Filippo Brunelleschi

Florentine goldsmith-turned-architect whose dome for Santa Maria del Fiore (1420–1436) solved a problem masons had considered insoluble — spanning a 42-metre octagon without scaffolding centring. He invented herringbone brick coursing and the geared hoists that lifted the masonry.

Brunelleschi's rediscovery of linear perspective and his application of classical orders to civic buildings (Ospedale degli Innocenti, Pazzi Chapel) define the start of Renaissance architecture. He is conventionally counted as the first Renaissance architect.