In Renaissance Italy and France, newly built urban plazas were conceived of as outdoor rooms with uniform elevations and a focused monument. The coordination of planning circumstances was usually the endeavor of an aristocratic or a monarchial patron. The coherency of a plaza became a direct expression of this patron's will to express his authority. Analyzing Piazza Ducale in Vigevano, Piazza SS. Annunziata in Florence, the Campidoglio in Rome, Piazza Ducale in Sabbioneta, Piazza Reale in Turin, and then the Places Royales in Bordeaux, Rouen, and Nancy reveals the shift from the concept to the convention of architectural representation of power. Architectural forms possess no intrinsic political qualities. Their accomplishment or level of resolution is, however, consistently related to the political processes that facilitate their construction.