LATE
ANTIQUITY
GARDINER CHAPTER 11-2
PP. 295-301
ARCHITECTURE AND MOSAICS

Regular church services took place in
private community houses like that at
Dura-Europos

Once Constantine granted Christianity
imperial sponsorship there was a need to
construct churches

New churches had to
1.
Meet the requirements of Christian liturgy
(the official ritual of public worship)
2.
Provide a proper monumental setting for
the celebration of Christian faith
3.
Accommodate rapidly growing numbers
of worshipers

Constantine was the first major patron of
Christian architecture

Constantine constructs elaborate
basilicas, memorials, and mausoleums in
Rome, in Constantinople ( his “New
Rome”), and in Bethlehem and Jerusalem
ROME – OLD SAINT
PETER’S

Restored cutaway view of Old
Saint Peter’s in Rome, begun 319

The greatest of Constantine’s
churches

Built on the western side of the
Tiber on the spot where it was
believed the Peter was buried

Could house 3000-4000 worshipers

Locate on a terrace on the slope
of the Vatican Hill -> it enshrined
the 2nd holiest site in Christendom,
the 1st being the the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem -> site of
Christ’s ressurection

The plan resembled a Roman basilica not a
pagan temple -> Christians did not want
their churches to look like pagan shrines

Unlike pagan rituals that took place outside
the temple, Christians congregated inside
the church

Wide central nave

flanking aisles

NARTHEX = entryway to the basilica

Unobstructed view across the nave to the
altar in the apse at the other end

Exterior not decorated


Interior – frescoes, mosaics, marble columns, and costly
ornaments
TRANSEPT = transverse aisle, area
perpendicular to the nave and between the
nave and the apse

Also contained an open colonnaded
courtyard in front of the narthex -> ATRIUM

BALDACHINNO (domical canopy over an altar) – marble
structure marked the spot of Saint Peter’s tomb
SANTA SABINA

Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome, 422-432

Built a century after Old Saint Peter’s ->
more modest proportions -> Early
Christian in character

Corinthian nave arcade

Chancel arch

Apse

Nave is drenched in light coming from
clerestory windows

Exterior had plain brick walls resembling
those of the Aula Palatine in Trier
SANTA COSTANZA

Interior of Santa Costanza, Rome,
337-351

Most Christian churches were of the
rectangular basilica design

Early Christian architects also copied
another classical architectural type > the CENTRAL-PLAN building = the
building’s part are of equal or almost
equal dimensions around the center

Central-plan buildings -> mostly
round or polygonal domed
structures

Central-plan buildings would
become the preferred form for
Byzantine churches

Plan of Santa Costanza, Rome,
337-351

Possibly built as a mausoleum for
Constantine’s daughter

1= narthex

2 = ambulatory -> ringlike barrel
vaulted corridor separated from
the central domed cylinder by a
dozen pairs of columns

Severe brick exterior

Interior richly adorned with
mosaics

Detail of vault mosaic in the
ambulatory of Santa Costanza,
Rome, 337-351

Scenes of putti harvesting grapes
and producing wine -> motifs
associated with Bacchus, but for a
Christian it brought to mind the
wine of the Eucharist and Christ’s
blood
VAULT MOSAICS OF SANTA
CONSTANZA
SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE

The parting of Abraham and Lot, nave of
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 432-440,
mosaic

Mosaics used to provide a beautiful setting
in churches, and instruct the congregation
about biblical stories and Christian dogma

This scene shows the Old Testament scene of
Lot leading his family to the evil city of
Sodom and Abraham leading his family to
Canaan

Cleavage of the two groups -> figures
engage in sharp dialogue of glance and
gesture -> simplified motion -> but still
elements of classical heritage = figures in
light and dark, cast shadows, loom
w/massive solidity