At first glance, it looks like a deep apse — yet it’s only 90 cm (3 ft) deep. Designed by Donato Bramante in the 15th century, this optical illusion inside Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan, is one of the earliest examples of trompe-l’œil in architecture — a brilliant solution to spatial limitation.
At first glance, it looks like a deep apse — yet it’s only 90 cm (3 ft) deep. Designed by Donato Bramante in the 15th century, this optical illusion inside Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan, is one of the earliest examples of trompe-l’œil in architecture — a brilliant solution to spatial limitation.