Till recently, architecture was synonymous with churches. Man
had to live out his life according to the way of the Lord that he
learnt on his visit to His house on Sundays. The churches for these
folksy people had to be strong and simple with ample space to sit
or stand (leave the jostling for the marketplace!) - preferably
with etchings of visual stories from the Lord's teachings. The
pattern prevailed everywhere- the Romanesque era ,for example had a
single wide aisle or a wide central nave, flanked by two narrow
aisles-the latter being separated by a row of columns or by square
stacks of masonry called piers, usually connected by arches. The
variations on the theme had to be built in according to the number
of faithful, the building material, the architects' resources and
the churches' vision. All this changed as religion became powerful
in the Middle Ages. It now became the place to impress both the
laity and often its own members - about the glory of the church .It
housed the mightiest power on earth, who in turn was the messenger
of the almighty. All the trappings of power, opulence, pomp and
grandeur are on display in these churches. The St.Peter's Basilica
is both the symbol and the celebration of the power of the
church.
Your trip to destination Italy will take you through various styles
.Enabling a witness the concrete manifestation of man's worldview-
both sacred and temporal.
Some of the well marked architectural ones are: CLASSICAL: GREEKS & ROMANS (6TH CENTURY B.C. TO
A.D. 4TH CENTURY)
The subtle harmonies of space, materials and techniques are the
hallmarks of Hellenic architecture. The Romans, while utilizing
these, added their own utilitarian post-and-lintel construction
(essentially, a weight-bearing frame, like a door) as well as the
load-bearing arch. Experience the perfection of Grecian
architecture in most Greek Temples in the Magna Graecia of southern
Italy, Sicily; Greek theaters in Sicily at Taormina, Segesta, and
Syracuse. Equally, relive a piece of Roman history -and
architecture -in Rome's 45,000-seat Colosseum, Pantheon (A.D. 1st
c.); the brick public Baths of Caracalla (A.D. 3rd c.); and the
Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius in the Roman Forum.ROMANESQUE
The Romanesque architects were more hardy and
utilitarian-concentrating on building large churches with wide
aisles to accommodate the masses. In their hands, the Good Lord's
place had to withstand the elements and often act as a shelter from
the marauding enemy .Not surprisingly, the walls were necessarily
thick and solid with few and small windows. These rested on huge
piers that imparted a dark, somber, mysterious, feeling. Be
transported into an era of strife and wars - and the power of
religion in its midst in such fine examples as: Modena's Duomo,
Abbazia di Sant'Antimo; Milan's Basilica di San Ambrogio; Pisa's
Cathedral group; Lucca's Cattedrale di San Martino and San Michele
GOTHIC (LATE 12TH TO EARLY 15TH
CENTURIES)
The settled conditions of the Feudal era coincided with the rise of
the Gothic style. Engineering techniques now allowed architects to
build soaring, many storied structures, ceilings that pierced the
skies, thin walls, and numerous windows. The church could now
become the high point of a town with the interiors expressly
designed to attract the churchgoers. The joy of an airy atmosphere
was enhanced with comic books of stained-glass windows that they
could "read".
You would be equally enchanted with Milan's massive Duomo &
Baptistry, Siena's Duomo, in Florence: Basilica di Santa Maria
Novella as well as Basilica di Santa Croce Santa Maria Sopra
Minerva in RomeRENAISSANCE (15TH TO 17TH
CENTURIES)
Renaissance reveled in proportion, order, classical inspiration,
and mathematical precision to create unified, balanced structures.
To this were added the notion of perspective and line of vision
-ideas that changed the very notion of art .An architect, Filippo
Brunelleschi, first incorporated these and masterpieces emerged in
the form of the Basilica di Santa Croce's Pazzi Chapel, the
interior of the Basilica di San Lorenzo and the ingenious dome
capping Il Duomo. Architect Bramante built on these principles
transfusing it with his own vision in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica
and the textbook Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio .The versatile
Michelangelo on the other hand approached architecture like a
sculptor and gave it anew dimension. He designed Florence's Medici
Laurentian Library and New Sacristy, the facade of the Palazzo
Farnese as well as his crowning glory, the soaring dome of St.
Peter's Basilica and could well make you go weak in the knees.
Andrea Palladio became the high priest of Renaissance architecture
by inventing the grandiloquent Palladian style that still
influences grandeur in architecture- anywhere in the world. His
masterpieces include Villa Foscari and the great Villa Rotonda,
Vicenza's Olympic Theater San Giorgio Maggiore could remind you of
a monument you have seen in your own lands! BAROQUE & ROCOCO (17TH TO 18TH CENTURIES)
Baroque style went a step further and modeled architecture on art.
Apart from the appurtenance that looked more like sculptures, the
stuccoes, figurines, and paintings were all carefully integrated in
a seamless harmony. Rococo on the other hand, piled on the
decorative elements excessively and it comes across as an
inordinately and often soulless version of the baroque.
Experience the baroque grandeur at Carlo Maderno's facade,
Bernini's colonnade for Rome's St. Peter's Square, the churches of
the Apulian city Lecce. The rococo style is conspicuously present
at Rome's Spanish Steps.
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