The Church Of Santa Costanza And The Dome Of The Rock
The Church of Santa Costanza and The Dome of the Rock are both central-plan architectures. The Church of Santa Costanza (c. 350) was originally built was a mausoleum for Constantine’s daughter and is one of the earliest central-plan Christian buildings that has survived. The rotunda in the center is surrounded by an ambulatory, a barrel-vaulted passageway, with an attached narthex. In order to support the dome and arcade of the rotunda, each arch is being held up by a pair of columns (with Composite capitals) and a thick entablature block. Similarly, The Dome of the Rock (c. 691-692) was the first big statement of Islamic art. The Dome of the Rock is a shrine that was built over the rock that is sacred to Islamic, Jewish, and Christian
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history. As in the Church of Santa Costanza, the rock is covered in a rotunda with a surrounding ambulatory, but lacks a narthex. Here, only a single column (or pier after every few columns) supports the dome and arcade. Both buildings also include many clerestory windows and a focus to the center, the relic of the rock or the altar. Structurally, both buildings are incredibly similar.
These buildings begin to show their individual religious and cultural contexts when you look at their ornamentation.
The mosaics at the Church of Santa Costanza honor Constantina, Constantine’s daughter, while surrounding her image with putti harvesting from tangled grapevines and stomping grapes. Usually understood pagan representation of winemaking, the Christian context regards this as a way to show death and resurrection. This double meaning of the mosaic added to the charm, making the viewer look carefully for any detail that may expose the mosaic as strictly pagan or Christian. Besides the mosaic in the ambulatory vault, that interior is relatively plain. In contrast, the Dome of the Rock is almost overly ornate, starting with the golden dome ruling its exterior. The interior of the building is no different, starting with the gold-encrusted mosaics that cover both sides of the arcade. Along the ambulatory, inscriptions from the Qur’an and other Islamic texts are ornately inscribed, creating the expectation that one should walk about the entire building reflecting on the writing. However, even if you are unable to read Arabic, the writings have a decorative appeal. Above these writings is another mosaic of vines and trees, symmetrically designed to represent Paradise. Below, still more ornate details of a pattern of marbles that cap the golden capitals. All of these details are meant to highlight the religious significance of the rock displayed in the
center.
history. As in the Church of Santa Costanza, the rock is covered in a rotunda with a surrounding ambulatory, but lacks a narthex. Here, only a single column (or pier after every few columns) supports the dome and arcade. Both buildings also include many clerestory windows and a focus to the center, the relic of the rock or the altar. Structurally, both buildings are incredibly similar.
These buildings begin to show their individual religious and cultural contexts when you look at their ornamentation.
The mosaics at the Church of Santa Costanza honor Constantina, Constantine’s daughter, while surrounding her image with putti harvesting from tangled grapevines and stomping grapes. Usually understood pagan representation of winemaking, the Christian context regards this as a way to show death and resurrection. This double meaning of the mosaic added to the charm, making the viewer look carefully for any detail that may expose the mosaic as strictly pagan or Christian. Besides the mosaic in the ambulatory vault, that interior is relatively plain. In contrast, the Dome of the Rock is almost overly ornate, starting with the golden dome ruling its exterior. The interior of the building is no different, starting with the gold-encrusted mosaics that cover both sides of the arcade. Along the ambulatory, inscriptions from the Qur’an and other Islamic texts are ornately inscribed, creating the expectation that one should walk about the entire building reflecting on the writing. However, even if you are unable to read Arabic, the writings have a decorative appeal. Above these writings is another mosaic of vines and trees, symmetrically designed to represent Paradise. Below, still more ornate details of a pattern of marbles that cap the golden capitals. All of these details are meant to highlight the religious significance of the rock displayed in the
center.