Student of history
For the student of history the following chronology is
presented. The student will note the each century with
the dates built.
FOURTH
CENTURY
S.
Peter's .. Constantine, five aisles, about 330 A. D.
S.
John Lateran .. Constantine, five aisles, founded 333? A. D.
S.
Paul's .. Theodosius and Honorius, five aisles, 386 A. D.
S.
Pudentiana .. 335? A. D.
FIFTH
CENTURY
S.
Sabina .. Pope Celestine, about 425 A. D.
S.
Maria Maggiore .. Pope Sixtus III. 432 A. D.
S.
Pietro in Vincoli .. Eudoxia, Greek Doric pillars, 442 A. D.
SIXTH
CENTURY
S.
Lorenzo, early portion .. Pope Pelagius, galleries, 580 A. D.
S.
Balbina .. Gregory the Great, no side aisles, 600 A. D.
SEVENTH
CENTURY
S.
Agnes .. Honorius I., galleries, 625 A. D.
Quattro
Coronati .. Honorius I., 625 A. D.
S.
Giorgio in Velabro .. Leo II., 682 A. D.
S.
Chrisogono .. Gregory III., 730 A. D.
EIGHTH
CENTURY
S.
Giovanni a Porta Latina .. Adrian I., 790? A. D.
S.
Maria in Cosmedin .. 790 A. D.
S.
Vincenzo alle Tre Fontane .. 790 A. D.
S.
Lorenzo, nave .. About 790? A. D.
NINTH
CENTURY
SS.
Nereo ed Achilles .. Leo III., about 800 A. D.
S.
Praxede .. Paschal I., 820 A. D.
S.
Maria in Dominica .. 820 A. D.
S.
Martino ai Monti .. Sergius and Leo, 844, 855 A. D.
S.
Nicolo in Carcere .. About 900 A. D.
S.
Bartolomeo in Isola .. 900 A. D.
TENTH
CENTURY
S.
John Lateran .. Rebuilt by Sergius III., 910 A. D.
TWELFTH
CENTURY
S.
Clemente .. Rebuilt by Paschal, 1118 A. D.
S.
Maria in Trastevere .. Innocent II., 1135 A. D.
S.
Croce .. Lucius, 1144 A. D.
S.
Maria in Ara Coeli .. Uncertain.
FOURTEENTH
CENTURY
S.
Maria sopra Minerva .. Gothic, Gregory XI. about 1370 A. D.
FIFTEENTH
CENTURY
S.
Agostino .. Renaissance? about 1480 A. D.
The
eleventh and thirteenth centuries produced nothing to be added
to this list. It is difficult to assign a positive style to S.
Agostino; it may be called the last of the old architecture,
or the first of the new, as one likes. Where the number of
aisles is not given, there are three. All these basilicas
except the last two have flat wooden ceilings over the central
aisle, of which the construction is generally exposed. S.
Agnes and the old part of S. Lorenzo have two-storied side
aisles; in the others these aisles are but one story, and are
usually half as wide as the central aisle.
It
is difficult to fix the date at which a certain style of
architecture begins or ends, as in regard to that when the
Romanesque was abandoned and the Gothic introduced. The
records of the Church, however, assign the beginning of Gothic
art to the time of Gregory the Great, 590-603 A. D.
Perhaps
the best statement is that from the time of this notable Pope
during a period of five centuries, architecture, like
everything else, was groping in uncertain paths; and the
initial attempts of the two women, Theodelinda in 600, and
Matilda in 1077, may be said to have done much to develop the
Gothic order, which claimed its individuality in the time of
Gregory VII., 1073-1080.
In
the fourth chapter I have spoken of the founding and other
matters relating to the most ancient basilica of S. Peter's.
Here I shall speak of it more in detail. This church, with
that of S. Maria Maggiore, are the two of the four principal
basilicas that retain sufficient of their original interest to
be attractive. S. Paul's, or S. Paolo fuori le Mura, has been
so utterly changed, first by alterations, and later by fire,
that while it is a most satisfactory and magnificent modern
church, it has not the interest that pertains to S. Peter's
and S. Maria Maggiore, which have some features, at least, of
a much earlier date.
S.
John Lateran, too, has been so signally changed from its
original appearance that, while it is historically most
interesting, it has lost its architectural beauty, and beyond
its original dimensions, which can easily be traced, it
retains nothing of its primitive arrangement.
The
great number of popes and architects who contributed to the
rearing of S. Peter's, taken together with the sculptors and
other artists who have furnished its decoration, make a small
regiment of those to whom this basilica has been an incitement
and an object of affection.