This is the first of a number of volumes describing the 1980-86 excavations at the early medieval Benedictine abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno in central Italy. This volume gives a general introduction to this important project, a description of the archaeological remains, and then detailed accounts of the excavation of the Carolingian Crypt Church, the South Church', the Refectory, the Garden Court and the Entrance Hall. Also included is a reappraisal of the cycle of paintings in the crypt in the light of the excavations.

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.

Anhand zweier Fallstudien untersucht Bjoern Roehrer-Ertl die Entwicklung des Theologischen Programmes zweier evangelischer Pfarrkirchen des Historismus in Bayern. Konsequent wendet er eine weltliche Methodik ausserhalb des theologischen Methodenkanons an. Sein Ergebnis: Tradition schwindet dahin, so wie ein Luftballon zuerst unmerklich seine Luft verliert. Diese dahinschwindende Tradition hat in den Fallbeispielen als eine wesentliche Ursache einen Wertewandel, weg von der generationenubergreifenden Einordnung in einer Tradition hin zu einem Primat der Autonomie des Individuums. Fur den Autor steht es fest: Tradition ist kaum mehr vorhanden, wird kaum mehr verstanden. Er appelliert, diesen gesellschaftlichen Wandel nuchtern anzunehmen und zu gestalten.

The Hermit's Hut offers an original insight into the profound relationship between architecture and asceticism. Although architecture continually responds to ascetic compulsions, as in its frequent encounter with the question of excess and less, it is typically considered separate from asceticism. In contrast, this innovative book explores the rich and mutual ways in which asceticism and architecture are played out in each other's practices. The question of asceticism is also considered-as neither a religious discourse nor a specific cultural tradition but as a perennial issue in the practice of culture. The work convincingly traces the influences from early Indian asceticism to Zen Buddhism to the Japanese teahouse-the latter opening the door to modern minimalism. As the book's title suggests, the protagonist of the narrative is the nondescript hermit's hut. Relying primarily on Buddhist materials, the author provides a complex narrative that stems from this simple structure, showing how the significance of the hut resonates widely and how the question of dwelling is central to ascetic imagination. In exploring the conjunctions of architecture and asceticism, he breaks new ground by presenting ascetic practice as fundamentally an architectural project, namely the fabrication of a "last" hut. Through the conception of the last hut, he looks at the ascetic challenge of arriving at the edge of civilization and its echoes in the architectural quest for minimalism. The most vivid example comes from a well-known Buddhist text where the Buddha describes the ultimate ascetic moment, or nirvana, in cataclysmic terms using architectural metaphors: "The roof-rafters will be shattered", the Buddha declares, and the architect will "no longer build the house again". As the book compellingly shows, the physiological and spiritual transformation of the body is deeply intertwined with the art of building. The Hermit's Hut weaves together the fields of architecture, anthropology, religion, and philosophy to offer multidisciplinary and historical insights. Written in an engaging and accessible manner, it will appeal to readers with diverse interests and in a variety of disciplines-whether one is interested in the history of ascetic architecture in India, the concept of "home" in ancient India, or the theme of the body as building.

A beautiful new colour book, published in Chinese, that uses rich photography and images to capture the wonder of China's finest private parks and gardens. Part of a stunning new series of books that celebrates the very best of China's rich and diverse architectural heritage. With wonderful images and photography, alongside commentary from leading Chinese experts, Series of the Beauty of Ancient Chinese Architecture brings you the very best of China's ancient buildings and places.

Isfahan is a heavenly city of gardens, mosques and palaces for an open-minded architect. In addition to the artful dome constructions over the prayer halls of the larger mosques, the highpoint of Persian architecture is the multitude of garden complexes, staged as a mirror image of the cosmos or Paradise. With their aromatic shrubberies and trees the galleries of pillars are typical for these geometrically laid out Islamic gardens in which nature becomes a work of art. Every good architecture seeks to create a world, and every genuine building is a unique specimen filled with atmosphere. Now is the time to see with new eyes, with an artistic view. From this standpoint, with ist fascinating two hundred year buidling history, the architectural currents of Isfahan continue to have a lucid effect today.

Im Gegensatz zu den professionellen sachsischen Architekten des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts finden die zahlreichen landlichen Handwerksmeister nur wenig Beachtung. Dabei haben gerade diese entscheidenden Anteil an der Weiterfuhrung der protestantischen Gemeindekirche bis etwa 1860. Der bedeutendste unter ihnen ist der Zimmermeister Christian Friedrich Uhlig aus Altenhain bei Chemnitz. Nach seinen Planen wurden zwischen 1820 und 1850 im Erzgebirge und seinem Vorland insgesamt 12 Kirchen errichtet. Konzeptionell stehen sie mit umlaufenden Emporen und Kanzelaltar in der Tradition der barocken Predigtkirche; architekturgeschichtlich spannen sie den Bogen vom Barock uber klassizistische Elemente hin zu historisierenden Formen. Die Untersuchung widmet sich neben Leben und Werk Christian Friedrich Uhligs, vor allem der eingehenden Beschreibung seiner Sakralbauten und ihres architektur- und kirchengeschichtlichen Kontextes. Dabei wird versucht, das Charakteristische an Uhligs Handschrift herauszuarbeiten und seinen gewichtigen Beitrag zum sachsischen Kirchenbau im 19. Jahrhundert wieder starker ins Bewusstsein zu rucken.

Unique among mission churches of the northern borderlands of colonial Mexico for its ornate architecture and rich iconography, San Xavier del Bac south of Tucson is a pilgrimage destination for countless devotees and tourists. Passing through the facade entry to stand in the nave, one is dazzled by the transept and sanctuary altarpieces of sculpture niches and baroque pilasters, as well as the expanse of the frescoed ceiling. This book is the first study of the iconography at San Xavier since its restoration in the 1990s by an international team of professional conservators. It expands our understanding of the numerous Catholic images and emblems of San Xavier through a close analysis of the newly revealed iconographic elements and an interpretation of the significance of their placement. It also proposes that the selection of specific religious themes and their locations was determined by an unfamiliar convention based on a tree-like design, in which the founder of a religious Order appears as the root and followers above in later branchings, n inversion of the more familiar top-to-bottom hierarchy. Historians Lange and Ahlborn identify all the saintly images and religious elements that adorn San Xavier and suggest how and why they are so arranged. They examine the sculptures and paintings of the church from the facade throughout the cruciform interior in order to determine the organizational concepts that underlie their placement. They note that the selection of images in this Franciscan mission follows traditional Roman Catholic practice for decorating churches in order to instruct novices and reinforce the teaching of conversion in a pictographic catechism of Church doctrine. In short, the book is a dictionary of religious personages and symbols that will help the visitor identify the biblical stories and people portrayed, as well as asso-ciated signs and symbols. Entries include a description of the subject, its location, appropriate cross-references, and a bibliography. Recent illustrations by photographer Helga Teiwes and a floor plan facilitate the location of images by visitors. A handsome, large-format book featuring more than one hundred photographs and supporting line illustrations, Lange and Ahlborn's work confirms the significance of San Xavier's iconography for art historians, students of religion, and visitors alike. It is both an incomparable guide and valuable reference source for the famed mission's magnificent artistic heritage.

This beautifully conceived and produced survey of Islamic architecture explores the glorious world of the caravansarai, mausoleum, palace, and mosque. Focusing on the multifaceted relation of architecture to society, Robert Hillenbrand covers public architecture in the Middle East and North Africa from the medieval period to 1700. Extensive photographs and ground plans -- among which are hundreds of newly executed three-dimensional drawings that provide an accurate and vivid depiction of the structure -- are presented with an emphasis on the way the specific details of the building fulfilled their function.

Included are chapters on religious and secular architecture and the architecture of tombs. Each building is discussed in terms of function, the links between particular forms and specific uses, the role of special types of buildings in the Islamic order, and the expressions of different sociocultural groups in architectural terms. Here the student or historian of Islamic architecture will find an astonishing resource, including Maghribi palaces, Anatolian madrasas, Indian minarets, Fatimid mausolea, and Safavid mosques, each rendered in lavish illustrations and explained with incomparable precision.

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.

Thinking about church architecture has come to an impasse. Reformers and traditionalists are talking past each other. In Theology in Stone, Richard Kieckhefer seeks to help both sides move beyond the standoff toward a fruitful conversation about houses of worship. Drawing on a wide range of historical examples with an eye to their contemporary relevance, he offers refreshing new ideas about the meanings and uses of church architecture.

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 Sistine Chapel enchants the visitor by the splendid harmony it radiates as a concept fully realised, by the unmatched artistic qualities of the individual works, the profound ideas that govern the planning of the paintings and the splendid, robust and lively figures created by Michelangelo and other artists. In this book, jointly produced by the Musei Vaticani and Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the chapel' s paintings are examined in relation to the theological interpretations prevailing in that period. Many of these works have already been presented in isolation by leading experts on the chapel, with detailed descriptions and comments. However, its recent restoration makes possible a new approach to interpreting the pictures, based among other factors on the symbolism of the colours. Greek language text. 186 illus., most colour.