Harmony in Symmetry

Tempietto, photo courtesy of Wikipedia CC

            In the 1490s, Italy moved swiftly into the High Renaissance with artists who were inspired and influenced by Classical Roman techniques and architecture.  While the first truly Renaissance building is thought to be the Odpedale degli Innocenti in Florence – designed by architect Filippo Brunelleschi and built between 1419 and 1445 – the first High Renaissance building exists in Rome, in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio.  Constructed in 1502 by Donato Bromante, the Tempietto is based on the classic Roman central plan temples, and influenced by such buildings as the Pantheon.

            

detail in Tempietto, photo courtesy of Wikipedia CC

            The Tempietto, built on the exact spot where St. Peter was supposedly crucified around 67 CE, contains such Roman influences as a hemispherical dome, Doric columns supporting marble capitals, and entablatures.  The perfectly symmetrical building harkens back to Classical Antiquity temples in its shape and construction. 

drawing of Tempietto, photo courtesy of
Wikipedia CC

            

    

          

          Bramante’s greatest achievement with his design is the illusion of size created by the building.  The grandeur of the outside, as well as the decreasing of size with each level, causes the building to seem much larger.  The Tempietto, not meant for large congregations, contains little space inside; and thus was perhaps more built as a majestic homage to Chrstianity – and its link to antiquity’s architectural harmony.