500th Anniversary of the Death of Donato Bramante

Portrait of the Italian architect Donato Bramante and part of the Tempietto (Italian for "little temple"), a small memorial building erected by Bramante, possibly as early as 1502, in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio, regarded as a prime example of Italian High Renaissance architecture. The inscription "BRAMANTE LAZZARI DELLE PENNE DI SAN MARINO" runs around almost the entire design. To the left and right of the design are the dates "1514" and "2014" respectively, and beneath it are the initials of the artist Maria Carmela Colaneri, "MCC", along with the mintmark.

Donato Bramante (1444–1514) is regarded as one of the most significant master builders of the Italian High Renaissance and as a pioneer of classicist architecture in the modern era. Born near Urbino, he was shaped at first by painting and the courtly artistic culture of his hometown, before turning fully to architecture in Milan and later in Rome. In Rome, he created the Tempietto in 1502 in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio, a small circular building whose clear proportions, modeled on antiquity, became a prime example of High Renaissance architecture and is still regarded today as one of the most influential buildings in European architectural history.

Under Pope Julius II, Bramante also took charge of the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica, for which he designed the characteristic central-plan layout with the dome that was later further developed. Although he did not live to see the completion of St. Peter's Basilica, his design laid the architectural foundation for one of the most significant buildings in Christendom. San Marino honored Bramante in 2014, on the occasion of his 500th death anniversary, with a 2-euro commemorative coin.