Santa Maria Della Pace, Bramante.

Santa Maria della Pace was the first piece of architecture Bramante made in Rome, built on a medieval church site - it was constructed as a church to Our lady of peace due to the conflicts that were affecting Florence at the time. The Church of Santa Maria della Pace is best known for two later additions:  a cloister by Bramante, finished in 1504, and a façade by Pietro da Cortona, begun in 1656. [1]

In 1656, Pietro de Cortona was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII to design the entry of the church from the street side. The design of the facade of the new church was with use of a semicirclar portico and the addition of arches. Behind the church lies Bramante’s cloister. The two stories of the cloister were designed with pilasters of different orders- the use of the  ionic on the ground story and composite on the upper story while placing columns over arches. Bramante’s approach to the design of this building was to use different forms of construction between the two stories in order to create a more proportionate looking design, so the solution he came up with was to have both stories use common dimensions. Bramante created a porch of four bays at each side, there is piers on the main axis and the side entrances. The view from the interior at ground level is a succession of the two orders. The interior also holds a hidden gem - the Sibyls fresco painted by Raffaello/Raphael in 1514.  In 1656, Pietro de Cortona was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII to design the entry of the church from the street side. The design of the facade of the new church was with use of a semicircle portico and the addition of arches.

Works cited:

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/italy/rome/things-to-do/sights/reviews/santa-maria-della-pace-180017

http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/Santa_Maria_della_Pace

http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/sights/sm-pace.html

Monastery of St. Giorgio Maggiore

                        Monastery of St. Giorgio Maggiore

 Venice has so much to offer and traveling around the city is so much fun on gondolas or water taxis. One destination for those who are interested in architecture and history is the 16th century Monastery known as San Giorgio. The Church is located on the island of St Marks Basin in Venice, Italy.The High Renaissance Monastery was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1566. The architect lived on the island for 20 years before starting the construction in 1565. Some elements still had to be finished after his death in 1580, including the white marble facade which was finished in 1611. 

Palladio fashioned his design in the Neoclassical tradition.

        

One can rent a modest room in the monastery with the the best views for an affordable rate. Known ass one of the architectural glories of Venice, most tourists only get fought up in the maze of Venice see this beautiful monist art from a distance. But like all of Venice there is amazement and history behind every corner.

San Giorgio is one of the world’s longest continually operating Benedictine abbey











Sources
http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/veneto/venice/sights/san_giorgio.html#campanile
http://www.venice-tourism.com/en/luoghi/dorsoduro-district/island-san-giorgio-maggiore

Temple at Samos

   The Temple at Samos was a large sanctuary to the Greek goddess Hera Greece’s southern region of Samos. The sanctuary was located around 6 km southwest of the ancient city in a marshy river basin of the nearby sea. The core myth at the heart of the construction of this temple is the birth of the goddess Hera. It is believed that the goddess was born under a lygos tree (the chaste-tree). This explains the reason why the cult image of Hera used to be ceremonially bound with the branches of lygo during the annual Samian festival known as the Toneia. Today, this temple is treasured not only by the Greek but everyone in the world. This came as a result of it being designated as A JOINT UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 together with the nearby Pythagoreion (Whitley, 2001).

            The Greek built this temple at the mouth of River Imvrasos as they believed that the region was connected with the worship of Hera. This was despite the fact that the ground was not stable. The other factor that led to this temple being constructed in this region was the belief that the goddess Hera was born and raised in this area. Historically, this is the largest temple ever built in Greece and was constructed in a faithful manner by Polykrates to replace the previous model designed by Theodoros and Rhoikos of Samos that was destroyed by an earthquake. The new temple was stronger than the previous one as in 500 BC, it still posed on 115 columns close to the Ireon (Whitley, 2001). Today, the temple stands on just a single half colossal octastyle dipteral column that has been conserved on the northeastern corner. The fact that the temple barely exists today has led to many Greeks believing that Hera has moved to another place.

            Despite the temple barely in existence, a continuous frieze that adorned the top walls of the cella and pronoas can still be seen today. Here, we can see that a triple row of columns screened the short sides of the temple whereas the capitals of the temple’s outer peristalsis were in the normal volute design. On the other hand, the inner peristalsis of the temple was based on the Ionic Kyma model. At the same time, the bases of columns and other blocks that belonged to the previous Heraion can still be seen today. Through these architectural designs, we can see that that the Temple at Samos exclusively belonged to people and its development was inseparable with the city’s political history.

References

Whitley, J. (2001). The archaeology of ancient Greece. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Palentine Chapel at Palermo; Sicily, Italy

The Palentine Chapel is the royal chapel of Sicily’s Norman kings and is located in Palermo, Southern Italy. Designed in 1130 by Roger II, the chapel is located on the ground floor of the center of the Palazzo Reale and is a major tourist attraction site in Palermo (Fabbri, 2002). This chapel is also known as the palace chapel or palace church. After designing it, Roger II of Sicily commissioned its construction in 1132 and was built upon an older chapel that had been constructed around 1080. The construction of this chapel took 8 years, and received a royal charter on the same year it was completed. By 1143, mosaics had been partially finished, a clear indication of how its construction was extremely demanding. Upon completion, its sanctuary was dedicated to Saint Peter.

            The architectural design of the chapel combines harmoniously various designs such as: the Byzantine dome and mosaics, the Arabic arches and scripts which adorn its roof and the Norman architecture. The chapel’s clusters of the four eight-pointed stars used the Muslim design as they are arranged on the ceiling in order to form a Christian cross. The muqarnas ceiling is the other remarkable feature of this chapel. The ceiling is extremely spectacular, and shows how knowledgeable individuals that constructed the chapel were. Besides the amazing ceiling, the chapel also has hundreds of facets that were painted using zoomorphic and ornamental vegetal designs. At the same time, the chapel’s paintings also reflects the various daily scenes of life, some of which are yet to be interpreted up to today. These paintings are believed to have been statistically influenced by the Iraqi Abbasid art as they are innovative in the manner in which they represent animals and personages.

            The chapel’s well-lit interior is extremely breathtaking. This aspect is brought about by the presence of exquisite mosaics. The mosaics job was done by the Byzantine Greek artisans brought to Palermo in 1140 by Roger II specifically for this project. These mosaics capture every movement, details and expression of the chapel with immense power. One of the features of this chapel that attracts people attention is the depiction of Christ Pantocrator. In addition, most of the mosaics in this chapel recount the events that took place in the Old Testament. However, some of the scenes of the mosaics simply recount the significant role that Palermo played in the Crusades. Moreover, the chapel also has a sanctuary which represents the Norman culture. The chapel’s sanctuary is dedicated to St. Martin and St. Dionysus.

References

Fabbri, P. (2002). Palermo and Monreale. Florence, Italy: Casa Editrice Bonechi.

Corinth

Corinth

Corinth was also known as an assembly houses of Senate house in Corinth, Greece near the isthmus. Corinth was an important city in ancient Greek because of the geographic location it was at the time. Today Corinth is in ruins where many buildings are lost in in history. Corinth was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC but was rebuilt in 44 BC under the rule of Julius Caesar. The city-state setting was good for defensing itself. For example the acrocorinth (upper Corinth) was an area built high up away from the main Corinth incase there was an invasion. Another feature that help the city thrive was how close it was to the water. The isthmus; as stated before also help the city gain more trade for itself since it connected the mainland of Greece and the Peloponnese. This made Corinth a common place for trades and sailors as well as a good stopping point from Rome.  It gained fame from the isthmus games and was a place for many religious sites.

Bouleuterion 

Corinth is also know for many temple that are very well known like the Temple of Apollo, and is one of Corinth’s famous landmark that was built in the 550 BC. Another that was near the famous landmark was the Bouleuterion were sometimes, there are concerts, meetings, and where high officials gather to make decisions for the city.

[1]“Ancient Corinth.” Ancient Corinth. N.p.,n.d.Web. 12 Dec 2016
[2]“Corinth.” Encylopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Wed. 12 Dec. 2016.

Sant’Ivo Della Sapienza; Rome, Italy

     

       Sant’Ivo della Sapienza is a Roman Catholic church located in Rome. This church was built between 1642 and 1660 by architect Francesco Borromini utilizing the Roman Baroque architecture. Borromini dedicated this church to Saint Yves of Brittany, a lawyer who became a monk, gave everything he had to the poor and fought extremely hard against unjust taxation back in the 13^th century. Since then St. Yves is considered to be the patron of lawyers as well as abandoned children and Brittany by most Italians (Blunt, 1990). The church’s integration into the majestic colonnaded Las Sapienza courtyard is both viewed to be awe-inspiring and ingenious, aspects that make everyone that sees it to fall in love with it.

            Towards the end of the courtyard known as the Giacomo della Porta, the church rises. Here, the façade is concave in shape thereby molding the church spectacularly into the courtyard as it is completing it and not disrupting it. The façade on its part appears like a continuation of the arches of the courtyard except for the small openings filled with small windows, door and a huge large window close just above the door. One you look above the façade, there is a large parapet structure that enables people to see the church’s higher stages located past the façade. One of the amazing exteriors features of this chapel is the lantern of Sant’Ivo located on the top of the church. This lantern is topped with a spiral shape that is surmounted by a cross.

            The interior of this church is very unique to other Roman Catholic churches. This uniqueness is brought about the shapes of incorporated into the rotunda. These shapes are attributed to the fact that Borromini liked using geometrical shapes and pairing columns with an aim of facilitating curves in his architectural works. Here, the rotunda was contrived of unique shapes, a triangle with the angles cut and a semi-circles located between the three lines of the triangle. In order to define the shape of the rotunda, Borromini utilized edges and curves in equal amounts. The blending of curves and edges is believed to have been Borromini’s most unique signature. Another eye-catching feature of this church is the fact that the windows associated with the round parts of the dome are bigger than the ones associated with the edges. These aspects are easily noticeable since one of the edgy sections is where the church’s entrance is situated while the altar is located at a round section on the opposite end of the edgy section (Borromini, 1971).

References

Blunt, A. (1990). Borromini. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Borromini, F. (1971). SantÍvo alla Sapienza. Place of publication not identified: Aedes      Acutenses.

Santa Maria In Via Lata; Rome, Italy

 

  

   Santa Maria in Via Lata is an old church that was constructed back in the 11^th using an ancient Roman portico. This church built above an old one as a result of the rise of the ground level. The ground level was however restored later in the 15^th century at the initiative of Pope Innocent VIII and Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia whose coats of arms are clearly seen on the side wall of the church. It is believed that St, Paul spent around two years in the crypt under the church while under house arrest awaiting trial (Richardson, 2009).

            The 13^th century icon of the church, Virgin Advocate is believed to have performed a lot of miracles and it is believed that the martyr Agapitus and the relics of the 3^rd century Deacon lie beneath it. During the reconstruction of the church in the late 15^th century, the Arcus Novus was destroyed as it was located at the church’s site. The church was later on renovated by Coismo Fanzago in the 17^th century. This renovation led to the completion of the façade together with its Corinthian columns imposing vertical emphasis. In this façade, its designer appears to evoke a triumphal arch. The church’s high altar constructed in 1636, known as Madonna Advocata is attributed to Bernini and is one of the few paintings that the church has. The church’s ciborium in the apses was made using lapis-lazuli and alabaster.

            Along the right hand side of the church’s nave is the first altarpiece of the martyrdom of St. Andrew. It was constructed in 1685 by Giacinto Brandi. The second altarpiece on the same side is that of saints Nicola, Biagio and Giuseppe that were constructed by Giuseppe Ghezzi. When a person enters the chapel, he or she is likely to see the apse of Madonna with child together with Saints Catherine and Cyriac built by Giovanni Odazzi.

            The chapel’s new façade built by Pietro da Cartona comprises of a loggia and portico (Merz, Blunt & Cortona, 2008). At the same time, this façade does not have a curved shape with its serliana recalling the patters of the late antiquity unlike most facades. This façade was decorated using the heraldic symbols of Pope Alexander VII and the coat of arms. For this chapel to attain its current spectacular design, it utilized the skills of the best architects at the time period. We see this through the fact that Pietro da Cortona was not involved in redesigning the interior of the chapel as this job was left to Cosimo Fanzago who was the best architect in Naples during this time.

References

Merz, J. M., Blunt, A., & Cortona, P. . (2008). Pietro da Cortona and Roman Baroque      architecture. New Haven [u.a.: Yale University Press.

Richardson, C. M. (2009). Reclaiming Rome: Cardinals in the fifteenth century. Leiden: Brill.

Palazzo Madama for the Mother Queen; Turin, Italy

            Palazzo Madama also known as the Royal Palace of Turin is a historic House of Savoy in Turin, Northern Italy. The palace was first constructed in the 16^th century but modernized in the 17^th century by Christine Marie of France. The palace includes the Chapel of the Holy Shroud and Palazzo Chiablese. The former was built to accommodate the famous Shroud of Turin. This building became the property of state in 1946 before being turned into a museum. In 1997, the palace was placed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the other 13 residences of the House of Savoy.

            The construction of this palace was ordered in 1645 by the Regent Maria Christina. Christina wanted her son to be welcomed in a new court when he returned from the civil war. This explains the reason why she chose the palace’s location to be at the previous Bishop’s palace that had been constructed at the centre of the new capital of Savoy that was Turin during Emmanuel Philibert’s reign. One of the advantages of building this palace at this place was to enable the Duke to monitor the city’s two entrances from the Bishop’s palace. However, the Bishop’s palace was in 1536 captured by the French who used it as a residence of the French Viceroys of Savoy. This aspect led to the Bishop’s palace becoming the seat of power, hence Christina’s need for the new Palace to be constructed at its location.

            Overlooking the Piazza Castello is the section that was built by Juvarra. Today, this section is made up of a scenographic façade a single bay deep that screens the back part of the edifice that has remained unchanged since the palace was completed. On the exterior part of the palace, the architect, Juvarra expressed a magnificent architectural preamble to an edifice which was never constructed. The preamble was expressed in form of a high-ceilinged piano nobile that has an arch-headed windows  linked to the mezzanine above by an order of pilasters of a composite order. Every pilaster stands on a formal fielded channel-rusticated and sturdy base against the ground floor’s ashlar masonry (Scott, 2003). The palace’s three central bays are emphasized by the bolder relief provided by the complete columns attached to the façade. The latter are in turn strengthened by being returned inward behind them so as to give space for a glass-fronted central interior.

References

Scott, J. B. (2003). Architecture for the shroud: Relic and ritual in Turin. Chicago: University of   Chicago Press.

Henry VII’s Chapel, Eastern end of Westminster Abbey

            The Henry VII Chapel also known as Henry VII Lady Chapel located on the eastern end of Westminster Abbey whose construction was financed by the will of Henry VII. This chapel is separated from the other abbey using a flight of stairs and brass gates. The structure of this chapel is a three-aisled nave which is made up of four bays. The chapel’s apse has an alter, behind which are the tombs of Henry VII, James I and that of Henry VII’s wife. At the same time the chapel has five apsidal chapels.

            This chapel was constructed using the very late Gothic perpendicular style. This magnificent structure led to John Leland calling it the wonder of the world (orbis miraculum). At the same time, the chapel contains that tombs of Charles II, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and Edward VI besides that of Henry VII and his wife and that of James I. Since 1725, this chapel has been serving as the mother church of the Order of the Bath. This can be seen by the presence of the banners of members that hang above the stalls.

            The construction of this chapel is believed to have been influenced by a movement toward the devotion to the Virgin Mary in the 13^th century. This movement aimed at building chapels in honor of Virgin Mary across Europe. One of the chapels constructed for this reason was Henry III’s Lady Chapel located at Westminster Abbey. In 1502, King Henry VII came up with a plan for a new chapel. This plan led to the demolition of the old chapel which subsequently led to the foundation of the new chapel being laid in January 24, 1503(Tatton-Brown & Mortimer, 2004).. Henry VII decided to build a new chapel in order to: build a shrine in honor of the body of Henry VI who was supposed to be canonized, build a sophisticated chapel for Virgin Mary and create a royal mausoleum for him and his entire family including heirs.

            The chapel’s most amazing architectural feature are the pendant fan vault. The fan vault was created through dividing the ceiling to groin vaulted compartments. The groin vaults on the other hand are created through the combination of arches along the chapel’s walls and the large transverse arches that bridge the chapel’s nave. The other spectacular architectural features of this chapel are the aisles that are divided by the rows of mahogany stalls into central, south and north aisles. All the aisles contain floor stones and monuments that are dedicated to the various British nobles (Tatton-Brown & Mortimer, 2004).

References

Tatton-Brown, T. W. T., & Mortimer, R. (2004). Westminster Abbey: The Lady Chapel of Henry               VII. Rochester NY: Boydell Press.

S. Maria Presso S Satiro

S. Maria Presso S Satiro was finished in the late 15^th century in Milano, Italy and the church was dedicated to St. Satyrus and Mary giving the church its current name. The church was crammed into a small spot due it being so close to the main road of Milano. The artist Donato Bramante help create and illusion that made the church not seem so small. Using the back wall of the church (on the inside) you will see a painting that makes the church seem different from the outside. The trick becomes apparent as you get closer to the altar, but the trick doesn’t work when you stand to the side and see that it’s just a wall was painted. On the wall there is a painting of Mary hold Christ surrounded by golden pilaster. With the illusion of the wall it makes it seem big since the wall seems far away will in realty its not as big as it appears. The church has a short nave with two aisles and one Dome in the center of the transept.

Ceiling of S. Maria Presso S Satrio

The church holds main paintings of angels and saints that are located on the ceiling, but the fact that the church is kept in the dark its hard to see them by the naked eye. The reason why the church doesn’t get that much sunlight is because of the location it was built in Milano. That specific place in Milano is real crowded with buildings. Lights only come in throw the front of the building, the sides of the transept (where you can see the illusion of the back wall break) small one-foot windows at the top of the walls in the aisles and a circular window in the center of the dome. Angels can also be located in the small chambers of the church where there are five arch opening and at the head almost like a capatia there are sculptures of saints with angels to the right and left.

[1]Lise, Giorgio. Santa Maria Presso San Satiro. Milano: Silvana Editoriale D’arte, 1975. Print.