Cavallini, Pietro (circa 1250-c. 1330) , one of the most important Italian painters of his day. Born in Rome, he was one of the first painters to break away from the austere and rigid Byzantine style by attempting to render space in a naturalistic three-dimensional manner that was a precursor of actual perspective. He influenced the lifelike style of the Florentine painter Giotto, one of the foremost influences on the Renaissance. Cavallini's works include mosaics in Santa Maria in Trastevere and a series of frescoes in Santa Cecilia, both in Rome.