Architecture: projects in Rome

Bramante's esteemed reputation as the father of High Renaissance architecture rests on a series of projects initiated towards the end of his life in Rome, including the enormous extension to the Vatican Palace and the new plans for the rebuilding of St Peter's. Although few of these buildings, even his masterpiece, the Tempietto, exist in the form in which they were conceived, it is still clear that they constituted a decisive departure from the traditions of the recent past. Due to his patron Pope Julius II taking full advantage of the opportunities presented, and through a profound re-evaluation of the heritage of Classical antiquity, Bramante achieved in these buildings a dignity and majesty quite new to Renaissance architecture. Already recognized by his contemporaries as a great innovator, Bramante had by far the most enduring and pervasive influence on the course of architecture throughout the 16th century.