Analysis Of St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the most famous building in the world, never ceases to amaze people all around the world. Considered as one of the most beautiful buildings worldwide, it definitely has features that support this belief. These features include the amazing size of the basilica, the columns and arches, the extravagant details in the interior and exterior, and an enormous stunning dome. All of these architectural designs that are perceived as beautiful, have been influenced by some degree of classicism. Thus, St. Peter’s basilica represents classicism not only by the obvious structures of columns, arches, and domes, but also by the fact that it was constructed under a Greek cross plan. The construction of St. Peter’s basilica began …show more content…
Peter’s basilica are the contributions from ancient Rome. In ancient Rome, the use of arches, vaults, and domes were very popular among architecture. The dome of St. Peter’s basilica is the highest dome in the world, passing the dome of the Pantheon (Mark 142). It is believed that Michelangelo used the pantheon’s dome as an upper limit for the construction of his dome for the basilica (142). The fact that modern architects would refer back to some of the most important buildings in ancient Rome to create their work, demonstrates how they payed attention to the details on architecture in the classical period. Besides having the dome as an ancient Roman influence, St. Peter’s basilica also has many arches and vaults that further prove the influence it has from classicism. Arches were known to cultures such as the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, and the Greeks, but the Romans were the ones who perfect it (Sayre 212). In the new basilica, you can see arches around the windows both in the interior and the exterior. Furthermore, you can also see arches in the hallways inside the basilica which create vaults. Vaults where also created by the Romans by putting arches next to each other, or extending them, to create a walking space (212). Vaults were very common in ancient Roman buildings like the Colosseum (212). Thus, the fact that St. Peter’s basilica has aspects found in some of the most important …show more content…
St. Peter’s basilica is a great example of this classical influence because it demonstrates Greek attributes such as the Greek cross plan and the Corinthian columns, as well as the Roman attributes of domes, vaults, and arches. Even though architecture has evolved over the years and will continue to do so, the influence that classicism has had, and will continue to have on modern architecture, will always be present as a reminder of the time period these architectural features where