Saints – Architecture | Archaeology | Art | Religion | Cultures

Italy, Tuscany, Pisa, Piazza dei Miracoli – Camposanto Monumentale (00:10:04)

adminT — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:07:26 +0000

The building was the fourth and last one to be raised in the Cathedral Square. It dates from a century after the bringing of the soil from Golgotha, and was erected over the earlier burial ground. The construction of this huge, oblong Gothic cloister was begun in 1278 by the architect Giovanni di Simone. He died in 1284 when Pisa suffered a defeat in the naval battle of Meloria against the Genoans. The cemetery was only completed in 1464. It seems that the building was not meant to be a real cemetery, but a church called Santissima Trinità (Most Holy Trinity), but the project changed during the construction. However we know that the original part was the western one (and this should be, at least for a while, the mentioned church), and all the eastern part was the last to be built, finally closing the structure.

Bulgaria, Ruse – Holy Trinity Cathedral (00:01:28)

adminT — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 15:03:25 +0000

The Holy Trinity Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in the city of Ruse, Bulgaria on the Danube river. It stands next to the modern day opera house. Built beneath the ground in 1632, it is the oldest church in the city and was constructed during the period of Ottoman occupation. It is a three-nave pseudo-basilica that is 31.20 m long and 15.60 m wide. Two rows of seven columns separate the naves. It was dug four and a half meters below the level of the yard due to the requirements of Ottoman authorities. The remains of catacombs, possibly dating back to the fifth century, are located in the southwest corner of the temple. During Ottoman rule, it was easier to issue permission for the construction of a new church at the location of an older temple. The Christians of Ruse presumably used the old catacomb to build the church.

Bulgaria, Bachkovo Monastery (00:13:43)

adminT — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 07:17:44 +0000

The Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, archaically the Petritsoni Monastery or Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa is a major Eastern Orthodox monastery in Southern Bulgaria. The monastery was founded in 1083 by Prince Gregory Pakourianos, a prominent statesman and military commander in the Byzantine service, as a Georgian-dominated Orthodox monastery. He set up a seminary(school) for the youth at the monastery. The curriculum included religion, as well as mathematics, history and music. In the 13th century, the Georgian and Chalcedonic Armenian monks of the Petritsioni (Bachkovo) Monastery lost their domination over the monastery, but their traditions were preserved until the beginning of 14th century and an Armenian Gospel from the 10th century that came from this monastery still exists today.

Italy, Florence Baptistery (00:06:11)

Samuel Magal — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 04:41:57 +0000

The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto.

The Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and 1128 in the Florentine Romanesque style. Although the Florentine style did not spread across Italy as widely as the Pisan Romanesque or Lombard styles, its influence was decisive for the subsequent development of architecture, as it formed the basis from which Francesco Talenti, Leon Battista Alberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, and other master architects of their time created Renaissance architecture. In the case of the Florentine Romanesque, one can speak of “proto-renaissance”, but at the same time an extreme survival of the late antique architectural tradition in Italy, as in the cases of the Basilica of San Salvatore, Spoleto, the Temple of Clitumnus, and the church of Sant’Alessandro in Lucca.

Romania, Bucovina painted monasteries

adminT — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 05:55:47 +0000

Among the most picturesque treasures of Romania are the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina (in northeastern Romania). Their painted exterior walls are decorated with elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and heaven and hell.

Deemed masterpieces of Byzantine art, these churches are one-of-a-kind architectural sites in Europe.
Far from being merely wall decorations, the murals represent complete cycles of religious events.
The purpose of the frescoes was to make the story of the Bible and the lives of the most important Orthodox saints known to villagers by the use of images. Their outstanding composition, elegant outline and harmonious colors blend perfectly with the surrounding landscape.

Italy, Florence – Basilica Santa Croce – Peruzzi Chapel (00:01:15)

adminT — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 18:04:47 +0000

The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12 May 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city’s wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The building’s design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau cross (a symbol of St Francis), 115 metres in length with a nave and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns. To the south of the church was a convent, some of whose buildings remain.

The Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, houses the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house, completed in the 1470s. Filippo Brunelleschi (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned.

Italy, Florence – Basilica Santa Croce – Castellani Chapel (00:01:16)

adminT — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 18:00:14 +0000

Italy, Florence – Basilica Santa Croce – Baroncelli Chapel (00:02:01)

adminT — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 17:57:25 +0000

Italy, Florence – Basilica Santa Croce – Bardi Chapel (00:04:32)

adminT — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 17:52:20 +0000

Italy, Florence – Basilica Santa Croce – Bardi Chapel North (00:03:33)

adminT — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 12:57:20 +0000