VATICAN CORNER
Continued …Bramante, the original architect of the New Saint Peter’s Basilica, designed 4 piers to support the enormous weight of the domed roof. At the construction site, an artist from Florence named Michelangelo, observed that construction workers were using too little cement in the concrete mix and using rubble rather than new concrete between the walls. He complained to Bramante, but Bramante refused to listen. Soon after Bramante’s death, cracks began to appear in the piers. The new architect Antonio da Sangallo altered and reinforced the piers and walls many times to try to stem the cracking. He spent large sums to raise the floor of the Basilica 12.5 feet which completely changed the interior’s appearance from its initial design concept. The ground beneath the Basilica was marshy and it is thought that the reason for raising the floor was to combat sinking. In 1546 Michelangelo gained total control of the construction. He redesigned the outer portion of the piers and reinforced them after even more cracks appeared. In 1574 architect Giacomo della Porta created the final design of the dome with an inner diameter of 138 feet and at a top most height of 394 feet above the ground. Three iron rings were placed within the masonry of the dome to hold back the outward thrust of tension. During this period of time, architects and engineers had little understanding of physics principles required to create a stable structure. They had however learned from experience and structural failures that the thrust exerted by an arch had to either be balanced by another arch or absorbed, and that a dome is essentially a series of arches. However, any structural calculations made in those days were often faulty. By the early 18th century, significant cracks developed around the dome’s base and became serious enough for Vatican engineers to add several more tension rings as an emergency fix. Fortunately, this solution has stood the test of time. The main funding for the early stages of building the New St. Peter’s Basilica came from the sale of indulgences. But the indulgences did more than help pay for the basilica, however, the abusive way they were sold and lies told about their effectiveness along with other corruption, resulted in an uprising, led by Martin Luther of Germany, and the result was the Reformation and split in the Church. For those who were seduced away from the Church by the allure of the Renaissance and the secular aspects of humanism, Martin Luther offered an alternative ideology and the Protestant Church was born. Those indulgences also paid for some of the most exquisite art in the world. The project brought together some of the world’s greatest minds and talent, including Michelangelo, Bramante, Bernini, and Raphael. They worked together along with many others, towards a common goal, creating the most spectacular and inspiring religious site of all time. In 1626 Pope Urban VIII, exactly 1300 years after the consecration of the first St. Peter’s Basilica performed the re-consecration, and it has been the center of Christianity from then on.
Sources: scholarship.rollins.edu,pbs.org, italyguides.it, rome.wikispaces.com