MIT Libraries homeDome

Horizontal view of the nave, on axis, looking towards the choir, depicting the dramatic effect of the brilliantly lit dome over the choir (not, as was normal, over the crossing); Rainaldi's inventive design for S Maria in Campitelli (1662-1675), his most important work, was free from the influences of his father or any collaborators. The longitudinal axis of the plan is a composite of a series of independent, centralized spaces including a presbytery, shallow transept and Greek-cross nave. This was a clear departure from the traditional Latin-cross plan with side aisles and ambulatory, and it has more in common with the church plans of Palladio and Baldassare Longhena in Venice. The vertical emphasis of the interior is achieved through a forest of free-standing, fluted columns of the Composite order paired with corresponding fluted pilasters. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 11/4/2007)