Construction of the Palace of Charles V,…
1566 CE
Construction of the Palace of Charles V, begun in 1527 by the late Pedro Machuca as the first major classic Renaissance style building in Spain, is nearly complete.
The two-level inner circular patio, the main Mannerist characteristic of the palace, has no precedent in Renaissance architecture, and places the building in the avant-garde of its time.
The lower consists of a Doric colonnade of conglomerate stone, with an orthodox classical entablature formed of triglyphs and metopes.
The upper floor is formed by a stylized ionic colonnade whose entablature has no decoration.
This organization of the patio shows a deep knowledge of the architecture of the Roman Empire, and would be framed in pure Renaissance style but for its surprising curved shape, unhinted at by the main façades.
The interior spaces and the staircases are also governed by the combination of square and circle.
Similar aesthetic devices continue to develop during this age under the classification of Mannerism.