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Santa Prassede |
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written
by julia625 / 10.24.2005 |
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Assignment |
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I found it very difficult to look beyond the obvious differences in the two churches and pull out similarities; I was too overwhelmed by the magnificence of St. Peters to even draw a single comparison when I first left the basilica. St. Peter’s is truly epic. It is so magnificent it took me over an hour just to walk around the entire circumference of the building. It made the much smaller, less glitzy Santa Prassede look like a brick room in comparison.
After a few days, once the splendor of St. Peters had slightly dimmed in my mind, I was able to re-read my journal and look at some pictures I had taken to remind my self about the unique beauty of Santa Prassede. Although the two are difficult to compare, I was able to draw some basic conclusions. While St. Peter’s is a tribute to all Popes, including St. Peter, and the Catholic family in general, Santa Prassede focuses its attention more on honoring the sisters who were the first to extend hospitality to St. Peter in Rome. The beautiful, elaborate mosaics honor the traits of dedication and loyalty in these two women. The entire church sings praises to these mortal sisters whose faithfulness extended to St. Peter in his time of need. While Santa Prassede focuses more on one specific event in the life of the Saint, St. Peter’s basilica is dedicated to the entire life of St. Peter and what his life stood for in the greater scope of Catholicism.
St. Peter’s is filled with spoils of Christianity, as elaborate and ornate as I have ever seen. Every nook and cranny is packed with gold and marble. The church employs immense open spaces and overwhelming columns to make the visitor seem small in comparison. When you exit St. Peter’s Basilica you are left with no doubt of the splendor of the Catholic Church. Santa Prassede is also beautiful, but in a much more subtle way. The architecture is much more personal; when I walked in I felt enclosed in. The entire church is focused on one specific story. The elaborate mosaic in the apse explains the story of the foundation of the church and the relationship between St. Peter and Prassede and Prudenziana. Santa Prassede and St. Peter’s Basilica have very different functions that their architecture and decoration are meant to enhance.
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