Donato Bramante (1444–1514)
Donato Bramante was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome. He was born 1444 in Casteldurante. Around 1474, Bramante moved to Milan, a city with a deep Gothic architectural tradition, and built several churches in the new Antique style. Bramante went to Rome, where he was already known to the powerful Cardinal Riario. there he was soon recognized by Cardinal Della Rovere, shortly to become Pope Julius II. For Julius, almost as if it were a trial piece on approval, Bramante designed one of the most harmonious buildings of the Renaissance: the Tempietto. In 1503 Bramante was engaged for the construction of the grandest European architectural commission of the 16th century, the complete rebuilding of St Peter's Basilica. At the Vatican palace, he designed the Cortile del Belvedere, part of which was built during his lifetime.
Important works by Donato Bramante
- Cloisters of Santa Maria della Pace, Rome
- Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican
- St Peter's Basilica
- Palazzo Caprini, Rome
