Renaissance Architecture

• Period : 1420-1600
• Place : Florence, Rome, Venice, western Europe
• Architects: Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante, Raphael,
Michelangelo, Romano, Palladio, Jones
• INSPIRATION: Roman Antiquity
• Style : Calm, Harmony, clarity, geometry
• TRAITS: Round arch, columns, pilasters, barrel vaults,
hemispherical dome
• PREFERRED PLAN: Regularity, symmetry, proportion
• ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES: Portico with columns supporting
the pediment, cenral hall covered by dome, niches.
• BUILDING TYPES: Churches, urban palaces, country villas,
public squares.
 Renaissance Architecture

• Early Renaissance(1400-1500) Quattrocento

(The study of classical antiquity, the adoption of classical detail and
ornamentation. Space was organized by proportion and logic, form and
rhythm subject to geometry)

• High Renaissance(1500-1525)
(The concepts derived from classical antiquity, were developed and
used with greater surety.)

• Mannerism(1520-1600)
(The Renaissance idea of harmony gave way to freer and more
imaginative rhythms.)
 Characteristics of Renaissance Architecture
• Inspired by Roman buildings, orderly arrangements of
columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of
semicircular arches hemispherical domes and niches
replaced the more complex proportional systems and
irregular profiles of medieval buildings.
• Plans - Square, symmetrical appearance in which
proportions are usually based on a module
• Facades - Symmetrical around their vertical axis, domestic
buildings are often surmounted by a cornice
• Columns and pilasters - The Roman orders of columns
are used: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite
• Arches – Semi circular
• Vaults – Do not have ribs , semi circular or segmental
• Domes - The dome is used frequently, as a very large
structural feature that is visible from the exterior
• Ceilings - Roofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings,
frequently painted or decorated
• Doors - Usually have square lintels, set within an arch or
surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment
• Walls - External walls are generally of highly finished ashlar
masonry, laid in straight courses, the corners of buildings
are often emphasized by rusticated quoins, basements and
ground floors were often rusticated.(a masonry textured
rather than smooth)
 MANNERISM
The term Mannerism derives from
the Italian word maneria, means
“style” or “way of working”
• Details -courses, mouldings and all decorative details are
carved with great precision. Studying and mastering the
details of the ancient Romans was one of the important
aspects of Renaissance theory, mouldings stand out around
doors and windows rather than being recessed, as in Gothic
Architecture, sculptured figures may be set in niches or
placed on plinths.
Mannerism is a style of Renaissance art and
architecture that began in the courts of Italy
in about 1520, then spread throughout
Europe and lasted until about 1610.

Mannerism was anticlassical to many of the

principles of the High Renaissance. Instead of
harmony, clarity, and repose it was
characterized by irrational form, complexity,
and novelty.
During the period, architects experimented
with using architectural forms to emphasize
solid and spatial relationships.

The style is characterized by the distortion of

elements such as proportion and space.

In architecture the style was manifested in
the use of unbalanced proportions and
arbitrary arrangement of decorative features.
Characteristics of art

• Exaggerated Forms
• Humour
• Lavish Decoration
• The Natural World
Exaggerated Forms
In Mannerism, human figures usually appear
slightly elongated or stretched and given
exaggerated poses. Skewed perspectives and
dramatic foreshadowing provide tension within a
composition. Twisted or distorted figures add to
the impression of movement, making the drama
seem even more vivid.
Humour
Mannerist artists aimed to delight and surprise
their patrons with inventive and playful motifs.
Combinations of objects, characters, plants or
animals were a common element.
Lavish Decoration
Rich and elaborate decoration was popular in
Mannerist design. Both flat and three-dimensional
surfaces were covered with patterns, motifs and
sculptural ornament. . Human figures, animals,
monsters and plants are everywhere.

The Natural World

Mannerist artists took their inspiration from the
natural world, but used the material or form in
surprising or novel ways.
Michelangelo (1475 - 1564)

He thought of himself primarily as a sculptor, but

he was also an innovative architect and painter.
The best architect associated with the Mannerist
style.
Medici Chapel
San Lorenzo, Florence
Architect: Filippo Brunelleschi
1420-1470
Location: Florence, Italy  
Building Type: church
Style: Italian Renaissance

The Basilica San Lorenzo is one of the

largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated
at the centre of the city’s main market
district, and the burial place of all the
principal members of the Medici family
from Cosimo Vecchio to Cosimo III.

The New Sacristy, or Medici Chapel, was

done by Michelangelo,1520 -1534. Location in Florence
Concept:
Brunelleschi ‘s geometric style,
inspired by ancient Rome and
completely different from the
Gothic style .

Its main feature was the

dominance of mathematical
proportions, marked by a spatial
module based on the cubic
form, with orthogonal straight
lines and flat planes.
Sagrewstia Vecchia (Old Sacristy)
• It was the work of Brunelleschi, decorated with
sculptures by Donatello.

• In the center, beneath a marble table, is the

tomb of Giovanni di Bicci Piccard and his wife,
parents of Cosimo Vecchio.

• He designed the sacristy as a cube overtaken

by a hemispheric dome, where the dome is
shown as a ray of sunshine in which each of the
12 rays representing the 12 apostles; this is a
way of representing the universe.

• The cube acting as the human world and the

sphere the heavens.
Important characteristics:
• Intentional reintroduction of
anthropomorphic classical Corinthian
pilasters and Ionic columns with a fully
developed architrave
• The use of basic geometric relationships
• A strong emphasis on the centralization
of space.

• The architecture of the Old Sacristy is

made up of shapes and numbers in
Ebreo-Christian tradition and identifies
with perfection.

• The strict language focuses on the cube

and the sphere, in the square and the
circle, in numbers three and four with
mathematics combinations.
Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy)
The new sacristy by Michelangelo is a
simple structure intended to house the
tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici,
was commissioned in 1519 by Cardinal
Giulio de' Medici to mirror another
Florentine structure, Brunelleschi's Old
Sacristy . He also designed the Medici
tombs within.

Michelangelo paid close attention to the

positioning of the chapel's windows to
achieve the illumination so crucial to the
mood and purpose of the structure.

The four floating circles placed at the base

of the dome add to its soaring effect.
The new sacristy was composed of three
registers

• The topmost topped by a coffered

pendentive dome.
• The articulation of the interior walls can be
described as early examples of Renaissance
Mannerism.
• The combination of pietra serena pilasters on
the lower register is carried through to the
second
however, in Mannerist fashion, architectural
elements 'seem impossible,' creating suspense
and tension that is evident in this example.
 DOME OF SACRISTY

SECTION OF NEW SACRISTY

DOME OF NEW SACRISTY
 Madonna and child with saints
Cosmas and Damian(Lorenzo
and Giuliano were buried at
entrance wall over them marble
The Medici Chapel is adorned with
group is build)
sculptures, Corinthian capitals, and
fluted pilasters.
 Tomb of Giuliano de Medici Tomb of Lorenzo di Piero de’
 with Night and Day Medici with Dusk and Dawn
The two tombs were built on opposite walls of the room are also very
original, starting with their curved tops. A male and a female figure sit
on each of these curved bases, these are personifications of, on one
tomb, Day and Night, according to the artist’s own statement, and, on
the other, Dawn and Dusk.
 Tomb of Lorenzo di Piero de' Tomb of Giuliano de Medici
Medici with Dusk and Dawn  with Night and Day
The massive Day and Dusk are relatively tranquil in their mountainous
grandeur, though Day perhaps implies inner fire.
Both female figures have the tall, slim proportions and small feet
considered beautiful at the time, but otherwise they form a contrast: 
Dawn-a female figure, strains upward along her curve as if trying to
emerge into life
Night- is asleep, but in a posture suggesting stressful dreams.
• Born Nov. 30, 1508- died August PALLADIO
1580, Vicenza
• Studied mathematics, music,
philosophy, and Classical authors
• Inspired by the writings of the
ancient Roman architect
VITRUVIUS.
• Important as Architect
– Palladio was the first to
systematize the plan of a house
and to use the ancient Greco-
Roman temple front as a portico
– Master of supreme symmetry
• Palladian Style: rounded arches
flanked by rectangular openings
Villa Capra (Villa la Rotonda)
Vill Capra (Villa la Rotonda)
Architect: Andrea Palladio
1567-1570
Location: Vicenza(Northern Italy)
Building Type: Villa
Style: Renaissance, Palladian
architecture
Context: Rural Location in Vicenza

In 1565 Paolo Almerico decided to return his

home town venetian countryside and build a
country house, later known as La Rotonda
was palladio’s best known building to the
architecture world. The villa was inspired by
the Pantheon in Rome. Palladio classed the building as a
"palazzo" rather than a villa.
The villa was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.
Similarities: use of classical orders, bodies that compose it.
Differences: scale of the work. Work for god vs work for men
Concept:
• The site selected was on a hill at significantly high
level and the outskirts of Vicenza.
• The building is rotated 45 degrees to south on the
hilltop, enabling all rooms to receive some
sunshine.
• The villa is asymmetrically sited in the
topography.
• The symmetrical architecture in asymmetrical N
relationship to the landscape intensifies the Site plan
experience of the hilltop.
• The northwest loggia is set recessed into the hill
above an axial entry from the front gate.
• This axis is flanked by a service building and
continues visually to a chapel at the edge of the
town, thus connecting villa and town.
plan
Plan:
This villa represents the typical style of
Renaissance period:
• symmetry, perfection, harmony
• four identical facades
• balance, visual clarity, and
uniformity
• Greek cross plan
It presents a square plan with identical
porticoes projecting from each of four
façades. The name La Rotonda refers
to the central circular hall with its
dome. All the other rooms are
perfectly rectangular and are placed
around the round hall, so that they can
views towards the landscape.
This combination of square and circle
is characteristic of the Renaissance.
Palladio died in 1580 and a second
architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi, was employed by
the new owners for completion. One of the
major changes he made to the original plan was
to modify the two-storey central hall.

Palladio had intended it to be covered by a high

semi-circular dome but Scamozzi designed a
lower dome with an oculus (intended to be open
to the sky) inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.
The dome was ultimately completed with
a cupola.

The highlight of the interior is the central,

circular hall, surrounded by a balcony and
covered by the domed ceiling, it soars the full
height of the main house up to the cupola, with
walls decorated in trompe l'oeil.
Balance, visual clarity, and uniformity, module

12mts.
6mts.
8mts.

3mts.
6mts.
20mts.
4mts.

3mts.
8mts.

6mts.
`

12mts.
4mts.

Other rooms were proportioned with mathematical precision according

to Palladio's own rules of architecture which he published in the Quattro
Libri dell'Architettura.
The villa is spread over three floors, communicating with the central hall
Fourth floor connects to the basement of the four entries.
The corridors that connect the various rooms of the villa.
outside staircase that enable communication between the building and
the exterior and interior stairs that connect the four floors.
PRONAO
The galleries with a pronaos with 6
Ionic columns, entablature and thin in
its top decorated with classical
sculptures, all reinvented the classic
art.

This pattern is repeated in the four

walls that are preceded by a grand
staircase.

The pronao appears as a threshold

between open and closed space.

A large central staircase like a Roman

temple serves as access.
Dome:
The broad steps, bounded by side walls, leading to the gates that stand
in the bucket. A narrow hallway leads vaulted from each of the
chambers, the central circular space, whose diameter is equivalent to
the width of the gate. The central room is covered with a great
hemispherical dome.
Ionic columns:
6 Ionic columns which mark the entrance towards their interior with a
separation between them so as not to disturb the view, these are
repeated on its four facades
Windows:
the facade is composed of 10 of these which 8 are on the same axis
which creates a spatial continuity with its exterior. The other 2 are on
the service floor which has as a major use of ventilation.
Statues
Each of the four porticos has pediments graced by statues of classical
deities, clearly inspired by the classical facades of the temples.
San Giorgio Maggiore
Architect: Andréa Palladio
Location: Venice, Italy
Building Type: church(1566-1610)
Style Interior: Italian Renaissance
Style Exterior: Mannerist Architecture
Located on a small island near the tip of Location in Venice
the Giudecca.
Palladio found his principal source of
inspiration in the architecture of
classical antiquity most notably Roman
temple, to create a noble façade .
The church architecture as per client’s
need to display its high social status, and
Palladio certainly complied with this
mandate, creating an imposing façade and
a grand interior. Location in Venice
His chief model was the church of Santa
Giustina (1521-60)
He used a similar plan featuring a nave flanked
by two side aisles that are separated from the
nave by piers and composite columns on
pedestal bases.
Location plan

A transept with arms terminating in

semicircular apses, as well as a deep
choir likewise terminating in a semicircular
apse.
Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore
As at Santa Giustina, the crossing of the nave
and transept is surmounted by a dome, but
Palladio avoided using additional
domes over the nave but he include half
domes over the transepts.
G. plan of Santa Giustina, Padua
Palladio adopted a longitudinal plan for church
intersected of a rectangular plan, a transept
forms the shape of a cross.
It is also notable for the clarity and geometry
of its organization.

The crossing is a perfect square centered

between the entrance and the altar, and this
hemi spherically domed space is intersected by
vaults of equal width on each of its four sides.

Two of these sides form the arms of the

transept, whose semicircular apses have the
same diameter as the dome of the crossing.
Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore
The vaulted aisles are distinguished from the barrel-vaulted nave and
transept by their lower height and different vaulting systems, which
help to draw attention to emphasize the dome in the center.
Palladio created the effect of a centrally planned church at same time,
this effect is negated by the lengthening of the nave.

A resolution responding to the Renaissance "ideal" of the centralized

plan and symbolic cross form and both the medieval tradition of nave
churches and the requirements.

It is three bays long − and the extension of the monks’ choir behind the
cross.
Maintaining an impression
of centrality while
adhering to the
rectangular plan, Palladio
succeeded in combining
two different planning
systems into a cohesive
whole
Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore
He also look into the importance of music for the residents of the
monastery to which San Giorgio belonged.
He design a choir with the proper acoustics and layout to accommodate
a large vocal group. A place where “the work of God was performed”
In the space, acoustical considerations were on Palladio’s mind he
choose a barrel-vaulted ceiling for the main space of the choir.
Choir is separated from the rest of the church by a screen of columns.

Choir of San Giorgio Maggiore Choir of San Giorgio Maggiore

Palladio’s façade shows a
characteristically  Mannerist  arrangement
of Classical elements.
The facade is white and it represents
Palladio's solution to the difficulty of
adapting a classical temple facade to the
form of the Christian church.

Palladio offered a new solution to the

Renaissance problem of placing a classical
facade in front of a basilican cross section.
He combined two temple fronts: a tall one
consisting of four Corinthian columns on
pedestals that support a pediment at the
end of the nave, superimposed over a wide
one, with smaller Corinthian pilasters, that
matches the sloping aisle roofs.
• The dominant central element, featuring
four giant half-columns of
the Composite order, stands in front of
the nave.

• The side aisles, fronted by

smaller Corinthian pilasters supporting
parts of a lower pediment.

• He used white Istrian stone for the

façade of church is fully in the Venetian
tradition.

• Although Palladio believed that white

was the most appropriate color for a
church, as it represented purity and
hence was more pleasing to God.
INTERIOR
• The interior of the church is very
bright, with massive engaged columns
and pilasters on undecorated, white-
surfaced walls.

• The interior ceiling is a longitudinal

barrel vault leading to a crossing,
framed by grouped columns and
arches, which support a dome lit with
a lantern.
• Cross vaults above side aisles and a
transept with apsidal chapels intersect
the nave, and beyond the crossing is a
presbytery and a monk's choir.

• Clerestory windows bring light to the

side chapels and to the nave.
ll Redentore Church
Architect: Andréa Palladio
Location: Venice, Italy
Building Type: church(1577-1592)
Style Interior: Italian Renaissance
Style Exterior: Mannerist Architecture
Location in Venice
Located on a small island near the tip of
the Giudecca.

Palladio found his principal source of

inspiration in the architecture of
classical antiquity most notably Roman
temple, to create a noble façade .

Location in Venice
PLAN
• The Renaissance architect considered the
centralized plan to be the most perfect and
beautiful form for a church.
• In a conventional rectangular space, the
congregation faced the altar, behind which a
choir might be located. In a centrally planned Location plan

church this arrangement could not be

achieved.
• The plan is in the form of a Latin cross, in the
long arm of which are three chapels formed in
the aisles on each side of the nave, which is
twice its width in length.
• The church had three main functions
The nave and side chapel
The sanctuary
The choir
Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore
• He used a plan featuring a nave flanked by
two side aisles that are separated from the
nave by piers and composite columns on
pedestal bases.

• A transept with arms terminating in

semicircular apses, as well as a deep choir
likewise terminating in a semicircular apse.

• The sanctuary, at the south end of the

building, has a semicircular screen of
Corinthian columns and contains the
principal altar, while the transepts are also
of semicircular form.

• Behind the screen the choir is placed.

Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore

The nave from the tribune by colossal piers that
frame the altar, the choir from the tribune by a
screen of four columns .

This spaces at church was inspired by Roman

baths, which often had spaces that needed to
Section
be separated yet connected by column screens.
Palladio also looked to ancient Roman baths as
inspiration for the wall thicknesses and the
niches in church.

Instead of the medieval freestanding piers for

the support of vaulting and domes, he used the
Roman idea of wall masses.

Upon the walls, then, he superimposed colossal

engaged columns as a form of ornament, rather
than for structural purposes. Plan of San Giorgio Maggiore
The façade was inspired by the Classical
architecture of Antiquity .
• A central triangular pediment overlies a larger
one, the motif of double interlocking
pediments.
• The church is a large edifice clad in white
marble, which seems to purity.
• Palladio applied rigorous geometric proportions
to façade.
• The central part of the facade is 63 feet wide
and 75 feet high.
• The walls, vaults, chapels, leaves of capitals and
interior dome are of brick, while the bases,
imposts, entablature, dressings to windows and
doors, and the facade are of Istrian stone.
• Above the walls separating the side chapel
taken masses of masonry, forming buttresses to
resist the pressure of the nave vault.
The facade has a main order of Composite
columns.
• This order is raised upon a platform, in the
height of which is managed the principal
flight of steps, which is as wide as the nave
on plan.
• Half columns of this same order flank the
central door of the church and support
entablature and pediment, and are also
carried round the lateral facades.
• On either side of the central doorway are
niches for statues, flanked by pilasters
supporting entablature and pediment.
• Palladio’s decision to raise the building on a
pedestal.
Like Alberti before him, he believed that
“temples” should be elevated above the
ground level.
INTERIOR

• The height of the dome from the ground is

2times the width of the base.

• The walls of the interior are ornamented by

an order of Corinthian half columns, with
entablature one-fifth of their height, these
columns are coupled between the chapels
and have two niches between them.

• The arches to the side chapels are

semicircular and rest upon impost
mouldings supported by Corinthian
pilasters.
INTERIOR

• The height of these openings is rather

more than twice their width.
• Each chapel is crowned with an internal
semicircular vault, corresponding with the
arch to the nave.
• The height of the nave vault, which is of
brickwork, and rises from the main
entablature is 65 feet 10 inches, and in
this semi-elliptical vault are semicircular
arches lighting the nave.
• Arches of this form are also placed lower
in the chapel aisle walls in order to light
these portions.
 BAROQUE
“Baroque” comes from the Portuguese “barroco”
 Baroque Architecture
• Period : 1600-1750
• Place : Italy and Major part of Europe
• Architect: Bernini, Borommini, painter Pietro da Cortona
• INSPIRATION: Late Renaissance Mannerism
• Style : To express elaborate emotions and sensuality
• TRAITS: Bold carving, New exploration of forms, Light
and Shadow, Dramatic Intensity.
• PREFERRED PLAN: Complex Plan Oval and Star shape
• ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES: Grand buildings, Elaborate
decoration, Play of light, Use of colours, Carving Facades
• BUILDING TYPES: Churches, Palaces
 Baroque Architecture
• Baroque(1600-1750)

• Early baroque(1600-1625)
(Developed in Italy, By Architect Maderno, Façade of Saint Peter’s)

• High Baroque(1625-1675)
(Developed in Italy by Architect Bermini and Borromini, express by sacred
architecture)

• Late Baroque(1675-1725)
(Developed in France)

• Rococo(1725-1800)
 Characteristics of Baroque Architecture
• Space is independent and extends outwards in a tendency
to control larger areas.
• Wide use of ornaments
• Large-scale ceiling frescoes.
• Great emphasis on details and the use of color, light and
shade, sculptural values and intense incorporation of arts.
• External facades are characterized by a central projection.
• Interior spaces are used for painting and sculpture.
• The use of illusory effects through the use of painting and
sculpture.
 Characteristics of Baroque Architecture
• In contrast to renaissance building which can be easily and
quickly understood and perceived, baroque buildings are
huge and complicated with great concentration on the
reflection of power and supremacy.

• The use of columns, domes, towers and oval windows.

Saint Peter’s Dome
Saint Peter’s Dome
Architect:(Bramante to Barnini)
1505-1626)
Location: Vatican city, Italy
Building Type: church
Style: The Italian Renaissance &
Baroque Architecture

• It is the Europe’s Largest church.

• It is the second church to stand above
the crypt(tomb) believed to hold the
body of saint peter, the first pope.
• St. Peter’s is built in the shape of cross.
• There has been a church on this site
since the 4th century.
• Construction of present basilica, began
in 1506 and complited in 1626.
• The first St. Peter’s church was built
around 320AD by Constantine to
celebrate his acceptance of
Christianity.
• A rectangular building used as a
meeting hall by Romans. Four rows of
columns, extending almost the length
of the church, divided it into a nave
with two aisles on either side. OLD ST. PETER’S BASILICA
• Approximate plan: The base of north (Constantinian Basilica)
grandstand of the circus becomes the
foundation of the south wall of Old St.
peter’s.
• Peter’s tomb was just north of road,
along the north side of circus. It
becomes the center of the crossing of
the nave and transepts of both the
old and new St. peter.
• In 1452, Pope Nicholas began to
restore and expand the church. The
restoration continued until 1506,
when Pope julius ll dicided to rebuilt
the church complitely.
• During its construction, 10 different
architects worked on St. Peter’s and
changed its design.
• First he hired Italian architect
Donato Bramante to do the job.

• He designed a domed, perfectly

symmetrical church in the form of a
Latin cross(a cross with four equal
length arms), the center would be Bramante, plan for St. Peter’s
surrounded by a dome slightly Basilica, 1506
larger than that of the Pantheon.
10 ARCHITECTS
1- Donato Bramante(1506-1514)
He proposed a Greek Cross plan, the
center would be surrounded by a dome
slightly larger than that of the Pantheon.

2- Giuliano Da Sangallo(1514-1546)
He extended the peristyle of Bramante Bramante, Plan(1506)
into a series of arched and ordered openings
around the base. He rather delicate the
lantern form.

3- Raffaello Sanzio
The main change in plan is in the form of
a Roman cross with a short pronaos. The
nave of five bays, with a row of complex
apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side.
Raffaello, Plan(1513)
4- Baldassare Peruzzi
He maintained changes that Raphael had
proposed to the internal arrangement of the
three main apses, but reverted to the Greek
cross plan and other features of Bramante.
5- Antonio Da Sangallo The Younger
Main practical contribution was to
strengthen Bramante’s piers which had begun
Bramante, Plan(1506)
to crack.

6- Michelangelo(1546-1564)
He reverted to Bramante’s original design
for a balanced and restful dome in to dynamic
construction. He shortened Raphael’s nave
and added façade. The Greek cross plan
converted its snowflake complexity into
massive, cohesive unity.
Michelangelo, Plan(1547)
7- Jacob Barozzi Da Vignola
One of the two minor domes, designed by
Vignola. Vignola served as second in
command after Michelangelo’s death and
chief architect from 1565 to 1573.
(Smaller domes are in style of Bramante’s
original cupola; thin walled and single
layered)

8- Giacomo Della Porta

He altered Michelangelo’s design by
adding of lion’s masks over the swags on the
drum in honor of Pope sixtus and adding a
circlet of finials around the spire at the top
of lantern, as proposed by Sangallo.
He proposed to raise the outer dome higher
above the inner one.
9- Carlo Maderno
He made the significant contributions
since Michelangelo, because he pulled down
the remaining parts of Old St. Peter’s and
proceeded to transform Michelangelo’s
centralized Greek-cross design into a Latin
cross with a long nave.
Carlo Maderno, Plan(1547)
10- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
His work at St. Peter’s include the
baldacchino, the Chapel of the Sacrament,
the plan for the niches and loggias in the
piers of the dome and the choir of St. Peter.

In the mid-17th century Bernini’s Colonnade

completed the Composition by forming a
wide ceremonial piazza at the front.
PLAN OF ST. PETER
• Comprises of 3 main structures
Basilica, the square and front terrace
• Symmetrical balanced alignment
• An elongated nave in the Latin cross plan
• One of the arm slightly longer than the other
three.
• Aisles are ended by a portico at east end and
an apse across the west end
• The nave is framed by wide aisles which has a
number of chapels off them.
• The nave leads to the central dome is in three
bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault.
• The basilica is approached by Square, a
forecourt in two sections, both surrounded
by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and
the second trapezoid.
FAÇADE Carlo Maderno

The façade is 114.69Meter Wide

and 45.55 Meter high.
• It is built of travertine stone,
with a giant order of
Corinthian columns and a
central pediment rising in
front of a tall attic surmounted
by 13 statues(6Mt): Christ flanked by eleven of Apostles and John
the Baptist. Peter’s statue is left and Saint Paul at right flanking
the entrance stairs.
• The inscription below the cornice on the 1 metre tall frieze reads.
• The façade has some problems in the proportions between its height
and width, too much details and too heavy attic storey.
• The façade and the addition to the nave blocked out the view of the
dome and made the building without vertical feature dimension.
St. Peter’s Plaza(1656-1667)
• It is located in front of basilica.
• Bernini designed plaza under
Pope Alexander Vll.
• A red granite shaft stands
26Meter high in the centre. It
was brought to rome from egypt
and moved to piazza in 1586.
• It includes two massive Tuscan
colonnades, Two granite
fountains arranged in piazza by
Bernini and Maderno.
• The Tuscan colonnades, four
columns deep frame the
trapezoidal entrance to the
basilica and the massive elliptical
area.
St. Peter’s INTERIORS
• The interior is decorated in
Baroque style.

• The decoration includes colored

marble incrustation, stucco
figures, rich gilding, mosaic
decoration, marble figures on
pilasters, ceilling and walls.

• Bernini built bronze canopy over

the main alter, stands beneath the
dome.
• Papal alter by Bernini.

• There are also a number of

sculptures in niches and chapels,
including Michelangelo's Pietà.
St. Peter’s INTERIORS
• The basilica contains a large number
of tombs of popes and other notable
people

• The sanctuary culminates in a
sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini,
and containing the symbolic Chair of
Saint Peter.

• The nave has huge paired pilasters, in

keeping with Michelangelo's work.
St. Peter’s INTERIORS
• Bernini design the baldacchino a
pavilion-like structure 28.74 metres
tall and claimed to be the largest piece
of bronze in the world, which stands
beneath the dome and above the
altar.
• The central space of the church, Stairwells (inside piers) Baldacchino
Bernini had the huge piers, begun by
Bramante and completed by
Michelangelo, hollowed out into
niches, and had staircases made inside
them, leading to four balconies.
• On the balconies Bernini created
showcases, framed by the eight
ancient twisted columns, to display Internal piers
the four most precious relics of the
basilica
St. Peter’s Dome

Dome Diameter: 138 feet

Dome Type: Ribbed
Height: 390 feet above the floor
Materials: Concrete, brick (masonry)
Architects: Donato Bramante,
Michelangelo…
• It is the tallest dome in the world.
• Dome topped with a lantern
• Surrounded by windows flanked with
Corinthian column - 45mt height
• Highly elaborated with roman ordered
ornaments
• The dome is raised from 4 thick piers on a
drum.
• Dome supports each side of vaults from
the apse, nave and transepts.
• The dome is constructed of two shells
of brick, the outer one having 16 stone
ribs far fewer than in Sangallo's design.
• The encircling peristyle of Bramante
and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced
to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, Each
of 15 metres high, connected by an
arch. Visually they appear to buttress
each of the ribs. The reason for this is
that the dome is ovoid in shape
• The major change that was made to the
model, either by della Porta, or
Michelangelo, was to raise the outer
dome higher above the inner one.
• Series of adjoining arches forms a vault.
• Vault across 4 arms of the latin cross
• Vault supported by buttress wall and
abutment.
 Francesco Borromini (1599 –1667)

• Francesco Borromini was one of the most important architects

working in Baroque Rome. His style diverges from that of his famous
contemporary, Bernini.
• He was a student of Michelangelo.

• Borromini began his career as a sculptor, working with Bernini on

various sculptural projects in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

• Borromini’s architecture adapted classical elements to a more

innovative architecture that was defined by organically curving lines
and a complicated interplay of geometrical forms.

• His work was characterized by individuality and had less spread than
the work of Bernini.
San Carlo Quattro Fontane
Architect:(Borromini)
(1634-1648)
Location: Rome, Italy
Building Type: church
Style: Baroque Architecture
The architecture of Borromini is
complex and intense.

• This is one of two small Baroque

churches close together on the
ridge of the Quirinal Hill.
• The building sits in a small space
on a corner lot, surrounded by
other buildings belonging to the
church.
PLAN
• This plan is based on two equilateral
triangle forming a lozenge.

• Within the lozenge are inscribed two

circles joined by arcs to create an oval.

• The entire periphery is undulating.

• The plan is a combination of a Greek Front Facade

cross and an elongated Lozenge
becoming an oval only at the level of
the cornice of the dome.

• The dome shows honeycomb coffering

and the heighted columns give the
building a Gothic verticality.
• A complex plan based on an oval or
ellipse (the central dome) within a
chamfered rectangle within an
incurved rhombus with rounded corners
(including the apse of the main altar, the
two side chapels and the entrance area).

• The main altar is on the same longitudinal

axis as the door and there are two altars on
the cross axis.
• Groups of four, sixteen columns carry a
broad and continuous entablature.
• The arrangement seems to refer to a cross plan but all the altars are
visible as the two central columns in each arrangement of four are
placed on the oblique with respect to the axial ordering of the
space. This creates an undulating movement effect which is
enhanced by the variation in treatment of the bays between the
columns with niches, mouldings, and doors.
FAÇADE
• Bernardo Castelli Borromini(Nehhew) design
the façade in 1674and completed in 1677.
• The layout is cramped and it is not possible
to see the external walls of the church from
the street apart from the façade and a
glimpse of the dome.
• The fabric is in brick, rendered in stucco,
except for the façade which is in travertine
limestone.
• The campanile stands over one of the
Quattro Fontane on the outside, and the
spiral staircase down to the crypt on the
inside. the cornice of the façade interferes
with the campanile.
• It is integrated with the monastery block to
the right and the campanile to the left
FAÇADE
• The façade includes elements of classical
architecture and applies them in a new
and innovative way.
• Facade is designed with two stories, each
divided into bays.
• The use of alternating convex and
concave curves that result in a rippling,
wavelike façade.
• Tall corinthian columns stand on plinths
and bear the main entablatures, define
the main framework of two storeys and
the tripartite bay division. Between the
columns, smaller columns with their
entablatures weave behind the main
columns and in turn they frame niches,
windows, a variety of sculptures as well
as the main door.
FAÇADE(Companile)

• The campanile stands over one of the

outside, and the spiral staircase down to the
crypt on the inside.
• The cornice of the façade interferes with the
campanile.
• At ground level is the fountain basin, behind
which is a large arched niche containing a
relief of a figure reclining under a tree with
a wolf.
• Above in turn is a rectangular window with a
little triangular pendent raises over a wreath
motif, then the Trinitarian cross again in a
heart-shaped tablet embraced by the wings
of an angel, and finally the campanile itself.
INTERIOR
• The interior is both traditional and
innovative. Its walls are adorned with
classical columns.
• The three principal parts can be identified
vertically as the lower order at ground, the
transition zone of the pendentives and the
oval coffered dome with oval lantern.
• Flaking the apse of the main alter is a pair
of identical doorways. Right door for crypts
and left leads to an external chapel.
• The pedentives are part of the transition
area almost like cross form of lower order
with oval opening to the dome.
• The arches spring from diagonally placed
column of lower wall order to frame alters,
entrance rise to meet the oval entablature .
DOME
• The dome is not easily visible from the
street.
• Borromini raised three semi-domes over the
three altar apses and embellished them with
coffering containing rosettes.
• The dome has a complicated and famous
pattern of coffering, formed from crosses,
octagons and squashed hexagons, and the
coffering shrinks in scale until it meets the
large oval oculus.
• The oculus contains a Trinitarian symbol,
being the Dove of the Holy Spirit within a
triangle.
• It has an oval drum with four octagonal
windows, two on the minor and major axis.
These give the concealed lighting to the
interior dome.
DOME

• On top of the drum the lantern stands

like a little temple or mausoleum on
three concentric steps, it is again oval,
and has four pairs of Doric columns
with a little narrow round-headed
window flanked by each pair.

• The pairs are separated by larger such

windows, four in total

• On top the lantern

ends in four
concentric steps and
a very large ball finial.