Churches in Mantua - Basilica Di Sant'andrea Di Mantova, San Sebastiano, Rotonda Di San Lorenzo, Mantua Cathedral (Paperback)

Chapters: Basilica Di Sant'andrea Di Mantova, San Sebastiano, Rotonda Di San Lorenzo, Mantua Cathedral. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Facade of Sant'Andrea, Mantua The Basilica di Sant'Andrea is a Renaissance church in Mantua, Lombardy (Italy). Commissioned by Ludovico II Gonzaga, the church was begun in 1462 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery, of which the bell tower (1414) remains. The building, however, was finished only 328 years later. Though later changes and expansions altered Albertis design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works. Interior.The facade, built abutting a pre-existing bell tower (1414), is based on the scheme of the ancient Arch of Titus. It is largely a brick structure with hardened stucco used for the surface. It is defined by a large central arch, flanked by Corinthian pilasters. There are smaller openings to the right and left of the arch. A novel aspect of the design was the integration of a lower order, comprising the fluted Corinthian columns, with a giant order, comprising the taller, unfluted pilasters. The whole is surmounted by a pediment and above that a vaulted structure, the purpose of which is not exactly known, but presumably to shade the window opening into the church behind it. An important aspect of Albertis design was the correspondence between the facade and the interior elevations, both elaborations of the triumphal arch motif. The nave of the interior is roofed by a barrel vault, one of the first times such a form was used in such a monumental scale since antiquity, and quite likely modeled on the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome. Alberti most likely had planned for the vault to be coffered, much like the smal...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=465848