Celebrating 250 years, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, has witnessed a rich mixture of people and events that reflect critical periods of American political and cultural history. George Washington worshiped here as did abolitionists and slave holders, Whigs, Democrats, and Republicans. St. Peter's was a point of first contact for thousands of immigrants, and the church opened schools for immigrants to help them to acculturate to life in Philadelphia.

Opening a window onto colonial Philadelphia and the nation's histories, a"St. Peter's Church"ais a glorious testament to this National Historic Landmark. In addition to the stories and hundreds of black-and-white and color photographs, this handsome volume provides a history of the grounds, the churchyard, and the church itself-a classic example of eighteenth-century Philadelphia design that later incorporated the work of renown architects William Strickland, Thomas U. Walter, and Frank Furness."

A small church nestling deep in the countryside is instantly evocative. Why is it there at all? Whom does it serve? This companion volume to the author's successful titles on the smallest churches of Wales and England is a county-by-county guide to the smallest gems of Scottish ecclesiastical architecture. John Kinross provides the reader with descriptions of over 50 of the country's loveliest and most interesting churches and chapels, many of which have a fascinating history and their own unique features. These buildings deserve our attention and further study, and the book offers maps and directions on how to find these churches for those inspired to seek them out.

A guide to Britain's churches, which talks about the richness and diversity of over 1500 years of Christian heritage. It also explains the importance of place in the siting of a church, the architectural styles, the layout of the interior in relation to religious practice, the purpose and meaning of stained glass and wall paintings, and more.

English cathedrals, including Canterbury, Durham, Winchester and York, are the greatest collective work of art and architecture in Britain, reflecting over a thousand years of history. "English Cathedrals" is an account of their foundation, construction and decoration - their architectural history - but also of who used them and what happened in them - their human history. Cathedrals were centres of learning, music and wealth. Continuity of worship over hundreds of years was broken by the two great crises of the sixteenth-century Reformation and the seventeenth-century Civil War. There were also dramatic episodes, such as the loss of St Paul's in the Great Fire of 1666, subsequently to be rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. All have changed over the centuries. These great buildings remain striking monuments in the landscape with a unique power to evoke the past.

Four examples of early Mesopotamian temples are discussed: Le temple de Nigirsu a Tello, Le temple de Ninhursag a Tell el Obeid, Le Riemchengbbaude d'Uruk, Le Steingebaude d'Uruk, with a very brief conclusion. Many plans and reconstructions.

The touchstones of Gothic monumental art in France - the abbey church of Saint-Denis and the cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, and Bourges - form the core of this collection dedicated to the memory of Anne Prache. The essays reflect the impact of Prache's career, both as a scholar of wide-ranging interests and as a builder of bridges between the French and American academic communities. Thus the authors include scholars in France and the United States, both academics and museum professionals, while the thematic matrix of the book, divided into architecture, stained glass, and sculpture, reflects the multiple media explored by Prache during her long career. The essays employ a varied range of methodologies to explore Gothic monuments. The chapters in the architectural section include an intensive archeological analysis of the foundations of Reims Cathedral, the close reading of a late medieval literary text for a symbolic understanding of Paris, and essays that explore the medieval use of practical geometry in designing entire buildings and their components. Saint-Denis, Reims, and Chartres, all monuments studied by Prache, are discussed in the next part, on stained glass. These chapters demonstrate how old problems can be clarified by new evidence, whether from the accessibility of previously unknown archival information, for Reims, or through revelations that arise from restoration, at Chartres. These essays also include a study showing the complexity of making attributions for the storied glass of Saint-Denis. The final set of essays likewise takes different approaches to sculpture, whether constructing links to the liturgy at Reims, or discussing the meaning of a sculptural ensemble studied by Prache early in her career, the cloister of Notre-Dame-en-Vaux in ChAclons-en-Champagne, or scrupulously examining the faAade sculpture at Bourges Cathedral for insights into the design process. As a whole, the volume provides a window onto key directions in the study of

After the devastation of 1666, the Church of England in the City of London was given fifty-one new buildings in addition to the twenty-four that had survived the Great Fire. During the next hundred years others were built in the two cities of London and Westminster, most with a crypt as spacious as the church above. This book relates the amazing stories of these spaces, revealing an often surprising side to life - and death - inside the churches of historic London. The story of these crypts really began when, against the wishes of architects such as Wren and Vanbrugh, the clergy, churchwardens and vestries decided to earn some money by interring wealthy parishioners in their crypts. By 1800 there were seventy-nine church crypts in London, filled with the last remains of Londoners both illustrious and ordinary. Interments in inner London ended in the 1850s; since then, fifty-two crypts have been cleared, and five partially cleared - in each case resulting in the gruesome business of moving human remains. Today, many crypts have a new life as chapels, restaurants, medical centres and museums. With rare illustrations throughout, this fascinating study reveals the incredible history hidden beneath the churches of our capital. Malcolm Johnson is a retired priest, and has a PhD from King's College, London. His well-received St Martin-in- the-Fields was published by Phillimore in 2005.

An extraordinary witness to religious faith, the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi is one of the great monuments of Italy, a treasure-house of masterpieces by great painters such Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. The book illustrates the entire artistic patrimony of the Basilica, showing the frescoes that were damaged or destroyed during the 1997 earthquake, both in their original condition and as they now appear after restoration. This title includes texts by G. Bonsanti, M.M. Donato, G.B. Fidanza, A. Franci, A. Iacuzzi, P. Magro, F. Martin, L. Meoni, P. Mercurelli Salati, A. Monciatti, E. Neri Lusanna, R.P. Novello, G. Rocchi Coopmans de Yoldi, G. Ruf, G. Sapori. Photographs by E. and S. Ciol, G. Roli, G. Ruf. "Mirabilia Italiae" is a series unique in the world.It owes its existence to an innovative and ambitious project: an Atlas of the great monuments of Italy that will display them in all their details, from the best known to the least. This series represents a completely new way of documenting art. "Mirabilia Italiae" provides a guided tour of each monument, fully and accurately explained. Each Atlas contains hundreds of colour photographs, arranged in a precise topographical sequence and accompanied by diagrams showing the exact location of each detail. The Atlas is complemented by a volume of texts edited by the premier scholars in the field, consisting of critical essays and descriptive notes. Essays examine the monument from the art-historical point of view, and record the alterations it has undergone over time. Descriptive notes analyse the content and significance of the images.Extensive cross-references link the essays and notes to the images, facilitating consultation of the work. The General Editor of "Mirabilia Italiae" is Salvatore Settis, Director of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa.

Before the Mughal style came to dominate the Islamic architecture of the Indian sub-continent, Bengal and its rulers had developed their own forms. The mosque architecture of the Independent Sultanate period (from the 14th to the 16th centuries) represents the most important element of the Islamic architecture of Bengal. This distinctive regional style drew its inspiration from the indigenous vernacular architecture of Bengal, itself heavily influenced by Hindu/Buddhist temple architecture. The early Muslim architecture of Bangladesh is an important but little studied part of the architectural heritage of the Islamic world and the Indian sub-continent. Perween Hasan's work is a most original contribution to this subject.

Churches are valuable not only for their significance within Christian religion, but also because of the historic value of the buildings themselves, and the artistic objects, furnishings and decorative features contained within them. This book explains the techniques and artistry involved in caring for the fabric and contents of churches. It considers the problems of cleaning and repair, and the damage that can be done by over-zealous non-specialists. The contributions to this book are wide-ranging and each chapter is written by a highly regarded specialist in his/her field. In addition to offering guidance on the conservation of stained glass, sculpture, textiles, metalwork, floors, furniture, decorative plaster work, paintings and so on, the book also covers the technical aspects of creating the right environment with the heating, ventilation and lighting of the building. The advice this volume contains should be essential reading for everyone concerned with the care and upkeep of churches.

The architecture of the temple at Baitokaike shares the characteristics that are typical of the Phoenician region especially during the imperial era. Baitokaike corresponds to that Phoenician tradition, but our knowledge about the foundation of these shrines and their development is still limited. This study aims to deepen this topic, while proposing new chronological phases of the site, starting from the time when it was an open cult place, through the architectural analysis of its buildings. In addition, it reexamines the Seleucid and Roman privileges of the sanctuary in order to extend our understanding of the territory of Baitokaike: agriculture, production and trade, the connecting roads and transport to nearby urban centers. Finally, the study of the iconography of the Greco-Latin inscriptions on site reveal the nature of the Zeus cult at Baitokaike as well as the rituals and processions that took place in the sanctuary. This monograph also contains three appendices. The first is a collection of the Greek-Latin inscriptions found on the site, and includes an unpublished inscription found on an altar in the sanctuary. The second appendix constitutes a numismatic study of 46 coins uncovered during the excavation of 2004. Finally, the last appendix presents a catalogue of selected archaeological finds like pottery sherds, bronze and bones objects; Il complesso di Baitokaike (Hoson Sulaiman) e considerato uno degli esempi piu peculiari di santuari rurali romani in Siria che pongono la problematica relativa alla creazione dei luoghi di culto extraurbani e il loro sviluppo architettonico durante il periodo classico. Questo lavoro si propone di affrontare tale problematica su un piano archeologico e storico esaminando nel dettaglio la morfologia spaziale e architettonica del complesso di Baitokaike tramite un'analisi comparata dei suoi edifici con altre strutture religiose siriane e dell'Asia Minore, e mediante una accurata classificazione delle sue evidenze epigrafiche, numismatiche e di altri materiali archeologici, per lo piu inediti, provenienti dai recenti scavi nel sito. Il libro e teso a discutere anche lo status politico e amministrativo di Baitokaike e il suo territorio sacro durante l'epoca ellenistica e romana tramite uno studio epigrafico delle sue iscrizioni, soprattutto quelle relative ai privilegi concessi dai Seleucidi e confermati successivamente dagli imperatori romani. Il fulcro di questo lavoro, dunque, e quello di riesaminare l'architettura del complesso monumentale di Baitokaike e di proporre un suo nuovo inquadramento cronologico.

Modern life is marred by hectic pace, stress and negative environmental influences. Places to get away from the routine, where body and soul can find harmony again, to breathe deeply and feel good with oneself are sought out more and more. Beautifully designed retreats are turning up across the globe - usually in special locations in the midst of breathtaking, pristine nature. This volume presents buildings and spaces devoted specifically to contemplation, meditation, regeneration and the enjoyment of quietude. The designs are guided by lighting and color schemes, natural materials and views into nature, providing energy on the way to complete relaxation, self-awareness and inner illumination. Archi - tecture creates the connection between the human being, space and nature.

Text in English & German. Three places mark the chequered history of the provost church of St Trinitatis Leipzig. Not far from the site of the present new building was the historic church built in 1847 that was largely destroyed in World War Two. It took almost three decades for this church finally to be replaced in 1982. At the insistence of the East-German authorities, however, this building had to be erected in a suburb. Because of its inconvenient location and also because the building had structural damage from the very beginning, the congregation decided in 2008 to take a chance on a new start in the city centre. The third church of St Trinitatis, consecrated in 2015, is the largest Catholic church to be built in East Germany since the political turnover of 1989/90. The new church is located not only in the centre of town, but at a place that could not be more prominent: facing the large complex of the Neues Rathaus. In 2009 a competition held for the new church building with the adjacent parish centre was won by the Leipzig architects Ansgar and Benedikt Schulz. Their clever use of the triangular site particularly impressed the selection committee; at the same time, with the compact body of the church on the east and the tower on the west, they created two striking urban landmarks. Between the tower and the church is the spacious courtyard, which is open on two sides towards the surrounding area, emphasising the congregations programmatic 'openness'. The complex owes its homogenous appearance to the fact that all parts of the buildings are clad with local porphyry, an igneous rock that shimmers in delicate shades of red. While outwardly the church looks quite hermetic, the interior, with an inside height of 14.5 m, surprises the visitor by its vibrant luminosity. The decisive factor here is the skylight on the east side at a height of 22 m. From a source that is invisible to the worshippers, zenith light falls on the entire back wall behind the altar. In its disposition the church interior follows the decisions of the Second Vatican Council: separation between the priests space and the congregations space is abolished, the high altar is replaced by a peoples altar, and the faithful gather of the believers in communio around the liturgical centre. In addition to his main activity as an architecture publicist Wolf-gang Jean Stock was head of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur christ-liche Kunst and its gallery in Munich for nine years. Considering his rigorous artistic attitude, instinctively reminiscent of the work of Hilla and Bernd Becher, there is a certain consistency about the fact that the photographer Stefan Muller congenially creates images of the buildings of Owald Mathias Ungers, Max Dudler, Kleihues + Kleihues or Schulz und Schulz.

The Pinacoteca Comunale di Castiglion Fiorentino is housed in the ancient, restored church of Sant Angelo, inside the defensive enclosure of the Cassero. The church has medieval foundations from the eleventh century, but in the sixteenth century it was turned into a convent and its original apse was replaced by a nun s choir. Its collections mainly comprise works of sacred art, including major paintings of the Tuscan school from the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries, and rare examples of medieval goldwork. All the works are from churches and monasteries in Castiglion Fiorentino and environs. The first part of the book is a guide to the museum itself, with photographs, descriptions of the works, and background information. The second part takes the reader on a route through the historical center of Castiglion Fiorentino and the Val di Chiana Aretina region.