Geographical position: Italy, Emilia Romagna, Parma Location: 44°48'10"N, 10°19’50”E General description: The Baptistery of Parma is a religious building in Parma, located adjacent to the Cathedral, is one of the most important medieval monuments in Europe. History of the site and its uses: The Cathedral was built in 1046 and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1117; the baptistery was begun in 1196 under the direction of Benedetto Antelami. Cultural and symbolic dimension of the site: There are three different design aspects of the relationship between medieval architecture and the heavens which, with its elements and reciprocal movement, has influenced the history of humanity. The first concerns the alignment of buildings to visible points on the horizon on certain days of the astronomical calendar or of the liturgical year, governed by the rising or setting of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, or the stars. The second is the three-dimensional relationship between ground plan and building elevations. These can produce the familiar "light effects" that sometimes have almost hierophanic characteristics which, on certain days of the year, can engross, captivate and amaze the spectator. Several buildings dating from even very different ages testify to the accurate alignments created between a precise point in space and a gap in a wall where an observer was obliged to stand in order to observe the transit of heavenly bodies (the moon, the planets or the stars.) Confirmation of these events has often lent support to the theory that the form and position of these openings, from the smallest to the biggest and most impressive, were in some cases based on precise astronomical goals. Unlike the first two aspects, the third comes after the design and building stages and concerns the question of decorative elements. It is reasonable to believe that, long after the construction was finished, artists installed certain wall furnishings, e.g., frescoes or statues, in particular places which, they had observed, would be struck by a single ray of light on a specific day.
CASE STUDY 11.2 THE BAPTISTERY OF PARMA, ITALY
INCERTI, Manuela
2011
Abstract
Geographical position: Italy, Emilia Romagna, Parma Location: 44°48'10"N, 10°19’50”E General description: The Baptistery of Parma is a religious building in Parma, located adjacent to the Cathedral, is one of the most important medieval monuments in Europe. History of the site and its uses: The Cathedral was built in 1046 and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1117; the baptistery was begun in 1196 under the direction of Benedetto Antelami. Cultural and symbolic dimension of the site: There are three different design aspects of the relationship between medieval architecture and the heavens which, with its elements and reciprocal movement, has influenced the history of humanity. The first concerns the alignment of buildings to visible points on the horizon on certain days of the astronomical calendar or of the liturgical year, governed by the rising or setting of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, or the stars. The second is the three-dimensional relationship between ground plan and building elevations. These can produce the familiar "light effects" that sometimes have almost hierophanic characteristics which, on certain days of the year, can engross, captivate and amaze the spectator. Several buildings dating from even very different ages testify to the accurate alignments created between a precise point in space and a gap in a wall where an observer was obliged to stand in order to observe the transit of heavenly bodies (the moon, the planets or the stars.) Confirmation of these events has often lent support to the theory that the form and position of these openings, from the smallest to the biggest and most impressive, were in some cases based on precise astronomical goals. Unlike the first two aspects, the third comes after the design and building stages and concerns the question of decorative elements. It is reasonable to believe that, long after the construction was finished, artists installed certain wall furnishings, e.g., frescoes or statues, in particular places which, they had observed, would be struck by a single ray of light on a specific day.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
