

In some cases, small windows are used strategically to produce dramatic streams of light into a large space. This could also be viewed as a reaction against Gothic architecture that pursued very large windows as a primary design goal.

The Renaissance style deliberately eschewed the complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of Gothic structures. Instead, Renaissance architects placed emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry, and regularity of parts as demonstrated in classical Roman architecture.

Two examples of these Italian Renaissance buildings are the Laurentian Library built by the Medici family and the Hospital of Innocents designed by Brunelleschi. A detail of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (‘Hospital of Innocents’), designed by Brunelleschi, 1419 to 1445; Giacomo Augusto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons