Ricerc@Sapienza

The quinconce is a five once bronze coin with five points on one of its faces as disposed as on a
modern die: four in the corners and one in the middle. In architecture, the Latin term quincunx is
instead used to label a building with four pillars (tetrastylum) dividing a square plan in nine parts,
and five domes as disposed as the points on the coin. Originally this term mainly described
buildings first of the Armenian and then Byzantine and Arab tradition (Krautheimer), but related

The success of the Quincunx plan in the religious architecture of
15th and 16th century Italy is generally related to the suggestions coming from
some monumental sacred buildings, from the places where these buildings are
located and their ancient and oriental origin. Added to this, this scheme
demonstrated an ability to adapt to different sites and themes and to be contaminated
by forms and types coming from distant sources. Some of Leonardo
da Vinci’s studies on centralized temples, which are collected in the Codex B at