Great Cathedral of St Peter

1. Time of construction: from 1506 - 1666
2. Location: Rome, Italy

In the summer of 1505 Grand Patriarch Julius II decided to destroy the most sacred monument in Christianity - the Constantine church built more than 1,000 in the tomb of Saint Peter - and rebuilt.His new grand cathedral is one of the wonders of the world, on an ancient scale never before . Over 200 years later, a continuation of the talented architects continued to work, and the final result also satisfied Julius' ambition. St. Peter's Basilica is an incredible affirmation of confidence, grandeur and authority.

Casting medal in 1506, when starting to build St Peter's church, was almost the only record of Bramante's original intention. Architect Julius chose Donato Bramante, a genius who introduced the peak of Renaissance style in Rome . The characteristics of both Mr. and Julius are St Peter's plan to build a great cathedral: the church is centralized (symmetrical in all 4 dimensions) - the Greek cross has 4 branches ending with the house semicircle at the end of the church, above covered with hemispherical roof. This upside-down roof must be resting on the four main wall pillars, against the ribs with the square chapels above, with a smaller bowl. The facade must have 2 towers. Almost the only information about this church comes from a patchwork diagram and a 1506 figure-molded medal.

Initially the construction was quick, focusing on the four large arches to support the roof of the bowl, but after Julius' death in 1513, and Bramante the following year, the construction progress was slow . The problem is cash. The successor of Julius, Leo X, raised funds by selling forgiveness - ensuring forgiveness of sin - was the reason Luther protested in Wittenberg. So St. Peter's Cathedral is one of the reasons for reform.

Also as Bramante's successor, Leo X appointed Raphael, a strange choice because he was not an architect, and only based on technical advice of Antonio da Sangallo. The end of the altar of the old cathedral was destroyed to build a cathedral-like structure above Saint Peter's tomb to protect the tomb. The work is now almost finished while the debate should proceed in any way - whether to continue to follow Bramante's centralized church diagram or follow a more traditional scheme with the middle of the church longer.

The view of the great cathedral of St Peter looks from the roof of the Bernini colonnade
shows the same bowl roof as Michelangelo's expression that dominates the facade
by the way this time was hidden between Maderno's church.

There are many drawings from the 1520s and 1530s that show the giant arches where the junction is looming above the makeshift temples while the hollow walls in the middle of Constantine are still gloomy ahead. Nearly all of the accumulated treasures for centuries, including the graves of the Patriarchs, were cruelly crushed.

From the time Raphael died in 1520 to appoint Michelangelo in 1546, sketching many diagrams, some centralization, some vertically, but there was no significant improvement on the ground floor. Antonio da Sangallo details the model, which is still available but this diagram never started. This was a difficult time for the papacy, including the sacking of Rome and the development of Protestantism.

A new beginning

The grandeur of Michelangelo's conception is now clearly visible from Vantican Park and rarely seen by the public. Michelangelo is the choice of Patriarch Paul III. He reluctantly undertook the work, without any compensation, "for the sake of the Lord" , immediately returning to Bramante's original diagram. He said: "Anyone who comes from Bramante's idea comes from the truth." His architectural conception nonetheless contrasts with Bramante's idea. Instead of logical, geometric shapes, he viewed mass and space as an expression of irresistible effects. This is a basic architectural conception and made him a pioneer in Baroque style as a result of the Renaissance. He greatly increased the thickness of the main wall supports and the outer walls, thinking (he thought right) they were so weak that they could not support the huge bowl. At the time of his death in 1546, St. Peter's Basilica grew as it was on the top of the polygon wall under the bow of the bowl and the detailed model of the bowl of the bowl was prepared to make his intentions clearer.

The next architect, Giacomo della Porta, did not follow his design, but the main sketch and texture still followed Michelangelo's idea. The bowl is in a two-shell shape: the hemisphere in the hemisphere can be seen from the inside, and another shell, a bit more pointed, is only visible from the outside. It is divided into dynamic concurrent arcs by the dynamical ribs on the top part, creating a continuous impact on the design of the bowl up to now.

The true impact of Michelangelo's imaginative ability can now only be validated from the perspective of the Vatican park. From here a complex hierarchy consists of many shapes - the style of giant wall columns, with the apertures inserted into the space clearly too small for them, roof basement with sophisticated windows , and a strong, multi-spliced ​​belt around the polygon wall under the bow of the bowl and the soaring shape of the upright bowl itself - formed an unforgettable vitality impression.

4 stages of St. Peter's Cathedral development, showing many different solutions proposed by 4 architects.As a result, considering the ceremony, it is necessary to build a long church space, combining the ideas of Bramante and Michelangelo. Michelangelo thought that when he looked at it from the front, he had the same vitality, but the façade was never built, and the idea of ​​a space between the previous church (the Latin cross diagram) was once again noticed. In 1607, a committee of 10 architects made the final decision, Carlo Maderno, one of the first Baroque architects to undertake the construction, within 10 years of completing the space between the church.

Complete St. Peter's Cathedral

It took quite a long time to complete St Peter's cathedral, the construction techniques applied in practice certainly changed. In some years when the work is being promoted, the number of employees is up to 2,000 people. This is the number at the beginning, when Bramante signed a contract with five master architects, this recruited many skilled workers to pay for wages, to carry out every detail on every square meter of sidewalks, walls and roofs. .

Bramante's intersection never blocked the bowl of the bowl as he thought and left the fix for Michelangelo . Under his command, an army of workers increased. When building up, he made more spiraling earthen ramps for tricking rocks. It often depends on the active activity of the current Pope. At the time Della Porta was building the upside-down roof, all resources were forcibly put into service and there were 800 laborers working during the day and night shifts to build.

When building the space between Maderno's church, the situation is similar. The year 1600 formed a team of skilled workers including masons, painters, plasterers, glassmakers and gilders, reflecting the fact that the building was as much focused as the texture. . These specialized functions will be handed down from father to son, the whole group of workers called " Sampietrini "

Most of the stones used in St. Peter's Basilica are taken from mines around the region such as the tufa taken from Port Portense and travertine from Tivoli. The wooden arches needed to make Maderno's cylindrical curved roof were a technical feat, and all woody trunks were transported from Rome. More than 1,000 workers were recruited in construction and in the demolition stage, transferring the last traces of the ruins of the ancient cathedral.

Inside the intersection in the middle of St. Peter's Basilica: Space follows Michelangelo's idea, but adheres to Bernini's idea.This watercolor painting by Louis Haghe describes the procession of the Pope (1864). Nobody wants to take on Maderno's job. Wanting to improve his work both externally and externally, he had to follow Michelangelo's idea. In order to design a new facade that turned out not to be done, the result did not reflect Maderno's talent. Instead of the Baroque facade, he accepted Michelangelo's original scheme but was understood in a boring, boring and heavy sense that no one was admiring. Especially unfortunately the cancellation (due to structural reasons) the towers must flank the middle spans. At this time, it is wide in a disproportionate way, while the length of the space between the church behind it means that the roof is inverted, so the highest peak of the whole building cannot be seen except from a distance.

Actual data:

1. Interior length: 183m
2. Total length, including gate roof: 213m
3. Horizontal wing width: 137m
4. Height of the bowl roof face up with the roof top: 138m
5. Incubator roof diameter: 42m
6. Width of the center between churches: 25m
7. Gate roof width: 71m
8. Width of San Piotro square yard: 198m

Bernini's contribution

The last famous architect to take part in the great St. Peter cathedral is Gianlorenzo Bernini, master in Baroque style. For most visitors it is not fair to assume that the impression both outside and interior belonged to Gianlorenzo Bernini: In the interior, the very large church (completed in 1633) above St Peter's grave, a bronze frame shaped like a support tower on malt columns, while in the exterior is a large oval column of columns consisting of Tuscan columns with 4 deep edges (completed in 1666), surrounding S.Pietro Square and creating Add the wonderful element that Maderno's façade is lacking.

The extremely rich decoration and wooden furniture of St. Peter's Basilica - the statue of the mosaic (there are many larger statues than the people), wood carving, mortar and countless graves of the Pope are also works of Bernini, both inspirational without his hands. St. Peter's Basilica is always infinite, and if it cannot be confirmed that this is the unity of an individual's vision of control, this is the unique expression of a talented nation creative for two centuries.

From above, it is easy to recognize Bernini's Piazza (square)
surrounded by oval columns.