The Architect of Counter-Maniera In the vibrant, shifting landscape of late 16th-century Italy, few figures played as pivotal a role in redefining the visual language of Florence as Santi di Tito. Born in 1536, this master emerged during a period of profound artistic transition, standing at the crossroads between the highly stylized, artificial elegance of Mannerism and the burgeoning naturalism that would eventually blossom into the Baroque. While his contemporaries often sought refuge in the complex, elongated forms and intellectual puzzles of the Maniera, di Tito embarked on a different j…