Rome and St. Peter’s

A course on St. Peter\’s Basilica and its surrounding architectural complex from Antiquity to the Baroque, tracing the development of the Vatican area from an imperial Roman garden with racetrack to the spiritual and administrative center of the Roman Church, to the achievement of its present form in the seventeenth century. Throughout, the site is interpreted within the context of the historical, topographical, and architectural evolution of the city of Rome. Relevance of broader cultural and political developments, such as the evolution of the Roman Church and Late Antique and medieval culture and values, are explored. The second half of the course looks more closely at specific works of painting, sculpture, and architecture such as Michelangelo\’s Sistine Ceiling, Raphael\’s paintings in the Vatican Palace, Bramante\’s design for New St. Peter\’s and Bernini\’s sculpture for the rebuilt Vatican complex.This course satisfies the pre-requisite needed for GSD 2308: The Drawing in the City of Rome.