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Basilica
The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's
By R.A. Scotti
This small volume contains so much information about the architects and artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods in history that the reader is transported to St. Peter's in Rome.
The popes from 1505 to 1667 took center stage and commissioned the great artists and architects of the time to get the job done. The original St. Peter's was demolished. Bramanti, Michelangelo, Maderno and Bernini, each a genius in his own way, contributed to the building of this amazing Basilica.
The process produced the Reformation, scandals, political repercussions and much more, but the building of St. Peter's survived and Rome was transformed from a run down crumbling city to the magnificence of the Eternal City.
This reader wishes this book had been written and in my hands before I traveled to Italy, Rome and the Vatican. The four Walking Tours of Papal Rome would have been a wonderful addition to any travelers itinerary! These are included at the end of this book.
R. A. Scotti has produced a volume that simplifies this enormous undertaking and reduces the pontiffs and artists to real people - each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There was genius involved, but also humor, power and money.
Scotti is a great storyteller as well as a historian that provides delicious details that entertain and educate simultaneously.
Basilica was first published in hard cover in 2006 and has now been published by Plume in 2007, in good trade paper with excellent photography, maps and diagrams.
Published : A PLUME BOOK
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
Copyright : © 2006 Rita A. Scotti
Reviewed : 06/30/07 - 224
Copyright : © 2007 by Joan G. Smith
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