Vittoriano
Filarete, born Antonio Averlino, was a distinguished 15th-century Italian architect, sculptor, and theoretician. His career unfolded primarily between Milan and Rome, where he made significant contributions to the development of Renaissance architecture.
Born in Florence around 1400, Filarete is believed, according to Giorgio Vasari, to have trained in the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti before moving to Rome. There, Pope Eugenius IV commissioned him to create the bronze doors for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, a monumental work completed in 1445, as indicated by the inscription on the doors: Antonius Petri de Florentia fecit MCCCCXLV. Stylistic evidence suggests that the doors’ construction began after 1439, with two of the bas-reliefs specifically referencing events from that year: the Council of Florence and the meeting between Eugenius IV and Emperor John VIII Palaiologos in Ferrara. In this work, Filarete demonstrated a clear break from Tuscan artistic traditions, instead drawing inspiration from the grandeur of Roman imperial art.
In 1451, Filarete was invited to Milan by Francesco Sforza, marking the beginning of a new phase in his career. Among his major projects in Milan was the Ospedale Maggiore, where he worked for five years. During this time, he also produced his Treatise on Architecture (1460–1464), a crucial work that combined text and illustrations to explore construction techniques, materials, and architectural aesthetics. In the treatise, Filarete also examined urban planning, presenting his idealized vision of a star-shaped city, Sforzinda, which became one of the most famous proposals for utopian city design in Renaissance thought.
Around 1465, Filarete was forced to leave Milan and first moved to Florence, where he found patronage at the Medici court. Later, he relocated to Rome, where he is believed to have died in 1469, according to Vasari.
