Berlin Public Library

Basilica, the splendor and the scandal : building St. Peter's, R.A. Scotti

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-284) and index

illustrationsplansportraitsplates

index present

non fiction

Basilica

bibliography

62878428

R.A. Scotti

the splendor and the scandal : building St. Peter's

It was the splendor--and the scandal--of the age, the defining event of the high Renaissance. In 1506, the ferociously ambitious Renaissance Pope Julius II tore down the most sacred shrine in Europe--the millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica built by the Emperor Constantine over the apostle's grave--to build a better basilica. Construction of the new St. Peter's spanned two centuries, embroiled 27 popes, and consumed the genius of the greatest artists of the age--Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael, and Bernini. As the basilica rose, modern Rome rose with it, as glorious as the city of the Caesars. But the cost was unimaginable: the new basilica provoked the Protestant Reformation, dividing the Christian world for all time.--From publisher description

The Christian Caesar 1503-1513 -- The first stone, April 1506 -- The First St. Peter's -- IlTerribilis -- A Trojan horse -- A surprise winner -- Imperial dimensions -- Vaulting ambition -- Onward Christian soldiers -- A Christian imperium -- A viper's nest -- The death of Julius -- The deplorable Medici Popes 1513-1534 -- The first Medici Prince -- An empty stage -- A Roman candle -- The revenge of the Sangallos -- Salvation for sale -- Sweet revenge -- A brief moment of truth -- Medici Redux -- The Michelangelo imperative 1546-1626 -- A violent awakening -- Julius's folly -- Motu Proprio -- An immovable object -- The swineherd who built Rome -- Raising the dome -- A new century -- The knaves of St. Peter's 1,300 years later -- Bernini's grand illusions 1623-1667 -- The romance of the baroque -- Full circle -- Epilogue -- Appendix I: The Popes from Nicholas V to Alexander VII -- Appendix II: Statistics