Baldassare Peruzzi

Architect and painter Baldassare Peruzzi (1481-1536), one of the greats of the High Renaissance, won his reputation designing palaces and villas in Rome and his native Siena. Peruzzi came to Bologna 1522 to design a facade for San Petronio; He eventually came up with three different versions, each more preposterous than the last, and each one rejected, proving conclusively that San Petronio's facade is a curse to anyone who touches it.

Though he spent less than two years in Bologna, Peruzzi found plenty to keep him busy. He created one of the city's finest Renaissance designs, the elegant Ghisilardi Chapel for San Domenico, the portal of San Michele in Bosco and perhaps the Palazzo Albergati. In Carpi he began the cathedral, much altered afterwards, and designed the simple facade for Santa Maria in Castello.