Santa Costanza (Rome, Italy) : View down the left ambulatory
- Creator:
- unknown (Ancient Roman)
- Published/Created:
- Rome, Lazio, Italy
ca. 337 - Date Depicted:
- 5/1/1996
8000 BC - 499 AD - Notes:
- The last known example of an ambulatory basilica is S Agnese fuori le mura on the Via Nomentana, near the tomb of the martyr saint. It was begun either at the end of Constantine's life or soon after his death. The mausoleum of his daughter, Constantina, now known as S Costanza, was built alongside the basilica's south flank. The best-preserved Constantinian building in Rome, S Costanza, is a double-shelled edifice consisting of a circular ambulatory encircling a tall cylindrical core capped by a dome. Although novel in Italy, its plan is strikingly reminiscent of the Anastasis Rotunda in the Holy Sepulchre compound (dedicated ca. 350), a comparison that may reflect an eastern Mediterranean influence on late Constantinian architecture in the Latin West. The fact that most of these ambulatory basilicas were paved with graves suggests that they served as funerary halls in which banquets commemorating the anniversaries of the departed were held. This type of church is also recorded at Andernos-les-Bains in south-west France.
- Topics:
- Architecture -- Italy -- 4th century -- (YVRC)
- Period/Style:
- Early Christian
- Culture:
- Italian
- Accession Number:
- 1A3-EC-SCO-B3
- Genre:
- architecture (AAT)
churches (AAT) - Format:
- Image
- Content Type:
- Sculptures, Models, & Architecture
- Rights:
- Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement. - Access Restrictions:
- Yale Community Only
- Digital:
- architectural exteriors; death or burial; rulers and leaders; saints; Constantine, Emperor of Rome construction buildings; basilicas interior
- Source Creator:
- Gilchrist, Scott
- Source Title:
- Archivision Module Two
- Source Created:
- 2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
5/1/1996 - Source Note:
- Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist
- Yale Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Digital Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Local Record Number:
- 4152
- OID:
- 10168810
- PID:
- digcoll:1868519