Basilica of Sant' Andrea, Italy, 1472

The Basilica of Sant' Andrea

Design plan of the Church 

The Basilica of Sant' Andrea in Italy is one of Italy's most famous minor basilicas. A basilica is not just an architectural style of many Catholic Churches, but is also called a basilica if it is granted the title from the Pope through an Apostolic grant. The church was originally built in 1472, the design of Leon Battista Alberti, an Italian renaissance artist, author, architect, and philosopher, among other things, under the guidance of Ludovico Gonzaga.
The church was built of bricks, but covered mostly by stucco. It was mainly built to house the drops of Christ’s blood, a famous relic within the Catholic Church.

Architecturally speaking, the basilica is a combination of three ancient Roman architectural elements- the temple front, the triumphal arch, and the basilica. “On the façade, four giant pilasters with Corinthian capitals support an entablature and pediment. Together these elements recall the front of ancient temples, such as the Pantheon in Rome. There is also a grand arch in the center of the façade that is supported, at least visually, by two shorter fluted pilasters. Taken together, the lower façade, with its tall central arch and flanking side doors evoke ancient triumphal arches such as the Arch of Constantine” (Horton, 2016). The main arch at the church’s entrance represents Christ’s triumph over death.

The interior of the church

interior texture 

The interior of the church is large with high ceilings and frescos as it was meant to accommodate very large crowds. The architect “combined two of his favorite ancient images—the pedimented temple front (pilasters, entablature, trabeation, and triangular pediment) and the triadic triumphal arch (arched central section and lower portals on either side). The height of the facade equals its width, but the barrel vault of the nave reached well above the apex of the pediment, which was also surmounted by a large canopy over the nave window. Alberti therefore disassociated the facade from the body of the church by turning it into an independent narthex one bay deep (which Michelangelo would do in 1516 in his model for the facade of S. Lorenzo) with its own system of coffered barrel vaults and a design combining the image of a triumphal arch with that of a Classical temple front” (Trachtenberg & Isabelle Hyman, 2003). Today, many people still visit the cathedral to see the architecture as well as visit the relics and Christ’s blood.

Work Cite: 

Horton, H. (2016). Alberti, Sant'Andrea in Mantua. Khan Academy. Retrieved from: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/sculpture-architecture-florence/a/alberti-santandrea-in-mantua

Trachtenberg, M., & Hyman, I. (2003). Architecture. From prehistory to postmodernity.