"A sculptor and a goldsmith; in 1401, Brunelleschi was one of the contestants in the framed sculpture competition for a new bronze door for the Florence Baptistery-1. Much more then a talented sculptor that had interest in architecture, he had a genius for mechanical engineering, hydraulics, mathematics and other scientific and technological analysis. His best-known work was his final inspiration for a great dome, an idea that he acquired from attentive studies of the cupola of the Pantheon. "From 1409 onwards, Filippo Brunelleschi worked on the construction of Santa Maria del Fiore and was immediately attracted by the problem of the cupola (Pic. #1); his design won the competition in 1418 and in 1423 he was put in complete charge of the building construction.""2 The completion of this important construction, carried out with a special technique that made it possible to create the curves of the huge cupola without a supporting framework, took most of his life and formed the basis of Renaissance architecture (Pic. #2).
Stemming off the Renaissance era the Baroque period emerged in both Rome and Paris shortly after the 1600's. This was mostly due to the forward motion of the humanistic movement that swept across Europe. The era of independent studies that began with great minds like Galileo, was followed by genius discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton. In architecture an extreme reaction formed against the clean and static order of the Renaissance. By Utilizing bold masses of curved shapes, strong line, and rich colors the architects of this time period employed the decorative elements at their maximum appeal.
Some of the greatest works of architecture were either conceived or build during the Baroque period. Many works of baroque architecture were executed on a colossal scale, incorporating aspects of urban planning and landscape architecture. This is most clearly scene in Bernini's elliptical piazza in front of St.
