Donato Bramante

Donato Bramante (c. 1444-1514 CE) was an Italian Renaissance architect whose most famous project was the design for a new Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, even if this work remained unfinished at his death. Bramante had also designed the influential Tempietto of San Pietro, a classical-inspired circular temple in Rome, and parts of the Sant'Ambrogio Basilica and monastery complex of Milan. The architect's Palazzo Caprini in Rome, with its lower storey of arched shop fronts and classical columns above, was hugely influential on palace buildings thereafter. For these works, Bramante is justifiably considered the founding father of High Renaissance architecture and a master of reimagining elements from classical antiquity to create simple yet elegant buildings built on a grand scale.