Leon battista alberti sant andrea

Roman Catholic cathedral in Lombardy, Italy

The Basilica of Sant'Andrea is a Roman Catholicco-cathedral and minor basilica^[1][2] in Mantua, Lombardy (Italy).

It is one of the major works of 15th-century Renaissance architecture in Northern Italy. Commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga, the church was begun in 1472 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery, of which the bell tower (1414) remains.

The building, however, was only finished 328 years later.

Leon battista alberti sant andrea in mantua 1470

Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti's design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works. It looms over the Piazza Mantegna.

Architecture

The façade, built abutting a pre-existing bell tower (1414), is based on the scheme of the ancient Arch of Trajan at Ancona.

It is largely a brick structure with hardened stucco used for the surface. It is defined by a large central arch, flank