History of architecture St. Peter's basilica

1. NAME : DHRUV GAJJAR
ENROLL. NO. : 02
SUBJECT : HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
TOPIC : ST. PETER’S BASILICA
COLLEGE : BHAGWAN MAHAVIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SUBMITTED TO : JINESH SIR

2. INTRODUCTION TO
ST. PETER’S BASILICA

3. INTRODUCTION
 The Saint Peter's Church, also called St. Peter’s Basilica is a late
Renaissance church within Vatican City.
 It is Europe's largest Christian church.
 It is believed that the body of Saint Peter, the 1st pope is stored here.
 St. Peter's Basilica begins in the 4th century when the Emperor
Constantine decides to build a basilica where the apostle had been
buried.

4. INTRODUCTION
 Present St. peters basilica was made over
old Constantinian basilica.
 Construction of present basilica was began
on 18th April 1506 and completed on 18th
November 1626.
 It is regarded as greatest building of its age
in terms of arts and architecture.

5. ST. PETER’S BASILICA
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY

6. HISTORY
 Replaced an earlier St. Peter's Basilica built by Constantine in 323 A.D.
which was built supposedly over the tomb of St. Peter.
 Constantinian basilica was a rectangular building with four row of column
in almost full length of church divided into the nave in middle and two
aisles on either side.
 In 1506 building was designed for Pope Julius II by Donato Bramante.

7. HISTORY
 Donato Bramante started designing the church in
form of Greek cross[all 4 arm equal].
 He designed the perfectly symmetrical Greek cross,
domed church.
 Bramante’s plan has dome slightly larger than that
of the pantheon.
Bramante’s Plan

8. HISTORY
 Giuliano Da Sangallo had strengthened and extended
the columns of Bramante’s plan, acc., to him columns
wouldn’t withstand the weight of massive dome.
 On Bramante’s death (1514) his successors Raphael
Sanzio, who modified the original Greek cross plan
to a Latin cross with three aisles separated by pillars.
 The architects after Rafael’s death in 1520 were
Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Baldassarre Peruzzi
and Andrea Sansovino.
Raphael Sanzio’s Plan

9. HISTORY
 Michelangelo decided back to return to do Bramante’s
plan.
 he built a basilica in the form of a Greek cross with
5 cupolas.
 the largest of which is the huge central cupola.
Michelangelo’s Plan

10. HISTORY
 In the 17th century Carlo Maderno revised the
Michelangelo’s Greek cross design into Latin cross
design by adding long nave.
 Its design destroyed the Michelangelo’s thought of
making dome visible from all side.
 as a result of alteration, Maderno has to design facade
so that it doesn’t feel distract and make the look
magnificent.
Carlo Maderno Plan

11. HISTORY
ST. PETER’S FAÇADE MADE BY CARLO MADERNO
 Magnificent sculptor built on façade to glorify the follower of Jesus and dome
beside them.

12. HISTORY
 It was Gian Lorenzo Bernini,
one of the most talented
Baroque architects and
sculptors, who designed the
layout of St Peter's Square in
the manner of a theatre, with
the square as the auditorium
and the facade of the basilica
as the stage.
ST. PETER’S SQUARE

13. HISTORY
 he drew up an elliptical
space surrounded by
fourfold rows of columns
adorned with the figures
of 96 saints, which was to
become the most famous
colonnade in the world.
 Bernini himself envisaged
the colonnade as
representing the arms of
God.
ST. PETER’S SQUARE

14. HISTORY
 In the center of St Peter's square today is an
obelisk (132 feet high) brought from Egypt to
Rome in 37 CE during the reign of Caligula.
 Originally it was located on the hill of the
Vatican in Nero's Circus - the site of St Peter's
martyrdom - when he was crucified.
 It was brought to its present location in
1586, and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's
death.
 Its move must have been an astounding
spectacle since it took 140 horses and 900
laborer to move the 385 ton monolith to its
new site, using a complex rope winch
system.
Obelisk in center of St. peter’s square

15. Old Constantinian Basilica Present St. Peter Basilica
TIMELINE

16. Bramante’s
Plan
Raphael Sanzio’s
Plan
Michelangelo’s
Plan
Carlo Maderno’s
Plan

17. INTERIOR OF ST.
PETER’S BASILICA

18. INTERIOR
 The interior of the church is decorated in baroque
style.
 Bernini, who was also a sculptor, created many of
its famous features in the 1650s.
 He built the elaborate bronze baldacchino (canopy)
over the main alter, which stands beneath the
dome.
 It closes the extremely long sweep of the nave and
is 95 ft. High.
 the four principal divisions of the basilica extend
from the dome and are connected with each other
by passages behind the dome piers.

19. INTERIOR
 To the right and the left of the nave lie the
smaller and lower aisles, the right of which
is bordered by four lateral chapels, the left
by three chapels and the passage to the
roof.
 No chairs or pews obstruct the view; the
eye roves freely over the glittering surface
of the marble pavement, where there is
room for thousands of people.
 The paneling of the pavement in geometric
figures is colored marble after the designs
of Giacomo Della porta and Bernini.

20. INTERIOR
 Beneath it is the confession of St. Peter, where the body of
the prince of apostles reposes the tomb of St. Peter’s.
 The general decoration consists of colored marble
incrustations, stucco figures, rich gilding, mosaic
decoration, and marble figures on the pilasters, ceiling,
and walls.
 In interior, there are 45 altars There
is a barrel-vaulted nave, the highest
of any church, leading to the central
dome.

21. EXTERIOR
 The church was given an impressive setting by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of its architects.
 An avenue almost 1.5 kilometers long leads
from the Tiber river to the piazza di San Pietro
(square of St. Peter), a large open space in front
of the church.
 A red granite obelisk (shaft) stands 26m high in
the piazza’s center.
 The piazza which was completed in
1667,contains two fountains and two
colonnades arranged in semicircles on opposite
sides of the piazza.

22. EXTERIOR
 The central balcony is called the loggia of
the blessings.
 the facade is topped by 13 statues.
 between the façade and the interior is the portico mainly designed by Maderno.
 The door in the center was preserved from the old basilica. It was too small for its
new space, so panels
were added at the top
and bottom.
 Known as the Filaret
door it has six panels.

23. DOME OF ST.
PETERS’S BASILICA

24. THE DOME
 The dome was vaulted in which small long
spiral stair case bring to the top of the dome.
 The great double dome is made of brick and is
41.5m in interior diameter (almost as large as
the pantheon), rising to 120m above the floor.
 The four piers of the crossing support the dome
Michelangelo's dome is not a hemisphere, but
a parabola: it has a vertical thrust, which is
made more emphatic by the bold ribbing that
springs from the paired Corinthian columns,
which appear to be part of the drum

25. Dimensions
 Major axis of the piazza - 1115.4 feet.
 Minor axis of the piazza - 787.3 feet.
 Vestibule of the basilica - 232.9 feet wide, 44.2 deep, and 91.8 high.
 Height and width of the nave - 151.5 feet and 90.2 feet respectively.
 Entire length of the basilica including the vestibule - 693.8 feet.
 From the pavement of the church (measured from the confession) to the oculus of the
lantern resting upon the dome the height - 404.8 feet.
 To the summit of the cross surmounting the lantern - 434.7 feet.
 The measurements of the interior diameter of the dome vary somewhat, being
generally computed at 137.7 feet, thus exceeding the dome of the pantheon by a span
of 4.9 feet.
 The surface area of St. Peter's is 163,182.2 sq. Feet.
 It has a 218 meter long nave.

26. THANK YOU