Church Architecture

Pisa Cathedral Complex
Architect: Buscheto
1063 Architecture

The Pisa Cathedral Complex, known simply as Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), houses one of the world’s most celebrated ecclesiastical landscapes. In addition to the cathedral itself, the Pisa Cathedral Complex includes a church, a baptistery, a cemetery and one very famous campanile or bell tower – better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The cathedral was funded by the spoils received fighting against the Muslims in Sicily in 1063.

Another name often given to the Pisa Cathedral Complex is Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square).

Porto Cathedral
1110 - 1737 Architecture

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The Porto Cathedral (Sé do Porto) is a Roman Catholic church located in the historical center of the city of Porto, Portugal. It is one of the city's oldest monuments and one of the most important local Romanesque monuments.

Reims Cathedral
Architect: Jean d'Orbais , Jean-le-Loup, Gaucher of Reims , and Bernard de Soissons (master masons)
1211 -1345 Architecture

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Reims Cathedral, cathedral located in the city of Reims, France, on the Vesle River east-northeast of Paris. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. Reims Cathedral is considered to be one of the most important pieces of Gothic architecture.

Reims was the site of 25 coronations of the kings of France, from Louis VIII in 1223 to Charles X in 1825, including the crowning of Charles VII in 1429 in the presence of Joan of Arc. The cathedral, which was begun in 1211 under the auspices of Archbishop Aubry de Humbert and designer Jean d’Orbais, was modeled on Chartres Cathedral (begun about 1194) and was intended to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1210.

The main construction was overseen by four different architects and lasted some 80 years; expansions and decorative work continued on the church for centuries.

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When we think of Christian architecture, we may picture towering cathedrals with intricate stained-glass windows, but the roots of this style are much more humble. The earliest Christian structures were not grand, but rather simple house churches. As Christianity grew, its places of worship grew in size and intricacy.

The transition from early Christian to medieval architecture paralelled societal and religious changes. The Romanesque style, characterized by its rounded arches and massive walls, was followed by the Gothic style with its pointed archs, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.

Christian architecture has created some of the world’s most iconic structures. These buildings all share a common thread: they are physical manifestations of the Christian faith.

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