225 August 17

The Illusion- Can you spot the difference?

Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto are so called “twin” churches located in the Piazza del Popolo of Rome.  Though I searched for quite some time, I was unable to find the exact measurements of the churches.  What makes them interesting to begin with, however, is how similar the churches look nearly identical but are actually different dimensions.  The insides are composed primarily with white stucco and the domes have been restored decades later with slate (http://www.romaspqr.it).  The art of these churches is primarily in the illusion it portrays of symmetry.

My first focus will be on the biographical influence on the sister churches.  Carlo Rainaldi was the initial architect for the design of the churches.  However, when changes needed to be made, Bernini and Fontana stepped onto the plate to provide the remarkable, well thought out architecture that we see standing today.  At the time, it was said the project should have been more Neoclassical based on artistic influences going on.  However, the churches had to be built based on the location of the roads, rather than building the roads after the churches.  Due to this fact, Bernini had to reassess the design of the church.  Upon doing so, the churches faced dissimilarities and became more of a Baroque style (http://www.flickr.com/photos/luigistrano/3916172102/). 

The Piazza del Popolo was initially being modified as a result of the history going on in Rome.  When the Queen of Sweden decided to turn to Catholicism, the Pope wanted to improve the city’s appearance since she was coming to visit.  This started with altering the famous church Santa Maria del Popolo.  The revamping continued on as they wanted churches built in the street corners (http://www.romaspqr.it).  The Pope wanting to show off this area of Rome to others is how the two “sister” churches we admire were acquired in the positions and form they are in.  

The Beauty and Cruelty of Ancient Rome 

The Colosseum is an important part of Roman history that was used for gladiator fights.  Located in nearly the center of Rome, Italy, it was the perfect place for Roman citizens to be able to gather together.  According to Wikipedia, the Colosseum is 189 meters long, 156 meters wide, and has a base area of 6 acres.  Size was important due to the large population in the city.  In ancient Rome, the Colosseum was composed of travertine stone, bricks, cement, marble before it was removed later to be reused, and a wooden floor which was covered up by sand to absorb the gladiator’s blood.  

The formal aspects of the Colosseum were very important.  The Colosseum’s style was meant to mimic Greek culture to show how powerful the Romans really were.  The style and seating allowed for all of the Roman citizens to gather and fit together in a single structure.  The passageways within the Colosseum alone are astonishing due to the way the crowd could be managed and able to get through.  In order to assure the strength of the structure, the architects composed the Colosseum with vaulted arches (http://www.roman-colosseum.info/colosseum/building-the-colosseum.htm) to hold the ceiling up which blocked people from the beaming, hot sun. 

The Colosseum had a very strong historical importance.  Vespasian, the emperor of Rome at the time, initiated the construction of the well known monument.  Throughout this time, Rome was conquering Jerusalem and thus had the means to build the extravagant gathering place.  According to www.roman-colosseum.info, the religious influences in the era had an impact on how the use of the Colosseum and gladiator fights came to be.  Previously, Romans had believed in sacrifices to the Pagan Gods and would use slaves as some of their sacrifices.  As time progressed, people began to teach them how to fight and it evolved into what we know now as gladiator fights.  These became entertainment for the people of Rome and the Colosseum was the perfect place for this to occur.  Romans were also greatly divided up by economic status.  As a result, the lower classes and those sentenced to death were chosen to fight for the entertainment of the upper classes.