USC Arch 214A - World History of Architecture - An Examination of St. Sabina, Rome, Italy

Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

The goal of this term project is to address the ways in which new cultural and historical contexts affect the development of ideas, cultural practices and institutions; Includes description, critical analysis and background research on Santa Sabina, one of the early Christian churches built during the late Roman Empire.

Church of Santa Sabina Citizens living in Rome between 380 AD to 460 AD would have witnessed a great building boom of a centuries-old and most familiar building type instantly recognizable in any territory of the Roman empire, but with a use not seen before. This new building type would be of such historical significance that it would mark a new era, with impact extending into the next two millennia. Roman building tradition was adept at creating hybrid building forms adopted from Greek antiquity. The hybrid result would yield a building type engineered to fit Roman state purpose.

The church of Santa Sabina is one such hybrid building type. Built in Rome in 432 AD and still standing today, it is located on a promontory point on the Aventine, one of Rome’s Seven Hills, overlooking the Tiber River. It is south of Circus Maximus, and just inside the south-easterly edge of the Servian Wall where it stops short at the edge of the Tiber.

Santa Sabina is in the vain of that Roman tradition of adapting an old building typology repurposed into a new use.

Historical Context

Fig. 1 - Urban Plan, City of Rome, Italy, 6th Century AD, showing location of Church of Santa Sabina (Source: www.istockphoto.com/vector/antique-map-of-ancient-romegm507543365-45888568)

In 313 AD, two Roman emperors, Constantin (who controlled the western half of the Roman empire), and Licinius (controlling the east), issued the “Edict of Milan”1, declaring toleration of religions, but had the practical tacit intent of giving official state status to Christianity2. In doing so, the emperor broke with tradition, where Christians were generally persecuted under the Roman Emperor’s dictate3. Peter, one of the founding

1

David F. Wright, “Edict of Milan”, Christian History Magazine, 1990, Vol #28. ibid 3 Baus, Karl, History of The Church”, edited by Hubert Jedin and John Dolan, Pg. 222, Vol. 1, 1992, Crossroad Publishing 2

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

twelve apostles, is believed4 to have been killed in the Circus of Nero around 64 AD. Constantin’s Edict was an historic turning point for church fathers5 and the congregant community; they could now practice the liturgy in public mass communion without fear of arrest, or worse. Santa Sabina is a direct product of the Edict.

Church leaders (and Emperor Constantin) were left with the challenge of determining which architectural form would best convey the symbolism of the Christian faith, as well as accommodate the ideal practical logistics of a functional church. Historical precedents of temple forms abounded in Rome, and in Greek antiquity. Temples were indeed monumental in scale, were universally accepted as the house to worship a god, or many gods, as Greek and Roman tradition had a “collection of gods”6 to choose from.

Yet, to early Christians, these established ‘pagan’ temple forms were not an ideal architectural precedent to adopt. More critically, they lacked a key programmatic function reflective of a central tenet: the old Greek or Roman temple was not meant for holding a mass communion, or large gathering of believers for Mycenaean an extended period of time, with a focal point on a Megaron ritual altar, as the new Christian liturgy required.

Ironically, despite the general monumentality of a Greek and Roman temple, the space was not fit. The Roman temple’s massing, spatial layout and colossal colonnaded porticos appropriated from Greek tradition Fig. 2 - Plan of Greek temple prototype, which evolved from earlier Megaron space developed in Mycenae. were completely non-functional for a Christian mass (Source: www.essential-humanities.net/westernart/architecture/greek/) communion.

There was, however, the Roman basilica, one building type which was a perfect candidate to adopt, except for one problem: the basilica had a long tradition of functioning as a law court or state public building, not as a religious space. Nonetheless, it was a perfect fit for the liturgical and community needs.

The basilica was an established institutional urban form. It was easily recognizable and understood throughout the empire symbolizing Fig. 3 - Plan of Basilica Ulpia, 100 AD, (Source: http://escuela2punto0.

Roman power. The basilica, along with the forum, theatre, temple, baths, educarex.es/Humanidades/Historia/la_o market and library, symbolized the Empire’s “indisputable unity, despite bra_de_arte/x-media/pal-espa.htm) differences of climate, society, and environment”.7 The basilica building could hold many congregants in a single space; it met Christianity’s exterior massing and interior spatial and symbolic needs, focused the congregant’s attention on the liturgical ritual, and the form could be easily 4

Brent D. Shaw, “The Myth of the Neronian Persecution”, The Journal of Roman Studies, August, 2015 Baus, Pg. 426 6 ibid 7 Stierlin, Henry, “The Roman Empire”, Pg. 227, Taschen World Architecture, 1996 5

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

replicated. More importantly, the new building type would transcend the public function to become a template for Christianity’s, and the Roman empire’s, new house of worship.

Roman Basilica as New Church Form The Roman basilica typology was particularly ideally suited for adaptation as a Christian church. The building form was preloaded with spatial, functional, programmatic and powerful cultural symbolism.

Architects would combine architectural elements of the typical Roman basilicas to create the ideal basilican church typology. The basilica is comprised of a simple rectangular space, long and narrow, with a tall interior space; a semi-circular apse on both ends along the center axis would extend the space out, and serve as Fig. 4 - Comparative floor plans the judge’s seat if used as a courthouse, of secular Roman Basilicas. or as the seat for the emperor’s statue.

These would be become By design intent, it accommodates a prototypes for the new Christian church: relatively large audience under a single 1. Corinth interior space; sometimes the space is 2. Ostia 3. Pompeii divided into side aisles by colonnades, as 4. Smyrna in Basilica Ulpia and Basilica Julia; other 5. Ulpia times, as in Constantine’s Basilica of 6. Cyrene 7. Cremna Trier8, the space is a singular interior Color coding added to illustrate volume of monumental height. In 310 B A key components of typical AD, just before the Edict of Milan, Roman basilican plan which C Constantine commissioned the Aula were adopted by early Christian D Palatina, a law court in Trier, the Roman churches: A. Apse empire’s newest basilica. The walls are B. Narthex built with concrete and faced with brick, C. Side Aisles D. Atrium with clearstory window openings (Source: Richard Krautheimer, integrated in the structural bays. The “The Constantinian Basilica”, See Work Cited page.) roof structure is a timber truss system with a gable roof clad in clay tile. The interior underside of the roof truss is in some buildings left exposed, while in others, the underside of the truss is covered with a flat decorative coffered ceiling system.

Santa Sabina Historical Context The basis of Santa Sabina’s historical significance lies in its architectural lineage, bridging a link between the Roman basilica, with Greek and even Mycenaean antecedents, and extending promulgation of the form into the modern era. Emperor Constantin’s Edict of Milan was understood by early church leaders as a turning point,9 signaling freedom to pursue growth and expansion10. To do so, it seemed they needed a simple concept to 8

Krautheimer, Richard, “the Constantinian Basilica”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 21, 1967, Pp. 115-140.

Baus, Karl, History of The Church”, edited by Hubert Jedin and John Dolan, Pg. 426, Vol. 1, 1992, Crossroad Publishing 10 Ibid, pg. 209, “The Expansion of Christianity” 9

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

franchise the design and construction of a church typology that would carry the symbolism of the new faith across the Roman empire. Just as Roman emperors conquered lands and planted towns based on replicating the same urban template, so too, early Christianity would follow the same pattern.

Following Constantine’s Edict of Milan was a “flourishing of church building”11 from 380 AD to about 460 AD in the western Roman empire (unmatched until the 17th century AD in western Europe). 12 The eastern half of the Roman empire branched off, and continued the momentum of church expansion, evolving into the Byzantine tradition, blending innovative use of Roman arch techniques with daring engineering design, yielding, yet again, hybrid spatial forms, such as the Hagia Sophia, under an eastern Roman aesthetic. Though Roman in foundation, the new Byzantine sensibility so developed as to create a new column order, breaking antiquity’s mold of the three main column orders, as well as developed a unique and iconic brick patterning, mixing light colored concrete banding with rows of Roman brick, resulting in a uniquely identifiable architectural feature of the eastern Roman empire.

Early Christian planners adopted the Roman basilica plan as the preferred template to conquer souls.

The basilica church plan included four foundational space components: central rectangular nave, side aisles, apse and narthex.

According to Richard Krautheimer, early Christian “standard basilican plan”13 is first planted in Rome, then is transported to other parts of the empire. In later centuries, the church basilica typology from the western Roman tradition would evolve to become the dominant standard town planning element in the Spanish conquest of the New World in the Americas. The new Christian basilica would symbolize a blending of church prestige with state power.

Among the first church buildings adopting the basilican plan and constructed in the western Roman empire after Constantine’s Edict, was San Clemente in Rome, finished in 380 AD. The built basilica form was off-proportioned, with the narthex rather wide, shorter in the long axis, and not as tall14 as expected from traditional basilican space. This was the result perhaps of a trial-and-error approach, likely compounded by fledgling funding sources, as clearly evidenced by use of scavenged columns, which are a mix-and-match of different styles and widths15. Even earlier than San Clemente was the basilican church of St. Peter, completed around 350 AD, with foundations sitting directly over half of what was Nero’s Circus.

Floor Plan and Space program comparison between St. Peter’s Basilica (1 & 2), and the secular Roman basilica at Cyrene, what is now Lybia (3).

Fig. 5 – Plan of St. Peters Basilica, 350 AD (Source: Richard Krautheimer, “The Constantinian Basilica”, See Work Cited page.)

11

Krautheimer, Richard, “Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture”, Pg. 168, Yale University Press, 1965, 1986.

Ibid, Pg. 168 13 Krautheimer, Richard, “Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture”, Pg. 168, Yale University Press, 1965, 1986.

14 Ibid, Pg. 169 15 Ibid 12

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

Centuries later, it would be torn down (in the 16th century) making room for the new St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican, deploying a scaled up and florid version of St. Peter’s original basilican plan).

Santa Sabina’s historical significance, according to architectural historian Richard Krautheimer, is that it remains “a superb example”16 of early Roman basilican churches. Though it was not the first early Christian church built after the Edict of Milan, and considering a 119-year separation from Constantine’s Edict, the church of Santa Sabina is recognized as the most “elegant”17 of the 5th century basilican typology churches, “well preserved and well restored”.18 Architectural Proportion Church construction continued into the 5th century AD in and around Rome, and in far out territories of the empire. These later designs showed clear refinement in proportions, reflecting a wise application of lessons learned from the first wave of 4th century AD basilican churches. The latter wave of projects also exhibited a higher standard of quality of materials, attesting to the church’s growing influence, and associated increased wealth. Santa Sabina is built over the foundations of the temple of Juno from around the 2nd century AD. The marble columns with Corinthian capitals now standing along Santa Fig. 6 – Comparison of 3 basilica plans, (Source: Images public domain; Sabina’s narthex were evidently recycled from the Wikipedia and www.smarthistory.org/santa-sabina) temple of Juno and were “selected with loving care so as to match in every detail.”19 This kind of attention to construction detail is relatively costly (and

16

Krautheimer, Pg. 168 Ibid, Pg. 174 18 Ibid 19 Ibid, Pg. 171 17

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

contrasts with the care taken with columns of San Clemente 80 years earlier); it is a healthy measure of Christianity’s growth and increased capital resources.

Proportions in the first basilica designs in the 4th century AD, as in San Clemente, were relatively squat at approximately 50 wide, by 120 long by 45 high (in Roman Feet)20. In contrast, basilica churches in the 5th century AD benefited from a refinement of proportion, generally set at 50 units wide, by 150 long, by 60 tall,21 or a 3 to 1 ratio of nave length to nave width, as in Santa Sabina. The intent of proportioning is meant to yield a balanced sense of space, inviting reflection on the perfection of the divinity. The proportions as built into Santa Sabina were deployed in later basilican churches. Sant ‘Apollinare in Classe, built in 549 AD in Ravenna, Italy, was declared by UNESCO in 1996 as an “outstanding example of the Early Christian basilica in the purity and simplicity of its design and use of space”.22 Dimensions of the nave are “56 m long by 30 m wide”,23 or nearly a 2 to 1 ratio.

An analysis of Sta. Sabina’s form, in plan, section and interior perspective, and comparisons of plan and interior elevation with other basilica churches, reveals surprising geometric

Fig. 7 – Comparison of 3 basilica plans, showing golden ratio in relationship to architectural elements and spatial proportions (Source: Images public domain; Wikipedia and www.smarthistory.org/santa-sabina)

20

ibid Ibid, Pg. 170 22 UNESCO, “Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna”, Advisory Board Recommendations, World Heritage List No. 788, 1996, Pg. 61 (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/788/documents/) 23 Ibid 21

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

and mathematical relationships which enhance the understanding of this building as a new type of communal religious space.

The spatial, functional, programmatic and symbolic characteristics of the Roman law court basilica building were particularly ideally suited for adaptation into early Christian churches. By the 4th century AD, the church developed a defined liturgical protocol24 which translated into specific architectural programmatic requirements. Overlaid on top of the functional requirements were well proportioned and balanced spaces, with mathematics supporting liturgical symbolism. For example, the typical number of columns on each side of the nave was twelve, symbolizing the 12 Fig. 8 – Proportions in Building Sections and Interior Elevation, Church of Sta. Apostles. The liturgical ceremony came out Sabina of hiding after the Edict of Milan, migrating 1. Cross section thru nave of Saint Sabina looking towards apse, showing geometric proportions; Golden Mean is superimposed on from rough-hewn intimate hidden side aisle showing relationship of column capital to ratio. underground settings and gatherings in 2. Cross section thru St. Peter’s Basilica, 560 AD for comparison showing relationship of geometric Golden Mean in Nave (Source: private homes having been driven there by Richard Krautheimer, “The Constantinian Basilica”, See Work Cited brutal state persecution. The adopted page) 3. Cross section thru secular basilica Julia, 1st Century AD, “The basilican form was refined through many Constantinian Basilica”, (Source: centuries of use as a public space, was www.francescocorni.com/show_design.php?id=30) 4. Sta. Sabina, Longitudinal cross section. flexible, and could be small or scaled up to 5. Sta. Sabina, Photo of interior colonnade with showing relationship geometric relationship at typical column bay (Source: match practical and liturgical demands of a www.flickr.com/photos/profzucker/16562802720/in/photostream/li growing church body without losing the ghtbox) sense of a balanced proportion. In adopting the typology, the church also inherited the weighted symbolism of one of Imperial Rome’s most potent universal symbols of state power, prestige and unity25 which the Roman basilica represented. After brutal prosecution of Christians at the hands of the Roman emperors starting in the 1st century AD, the 4th century AD delivered a turn of fortune. The early Christian church benefitted immeasurably after the Edict of Milan with the empire’s investment in both church and state basilicas, with the basilica of Santa Sabina serving as a prime example of this historic nexus.

24 25

Baus, Karl, History of The Church”, edited by Hubert Jedin and John Dolan, Pg. 146, Vol. 1, 1992, Crossroad Publishing Stierlin, Henry, “The Roman Empire”, Pg. 227, Taschen World Architecture, 1996

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

Fig. 9 – Interior view of Santa Sabina looking towards Apse; illustrates forced perspective which focuses on alter (Source: www.smarthistory.org/santa-sabina)

Works Cited 1. Krautheimer, Richard, “Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture”, Yale University Press, 1965, and 1986 with Slobodan Curcic.

2. Krautheimer, Richard, “The Constantinian Basilica”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 21, 1967, Pp. 115140 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291261) 3. Henry Stierlin, “The Roman Empire”, Taschen World Architecture, 1996 4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Heritage Convention, World Heritage list, “Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna”, website: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/788 5. David F. Wright, “313 The Edict of Milan”, Christian History Magazine, Issue #28, 1990 (https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/edict-of-milan)

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Ramon Hernandez Arch 214A – World History of Architecture Term Project – Analysis of Sta. Sabina, Rome April 6, 2018

Professor: James Steele

6. Brent D. Shaw, “The Myth of the Neronian Persecution”, The Journal of Roman Studies, August 2015 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075435815000982) 7. Karl Baus, “From the Apostolic Community to Constantine”, Vol. 1, Pg. 109, “History of the Church”, Crossroads Publishing Company, New York, 1982.

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