Istanbul and Rome, although linked by history, are different in many ways. However, when it comes to their residential areas, it is hard not to notice the blaring similarities. The above pictures show classic examples of typical residential neighborhoods in both Istanbul and Rome. The picture on the left is a former Jewish and Greek neighborhood in Istanbul. The picture on the right shows a larger street in the heart of Rome, close to the Ara Pacis. From a foreigner’s perspective, the resemblances between these two neighborhoods could suggest a relationship between how individuals in both cities identify their living culture.
Perhaps the most noticeable, shared feature is the variety of colors used on the building walls. Notice how the colors do not blend smoothly along the roads; instead, they define each building sharply and distinctively, causing each building to stand out. Such variety and abruptness may imply a strong sense of individualism among the people in both cities. In the Istanbul neighborhood, the color effect is more apparent. Each house possesses its own, unique shade of vibrant color, symbolizing that each family in its respective home is special and distinct. Yet Istanbul and Rome are much better known for something else: their cultural mixing. Istanbul, geographically situated between the Asian and European borders, by no surprise harbors a grand combination of cultures. Rome, with its high rate of immigration, has evolved into a multiethnic city. Thus, the potpourri of colors could represent the people identifying themselves as a potpourri of different cultures intermingling on one common ground.
Beneath the buildings, both neighborhoods share the same cobblestone roads. The presence of cobblestone, an old material for road building, portrays the enduring age of both neighborhoods. Generation after generation, these residential areas have sustained countless number of families. Thus, culture and tradition play crucial elements in everyday lives.
Although the picture of the Roman neighborhood shows a larger street, the street branches off into much smaller alleys such as the one in the Istanbul neighborhood. The streets are often very narrow, barely allowing one vehicle and maybe a few pedestrians to pass simultaneously. The small and skinny compact vehicles, shown in both pictures, reflect the narrowness of the roads. Bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles are also often seen in both cities.
Furthermore, the buildings in each picture tower over the pedestrians and cars. Almost all buildings in Rome and Istanbul are at least two or three floors high. Thus, the skinny roads and the tall buildings show how the people have accommodated to living in a large, dense population. Small residential areas contain huge communities, allowing people to communicate and sustain close relationships.
When all brought together, these comparable aspects work concurrently to create a perfect environment for a multicultural world. Such small, dense neighborhoods encourage culture crossing, and not just within the nation, but with the entire world. Yet despite the tremendous population, each person can still uphold his or her individuality and a sense of importance in society. As a foreigner looking down a common street, this is the identity that I see embraced by the people of Rome and Istanbul.
The first St. Peter’s Basilica was built during Emperor Constantine I’s Rule between 326 A.D and 333 A.D in order to honor Saint Peter. It was constructed on top of Nero’s circus, as well as a large graveyard where St. Peter was thought to have been martyred and buried. In 1506, Pope Julius II began constructing new additions to the basilica. After more than 100 years of continuous work, the second basilica was mostly completed by 1615 under Pope Paul V. It was only missing one final piece, a finishing touch by Urban VIII.
As soon as Urban VIII was elected in 1623, he felt that the power of the pope was not being emphasized enough. Urban VIII also thought that the simple cover over the High Altar of St. Peter’s Basilica was too small, especially compared to the huge 350-foot dome. Thus, he commissioned his favorite sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, to work on a much larger “baldacchino” right above the High Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Derived from the Italian “Baldacco,” meaning Baghdad, which was a large source for fabric, the “baldacchino” is a large canopy over the altar. Urban VIII wanted the structure to be as grand as possible, so he assigned the project without any economic restrictions. This commission, which had a $3.5 million stipend, was one of the largest offers in Bernini’s lifetime.
According to the commission, the majority of the baldacchino was to be made out of bronze, but there was not enough bronze available. As Pope Urban VIII stood at the High Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, he wondered where he could acquire so much bronze. As he looked up, he noticed that the ribs of the dome of the basilica were made of massive amounts of bronze. Thus, Pope Urban VIII ordered more than 100,000 pounds of bronze in the dome to be taken down and used for the baldacchino. But, it turned out that this was still not enough bronze to build the baldacchino. Urban VIII desperately looked into other places, and finally decided to use the bronze located in the beams of the Pantheon. Though Urban VIII finally had enough bronze, the removal of bronze from the Pantheon received heavy criticism by the public. From the “sacking” of the Pantheon comes the famous quote, “quod non fecerunt Barbari fecurunt Barberini,” or “what the barbarians did not do, the Barberini’s did.”To compensate for taking the bronze from the Pantheon, Urban VIII built two bell towers next to the Pantheon. However, the towers were ridiculed by the people as “the donkey ears of Bernini,” so they were demolished in 1883.
The work on the baldacchino began in 1623, only eight years after the second St. Peter’s Basilica was completed. Bernini’s students, as well as Bernini’s rival, Boromini, all made contributions to the design. However, Bernini still receives the most credit for the work. After 11 years, the baldacchino was finally complete. Standing over 95 feet tall, the monumental structure successfully left the viewers awestruck.
II.Description and Function
When designing the baldacchino, Bernini focused on a Christian theme by incorporating many Eucharistic symbols. However, Bernini also ingeniously slipped in symbols of the Barbarini family to suggest the presence of Urban VIII. Thus, the intertwining of the symbols associates Christ with Urban VIII, which greatly enhanced the status of the Pope.
The base of the superstructure is composed of four marble pedestals. Each pedestal is decorated with two coats of arms of the Barberini family, contributing to a total of eight coats of arms. Each coat of arms is almost identical, except for a small yet apparent difference between each one. Peering closely, one can see a woman’s face on seven of the eight coats of arms. On the eighth coat of arms, a small child’s face is depicted instead. According to legend, Urban VIII had a niece who had a difficult pregnancy. However, she was fortunately able to deliver a healthy child. Thus, to commemorate Urban VIII’s niece, Bernini created a story by using his popular technique of “circumambulation.” Used in his other works like “Apollo and Daphne” and “Pluto and Proserpina,” circumambulation requires the viewer to circumscribe the sculpture in order to gain a greater understanding of the sculptor’s intention. Starting from the front left corner of the baldacchino, a visitor would see a healthy woman’s face. The rounded shield beneath the face could represent the woman’s body, which would suggest that she was pregnant at the time. As the visitor begins to walk clockwise around the structure, the visitor would notice that the woman begins to cringe and grow weak. However, when the visitor reaches the eighth and last coat of arms, the woman’s face is replaced by that of a small child’s, signifying that her childbirth was successful.
During the planning of the baldacchino, Bernini was not impressed by the typical baldacchino design consisting of a spire or marble dome supported by columns. Thus, instead of using four smooth trunks, he decided to use four streamlined gilded spiral columns. The columns, with their spiral shape, were a representation of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. In the original fourth century church, the tomb and altar were surrounded by a ciborium of spiral columns called “Solomonic columns.” Some believe that these columns were the actual columns from Solomon’s Temple, later imported by Constantine.The four columns have also been said to represent the Four Evangelists. In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists refer to authors of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Bernini divided the columns into three different sections. The bottom section contained helical grooves that spiraled upwards. The upper two sections were decorated with olive and bay leaf branches. Bernini’s choice of using olive and bay leaf branches, however, was a surprise. In Christian art, the traditional vine leaves were the typical plant symbol. However, the olive and bay leaf branches were symbols of the Barberini family, suggesting that Bernini decided to implement the mark of Urban VIII on the superstructure.
Flying bees scattered the columns, which served as a duo effect. Not only was the bee the symbol of the Barberini family, but it was also the symbol of spirituality. The bees surrounded other areas of the structure as well, including underneath the canopy, which was centered by a dove representing the descent of Christ during mass.
Above the columns, Bernini’s initial plans consisted of two diagonal ribs functioning to join the columns. These ribs would have closely represented the traditional Christian cover for an altar. Bernini also wanted a statue of the Resurrected Christ carrying the Bannered Cross to stand on top of the intersecting ribs that would protrude from the canopy. The design would have been perfect to Bernini’s “concetto,” or symbolic program: the bottom of the structure would begin with Christ’s sacrifice on the altar, then rise upwards to the Resurrection by the statue of Resurrected Christ, and finally ascend to the top of the dome where the heavenly enthronement of Christ is portrayed.
However, in 1631, the idea of the diagonal ribs and statue of the Resurrected Christ was suddenly discarded. Instead, a cloth-like canopy, with its lightweight connotation, was placed over the columns instead. Twelve curving volutes, three on each corner, rose over the canopy to meet at the center and Barberini bees hoisted up a much smaller orb and cross at the apex.
Although it is not quite certain why the idea of the Resurrected Christ was disposed of, two dominating proposals suggest an answer. The first proposal argues that the Resurrected Christ was too large and heavy, and Bernini rethought his designs, fearing that the columns would collapse from the weight of the statue. The change was much safer for the baldacchino since the weight of the superstructure was significantly lighter. Unlike the asymmetrical and bulky Resurrected Christ, the orb and the cross, with their natural symmetry, perfectly distributed the weight across the columns. The second proposal, supporting the change in design, instead argues that Bernini wanted to include more symbols for the Pope, further emphasizing his power. Instead of an architectural improvement, the twelve curving volutes could also represent the shape of a crown. The huge crown hovers over the High Altar, ostentatiously displaying the Pope as the powerful leader of the Church.
Finally, four large bronze angels stand on the corners of the canopy. Small putti gently dance around the top, as if the canopy were merely weightless. Each pair of putti holds different relics of St. Peter, yet more important symbols for the Church.
III.Concerns/Goals of the patron
As soon as Urban VIII became Pope, he sought to emphasize his role as the head of the state. Mass at the High Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica could only be celebrated by the Pope. Thus, Urban VIII’s early decision to build the massive baldacchino over the High Altar served as a propaganda technique to bolster his prominence.
Besides elevating the significance of the Pope, the baldacchino was also built to emphasize the tomb of St. Peter. The baldacchino structure has always been associated with death and burial when built over a tomb because its large canopy acts to shelter the relics of the tomb. For example, the baldacchino in San Giovanni in Laterano, built in the 14th century, served as a shelter for the altar of the Pope and the relics of Saints Peter and Paul. Moreover, building small temple-like shrines used to be an ancient practice dating back to ancient Roman times and before. The idea of canopies was already present in the Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, and since the basilica was built on top of a graveyard, there were many canopies that hung over tombs and altars. Furthermore, the entire basilica can be seen as a “baldacchino” for St. Peter’s burial site. Thus, Bernini’s “second baldacchino” reminded the people of the great Saint Peter. Bernini’s ingenious placement of the baldacchino ultimately linked the greatness of St. Peter with Urban VIII.
IV.Conclusion and Personal Thoughts
Although awe-striking at first, the baldacchino soon became a disadvantage for Urban VIII because the final product cost the extraordinary amount of 200,000 scudi, which in today’s currency would be about $70.5 million. Building the baldacchino marked just the beginning of Urban VIII’s long list of debts. Eventually, the enormous amount of Urban VIII’s spending ruined his reputation completely. His intention of portraying himself as a powerful leader did not work, especially after the First Castro War, when the people found out that Urban VIII was weak with his army.
Bernini’s baldacchino, however, served as a prime early example of Baroque art. The Solomonic column design, for example, became popular after the baldacchino was completed. They began being used in altars and furniture, especially in future churches. The design was most popular in Catholic Europe. After 1660, the Solomonic columns appeared everywhere on the legs of French, Dutch, and English furniture.
Perhaps the most surprising element to me is the baldacchino’s seemingly impossible construction. The structure weighs more than 100,000 pounds, and four, relatively thin Solomonic columns is all it takes to support the enormous canopy. Additionally, it would seem that the spiraling columns are weaker than straight, round columns. Thus, it is not surprising that the baldacchino is one of the first structures to require smaller, physical models before construction in order to ensure its feasibility. Evidence of intensive architectural analysis such as the replacement of the Resurrected Christ portrays the challenges faced by the artists. The successful construction of the baldacchino once more reflects Bernini’s extraordinary genius.
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