Old Saint Peter's, Rome

John Osborne editor Rosamond McKitterick editor Carol M Richardson editor Joanna Story editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:7th Nov '13

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Old Saint Peter's, Rome cover

Provides the first full study of the predecessor church of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, from late antique construction to Renaissance destruction.

Provides the first full study of the original church on the site of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, from late antique construction to Renaissance destruction. Explores aspects of the basilica's history, from its physical fabric to the activities that took place within its walls and its relationship with Rome itself.St Peter's Basilica in Rome is arguably the most important church in Western Christendom, and is among the most significant buildings anywhere in the world. However, the church that is visible today is a youthful upstart, only four hundred years old compared to the twelve-hundred-year-old church whose site it occupies. A very small proportion of the original is now extant, entirely covered over by the new basilica, but enough survives to make reconstruction of the first St Peter's possible and much new evidence has been uncovered in the past thirty years. This is the first full study of the older church, from its late antique construction to Renaissance destruction, in its historical context. An international team of historians, art historians, archaeologists and liturgists explores aspects of the basilica's history, from its physical fabric to the activities that took place within its walls and its relationship with the city of Rome.

'… impressive and interesting …' The Times Literary Supplement
'Although this book has been written for experts, it will not fail those who are eager to know more about the first church of Christendom.' The Art Newspaper
'This elegantly conceived volume adds considerably to our knowledge and understanding of one of the most remarkable buildings to have been constructed over the last two millennia … the book amply and illuminatingly demonstrates that an old and long-vanished building can still remain a powerful resource for historical research of the highest significance.' David Hemsoll, History Today
'… splendid and lavishly illustrated …' Timothy D. Barnes, Expository Times
'… an essential reference tool … illuminating observations … the production of the volume is highly commendable, with maps that will make it a pleasure to use this work for research and teaching purposes.' Richard Westall, The Classical Review
'Together they have created an impressive book that sports nearly 130 illustrations, images and plates. Most of the contributions start out with a detail of the modern plan of St Peter's, showing the most important places in the church that the following pages proceed to deal with, which is very helpful. The special highlight is the (approximately) 62x48 cm (or a little more than 2x1.5 ft!) fold-out facsimile of Tiberio Alfarano's plan of Old St Peter's shown in the relationship to the new basilica from 1590. This alone is great to have; albeit admittedly relatively modern, it shows many locations in the old church.' Clemens Gantner, Early Medieval Europe

ISBN: 9781107041646

Dimensions: 252mm x 182mm x 28mm

Weight: 1230g

512 pages