| Author | : Sarah McPhee |
| Publisher | : Yale University Press |
| Total Pages | : 332 |
| Release | : 2002-01-01 |
| Genre | : Architecture |
| ISBN | : 9780300089820 |
In 1638, Gianlorenzo Bernini began the ambitious architectural project of designing and constructing massive twin bell towers atop St. Peter's basilica. But the project failed spectacularly. This volume tells the story of the bell towers, presenting both visual and documentary evidence.
| Author | : R. A. Scotti |
| Publisher | : Penguin |
| Total Pages | : 353 |
| Release | : 2007-05-29 |
| Genre | : History |
| ISBN | : 110115781X |
In this dramatic journey through religious and artistic history, R. A. Scotti traces the defining event of a glorious epoch: the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Begun by the ferociously ambitious Pope Julius II in 1506, the endeavor would span two tumultuous centuries, challenge the greatest Renaissance masters—Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante—and enrage Martin Luther. By the time it was completed, Shakespeare had written all of his plays, the Mayflower had reached Plymouth—and Rome had risen with its astounding basilica to become Europe's holy metropolis. A dazzling portrait of human achievement and excess, Basilica is a triumph of historical writing.
| Author | : Megan Stine |
| Publisher | : Penguin |
| Total Pages | : 114 |
| Release | : 2019-12-24 |
| Genre | : Juvenile Nonfiction |
| ISBN | : 1524792594 |
Did you know that the Vatican is a country--the smallest in the world? Find out the amazing history of the headquarters of the Catholic Church. It's time to elect a new pope. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in front of St. Peter's Basilica to learn who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church. A white puff of smoke from a chimney signals the cardinals--the "princes" of the church--have elected one of their own who will continue to be the leader of the faith that has been around for more than two thousand years. Author Megan Stine charts the beginning of Christianity and its hold on members of the faith as well as the countless struggles for power (one pope was poisoned by his own men!), the building of the Vatican and creation of the Sistine Chapel, and the Secret Archives that hold papers the church has accumulated over the centuries.
| Author | : Robert Bauval |
| Publisher | : Simon and Schuster |
| Total Pages | : 297 |
| Release | : 2014-03-01 |
| Genre | : Body, Mind & Spirit |
| ISBN | : 1591437563 |
Reveals how the largest Sun Temple in the world, built according to Hermetic principles, is located at one of Christianity’s holiest sites: the Vatican • Shows how famous Renaissance philosophers and scientists called for a Hermetic reformation of Christianity by building a magical Temple of the Sun in Rome • Explains how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter’s Square to reflect heliocentric and Hermetic principles • Reveals how the design was masterminded by Bernini, Jesuit scholars, the mystical Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes In 16th century Italy, in the midst of the Renaissance, two powerful movements took hold. The first, the Hermetic Movement, was inspired by an ancient set of books housed in the library of Cosimo de’ Medici and written by the Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus. The movement expounded the return of the “true religion of the world” based on a form of natural magic that could draw down the powers of the heavens and incorporate them into statues and physical structures. The other movement, the Heliocentric Movement launched by Copernicus, was a direct challenge to the Vatican’s biblical interpretation of a geocentric world system. Declared a heresy by the Pope, those who promoted it risked the full force of the Inquisition. Exploring the meeting point of these two movements, authors Robert Bauval and Chiara Hohenzollern reveal how the most outspoken and famous philosophers, alchemists, and scientists of the Renaissance, such as Giordano Bruno and Marsilio Ficino, called for a Hermetic reformation of the Christian religion by building a magical utopic city, an architectural version of the heliocentric system. Using contemporary documents and the latest cutting-edge theses, the authors show that this Temple of the Sun was built in Rome, directly in front of the Vatican’s Basilica of St. Peter. They explain how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter’s Square to reflect the esoteric principles of the Hermetica and how the square is a detailed representation of the heliocentric system. Revealing the magical architectural plan masterminded by the Renaissance’s greatest minds, including Bernini, Jesuit scholars, Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes, the authors expose the ultimate heresy of all time blessed by the Vatican itself.
| Author | : Steven J. Schloeder |
| Publisher | : Ignatius Press |
| Total Pages | : 274 |
| Release | : 1998 |
| Genre | : Architecture |
| ISBN | : 9780898706314 |
Amid the growing dissatisfaction with Catholic church architecture since the Second Vatican Council, and the general lack of clear and vibrant direction in liturgy, this book responds to the timely question of "How ought we build our churches?" Drawing upon the texts of the Second Vatican Council, recent papal encyclicals, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Schloeder examines this question in depth with regard to history, theology, iconography and symbolism. Schloeder seeks not merely to analyze why modern churches are so uninspiring, but he offers positive direction for the renewal of an authentic Catholic architecture: one that respects the traditions of the Church's magnificent artistic heritage while advancing the vision of the Second Vatican Council. The key to the solution is to regain a sacramental vision of the liturgy and of architecture, a vision that will help us to build churches that nurture the human spirit with beauty and meaning.
| Author | : Paul Letarouilly |
| Publisher | : Princeton Architectural Press |
| Total Pages | : 324 |
| Release | : 2010 |
| Genre | : Architecture |
| ISBN | : 9781568988757 |
French architect Paul Letarouilly (1795-1855), author of the masterpiece Edifices de Rome Moderne, was unequaled in his observational ability and impeccable drawing skills. He devoted many years of his life living in austerity and refusing paying commissions to compile and draw the intricate details and decorative elements of the most breathtaking buildings in Italy's Vatican City, including St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Pontifical Palace, the Museo Pio Clementino, and the Villa Pia. Published in 1882, after his death, Vatican served as an unparalleled sourcebook of everything from plans, elevations, interior room views, and perspective drawings to mosaics, wall panels, door frames, fountains, towers, domes, cornices, and moldings. Prior to the books original publication, these details were not easily replicated in other parts of the world. Vatican gave access to rigorous documentation of the work of some of the most significant Renaissance architects Michelangelo, Bernini, Bramante, Sangallo, and Peruzzi and is now often credited as one of the primary catalysts for the American Renaissance style, the results of which can be seen in any capital city in America. The precision and attention to detail that Letarouilly demanded of his engravers advanced the art of etching in the nineteenth century. Exquisite rendering techniques and precise execution make this book as beautiful as it is useful. Originally published in three volumes, Vatican is presented as a single facsimile edition in our Classic Reprints series and includes a new foreword by architectural historian Ingrid Rowland. Published in association with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America.
| Author | : Robert Proctor |
| Publisher | : Routledge |
| Total Pages | : 487 |
| Release | : 2016-05-23 |
| Genre | : Architecture |
| ISBN | : 1317170857 |
Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, architectural historian Robert Proctor examines the transformations in British Roman Catholic church architecture that took place in the two decades surrounding this crucial event. Inspired by new thinking in theology and changing practices of worship, and by a growing acceptance of modern art and architecture, architects designed radical new forms of church building in a campaign of new buildings for new urban contexts. A focussed study of mid-twentieth century church architecture, Building the Modern Church considers how architects and clergy constructed the image and reality of the Church as an institution through its buildings. The author examines changing conceptions of tradition and modernity, and the development of a modern church architecture that drew from the ideas of the liturgical movement. The role of Catholic clergy as patrons of modern architecture and art and the changing attitudes of the Church and its architects to modernity are examined, explaining how different strands of post-war architecture were adopted in the field of ecclesiastical buildings. The church building’s social role in defining communities through rituals and symbols is also considered, together with the relationships between churches and modernist urban planning in new towns and suburbs. Case studies analysed in detail include significant buildings and architects that have remained little known until now. Based on meticulous historical research in primary sources, theoretically informed, fully referenced, and thoroughly illustrated, this book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the church architecture, art and theology of this period.
| Author | : Tod A. Marder |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 398 |
| Release | : 1997 |
| Genre | : Architecture |
| ISBN | : 9780521431989 |
Bernini's Scala Regia is the paradigm of the Baroque aesthetic. Combining art and architecture, sculpture and decoration in an illusionistic ensemble, this monumental staircase served as the main entrance to the Vatican Palace, as well as the principal connection between the palace and St. Peter's basilica. This book is the first complete account of the Scala Regia in the context of the long building history of the Vatican Palace, the history of St. Peter's, and the architecture and sculpture of Bernini.
