HISTORY OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2016/2017
- Teacher
- SILVIA FUMIAN
- Credits
- 9
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
Training objectives
- Skills.
The course aims to analyse the development and the following abandoning of ancient architecture tradition over a time-frame that spreads between the first holy architecture of archaic Greece and the late Middle Ages. The historical analysis will give relevance to the permanent and slow-changing elements that characterize the long evolution of Western architecture. Particular focus will be given to the evolution of a formal vocabulary based on the architectonic order, from its definition in ancient times to the subsequent reuse and transformation undergone during the Middle Ages. A clear attention will be given to the survival of classic and early Christian tradition in Middle Ages Italian architecture.
Ability.
Through the analysis of the patronage, reference historical contexts and meanings assigned by contemporary sources, the course aims to provide an understanding of the political powers implied in the building of the architecture works object of study. Prerequisites
- It is useful for students the knowledge, even general, of the political and social history in the classical world, about the geographical areas considered during the course, and an understanding of the meaning and use of bibliographic tools.
Course programme
- Particular focus will be given to the evolution of a formal vocabulary based on the architectonic order, from its definition in ancient times to the subsequent reuse and transformation undergone during the Middle Ages.
Course topics (in general, each topic listed coincides with a 4 hour lecture):
Giorgio Vasari and the contrast between Ancient and Medieval Architecture - Primitive Temples in Greece - The Doric Order - The Ionic Temple - The Acropolis of Athens - Town-Planning in Greece - Hellenistic Architecture - Architecture during the Roman Republic - Materials and Structure in Roman Architecture - Roman Forum and Imperial Fora - Residential buildings on the Palatine Hill - Imperial baths - Theatres and amphitheatres - Triumphal Arches - Hadrian and the architecture - Constantine and the Early Christian Architecture - Constantinople in the Age of Justinian - First Architecture in Venice - Romanesque and Gothic Architecture in Florence - French Gothic - Italian Gothic and the Duomo in Milan
The Greek Art of the Archaic and Classical Periods - The Greek Art of the Late Classical and Hellenistic Periods - The Roman Art from its Origins to the Republican Period - The Roman Art of the Imperial Period - Late Antique and Early Christian Art Didactic methods
- The course of History of Ancient and Medieval Architecture consists of an architectural history module (70 hours), complemented by an art history module (20 hours).
The course consists only of “ex cathedra” lessons on each of the topics listed in the program. Learning assessment procedures
- Assessment of the achievement of the training objectives mentioned above are verified by two oral parts, the first about the topics of Art, the second about the topics of Architecture. During the interview, the candidate is required to display knowledge and the skills acquired in the study of one of the themes treated during the lessons. Furhermore, the candidate must choose a theme deepened through the supplementary bibliography indicated by the teachers.
The positive outcome of the conversation of Art History is a necessary condition for proceeding with the Architectural History interview. The final grade obtained by the candidate is the result of the outcomes of the two tests, and a professor of History of Architecture assigns it. Reference texts
- A. W. Lawrence, Greek Architecture, New Haven 1957
J. Ward-Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture, New Haven 1981
R. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Bizantine Architecture, New Haven 1992
For both modules, they are useful lecture notes.
A supplementary bibliography of reference texts and in-depth bibliography is indicated during the lessons.
