History & Theory of

Architecture III, ARC

314: Lesson # 5
Naveeda Maqbool Bhatti
7-12-2022
Early Christian
 Historical Influences
• In 63 BC, the Romans conquered Judea in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Main inhabitants were the Jews
• Jews believed that one day the “Messiah” or “Christ” would free them from the Romans
• In 27 AD, Jesus began preaching to people in Galilee, north of Judea
• After three years, he was arrested by the Jews and found guilty of offending their god
• He was nailed to a cross and died a painful death
• He appeared to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead
 Christian Belief
• Belief that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God - Christianity was
born
• Disciples spread stories of Jesus’ life and teaching by word of mouth and
by written account in the new testament
• Moved from Judea to Antioch in Syria and into the Northern
Mediterranean
• Founded new communities along the way
 Spread of Christianity
• Carried by St. Peter, St. Paul and other missionaries to Rome, the center of the
Empire and fountainhead of power and influence
• Emperor Nero ordered Christians to be fed to wild beasts or burned to death
• Despite this, in 4th century Rome, Christianity grew
• In 312 AD, Constantine, a converted Christian, named it the official religion of the
Roman empire
• By 600 AD, most Roman villages had their own churches, governed by a bishop
• Patriarchs based in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome
 Architectural Character
• Highly -influenced by Roman art and architecture
• This architecture hardly has the architectural value of a style as it was just a
continuation of the solutions of constructive problems already given by the
Romans.
• Further development in roofs and ceilings was seen in the truss system
introducing king and queen post trusses
• Ruins of Roman buildings served as quarries from which materials were
obtained
 Basilican Churches
• Roman basilicas as models
• Usually erected over the burial place of the saint to whom it was dedicated
• Unlike Greek and Roman temples which sheltered gods, the purpose of the Christian church was to
shelter worshippers
• Came in a complex, with cathedral, belfry or campanile, and baptistery
• Fine sculptures and mosaics worked into new basilicas
• Paid little regard to external architectural effect
• Entrance at west
• Priest stood behind altar, facing east
Examples
• Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome
• Sant’ Apollinare, Ravenna
• Sant’ Agnese Fuori Le Mura, Rome
• Basilica Papale San Paolo fuori le
Mura, Rome
• San Clemente al Laterano, Rome
• Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Baptisteries
• Used only for sacrament of
baptism, on festivals of Easter,
Pentecost and Epiphany
• Large separate building from
church, sometimes adjoined
atrium
 Tombs or Catacombs
• Christians objected to cremation, insisted on burial on consecrated ground
• Land for burials had become scarce and expensive
• Monumental tombs became expressions of faith in immortality
• Cemeteries or catacombs were excavated below ground
• Several stories extending downwards
• Usually domed and enriched with lavish mosaic decorations
• Walls and ceilings were lavishly decorated with paintings mixing pagan symbolism
with scenes from the bible
 Saint Peter’s
Square Vatican City
St. Peter's
• St. Peter's is a church in the Renaissance style located in Rome
• Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carl o Maderno
and Gian Lorenzo Bernini
• St. Peter's is one of the largest churches in the world.
• By Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake
Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
Saint Peter’s Basilica
 St. Peter’s Square
• The basilica is approached via St. Peter's Square, a forecourt in two
sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades.
• The facade of the basilica, with a giant order of columns, stretches across
the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 5.55
meters (18.2 ft) statues of the 1st century apostles to Rome, Saints Peter
and Paul.
• Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome
Colonnade
St. Paul
St. Peter
 Old Saint Peter's/OSP Basilica, Rome

• Erected by Constantine near

the site of St. Peter's
martyrdom
• The Circus of Nero was torn
down to erect it
Circus of Nero
New Plan
 Roman Basilical Church
• Basilical church developed from Roman secular basilica; centralized type
from Roman house of justice or tombs
• Basilical plan modified for liturgical requirements; congregation and
clergy segregated in nave and aisles vs. transept and apse.
• The plan was initially adapted from the Roman basilica
• The narthex was usually on the west, and the altar was toward the east, an
orientation followed in most later medieval churches.
 Introduction
• Old St. Peter's Basilica was a prototype for developments in Christian architecture
• Old St. Peter's, was both a martyrium (built over the grave site of Saint Peter, it
marked and commemorated his martyrdom) and a basilica used for worship
• The size of Old St. Peter's mirrors the triumphant attitude of Christianity following
the Edict of Milan in 313, which granted religious freedom to the Christians
• It is a five aisled basilican- plan church with apsed transept at the west end.
Crucifixion of
Saint Peter 
by Caravaggio,
1601
Time Line
• It is the first basilica of Saint Peter in
Rome
• Its construction begun between 326 and
333 at the order of the Roman emperor
Constantine
• It took about 30 years to complete
• Old St. Peter’s was torn down in the
early 16th century and replaced by new
St. Peter’s
 OSP Plan
• The church was entered
through an atrium called
paradise that enclosed a
garden with fountains
• From the atrium there
were five doors into the
body of the church.
 OSP Structure
• At St. Peter's, as in many
Roman basilicas, wooden
beams supported a gable roof,
and clerestory windows allowed
light to illuminate the nave
• On the clerestory walls, each
pierced by 11 windows, where
frescoes of the patriarchs,
prophets, and apostles and
scenes from the old and new
testaments.
 Interior

• The interior division of

space, with a nave flanked
by side aisles, is similar to
certain Roman basilicas.
OSP Transept
• Old St. Peter's has transepts ("transverse
enclosure"), a feature that would become
traditional in Christian churches
• Transepts create a cross shape; the term
cruciform (cross-like) basilica designates
Early Christian churches with transepts
• These architectural spaces, extensions to
the north and south, meet the nave at the
crossing.
Columns

• Many of the columns used in building Old St.

Peter's were taken from earlier Roman
buildings; materials thus reused are known as
spolia.
 Spiral Columns

• The group of spiral

columns that decorated
the altar area at Old St.
Peter's had a special
significance, for they
were thought to have
been taken from the
Temple of Solomon in
Jerusalem before 320
A.D.
 Stone
• Old St. Peter's had a
rather plain brick
exterior hut, the interior
was adorned with
precious materials,
including marble Roman
columns, mosaics, and
frescoes.
Exterior
• The decorated interior contrasted
with the exterior, subtly reminding
the visitor that the beauty of the
inner spirit was more important
than external, physical adornment.
 Details
• From the entrance, one's
attention was focused on
the high altar, set below
an enormous arch on
which a mosaic depicted
Christ, Saint Peter, and
the emperor Constantine.
Thank You!