St. Peter's Basilica

Stuart Jacome
Arch. 211 M-11
Prof. Khorsandi
Blog Post
St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica is an Italian renaissance church in Vatican City was built according to tradition is above the burial site of St. Peter. The church is one of four major basilicas of rome but St.Peters has the largest dome in the world and is regarded as the greatest building in its age. The basilica was designed as a replacement for the old constantinian church and was commissioned by Pope Julius ll; the construction of the Basilica began on April 18th 1506 and was completed on November 18th 1626.Designed principally by Donato Bramante and later Continued by Michelangelo but finished by Giacomo Della Porta.  Saint Peter’s Basilica is built out of travertine stone and is 452 feet high, 730 feet in length, and 500 feet in width and large enough for 60,000 people.
This plan was to have the basilica have a long axis that moves attention towards the altar giving it a sense of practicality as well as in the form of an enormous Greek cross with a dome inspired by that huge circular roman temple. The dome sits upon four pendentives and piers each sixty feet thick. It was Michelangelo's idea to enlarge the size and strength of the structure that is load bearing without ruining the main unity of Bramante's original idea. the pantheon also has four rows of columns, a nave with two aisles on either side.The nave is framed by wide aisles allowing access to a number of chapels.  Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. Michelangelo designed a massive dome, made almost entirely of heave masonry, that would sit in the middle of the cross above the altar. Carlo Maderno designed and built the atrium. The interior of the church is decorated in baroque style and contains a large amount of priceless sculptures in marble and bronze made by Michelangelo.
Bernini another architect that worked on the Basilica created many of its features. He built the elaborate canopy or the main altar which is beneath the dome. As you can see in the plan, the four principal divisions of the basilica extend from the dome and are connected with each other by passages behind the dome piers. To the right and left of the nave lie the smaller and lower aisles, the right of which is bordered by four lateral chapels the left by three chapels and the passage to the roof. The general decoration consists of colored marble figures, mosaics, gilding, etc. and marble figures on the pilasters, ceiling, and walls.
St peters exterior form is an elliptical area enclosed by a doric colonnade. The facade of saint peters is 376 feet wide and 150 feet high and was designed by Carlo Maderno. The facade consists of large corinthian columns each one being ninety feet high and is also topped with thirteen statues . The entrance is guarded by two eighteen feet tall statues of Saint Peter and Paul.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment: The Newgate Prison of George Dance

Image
Newgate Prison, George Dance, (London, UK); 1782-1904 ; Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment If in 1982 an observer had taken for a stroll in the London’s streets, and had reached the corner where Newgate Street and Old Bailey meet, one would have instantaneously noticed the austere building that stood and loomed in the desert plaza. Just by looking at its exterior walls any observer would have realized the nature of the building. Though its façade was impressive like a bank, no person would have mistaken the sight of hung chains for a welcome sign. The original prison at Newgate was built in 1188 but was rebuilt in 1770 by George Dance, though the completion date had to be delayed by two years due to being badly damaged during the Gordon Riots in 1780.  The Architect   George Dance, the Younger, (1741-1825), was a British architect who was responsible for extensive urban redevelopment in London and was a founding member of Great Britain’s Royal Academy of Arts
Read more

Secession Building

Image
This building was a masterpiece done by Gustav Klimt, one of the most widely recognized artworks of Secession style. It is even on the national side of the Austrian coin (.50). The Vienna Secession was founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt, Joseph Maria Olbrich, and Josef Hoffman. Because Vienna was becoming a growing metropolis and it was supposed to be represented that way. They were inspired by arts and craft and organic geometries, essentially an abstract architecture. The building has a covered courtyard structure, it provided for gallery space on all sides of a large top-lit rectangular exhibition hall in the center. The materials used in this building was mainly masonry and metal. the crowning element sketched by Klimt included a perforated metal dome, suspended between four pylons and set above profiled planar masses. The slogan of the Secessionist movement is written above the entrance of the pavilion: "To every age its art, to every art its freedom”. Below the motto, the
Read more

Villa Wagner I, Vienna, Austria.1886-1888; Early 20th Century Pioneers

Image
Villa Wagner I, Vienna, Austria.1886-1 888; Early 20th Century Pioneers The Villas were designed and constructed by modernist architect, Otto Wagner in Hüttelbergstraße 26, district fourteen of Vienna, lower eastern Austria. This heavily wooded part of the Alps, also known as Penzing, is the home of both Villas, which happen to occupy adjacent lots. The first Villa, larger than the second, was constructed between 1886 and 1888, founding of the Secession the year after. The Villas were constructed by Otto to be residences, but now the original Villa is owned by the heirs of painter Ernst Fuchs. Villa Wagner I is known today as the Ernst Fuchs Private Museum (Unknown, "Wagner Villa I and II").   When Wagner began construction of the first Villa, he intended to make this place a center of relaxation and somewhere where his family could rest. It has some relationship to the nearby Hütteldorf forest, with the first villa at the end of it (Unknown, "Wagner V
Read more