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    Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's
    Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's
    Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's
    Audiobook8 hours

    Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's

    Written by R.A. Scotti

    Narrated by Josephine Bailey

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It was the splendor-and the scandal-of the age. In 1506, the ferociously ambitious Renaissance Pope Julius II tore down the most sacred shrine in Europe-the millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica built by the Emperor Constantine over the apostle's grave-to build a better basilica. Construction of the new St. Peter's spanned two centuries, embroiled twenty-seven popes, and consumed the genius of the greatest artists of the age-Michaelangelo, Bramante, Raphael, and Bernini. The cost of building the new cathedral was costly in more than just monetary terms-the new basilica provoked the Protestant Reformation, dividing the Christian world for all time.

    In this swift, colorful narrative, R. A. Scotti brings to life the artists and the popes, the politics and the passions behind this audacious enterprise. Scotti turns sacred architecture into a spellbinding human epic of enormous daring, petty jealousy, and staggering genius.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 14, 2006
    ISBN9781400172344
    Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's

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    Reviews for Basilica

    4.5/5

    16 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is the best combination of history of the Catholic Church, the construction of the Basilica and the popes who built this church. An extraordinary story for a long and difficult period.
    • 3/5
      An interesting and easy read. There was a great deal about the architecture and actual building of St. Peter's, but there was just as much of the history of the papacy and personalities involved in the more than a century it took to complete the building. Scotti's writing was easy to read but not at all dumbed-down. Things moved along perhaps a little too fast at the end, like she was ready to get the book finished. For me, this was an escape from my ordinary reading topics, but I really enjoyed it.
    • 5/5
      Really a great topical book on how end sausage is made. The 170+ years of different Pope's and builders makes for an interesting read. A very entertaining read that offers a great timeline of one of the most beautiful, hallowed buildings in the world.
    • 3/5
      Interesting reading but written in the style of a historical novel instead of a simple discourse. There are inaccuracies as well as an over abundance of enthusiasm for the papacy and Roman Catholicism.
    • 2/5
      This was an interesting topic, but there was a lot of bias in the writing. You knew exactly which popes and artists/architects were the author's favorite. She glossed over the popes she didn't like and focused on the poor choices they made. The author gave a quick overview of the entire history of the time period, so not too much of the reader's time is wasted. I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the paper copy instead of listening to the audio version.
    • 5/5
      The book is a magnificent summary of the building of the most incredible church of Christendom. It’s filled with the artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods in Rome. Entertaining and insightful. Definitely worth a listen.
    • 5/5
      A great book recounting the stories behind the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. Spanning 3 centuries, this narrative includes famous artists and architects (including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini), European leaders, and a long list of Popes. Using such a famous cast of characters, Scotti artfully tells the story of St. Peter's, as well as other famous works in the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel, Bernini's Baldacchino, and St. Peter's Piazza. A great read for anyone interested in architecture or church history (or both).
    • 5/5
      Loved this book, it was recommended by a tour guide while I was in Italy last year and bought it as soon as I got home. The whole process took so long, and there were so many popes and artisdts and sculptors involved I loved it
    • 5/5
      Great from start to finish
    • 4/5
      R.A. Scotti's "Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's" is more than just a biography of one of the world's great architectural wonder's. “Basilica” is a wonderfully readable historical narrative of the mid and late Renaissance in a plot-thick story of warrior-popes, international intrigue, angst-riddled artistes all intersecting, orbiting and colliding at this historical inflection point.The building itself was constructed under the leadership of thirty different popes. Scotti writes, "...the convulsions of history became a backdrop that changed like a series of stage sets. Over the decades of construction, the Church evolved, and the world evolved with it and sometimes because of it." Pope Julius II placed the first stone over the very spot where Jesus' disciple Peter was buried. She writes, "The enterprise was audacious, but so were the times. Gutenberg had invented the printing press, Columbus had stumbled on a new continent, and the Renaissance was in full bloom." The list of characters who played central and supporting roles is like a who's who of 15th and 16th Century European stars: Michelangelo, Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), numerous di' Medicis, Bramante, Sangallo (Older AND Younger), Raphael, Martin Luther, Columbus, Pizarro, King Charles V, and the list goes on and on. It’s a Renaissance Festival on the Love Boat.“Basilica” is not a historical treatise weighed heavily down by obscure footnotes, and archival trivia. It's not intended to be. It's an episodic narrative, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the tortured, anguished, aggressive, pious, unethical and enlightened personalities that drove, and were driven, by the 15th and 16th century Renaissance. While Florence was the beating heart of the Renaissance, pumping its blood across Europe, Scotti writes “Rome, this city of Caesars and cradle of Christianity, was a hellhole, the imperial relics overgrown, buried, or turned into animal lairs.” This was not unnoticed by the nuovo-Caesar Popes, who thought, as one papal biographer wrote, that the “Vatican should outshine in magnificence the Palatine of the Emperors.” This vision was not such a stretch as, Scotti writes, “The Renaissance papacy became a government more than a religion, led by statesmen and sometimes warriors who could rarely afford to be saints.”One of the stars of “Basilica” is Pope Julius II – known as the Warrior-Pope. He’d survived and outlasted his Borgia enemies, and took full advantage of his time in papal office. He was a human hurricane, driving away, or over, anything in his path. One contemporary wrote that he was “full of fury and extravagant conceptions.” This hurricane was the driving force of a new St. Peter’s Basilica…if not in it’s modern state, then certainly in its conception.Scotti writes, “He brought recalcitrant princes to heel, reclaimed papal territories…and ennobled the world with art.” A scholar wrote, “It was through him that Rome became the Classical City of the World…and the Papacy the pioneer of civilization.”And while the Renaissance recognized an explosion in new thinking, it’s most visible manifestation is its explosion of art. Art became a mechanism for mass communication. Think of it as an ancient twitter – instead of 140 characters – think of 140 pounds of marble…Julius knew the beauty and power of art, and wanted it to be an integral part of this new monument to God and Christianity (and to a lesser, but still significant extent, to him). Art and architecture were inextricably connected during the Renaissance. And so some of the most famous painters of the time were also key members of the Basilica’s architectural ‘staff’ – namely Raphael and Michelangelo.The story of the Basilica is not (only) a story of a building. It’s a story of personalities. If Julius II is one of the leads, then Michelangelo is his co-star. Michelangelo is absolutely a tortured soul…tormented by his talent and his need to create. He comes across as the most pious of almost all other players in this world theater. He seems to have adored, feared, hated and idolized Julius…all at the same time. Julius asked Michelangelo to sculpt a magnificent tomb, but for numerous reasons neither man could deliver. Michelangelo would ultimately deliver his “Moses” as the centerpiece to Julius’ tomb, but it’s not in the Basilica, and magnificent as it is, it represents only a shadow of what both men originally wanted. Michelangelo would paint the Sistine Chapel (the ceiling and the back wall), but he would also serve as chief architect of St. Peters, 30 years after Julius died.There’s certainly a “Pillars of Earth” vibe to the tale - but without any of the ‘regular’ people. All of these heroes and villains (and at times it’s impossible to tell the difference…nor does it really matter) are characters on a grand stage.I thoroughly enjoyed this book for what it is: a crisp narrative of Renaissance Europe, full of bigger-than-life characters, and world-changing events colliding around the creation of a man-made miracle. It’s a miracle of architectural and artistic achievement and a testament to something much bigger and longer lasting than the world events in its orbit.“Basilica” is extremely well written, and reads as smoothly as good historical novel. Except none of it is fiction. It’s too good to be fiction. This book is a must if you’re planning a trip to Rome or simply interested in a coherent and comprehensive overview of this fascinating period in history.
    • 4/5
      Scotti puts together a great history of the 160-year saga of the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Since it takes so long, the author can only spend a little time getting into the biographies of all those involved. With artists rangings from Michelangelo to Raphael to Bernini working on the project, there were twenty-two popes who reigned during its construction. There are interesting tidbits about architecture and the morphology of the church, as well as a few historical vignettes. A quick and easy read.
    • 4/5
      Not my favourite piece of architecture, but nevertheless an incredibly imposing structure, St. Peter’s Basilica has a fascinating history. Built on St. Peter’s burial site, it replaced a much simpler shrine emperor Constantine had erected. Started in 1506 by Pope Julius II, it became a pet project of many successive popes and architects with each one of them trying to leave a mark on it. In the end, it went through the hands of such artists as Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini among others. It took almost a century to complete and expressed such vanities and ran up such huge bills that it might have caused Reformation just on its own. Scotti writes very well about all the intricate twists and turns of its construction, and the whole book reads almost like a thriller.