Bramante's Tempietto
Title
Subject
Description
On top of the Gianicolo Hill (also known as the Janiculum) in Trastevere sits San Pietro in Monotorio, built most likely by Baccio Pontelli. Inside a small courtyard Bramante’s high renaissance architectural masterpiece, The Tempietto (1502-1510), was constructed. Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs of Spain at the time, commissioned the structure. At the time of construction it was believed to be the location St. Peter has been crucified on an upside down cross and the Tempietto was to be part of a memorial for the saint. Currently the San Pietro in Monotorio complex is part of the Spanish Royal Academy in Rome.
Bramante intensely studied classical architecture before creating his masterpiece but it is clear he made some renaissance alterations to the classical rule. Some scholars believe that his use of circular plan is a reference to the ancient Temple of Hercules Victor, which is in what is now the Piazza Bocca della Verità in Rome. However, his deviation from the traditional corinthian column capital seen on the Temple of Hercules Victor to the simple Doric order is an important distinction. Bramante’s original sketch included a plan for a circular courtyard to continue the strong concept of harmony seen throughout the work of architectural art, however it is placed in a plain rectangular space that makes the grandeur of the Tempietto feel somehow out of place.
Abstract
Creator
Source
Partiridge, Loren. The Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Laurence King Publishing Limited, 1996.
Rosenthal, Earl. “The Antecedents of Bramante’s Tempietto,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 23:2 (1964): 55-74.
Identifier
Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Description
On top of the Gianicolo Hill (also known as the Janiculum) in Trastevere sits San Pietro in Monotorio, built most likely by Baccio Pontelli. Inside a small courtyard Bramante’s high renaissance architectural masterpiece, The Tempietto (1502-1510), was constructed. Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs of Spain at the time, commissioned the structure. At the time of construction it was believed to be the location St. Peter has been crucified on an upside down cross and the Tempietto was to be part of a memorial for the saint. Currently the San Pietro in Monotorio complex is part of the Spanish Royal Academy in Rome.
Bramante intensely studied classical architecture before creating his masterpiece but it is clear he made some renaissance alterations to the classical rule. Some scholars believe that his use of circular plan is a reference to the ancient Temple of Hercules Victor, which is in what is now the Piazza Bocca della Verità in Rome. However, his deviation from the traditional corinthian column capital seen on the Temple of Hercules Victor to the simple Doric order is an important distinction. Bramante’s original sketch included a plan for a circular courtyard to continue the strong concept of harmony seen throughout the work of architectural art, however it is placed in a plain rectangular space that makes the grandeur of the Tempietto feel somehow out of place.
Creator
Shaylin Nguyen (2016)Coverage
1500sSource
Partiridge, Loren. The Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Laurence King Publishing Limited, 1996.
Rosenthal, Earl. “The Antecedents of Bramante’s Tempietto,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 23:2 (1964): 55-74.