Connections between the deconstruction of ancient spaces and post-ancient construction projects, using the example of the use of spolia in the construction and new construction of St. Peters Cathedral in Rome as a case study

Within this project Bernhard Fritsch explored the links between the deconstruction of ancient spaces and post-antiquity construction projects in the city of Rome. He examined the use of spolia ­– antique building elements (such as columns or marble blocks) re-used in newer monuments ­– in the construction and re-construction of St. Peter´s Basilica in Rome.

Research

BernhardtFritsch identified in the files from the Reverendissma Archivio della Fabbrica around fifty ancient monuments, from which spolia was brought to the construction site of St. Peter’s Basilica in the 15^th  and 16^th century. The project aimed to investigate the impact of the loss of material on the ancient monuments and to follow the traces of the material in St. Peter’s basilica. For that reason, detailed 3D data of column shafts was created in order to distinguish whether the run of the entasis of the columns were manufactured in antiquity or the early modern age.

This dissertation project was successfully completed in November 2016.