St Peters Dome
THE DOME OF ST PETERS CATHEDRAL
St Peters Square is also home to St Peters Basilica and of course St Peters Dome, which was created by none other than Michelangelo. Michelangelo had become chief architect by 1546 and by the time of his death in 1564 he had completed the drum, the base on which the dome sits. Architect Giacomo della Porta vaulted St Peters Dome between 1585 and 1590 with the help of the best engineer of the day Domenico Fontana. Fontana built the lantern the following year and the ball was placed in 1593. The double dome of brick is 42.3 meters in interior diameter, which is almost as large as the Pantheon and rising to 120 meters above the floor level.
The Dome of St Peters Cathedral is not a hemisphere but a paraboloid. It has a vertical thrust which is made more emphatic by the bold ribbing that springs from the paired Corinthian columns. These appear to be part of the drum but actually stand away from it to absorb the outward thrust of the dome's weight. The grand arched openings just visible in the illustration but normally invisible to viewers below enable access all around the base of the drum.
Above the main entrance is the inscription IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII. This means: In honor of the prince of apostles; Paul V, citizen of Rome, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612 and the seventh year of his pontificate.
St Peters Square is also home to St Peters Basilica and of course St Peters Dome, which was created by none other than Michelangelo. Michelangelo had become chief architect by 1546 and by the time of his death in 1564 he had completed the drum, the base on which the dome sits. Architect Giacomo della Porta vaulted St Peters Dome between 1585 and 1590 with the help of the best engineer of the day Domenico Fontana. Fontana built the lantern the following year and the ball was placed in 1593. The double dome of brick is 42.3 meters in interior diameter, which is almost as large as the Pantheon and rising to 120 meters above the floor level.
The Dome of St Peters Cathedral is not a hemisphere but a paraboloid. It has a vertical thrust which is made more emphatic by the bold ribbing that springs from the paired Corinthian columns. These appear to be part of the drum but actually stand away from it to absorb the outward thrust of the dome's weight. The grand arched openings just visible in the illustration but normally invisible to viewers below enable access all around the base of the drum.
Above the main entrance is the inscription IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII. This means: In honor of the prince of apostles; Paul V, citizen of Rome, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612 and the seventh year of his pontificate.
posted by simonj at 5:09 AM
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