
My interpretation of the façade of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, designed by Leon Battista Alberti.
The perfection of the Italian Renaissance.
Some of the key modular proportions:
- The base of the church is equal to the height of the façade, with which it forms a square;
- If the lower section is exactly half the area of this square, the upper section, in relation to the square between the volutes, is equivalent to a quarter;
- Dividing this area again into four yields sixteenths of the area that precisely inscribe the side volutes;
- The central portal is one and a half times its width in height (a ratio of 2/3);
- The height of the central hinged band is equal to the width of the side portals and the tombs, and is seven times the height of the lower order;
- The sides of the squares inlaid on the central band are one-third the height of the band itself and twice the diameter of the columns in the lower section.
Bonus: The Sol Invictus, depicted on the tympanum, is the coat of arms of the Santa Maria Novella district, but also a symbol of strength and reason: the triumph of light over darkness.
The diameter of the sun’s circle is exactly half the diameter of the rose window (including the frame) and is equal to that of the circles in the volutes.