Basilica of Sant'Andrea in Mantua

You're standing on Piazza Mantegna, in front of the Basilica of Sant'Andrea. Start with the façade. See that huge arch in the middle? The architect, Leon Battista Alberti, based it on an ancient Roman triumphal arch. A church dressed up as a victory gate was a bold idea in the fifteenth century. On either side there are smaller openings. Notice the two kinds of columns working together: shorter fluted ones, and tall smooth pilasters running the full height. That combination was something new back then. It looks like stone, but it's mostly brick covered in hardened stucco.