Hybridity in Late Medieaval Ecclesiastical Architecture of Cyprus and the Difficulties of Identifying Saints Peter and Paul of Famagusta, in: Identity / Identities in Late Medieval Cyprus, ed. Guillaume Saint-Guillain, Tassos Papacostas, Nicosia 2014, pp. 241-279. (original) (raw)
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St. Dominic church waiting to be explored in the oldtown of Famagusta, Cyprus
The names and identities of the Antique Monuments, with in the oldtown of Famagusta, Cyprus, are determined according to the historical documents or to word of mouth. Most of the times, due to lack of official records or original documents, names originating from the history were adopted. With in the city walls of Oldtown, the name "Ayia Photou Church" is given to two side by side antique monuments, 20 m. apart, which both are now in ruins. These two ruins are situated at the north east sector of the town and are very close to the midpoint of Torrion del Diamante (Karpaz Tabya) and Torrion del Mozzo (Köpük Kulesi). According to my dense researches, the name of the antique monument on the south should be "Ayia Photou Church" and the name of antique monument on the north should be "St. Dominic Church". In Famagusta, once a very rich town of Medieval, were two Bishoprics and seven churches of different [Christian] religious orders. One of them was the famous "St. Dominic Church" of Franciscan order. In the gravure of Stephan Gibellino, dated 1571 named "Citta di Famagosta", the "St. Dominic Church" was clearly drawn with the belfry and back-garden encircled with high walls and marked with No.5 and footnoted as "St. Dominic Church". It was located on the north east part of the town and close to the midpoint of Torrion del Diamante and Torrion del Mozzo. On the east part of the church, hippodrome "loro di trar al palio" was drawn, which till 1950's this area served to the similar purpose. Unfortunately the "St. Dominic Church" suddenly disappeared from the papers, documents, registries, records, archives and even from memories after the conquest of the town by the Ottomans on 1571 although the Ottomans tried their best to preserve the antique monuments of Christian religion for almost 300 years and handed over the town to British on 1878 same as it was on 1571.
The Enigma of the St. Dominic Church in Famagusta
Since history records and documents are either limited or vague, it can be difficult to determine the names of the ancient buildings in the Famagusta Fortress, along with the purpose for which they were built and who built them. Therefore, many times misleading information, wrong names and inaccurate definitions have been used.
A Return to St. Peter's: The Archaeology of a Fragment
Thresholds
Along the north flank of St. Peter's Basilica, below the Sistine Chapel, a long line forms in summer at the entrance to the northwest stairwell and the elevator to the dome. A brick wall borders the space to the north, and there, on axis with the entrance to the basilica, a large slab of travertine is mounted on the wall (Fig. 1). The stone slab is distinctive. It is rectangular in shape and is mounted on a vertical axis (Figs. 2, 3). It measures roughly 155 cm. x 120 x 15.5 cm., and within a broad framing perimeter bevelled at the edge, sculpted moldings step ever more deeply into the surface of the stone. At the center, a large ornamental bee rises in three dimensions to a height exceeding that of the outer frame. It is a Barberini bee, the heraldic symbol of Pope Urban VIII. The outer contours of the block are irregular, having been chipped and damaged over time. Though the stone is worn, the carving is fine, suggesting that it is an elegant vestige of an earlier ensemble. Entering the basilica, one progresses upward through the stair and the dome to the lantern. There one can survey all of Rome (Fig. 4). The view to the east follows the nave of the basilica to Mussolini's Via della Concilazione stretching down to the walled banks of the Tiber. Beyond the river, cupolas mark the center of Rome. In spring 1641, the French draftsman Israel Silvestre recorded the same prospect with ink and wash. The earlier view provides a striking comparison (Fig. 5). Silvestre's drawing, composed of three large sheets assembled horizontally, gives a panorama of the Borgo to the east, the papal palace, Sistine chapel and Belvedere Court to the north, and, most prominently, the nave of St. Peter's and the ill-fated bell tower Gianlorenzo Bernini built above the south flank of the facade from 1638 to 1641. We see the tower here with two stories complete, the scaffolding in place for the mezzanine level that would support the crowning finial.' The drawing by Silvestre and the bell tower it preserves were the subject of a detailed article published by Henry Millon in 1962.-Millon revealed the secrets of the drawing by reading in close detail, peeling back the layers of visual evidence and placing them in historical context. His acute observations and the slow accretion of historical fact allowed for a precise dating of the sheet itself, but also led to essential revisions in the history of St. Peter's square and Bernini's bell tower. The essay is emblematic of Millon's gifts as a teacher and scholar and is one of many contributions in a career that has had St. Peter's as its constant touchstone. In this brief note I return to his subject, and in emulation of his method try to tease out a story from a fragment. Anyone who has worked on the site of St. Peter's, in its archives and under its vaults, knows that building takes place there under very careful watch and that materials are rarely wasted. The bell tower visible in Silvestre's drawing is a case in point. The tower had a brief life. Commissioned by Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1623-44), the tower rose in three stories: the first trabeated, the second arched, the third a columnar mezzanine topped by a pyramidal finial. The tower stood for just six years (1641-46). Urban Vlll's successor. Pope Innocent X (1644
Concerning the Location of the "St. Romanus" Church in Constantinople
2024
The new data which continues to arrive after another archaeological discovery in Istanbul allows us to correct our ideas about the topography of Constantinople, and to seek answers to hitherto unsolved questions. Such is the case with the clarification and determination of the location of the “St. Romanus” Church in Constantinople. After the discovery and identification of the real “St. Romanus” gate within the city walls of Constantinople, new, useful information has emerged, which serves as a new starting point for determining the location of the church itself. Thus, the region of its search is shifted further south than the one in which it was believed to be located until now. On the other hand, the new location coincides with an existing Byzantine building of uncertain dating, as all sources and archaeological data point to the possibility that it was part of a monastery complex, in which the church of St. Romanus existed.
Choice Reviews Online, 2006
Wherein lies the significance of St. Peter's in the Vatican?-in its role as first church of Roman Catholicism? as preeminent symbol of an ancient city? as major monument of Western civilization? This book posits an answer to the question (while recognizing that it is only one among many): the significance of the edifice lies in its extraordinary and extraordinarily tormented history. Founded in the fourth century to honor the tomb of Saint Peter, the church gained enormous prestige in the Middle Ages as a repository of holy relics and objects, and as the site of epoch-making events. But with the return of the papacy from Avignon and the shift in papal residence from the Lateran to the Vatican, the building needed to be renovated. Beginning in the fifteenth century and over the course of the next three hundred years, Old St. Peter's was gradually torn down, and in its midst arose the new structure now in place. The transmutation was far from easy. It involved many changes in design and concept, and interwove the careers of some of the most brilliant-and contentiousarchitects and artists of the day, including Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. This volume, focusing on selected and key moments in the history of the church from the late antique period to the twentieth century, offers an expertly researched and thoughtful overview of St. Peter's, full of new insights and appreciation.