I initially intended for this post and the previous one regarding idealism & perspective in Renaissance architecture to be a single post. However, on second thought, Alberti deserves his own post and not just included with the a discussion of Renaissance for his unprecedented influence on architectural history that last to this day.

Unlike his predecessor, Filippo Brunelleschi, Alberti does not have significant influential buildings like Brunelleschi’s dome or the Ospedale Degli...