Architecture

I took an Italian Architecture class year and it was awesome (ARTCH 329). I highly recommend it, but if not just read this post & you'll learn a lot too :]

These are some of the greatest architectual works in Italy.

1. Colosseo

The Colosseum, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of Rome. 

It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture. 

The Colosseum was used to host gladiator shows as 

well as a variety of other events, and could fit 50,000 people

(the Marriott Center fits 22,000). That is like double the amount of ppl at a devotional (a pres. Monson devotional, to claify).

2. Pantheon

The Pantheon is a building is in Rome that was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa 

as a temple to all the gods  and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. 

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns under a pediment.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. 

Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Carracci. 

The interior of the dome was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The oculus at the dome's apex and the entry door are the only sources of light in the interior. Throughout the day, the light from the oculus moves around this space in a sort of reverse sundial effect. 

The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.

3. St. Peter's Basilica

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter is a Late Renaissance church located in the Vatican City in Rome.

Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world! It's huge!

Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica.

There were many architects that helped design and construct Saint Peter's, including:

Michelangelo, Bramante, Sangallo, Peruzzi, Raphael, and Maderno.

4. Villa Rotunda

Villa Rotunda (right) and the White House (left). 

You can see that the white house's design was inspired by the Rotunda.

Another influence from the Rotunda is 

Thomas Jefferson's house Monticello, in Virginia.

5. Siena Duomo

I took all these pictures of the Duomo, while in Siena. It was beautiful. 

The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The exterior and interior are constructed of 

white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes,

 with addition of red marble on the façade. 

Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, 

linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.

6. Milano Duomo

This Duomo took almost 6 centuries to finish! 

It is huge- the 4th largest Cathedral in the world.

The interesting thing about the Milano Duomo is that bc it was built over such a long time period, it has a lot of different styles and workmanship. Some people love it and some people hate it.

Oscar Wilde visited Milano in 1875 and said, "The Cathedral is an awful failure. Outside the design is monstrous and inartistic. The over-elaborated details stuck high up where no one can see them; everything is vile in it; it is, however, imposing and gigantic as a failure, through its great size and elaborate execution."

What do you think? A failure?

Tell me about your favorite Italian architecture.