L’immagine ideale del Rinascimento. La cupola di San Pietro e l’architettura americana del potere

This essay explores the mythic appropriation and reinterpretation of the Italian Renaissance — especially the iconic image of Michelangelo’s dome of St. Peter’s — in the architectural identity of American government buildings from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. By tracing how American architects, patrons, and political elites embraced Renaissance forms as symbolic frameworks for modern democracy, the study reveals a dynamic process of cultural transfer. The dome, as both sacred and secular symbol, became the central architectural element of the U.S. Capitol and its many state counterparts, projecting ideals of unity, power, and civic pride. The essay shows how this architectural borrowing was not mere imitation but an imaginative reinvention that infused American national identity with European humanistic models, producing monumental “temples of democracy” that still shape the urban landscape and collective memory today.