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Construction of st. peter's basilica
Pilgrimage- social studies
A short para on vatican city
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‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (The Bible, Matthew 16:18-19)
The church of St Peter’s is vital to Christian pilgrimage and is considered most pious of all the churches in Christendom. The reason behind this credence is clear from the quote above. Christ’s injunction here is very obvious, in regards to Peter's status. ‘St Peter was the chief of apostles, the first Bishop of Rome, who held the keys to heaven’ [1], and hence the church built on the site where he was martyred and cremated ,plays a major role in making it as one of the most influential building and a focal point of Christian world. The construction history of St Peter’s is very long and unusual; bringing in every major architect of the time. However in this essay I will discuss about the shift in the position of the main altar and focus on the contributions of two Pope’s i.e. Julius II and Urban VIII and the architects during their time. This essay will reflect various design choices made by them, which ultimately effected the experience of pilgrimage.
Shifting the position of the main altar is one of the most crucial steps in making the church of St Peter as the center of Christian pilgrimage. It was Gregory the great who initiated the shift. ‘The main purpose of this shift was to place the altar directly over the tomb of the saint to justify the close association of the altar and the relic developed during the 5th and 6th century’ [2]. ‘The floor of the Constantine apse was raised to about 1...
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...xford: Oxford University Press, 1999)
Webb, Diana. Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700-c.1500. (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002.)
Wittkower, Rudolf. Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque. (London: Phaidon Press, 1966).
Electronic
Mattson, J. 2004. Bernini's work at St. Peter's [online]. Rome. Available at: http://honorsaharchive.blogspot.co.uk/2004/09/berninis-work-at-st-peters.html [Accessed: 8 March 2014].
Lecture notes
Lawson, J (2014). ‘Pilgrimage and the Vatican: Nicholas V to Paul III', lecture notes distributed in the topic ARHI080072014 Architectural History 2b: Culture & the City. University of Edinburgh, U.K on 13 January.
Lawson, J (2014). 'Relics and Eucharist: journey’s satisfactory end ', lecture notes distributed in the topic ARHI080072014 Architectural History 2b: Culture & the City. University of Edinburgh, U.K on 16 January.
The city of Rome was and is one of the most well-known cities of the world. It has always lured in huge visitors for its attraction for the elaborate Pagan temples or for the eloquent Cathedrals of the Rome. Now the city is known for being the center of the catholic faith. The city is interesting in a way that, it has not always been a Catholic hotspot. The city was originally under the control of the Romans who worshiped Pagan Gods. The Romans believed that Rome was a holy city chosen by their Gods (Cowling). The switch from being a Pagan centered place to a Christian centered place was not as easy transition for the city. It took time and perseverance. As the Christian influence started to build up, the face of the Roman city started to change; the structure of the city was changed, the major public places changed, and along with that major monuments in the city changed. The city changed so much that now if you don’t look closely enough, you might think the city was always under the Christian influence.
...troduction to Christ, indeed for his salvation. Thus, the bishop’s claims to authority are underscored by the very presence of Theoderic, whose witness to Peter’s authority undermines his own. The emphasis placed on the primacy of Peter in the writings of Felix IV and his predecessors in the pontificate, as well as their efforts to seek autonomy from the Ostrogoths and the Roman senate, further suggests that the particular composition of this apse mosaic is intended to reaffirm the power of the Roman bishops as spiritual descendants of Saint Peter and Christ’s representatives on earth. Thus, while Ann Marie Yasin may emphasize the symmetrical relationship between Felix IV and the personification of King Theoderic in the guise of Saint Theodore, a more nuanced interpretation suggests that the office Felix currently occupies is in fact elevated over that of Theoderic.
Chapter one, ‘Beginnings at Assisi,’ offers a vivid description of the social, political, economic, cultural, demographic description of Assisi and its inhabitants. Here, the author describes the life of Francis and the situations and circumstances prompting his journey to spread the ideal gospel life to the world. This chapter is relevant in determining the circumstances that instigated a need for reforms in the Catholic Church. This chapter is applicable in my life because it offers insight on the fundamental Christian I can rely on in my daily life.
...ral (138 ½ feet), Michelangelo’s St. Peter’s (137 ½) and Wren’s St. Paul’s (109 feet). Until steel and concrete technology advanced in the 19th century, no single spaces were larger than these. Bibliography Dirimtekin, Feridun. [1964]. Saint Sophia Museum. Istanbul: Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey. Fossati, Gaspare. 1852. Aya Sofia, Constantinople : as recently restored by order of H. M. the sultan Abdul-Medjid. London: R. & C. Colnagni & Co. James Stevens Curl. Classical Architecture: an introduction to its vocabulary and essentials, with a select glossary of terms. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. ISBN 0-442-30896-5. NA260.C87. interior photo of circular space (photo of the prostyle octstyle portico of the Pantheon) William L. MacDonald. The Architecture of the Roman Empire I. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-300-02818-0. LC 81-16513
Crivellari, Domenico, and Maria Da Villa Urbani, eds. Basilica di San Marco. Procuratoria di San Marco Venezia. 2003.
Baxandall, M., Giotto and the Orators: Humanist Observers of Painting in Italy and the Discovery of Pictorial Composition, 1350-1450, Oxford, 1971. Bellori, G.P., Le vite detpittori, scultori et architetti modern), Rome, 1672. ed. E. Borea, intro. G. Previtali, Turin, 1976.
Scott, Robert. The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003.
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Partridge, Loren. The Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996.
The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...
Thesis: Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction offers St. John the Baptist more flexibility in design and style. Still, their likeness and variations extend far beyond the realm of their design.
St Peter’s basilica which is built based on rational form of architecture is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City, designed by Donato Bramante. Its significant history is that according to the Catholic tradition this was the place that Saint Peter was buried. Not so far away...
To begin with, the history of Christian church architecture is, obviously, a highly complex one, but it is important that one understands the evolution of the floor plans of Catholic churches to see how the changing shapes of churches reflects an extended analysis of Catholic belief and practice. According to Cunningham, the architecture of a church building was designed in a certain way and it had a certain
This essay is written about St Paul’s Cathedral which is located in London. I will discuss the fire that destroyed the original building in September 1966, how the building was restored, and the main functions of the cathedral and the interiors of the dome of the Chapel.
...amine the promise Christ once made. “ I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).