Understanding architecture. From Gothic and Baroque to Art Nouveau and Eclecticism

Gothic, Baroque, Classicism. Renaissance and Eclecticism. Wars, fires, revolutions and Reformation. Just a glance at the city's architecture is enough to understand how it was formed and what eras influenced it. If, of course, you know from which side to look at it.

What is special about St. Peter's Cathedral and what mistakes did the six architects who worked on it make? What is a pediment and Doric order? Why is the Dancing House in Prague terrible, how are Gothic and the Crusades connected and why do you need to go to Lviv if you don't have the opportunity to visit Florence?

This book is about how to learn to "read" the city and feel its architecture, to pay attention to those details that have been unnoticed until now. Urban planner and architect Julian Czaplinski not only explains how to distinguish Baroque from Renaissance, what Mannerism is and where Gothic began, but also skillfully weaves politics, art and literature into this narrative. He talks about Pinzel, Caravaggio and Michelangelo...