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The Santa Sabina was one of the oldest recorded basilicas in Rome that preserve its original colonnaded rectangular plan, the originals only being known as written-down plans. In ancient Rome, basilicas were used as man things, not just churches. The common use being a site for law courts and a basis for future cathedrals and churches. From collecting reports of Santa Sabina and the original ideas for other basilicas finding out the defining characteristics of the architecture is easier. Basilica’s most define quality is its strong central axis that leads from the entrance doors of the building to the altering stage. The nave section of this style of architecture was protruding out from the altar like two wings. Instead of the usual columns and pillars seen in other eras, the walls are now blank and bare. Although old records described them as having large and magnificent mosaics depicting divine symbolism. Santa Sabina, although, had tall columns with detailed carvings alongside the mosaics and marble flooring. The interior of this building was heavily contrasted with the “simple brickwork” of the outside, according to authors Stokstad and Cohren, the authors of our textbook. These basilicas revealed the origins of the grand work of architecture we learn about in later eras.

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One of the earlier examples of roman and Christian architecture was the mausoleum of the daughter of Constantine, Constantina. It was built in Constantinople, which is now known as, Istanbul according to the module video titled “Recording #17”, back in 337 through 350. It started its life out as many centrally planned churches do, as a final resting place for the members of the imperial family. It wasn’t until 1256 did it become one of the earliest examples of a centrally planned Christian church. Centrally planned churches were in a circular pattern with the altar in the center of it as opposed to the straight edge, horizontal and vertical layout of average cathedrals. These circular churches were often used for smaller tasks such as baptisteries or tombs. Santa Costanza in particular was also a good example of syncretism. According to the module video titled Syncretism “The art that we examine in this module is syncretic art, meaning that it is a blend between two or more cultural perspectives. A Roman vision and a Christian one.” This means that Santa Costanza had an art and architecture style mixed between other Roman arts and Christian art traits. The interior of the church can be described as a main circular corridor with a barrel vault ceiling. The altar sits directly below a large dome that has light illuminating it from multiple windows that cause the altar to look like it is bathed in a divine light. Twelve granite columns hold up the dome and encircle the altar while the only seats sit between them. The interior of the dome as well as the corridors were once covered in mosaics and detailed patterns. The remaining mosaics are in fact one of the oldest Christian mosaics surviving in Rome. This mausoleum was incredibly important when recording the blend between the ancient Rome style and the newer Christian style.

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These grand stained glass windows were not the only defining trait of this era, there was a noticeable improvement in the carvings and sculptures. While previous era’s artwork and carvings were often heavily stylized and flag the Gothic period brought on fluidity with its art. The statues seemed to be reacting and interacting with each other, as if it were a snapshot of a scene. They told stories that a stiff and flat carving could not.

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In fact, there is even a stained glass portrait of him described on the module page titled Patron as Creator: Abbot Suger and the Church of Saint-Denis. “You see him portrayed in this stained glass panel.  Kneeling, eyes lifted toward heaven,  he offers a stained glass window to God. Note the mirroring of art and life: he is portrayed inside stained glass, holding the stained glass, which he made the prestige art form of the medieval world. Stained glass is a keystone of Gothic style. The  donor portrait commemorates Suger's central role in  transforming the Abbey Church of Saint Denis from a run-down building to the first the Gothic church, where the glory of stained glass made possible a new sacred aesthetic.” His massive stained glass window creations were a colorful gift for God. Although, this era was not one cathedral, there were many more to come. Many other churches followed Abbot Suger’s example and created stained glass windows with detailed designs for their own cathedrals. Its colors and patterns would react with the sunlight and create a collage of colors on the floor below.

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Nearly everything in these cathedrals were made up of stone because the stone wasn’t as easily lost to fire. A bonus of having the stone walls was that the sounds of the chorus singing bounced and echoed creating a louder and more divine sound.

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Groin vaults also made their debut here when the Romans developed them because they allowed support without using buttresses. Strong stone pillars often held both those supports up.

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Church of Saint Vincent in the Catalan castle of Cardona. 

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A good example of these arches were also mentioned in the same course video. “Another fine example of “First Romanesque” is the Church of Saint Vincent in the Catalan castle of Cardona. Begun in the 1020s, it was consecrated in 1040. Castle residents entered the church through a two-story narthex into a nave with low narrow side aisles that permitted clerestory windows in the nave wall. The sanctuary was raised dramatically over an aisled crypt. The Xatalan masons used local materials- small split stones, bricks, river pebbles, and a very strong mortar- to raise the plain walls and round barrel or groin vaults. Today we can admire their skillful stonework both inside and out but the builders originally cover their masonry with stucco.” This leads to the next defining detail of this era, which was the use of strong stone materials to create stable buildings.

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Marble walls within The Hagia Sophia church. 

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Another notable trait of the Hagia Sophia was that the walls were covered with stunning marble patterns that were cut to show the entirety of the rock’s pattern. The natural designs of these marble slices added to the detail of the entire cathedral.

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The Byzantine era was also known for the first time they practiced large and soaring spaces sitting under massive dome ceilings held up with pendentives. Main supports for the buildings were often hidden within the detailed design as well. For this specific cathedral, they divided the dome from the square building with what looks like an impossible amount of windows lining the edges. Many believe it was built like that to allow light to go through and reflect off the reflective gold dome.

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One of them being the grand mosaics within the walls and ceiling of the church. They mastered the art of Icons as well. Icons are small paintings on a wooden panel that were sacred to many of the Christians there. They were believed to hold divine abilities to perform small miracles and contact divine beings.

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The Gothic era can be noted to have started in a very specific time, 1140  - 1150. This is because the Gothic traits were defined because of one man’s vision. This is the only one out of the three eras in that there can be a defined “Birthdate” and creator. The creator was a man called Abbot Suger, whose plan was to re-design Abbey church of St Denis. As the professor stated on the module page The French Style: Introduction. “The style is a splendid extravaganza of soaring stone architecture inset with glittering stained glass and exteriors encrusted with a cornucopia of stone sculpture.” Which mentions that the gothic style is well-defined and detailed. It holds more symbolism and fluidity within its artwork. This era is also the origin of the well-known stained glass window art within cathedrals. Abbot Suger was once again the person to thank for this because if it weren't for him stained glass may have not been introduced into the cathedrals.

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The Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France, was an aqueduct built in the Romanesque era of art and architecture. It was originally built back in 60 AD and was used to supply the city of Nimausus with water over 50km away. This era began near the beginning of the Roman empire and the architecture is heavily influenced by Roman traditions. According to the course video titled Romanesque Architecture “... it had been won by Gaulish people, the Romans called it Gaul, and it had been a major Roman city. So I show you this to remind you that there would’ve been structures like this dotting Europe that were reminders (monuments) of what the Romans had done. The Roman knowledge has not disappeared, it’s being revived, resuscitated, and spread around this time.” The ancient Romans created many different structures using this style of architecture and this aqueduct was only the beginning. One of the most notable characteristics of this era was the round and semi-circle arches within these builds. They did this for a variety of reasons, one being it used fewer materials which allowed them to make larger and better buildings.

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Hagia Sophia was a grand cathedral built in the Byzantine era of Rome. The original church was built back on December 27, 537 AD, the second in 415, and the one that sits there today in 537.  Now it is located in the European side of Istanbul. Surprisingly the church standing there today is the 3rd building on that site. The first two cathedrals were burned down during riots and rebuilt. The rebuilding of this church was used to put people in the city to work who would otherize start the riots and as a show of power for Justinian I, who built many churches during his reign. Its main style of architecture was a mix of different influences. This is because it was initially within Greek territory then moved to Rome when they took over. According to the module page titled Byzantine art and Architecture the professor states, “Before the Roman empire made it part of their huge territory, it was part of the ancient Greek world. In fact, the artworks and architecture you study will have names derived from the Greek language.  The great Persian (Iranian) empires from the east also influenced the region. In the time period we study in this module (500s - 1400s), the inhabitants of Constantinople and its surrounding territories considered themselves to be the Romans of the East, living in the Christianized Roman Empire..” These two mixes of influences caused a new and unique style of architecture with recognizable traits.