In the Renaissance, in connection with the increased public interest in ancient culture, the activities of Italian scientists-antiquarians intensifed. Interest in antiquity was shared by philologists, artists and architects. This was clearly manifested in the study of the history of languages, the history of literature, the history of art and architecture. Associations of scientists – humanists were created around archaeological work. The difculties in the formation of artistic terminology in the Renaissance were associated with the transition from church Latin to ancient, interest in the possibilities of using the Italian language and ancient Latin. Archaeological research and archaeological measurements were accompanied by philological research and attribution descriptions. The article deals with the works of F. Petrarch, L.B. Alberti, F. Biondo and other Italian humanists of the 14th – early 16th century, which contain ideas about the relationship between ancient Roman culture and the culture of the Renaissance.