DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0113
THE BASILICA
75
divided into sections by half-columns corresponding with the
columns below, a window being placed between every two half-
columns in order to conceal the difference in width between the
sections of wall at the front and those at the sides. The arrange-
ment was similar at the rear, on either side of the tribunal, as
may be seen from the section (Fig. 27).
With this restoration of the outer walls completed we are able
to form a clear idea of the appearance of the main hall. Whether
or not the rafters could be seen from below is uncertain, but the
probability is that, as assumed in our restoration (Fig. 26), they
Fig. 25. — Exterior of the Basilica, restored.
were hidden by a coffered ceiling. The simple and beautiful
interior abounded in fine spatial effects. The corridor and main
room were almost as high as the main room was wide, that
is between 35 and 40 feet. The light streaming in through
the openings in the upper portion of the walls was evenly
distributed throughout the hall; we may assume that when
the sun became too hot on the south side it could be shut out
by curtains.
In our Basilica, then, we notice a wide divergence from the
ideal or normal plan. Instead of a clerestory above the main
hall a proportionally greater height is given to the corridor.
The normal height of a basilica corridor is represented by the
75
divided into sections by half-columns corresponding with the
columns below, a window being placed between every two half-
columns in order to conceal the difference in width between the
sections of wall at the front and those at the sides. The arrange-
ment was similar at the rear, on either side of the tribunal, as
may be seen from the section (Fig. 27).
With this restoration of the outer walls completed we are able
to form a clear idea of the appearance of the main hall. Whether
or not the rafters could be seen from below is uncertain, but the
probability is that, as assumed in our restoration (Fig. 26), they
Fig. 25. — Exterior of the Basilica, restored.
were hidden by a coffered ceiling. The simple and beautiful
interior abounded in fine spatial effects. The corridor and main
room were almost as high as the main room was wide, that
is between 35 and 40 feet. The light streaming in through
the openings in the upper portion of the walls was evenly
distributed throughout the hall; we may assume that when
the sun became too hot on the south side it could be shut out
by curtains.
In our Basilica, then, we notice a wide divergence from the
ideal or normal plan. Instead of a clerestory above the main
hall a proportionally greater height is given to the corridor.
The normal height of a basilica corridor is represented by the