What is the function or purpose of the building
- 1. What is the function or purpose of the building? The purpose ofthis church is to worship and pray to Saint Marry. In 1484,a child had claimed that a painting ofthe Virgin on the wall of the town prison had come to life, and plans were soon made to remove the image and preserve it in a votive church (a church built as a special offering to a saint) Although the need to accommodate processions and the gathering ofcongregations made the long nave of a basilica almosta necessityfor local churches,the votive church became a natural subjectfor Renaissance experimentation with the central plan. The existing tradition of central-plan churches extended back to the Early Christian martyrium (a round shrine to a martyred saint) and perhaps ultimatelyto the Classical tholos,or round temple. Alberti in his treatise on architecture had spoken ofthe central plan as an ideal,derived from the humanistbeliefthatthe circle was a symbol ofdivine perfection and that both the circle inscribed in a square and the cross inscribed in a circle were symbols ofthe cosmos. Thus,Giuliano's Church ofSanta Maria delle Carceri, builton a Greek-cross plan,is one ofthe finest early Renaissance examples ofhumanistsymbolism in architectural design. It is also the first Renaissance church with a true central plan. Drawing on his knowledge ofBrunelleschi's works,Giuliano created a square,dome-covered central space extended in each direction by arms whose length was one-halfthe width of the central space.The arms are covered by barrel vaults extended from the round arches supporting the dome. Giuliano raised his dome on a short, round drum that increased the amountofnatural lightentering the church. He also articulated the interior walls and the twelve-ribbed dome and drum with pietra serena.The exterior of the dome is capped with a conical roofand a tall lantern in Brunelleschian fashion The exterior of the church is a marvel of Renaissance clarityand order.The ground-floor system ofslim Doric pilasters clustered atthe corners is repeated in the Ionic order on the shorter upper level, as if the entablature of a small temple had been surmounted with a second smaller one. The church was entirely finished in 1494 except for installation ofthe fine green-and white-marble veneer above the first story. In the 1880s,one section ofthe upper level was veneered; however, the philosophyof twentieth-century conservation requires thatthe rest of the building be left in rough stone, as it is today. The Basilica of Santa Maria delle Carceri
- 2. The painting of Virgin Mary with the Holy Child