IMPORTANT FEATURES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

The Early Christian Architecture was highly-influenced by Roman art and

architecture and the widespread of Christianity in Rome. The features
that the Early Christian Architects took from Roman builders were the
arches and domes. However, they were able to further develop these
features such as the flying turrets. Development of roof and ceilings
were also evident in this period which centralized on the design of the
Early Christian Structures.

The following are the important features of Early

Christian Architecture:

 RIBBED VAULTING – rib vault, also

called ribbed vault, in building construction, a
skeleton of arches or ribs on which masonry can
be laid to form a ceiling or roof.

 ARCADES– a series of arches carried by columns or piers, a passageway

between arches and a solid wall, or a covered
walkway that provides access to adjacent shops.
An arcade that supports a wall, a roof, or an
entablature gains enough strength from lateral
thrusts that each individual arch exerts
against the next to carry tremendous weight
loads and to stretch for great distances.

 TIMBER TRUSSED ROOFS - is a structural

framework of timbers designed to bridge
the space above a room and to provide
support for a roof. Trusses usually occur
at regular intervals, linked by
longitudinal timbers such as purlins. The space between each truss
is known as a bay.

 BELL TOWER OR “CAMPANILE” - usually built beside or

attached to a church; the word is most often used in
connection with Italian architecture. The earliest
campaniles, variously dated from the 6th to the 10th
century, were plain round towers with a few small,
round-arched openings grouped near the top.

 ARCHIVOLT - molding running around the face of an arch

immediately above the opening. The architectural term is
applied especially to medieval and Renaissance
buildings, where the archivolts are often decorated with
sculpture, as in the archivolts on the west facade of
Chartres cathedral.