Notre Dame vs. St. Peter's Basilica

Notre Dame de Paris - Georgina Walmsley

By: Maurice de Sully  Paris 1163-1345

Notre Dame de Paris is a gothic medieval style cathedral known for the legend about the hunchback man who rings the bell, Quasimodo. The cathedral itself has a dark eerie look about it that matches the dark period of the middle ages.  During the medieval time, gargoyles were used as a drainage system for rainwater for the roofs of many important buildings such as the cathedrals. Notre Dame is famous for these grotesque creatures, watching over Paris.  They’re appearance is sometimes considered as like the devil.  Some have horns and make revolting faces at the people below.  This can be tied into the center of religion in medieval times and how it can be tied into most everything including their architecture and means of draining water. 

St. Peter's Basilica -Kiera Goddu

By: Donato Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderno, Gian Lorenzo Bernini  Vatican City 1506-1626

The architecture of St. Peter's Basilica is very reflective of the late Renaissance in Italy. Most of the architects on this project are also famous for other work such as sculpting or painting.The arches and dome are very common in this era of architecture. The interest in going back to classical types of architecture was a theme during the Renaissance and it is very visible in the style of the Basilica. The ornamentation of the interior and exterior reflect the transition to a baroque style with gilding and detail. The windows and vast columns of the church allows there to be natural lighting and bright feel.

Compare and Contrast- Georgina Walmsley

Architecture styles changed greatly from the medieval times to the renaissance in many different ways such as supporting roofs and use of light.  St. Peter’s Basilica, a cathedral built in the renaissance  contains a large dome for a roof, a concept not known about during the medieval times. It also contains large windows on the dome used to capture natural light to be let in to the main rooms.  Notre is a very dark building, not using a lot of natural light and relying on the light of candles and light coming through stained glass.  In the change between the Medieval times and the Renaissance, more light was incorporated into buildings making a happier atmosphere. 

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