SOAS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

The Independent Study Project for

Foundation Diploma for Postgraduate Studies, 2001- 2002

THE ARCHITECTURAL IDEAL CITY IN THE

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

REZA MASOUDI NEJAD

ABSTRACT

Italy is the birthplace of the Renaissance (1400 1600), and this time and
land are inflectional points on history of Europe. The Renaissance movement
was revival of classic world concepts and created a new point of view to
redefine of the world. Secularism and central state in politic, Rationalism
and Experimentalism in science, capitalism in economy, Humanism in art was
formed the new viewpoints.

The Italian architects were interested in forming buildings and city spaces
by regular and simple geometry. Furthermore, the Renaissance was an age of
urbanisation and villages were replaced by cities and many new cities were
formed in Italy. This context caused to birth of ideal cities in Architectural
term.

Architectural ideal cities emerged in reality on two levels. The first one is
that, ideal cities directly built on the new towns, and in the other form,
ideal cities had indirect effect on cities by building straight, wide main
streets and opening spaces in organic medieval cities. Therefore, the birth
of architectural ideal cities and urban design caused to end the organic life
of cities in Europe

Ideal cities are symbols of rationalism, functionalism and utilitarianism

viewpoint on design level in the Renaissance. But ideal cities could not be
formed in reality, without politic and economic supports. Therefore regular
geometry, straight streets with strong perspective of cities and new ideal
towns present power of the early capitalism and central state.