Rheims

Construction of Rheims cathedral began shortly after the previous cathedral was destroyed in a fire in 1210. The chancel was completed and used for services in 1241 while the nave was completed in 1299. The west front was completed in several stages, resulting in differing styles for some of the sculpture. The upper part was finished in the 14th century, but in keeping with the previous concept. The cathedral was used for coronations of French kings. 

English cathedrals

English cathedrals are often a jumble of architectural styles added at different periods of construction and re-construction. There is also quite a lot of variety, including a number of unusual or unique designs, which make it difficult to trace the evolution in style of England's most important churches. 

A prime example is the facade of Peterborough Cathedral, which was completed in 1230. Nothing quite like seems to have been built anywhere else. The main feature is a gothic screen that covers the entire west front. The screen is divided into three arches, narrowed in the middle, and is flanked with two turrets at either end. The spires are slightly different and may have been added later given their more decorative style. The central gable is also flanked with turrets. Most of the surface treatment of facade comes from arcading, except in the gables which are covered in statues in niches. There are also circular windows. A porch in front of the main entrance was added in 1375.

The previous church was destroyed in a fire in 1116, and most of the new abbey, including the central tower, had been completed by 1193. The Norman tower was rebuilt in gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and a 'new building' with perpendicular fan vaulting was added to the east end in 1496-1508. The original church is thought to have been founded in about 655 and was rebuilt around 966. Peterborough became a cathedral after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1541, when it was separated from the diocese of Lincoln.  

The lower and central part of the west front of Lincoln cathedral originates with the first building campaign in 1088-92 and may originally have belonged to a freestanding structure, not connected with the cathedral. It was enveloped within a taller and broader facade in the early 14th century. The Norman church had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1185 and the rebuilding went on for most of the 13th century. The central tower had a spire, which it is believed made it the tallest structure in the world until it was blown off in a storm in 1549. The diocese was previously based in Dorchester before the Normans moved it to Lincoln in 1072.

   

The west front of Winchester Cathedral was rebuilt in 1346-66 as the first phase in the transformation of the nave, which was completed in 1367-1404. A gothic retro-choir had been added in 1189 and the crossing tower was rebuilt after the original collapsed in 1107. Otherwise, the cathedral stood as built in 1079-93 and the Norman transepts still survive. Further alterations were made in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the addition of chantries to the retrochoir and the rebuilding of the lady chapel and presbytery. The Norman cathedral replaced two anglo-saxon churches, the Old Minster dating from 1648 and the New Minster from 901.

The west front of Ely Cathedral was finished in 1400 when the octagonal tower was completed. The lower parts of the facade were begun around 1140 but the west tower was left half-built around 1189. There were originally transepts on either side of the tower but the north-west wing collapsed at the end of the 15th century. The porch was probably built in the early 13th century.

The western front of Canterbury Cathedral is from the early 15th century, with the exception of the north-west tower, where the previous Norman tower remained until 1834. The nave was entirely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1382 and the central tower was begun in 1433. The transepts retain a little more of the Norman church, which was built after a fire in 1067 and which was modelled on Abbey of St. Etienne in Normandie. The choir had already been damaged in a fire in 1174 and rebuilt in gothic style. The church was originally founded in 597 by a Benedictine abbot sent to Britain as a missionary by the pope. The church may have predated his arrival and was replaced with a new structure in the ninth or tenth century.

The west front of Norwich Cathedral is a hybrid between Norman and Perpendicular, with a few 19th-century alterations added to the mix. The original Norman features are primarily on the fronts of the aisles, including the pre-gothic semi-circular arches and the flanking turrets. However, there is a mis-match between the blind arcades above the side entrances, which are also not quite identical. Pointed gothic arches suggest a later alteration was done to the front of the south aisle.  

The nave portion is flanked by buttresses that appear to be original, but the entrance is from the first half of the 15th century and the traceried central window was inserted in about 1449.   

Construction of the cathedral first began in 1096, after the East Anglia diocese was moved from Thetford. It was completed by 1145.

St. Paul's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral of London, designed by Christopher Wren in 1668-1711, though some of the statues on the roof were only added in the 1720s. For more information, click here.

Southwark Cathedral only became a cathedral when the diocese of Southwark was created in 1905, though a church may have existed here since before the Norman invasion. Most of the building as it stands is from after the fire of 1212, and construction probably lasted for much of the 13th century. The tower was completed around 1420 and some rebuilding also took place after a fire in the 1390s. Most of the east front is from 1808-30, due to a restoration by George Gwilt Jun. He removed the windows that had been added in the early 16th century but there was no record of how it had looked before and the restoration therefore resulted in a new gothic design. 

The west front of St. Albans Cathedral was built in 1880-83 to a design by Edmund Beckett. The medieval structure had fallen into serious disrepair and went through extensive restoration work throughout the 19th century, but it still retains features from the Norman abbey built in 1077-89. This includes the central tower and parts of the nave. The nave was extended in the 1190s and the western front as restored by Beckett originates from that period, though the large west window was only introduced in the 15th century. The eastern end was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1250 and parts of the nave suffered the same fate after it collapsed in 1323.

St Micheal's Cathedral in Coventry was built in 1956-62 to a design by Basil Spence and Arup, next to the ruins of the former 14th-century cathedral. The design was chosen in a competition held in 1950. 

St. Micheal's Church in Coventry was elevated to cathedral status in 1918 by the creation of the Coventry diocese. The church was built in the 14th century and completed in the early 15th but was reduced to rubble during the blitz. Only the tower and outer walls remain.

Domes of Rome

The dome of the Pantheon is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The structure was built around 126 AD and was converted into a church under the name Santa Maria ad Martyres in 609. The present Panteon is a rebuilding of a previous structure built around 27 BC.



The dome of Santa Maria del Popolo was probably designed by Andrea Bregno during the reconstruction of the church in 1471-84. The church, which was built for the Augustinian friars of the Lombard congregation by an architect from Lombardy, has been described as Lombard in style. The lead dome has no lantern but is topped with a finial with a ball. The bell tower also appears inspired by churches in Lombardy and is unusual for Rome. The church has two additional domes, one of which is visible from the piazza. The dome over the Cybo Chapel was done by Carlo Fontana in 1687. It has a lantern with columns topped with a small cupola. The other dome, a tiled saucer, is placed over the Chigi Chapel and can be seen from outside the city walls.

The commemorative building known as the Tempietto was built around 1502-14 to designs by Donato Bramante. The lantern was added after Bramante's time and differs in style to the original.


 
In 1500, the chapel of Our Lady of Loreto was given to the Guild of Bakers and the building of a church to replace it started in 1507. The original architect was Antonio da Sangallo the younger, but he seems to have worked on the project primarily in the period 1518-31. Work was only resumed in 1573 when Jacopo del Duca started work on the dome. The lantern was added in 1583 and the church seems to have been fully completed only in 1596.

The dome of San Carlo ai Catinari was designed in 1620 by Rosato Rosati. The drum is made up of arched windows and Ionic pilasters in brick, while the dome in lead consists of ribs and oculi and is capped with a lantern, with Ionic pillars, topped with a ball finial. The facade of this church was designed by Giovanni Battista Soria in 1635.

The dome of Sant'Andrea della Valle was designed by Carlo Maderno in 1620-22, with the possible exception of the lantern which may have been designed by Borromini. The brick drum has coupled Ionic semi-columns and the windows are capped with triangular pediments. The ribbed lead dome is topped with a lantern with Ionic pilasters.



The dome of SS Luca e Martina was designed by Pietro da Cortona in 1644. The drum has windows capped with triangular pediments and the ribbed dome is topped with a lantern similar to the one da Cortona would later design for San Carlo al Corso.

The dome of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza was designed by Francesco Borromini during the construction of the church from 1642 to 1660. The corkscrew lantern is very unusual and supposedly represents the sting of a bee, the heraldic symbol of Pope Urban VIII Barberini.



The dome of San Rocco all' Augusteo was designed circa 1654-57 during a rebuilding by the architect Giovan Antonio De' Rossi. The tall drum has Doric pilasters in brick while the lantern has Ionic half-columns. The facade was added in 1834 by Giuseppe Valadier in a Venetian inspired style.



The dome of San Carlo al Corso was designed circa 1668 by Pietro da Cortona, who also completed the apse. Construction of the the church had started in 1612 and would be completed in 1684.  The previous church had been given to the Lombard community in the second half of the 15th century and rebuilt in 1513-20. Before the Lombards, the parish church had been known as San Niccolò del Tufo and may have existed in the 10th century but the first unambigous reference to it is from 1269.  The old church was finally demolished in 1672 to make way for an oratory. The architect for the new church was Onorio Longhi, but it has been suggested that the initial design was by his father, Martino Longhi the elder. The work was continued after Onorio's death by his son Martino Longhi the younger, before Pietro da Cortona took over. The front was designed by Gian Battista Menicucci and Mario da Canepin.

Churches of Rome

The round church of Santo Stefano Rotondo al Celio is fronted with an entrance portico added in the 12th century. The main body of the church is a reduced version of the original structure, which was built in the 5th century, probably the 460s. The current outer wall was initially a ring of free-standing columns on the same lines as the inner ring and you can still see the columns embedded in the wall from the inside. The ring was surrounded by a screen- and outer wall so that the total number of rings came up to four.  The columns cutting across the inner diameter were added in the 12th century to support the roof and walls. The church has a wooden roof and is not domed. 

Santi Giovanni e Paolo was rebuilt after the Norman sack of 1084 and completed around 1150. The interior is in baroque style and was created in 1715-18, but the exterior was mostly untouched and was further restored in 1950-52. A domed chapel was added in 1851. The church has a bell tower, which rests on stone, which once supported an ancient temple and is decorated with ceramic tiles with Arabic inscriptions imported from Malaga. The current tiles are copies. The original church was built in the 4th century. 

Santa Maria in Trastevere was rebuilt in 1140 but the original church was probably built as early as the fourth century. The columns of the nave were taken from Roman ruins, probably the Baths of Caracalla. The portico in front of the facade was added by Carlo Fontana in 1702. New frescoes were added to the level of the windows and in the pediment in 1865-66 but these have all badly faded. The mosaic under the pediment and bell tower are both from the rebuilding in the 12th century. The brick facade bends outwards to prevent the figures in the mosaic from looking foreshortened. 

The facade of Santa Maria in Aracoeli was never completed. The church was consecrated in 1268, and plans to decorate the front were entertained for centuries until it was finally given up in the 19th century. Holes for scaffolding poles are still visible. The upper parts of the front curves outward to prevent the now lost frescoes from looking foreshortened. The arch above the main entrance also had a fresco added in 1465, the main window had a baroque frame with another fresco above, and the front has also been decorated with a medieval clock. The building incorporates some elements from a previous church stemming from the 8th century.

The facade of the minor basilica of San Marco was added in 1465-70, to a renaissance design attributed to Alberti or Francesco del Borgo. The church was originally built around 833 and may have replaced a previous church dating all the way back to 336. The bell tower was added in 1154, while the interior is mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries. The extension of Palazzo Venezia in the 15th century is built around the church. The arches in the loggia were previously blocked off with windows inserted, and the Palazzetto Venezia (left) originally stood to the right of the church. 

Santa Maria del Popolo was built in 1472-77 and replaced a previous church from 1235. The architects were probably Baccio Pontelli and Andrea Bregno. The facade was somewhat modified in 1655-60 by Bernini, but is still a good example of early Roman renaissance. The apse was extended by Bramante circa 1501. The church is hemmed in by buildings added in the early 19th century.

Sant'Agostino was completed in 1484. The facade was completed by Giacomo di Pietrasanta and is supposed to be based on a design by Alberti. The stone is said to have been taken from the Colosseum. The new building incorporated a previous parish church known as San Trifone in Posterula, which was only demolished in the 18th century. The building of a new church started already in 1296 and was completed in 1446. It was subsequently rebuilt on a larger scale in 1479-84. The church was reoriented to face Via Recta, an ancient road and main access route for pilgrims to the Vatican. Traces of the old route still exist in Via delle Coppelle, Via S Agostino and Via dei Coronari. 

San Pietro in Montorio was built in 1481 to 1500 to designs by Baccio Pontelli and Meo del Caprina. The stairway was added in 1605. There had previously been a chapel from the 9th century and a convent from the 12th century on the site. A medieval tradition held that St. Peter was crucified on this spot but this claim has since been discarded. The church is famous for the presence of the Tempietto in the courtyard of the adjoining monastery.

San Pietro in Vincoli was built in 432-40 and may have replaced an even older church. The old structure is largely intact despite successive restorations. The facade is a screen: the portico was built in 1475 and has been attributed to Baccio Pontelli. It was originally topped with a sloping tiled roof until the second storey was added in 1578.  

Il Gesù is the main church of the Society of Jesus. Construction started in 1568 to designs by Giacomo da Vignola but was altered after his death in 1573 by Giacomo della Porta. The church was finally consecrated in 1584. The interior was redecorated in the baroque style in the second half of the 17th century. A previous church called Santa Maria della Strada stood just south of the present building. The first documentary evidence is from 1337 but the church could have been built earlier. Another church, dedicated to Sant'Andrea, was replaced with the Jesuit convent.

Santa Maria ai Monti was completed in 1580 to designs by Giacomo della Porta. It has a similar facade and dome to Il Gesù, which also was designed by della Porta. Work on the church was completed by Carlo Lombardi and Flaminio Ponzio.

The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti has an unusual facade for Rome, possibly due to the fact that construction was originally begun in a French gothic style in 1502. It is not known exactly who is responsible for the final Italianate design but it has been suggested that the concept originated with Giacomo della Porta. The church was finally completed in 1585 and the double staircase (not the Spanish steps) was added by Domenico Fontana.

The benediction loggia of San Giovanni in Laterano was designed by Domenico Fontana in 1586, though some modifications were later added by Guiseppe Valadier. Fontana also designed the facades of the adjacent Lateran Palace. 

The national church of France was completed in 1589 with a facade most probably designed by Giacomo della Porta. The statues in the niches were added in 1746. Construction of a French national church began in 1518 and was initially intended as a round church designed by a French architect. This design was possibly inspired by the Tempietto but the project was abandoned after the sack of Rome in 1527. 

Santa Maria in Vallicella, more commonly known as Chiesa Nuova, was built in 1575-1606. It replaced a parish church, which may have been from as early as the late 6th century though the earliest source of the church's existence is from 1179.  Several architects oversaw construction at various points, including Giovanni Matteo da Città di Castello, Giacomo della Porta and Martino Longhi the Elder. The façade was designed by Fausto Rughesi. The dome was finished by Pietro da Cortona in 1650. The bell tower was designed in 1666 by Camillo Arcucci. The adjoining Oratory was designed by Francesco Borromino and built in 1637-66. This was a rebuilding of a previous structure designed for the same purpose by Martino Longhi the Elder in 1572.

The church of Santa Susanna was built in its present form in 1593-1603 to designs by Carlo Maderno. The first church on this site was probably built in the fourth century and was restored and embellished and then entirely rebuilt in the eighth. The Quirinal hill was subsequently abandoned and Santa Susanna was the only standing church to be left there. Nevertheless, the structure was rebuilt again some time in 1471-84. 

The church front of St Peter's Basilica was built in 1608-14. The architect Carlo Maderno had originally planned to include towers at either end of the facade but work was stopped in 1621 because the ground had subsided. Bernini made a second attempt in 1639 but this was also unsuccessful and the bell tower that was built had to be demolished in 1646. Clocks were installed in place of the towers by Giuseppe Valadier in 1790.   

San Bartolomeo all'Isola was built on the Tiber island in 998, by orders by the Holy Roman Emperor, on the foundations of an ancient temple. It was for a time the cathedral of the diocese of Santa Rufina. The church suffered repeated flooding and the bell tower is from a restoration campaign in 1118-80. Subsequent flood led to the abandonment of the church for 25 years in the 16th century. However, the church was restored again in 1583 and the facade was added in 1624, to a design by Martino Longhi the younger.  

Santa Maria della Vittoria was built in 1608-1626. The original architect was Carlo Maderno but the facade was designed by Giovanni Battista Soria. Most of the baroque interior is from the 18th century. 

The facade of Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi was completed in 1638 and is generally attributed to Martino Longhi the younger. Some modifications were made by Cristoforo Schor in 1695. The church was rebuilt in 1624-38 and replaced a previous church from the 15th century.

The facade of Santa Maria della Pace was designed by Pietro da Cortona and built in 1656-61. This was part of a rebuilding that was completed in 1667. The church was originally built in the 1480s to a design which has been ascribed to Baccio Pontelli. It replaced a previous church from the middle ages, named Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis.

Sant'Andrea della Valle was built for the Theatines in 1591-1650. Work was interrupted between 1603 and 1608, after which Carlo Maderno became the main architect. The facade was added in 1655-65 to revised version of Maderno's design by Carlo Rainaldi. 

Santi Luca e Martina was completed in 1664 to designs by Pietro da Cortona after almost thirty years of construction. It replaced a previous church on this site from the 6th or 7th centuries.

Santa Maria in Campitelli was built in 1659-67 to a design by Carlo Rainaldi. The icon inside was believed to have saved the city from plague in 1656. This belief led to the decision to build a new church even though the previous one had been consecrated as late as 1648.  

San Bernardo alle Terme was once part of the complex of the baths of Diocletian, completed in 306. It was converted into a church in 1598, but the stucco facade appears to be from a restoration in 1670 

The facade of Sant'Agnese in Agone was completed in 1672. Originally designed by Girolamo and Carlo Rainaldi, Francesco Borromini took over in 1653, and further modifications were made to his design by Gianlorenzo Bernini and Carlo Rainaldi after Borromini resigned in 1657. A previous church on the site was consecrated in 1123.

Sant'Andrea al Quirinale was built in 1658-78 to designs by Gianlorenzo Bernini. The church plan is elliptical. The facade was only added after the death of Pope Alexander VII, due to his insistence that the front should be screened off from the street by a wall. Sant'Andrea al Quirinale replaced a previous church of unknown origins called Sant'Andrea in Monte Cavallo, rebuilt by the Jesuits in 1568.  

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane was begun by Francesco Borromini in 1638 but the project stalled and  work on the facade only started in 1665. The architect committed suicide two years later and work was continued by his nephew. The church was finally completed in 1682. The fountains referred to in the name of the church predates it and were built in 1593.

Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli were originally designed by Carlo Rainaldi. Work started in 1662 but was interrupted after the death of Pope Alexander VII in 1667. Work resumed on Montesanto in 1671 under the direction of Carlo Fontana and the church was completed in 1673. Rainaldi continued work on Santa Maria dei Miracoli in 1675-77 but it was again left to Fontana to complete it, which he did in 1678. 

The facade of San Francesco a Ripa was completed in 1689 to a design by Mattia de Rossi. This was part of a rebuilding project of a church from the 13th century.

The present facade of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere was designed in 1725 by Ferdinando Fuga, but the portico is much older and contains ancient Roman columns erected on this site in the 12th century. The balustrade on top and was added by Fuga. The bell tower was built in 1140 and the fabric of the church behind the facade is, despite several re-designs, mostly from the 9th century. The first church on the site was probably built in the 5th century though the legend of Santa Cecilia dates it to the 3rd. 

The facade of La Maddalena, or Santa Maria Maddalena in Campo Marzio to give its full title, was completed in 1735. The main body of the church was built in 1669-98 by architects Carlo Fontana and Carlo Quadri. The facade was probably designed by either Giuseppe Sardi or Manuel Rodriguez Dos Santos. It is regarded as the only true rococo facade in Rome. There has been a church on this location since 1586.

San Giovanni in Laterano is named 'the mother of all churches' and is the cathedral of Rome. It has been the seat of the Roman bishop since 312. The facade was added in 1736 and was designed by Alessandro Galilei. The building has been destroyed in earthquakes and fires and the present structure is mostly the result of restorations in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The facade of Santa Maria Maggiore is a screen designed by Ferdinando Fuga and was added in 1743. It obscures an earlier facade from the 12th century. The church is actually from the 5th century,  but has been restored, repaired after earthquakes and redecorated at various stages in time. The bell tower is from the 14th century. The palatial wings on either side of the facade were added in 1605 to a design by Flaminio Ponzio (right) and in 1743 when Fuga copied this design to maintain symmetry (left).

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme was rebuilt in 1741-44 by architects Domenico Gregorini and Pietro Passalacqua while the bell tower was built during a previous rebuilding in 1144-45. but some of the external walls are from the original church, which may have been built as early as 330. The first documentary evidence of the church's existence is from 501. Santa Croce is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome.

The facade of Santi Quaranti Martiri e San Pasquale Baylon in Trastevere was built in 1747 to a design by Giuseppe Sardi. A previous church was built in the early middle ages and restored in 1608. The new 18th century church was built for a reform movement of Franciscan friars.

  

The facade of Santa Maria in Aquiro was added in 1774 by Pietro Camporese the elder. The building of the rest of the church mainly took place between 1588 and 1620, with Francesco Capriano and Carlo Maderno among the architects. This work replaced a previous church, most probably built in the 5th century. The facade is mostly in brick with details in white travertine. The bell towers are placed over the external chapels on either side of the church aisles.

The first church on the site of San Salvatore in Lauro was built in the 12th century. It was rebuilt around 1450, destroyed in a fire in 1591 and rebuilt again in 1594. The interior was only completed in 1734 and the facade was added in 1857-62 to designs by Camillo Guglielmetti. It is the national church in Rome for inhabitants of the Marche region in Italy.