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The Ideology of Spolia in Early Christian Buildings
Di Cesare, Lorena
Di Cesare, Lorena
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Abstract
This thesis analyzes the ideological use of architectural spolia in early Christian Roman churches of the fourth and sixth centuries and the ways in which this reflects the social, political, and religious transformations of the time. The use of spolia changed with the arrival of Christianity, which has led historians to question the motivations for its use, whether ideological or practical. The present analysis contributes to this discussion through an investigation of changes in the reuse of architectural elements. After a general introduction of the meaning of spolia in the first chapter, in the second chapter, the arch of Constantine will be examined as a model with an ideological reason. Its analysis will be an excellent model to highlight the ideological use of spolia as a method of political propaganda, trying to keep the panels in an elegant appearance. Instead, the spolia present in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the Battistero Lateranense, and the Basilica of San Pietro in Vaticano, seems to be used and arranged differently from the example previously discussed. In this case, spolia was used on a large scale and was not hidden, as in the past; hence, it no longer respected the canons of the classical tradition. This change in the use of the spolia from imperial Roman commissions to ecclesiastic use led to different opinions on the part of historians. Some historians argued that the use of the spolia had a purely practical and economic purpose. Instead, according to other lines of thought, the reuse of architectural elements had an ideological purpose. The departure from traditional standards, the heterogeneous use of spolia, could represent the search for a new style that identified Christianity as a new aesthetic paradigm of romanitas. The investigation of continuity and discontinuity in the use of the spolia is the basis of the thesis. Incorporating elements from ancient buildings gave prestige and authority to the new building. Differently, immediately after the formalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire, iii spolia begins to be applied in a heterogeneous way, breaking the rules of tradition. Spolia use in early Christianity did not follow the order between capitals, the column shafts were not homogeneous, and the signs of architectural reuse were not hidden. This thesis explores the factors that motivated the use of spolia in the early Christian space, both practical and ideological. While the use of spolia may have, at times, depended on necessity because of limited resources available or economic decay, it also reveals a departure from polytheistic practices. Many buildings and pagan monuments were abandoned or destroyed, of which materials were reused in new Christian buildings. This thesis investigates the appropriation and transformation of the pre-existing cultural and religious heritage by exploring the spolia columns in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the Battistero Lateranense, and the Basilica of San Pietro in Vaticano. Incorporating a body of columns from pagan temples into a new Christian church changed their original meaning and gave it a new spiritual dimension.
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Thesis (B.A. in Art History)--John Cabot University, Spring 2024.
Date
2024
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Keywords
Christian antiquities, Church architecture, Christianity and culture
Citation
Di Cesare, Lorena. "The Ideology of Spolia in Early Christian Buildings". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2024.