ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE: The Early Churches
Churches built before the Fall of Rome in 476 AD
Rome's oldest church: the Basilica of Constantine from the 300's- We see use of the Roman Arch
Constantine filled Rome with churches to celebrate the Empire's conversion to Christianity
The basilica of St. John Lateran (320) in Rome built during the reign of Constantine
On the tomb of St. Peter was raised St. Peter's Basilica (325), torn down a thousand years later
in favor of today's monumental construction, New St. Peter's Basilica- also known as The Vatican
The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Milan (325)- Constantine had churches built in the large cities of the Empire
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built in 333 on order of Constantine
Inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, can we tell it is Roman?
The Church of the Crucifixion (326) aka (Holy Sepulchure) in Jerusalem, built on the cave where Christ's body was interned
Emperor Constantine built this church for Costanza (350) his daughter who died young
It is said he went here every day to seek comfort for her death
San Clemente in Rome (392) one of the masterpieces of early Christian church building
Inside of San Clemente, notice the floor pattern and the columns typical of early churches
Rome- Santa Maria Maggiore built in 432 in Rome
The church of St. John at Ephesus built in 450, now a ruin
Churches built (mostly in Orthodox style) after the Fall of Rome in the West
In 532 Justinian built in Constantinople the greatest building in the world, The Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia)
Like all Constantinople and Byzantium, this church has been converted to Islam, here is what it looks like today
The church of St. Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, built in Orthodox style, 546
Masterpiece inside San Vitale: Mosaic of Emperor Justinian
Another mosiac with Justinian's beloved wife Isadora
Angels in Heaven from another Ravenna Mosaic
St. Catherine's Monestary, built at the foot of Mt. Sinai (550) and still there today
Descent into the dark ages after the fall of Rome. The Baptistry of Poitiers in France is a crude construction but
comes from a time when, for 300 years, you could count the number of stone buildings built in Europe on one hand (600's)
