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Renaissance Revival (sometimes referred to as "
Neo-Renaissance") is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century
architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian (see
Greek Revival) nor Gothic (see
Gothic Revival) but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes. Under the broad designation "
Renaissance architecture" nineteenth-century architects and critics went beyond the architectural style which began in
Florence and central
Italy in the early 15th century as an expression of
Humanism; they also included styles we would identify as
Mannerist or
Baroque. Self-applied style designations were rife in the mid- and later nineteenth century: "Neo-Renaissance" might be applied by contemporaries to structures that others called "
Italianate", or when many
French Baroque features are present (
Second Empire).
The divergent forms of Renaissance architecture in different parts of Europe, particularly in France and Italy, has added to the difficulty of defining and recognizing Neo-Renaissance architecture. A comparison between the breadth of its source material, such as the English
Wollaton Hall, Italian
Palazzo Pitti, the French
Château de Chambord, and the Russian
Palace of Facets, — all deemed "
Renaissance" — illustrates the variety of appearances the same architectural label can take.
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