Pazzi Chapel
Filippo Brunelleschi · Florence, Italy · 1478
The Pazzi Chapel sits within the first cloister of Santa Croce and is among the clearest demonstrations of Renaissance spatial order. A central domed square is extended by barrel-vaulted side bays and a shallow altar recess, all articulated with gray pietra serena against white plaster. Circles, squares and repeated modules make structure and proportion immediately visible, while glazed terracotta medallions add restrained color. The exterior loggia mediates between chapel and cloister. Commissioned as a chapter house and family memorial, the building was unfinished at Brunelleschi's death and completed by others. The date therefore marks a later completion phase rather than a single authored endpoint.