In the age of the Renaissance, architecture saw a pivotal change, reverting back to the classical past.

Architects realized how valuable the

remaining references were and began focusing on ancient Roman architecture and mimicking the style with their own slight personalization. Leon
Battista Alberti was one of these architects, who relied solely on classical inspirations in designing his buildings and churches. One of his well-
known churches, and his last architectural design before his death, was Sant' Andrea in Mantua, which exhibits both inside and out strong
influence and imitation of classical Roman architecture. By using classical references, Alberti was able to create a church that was one of the
most impressive designs seen since the classical times, in many ways rivalling its historical inspirations and setting an impressive standard for
architects who followed afterward.Leon Battista Alberti, like other Renaissance architects such as Brunelleschi, showed a great devoted interest
to classical architecture as inspiration for his own architectural designs, beginning in the 1440s. He studied the ancient writings of Vitruvius,
which was a guideline to many regarding the design of classical architecture. This inspired him to later write his own theoretical piece on basic
architectural principles, titled The Ten Books of Architecture, where he references many of the ideas found in Vitruvius' writings yet with his own
added flare as to not copy him (Murray 47). He wanted to not simply imitate but to use classical architecture as a guideline and go from there. He
also had a focus, and that was his fascination with the beauty, the ornamentation and the devotion that architects of antiquity put into even the
simplest of structures. In his Ten Books of Architecture, Alberti speaks of such practices and the importance of learning to replicate:...[the
Romans] could not bear to have even their common Drains void of Beauty, and were so delighted with Magnificence and Ornament... By the
Examples therefore of the Ancients, and the Precepts of great Masters, and constant Practice, a thorough Knowledge is to be gained of the
Method of raising such magnificent Structures; from this Knowledge found Rules are to be drawn... (Alberti 115).These rules he goes on to
emphasize throughout the entirety of his treatise, and when examining his architectural works - the church of Sant' Andrea, specifically in this
case - we will see he had a great focus on ornament and beauty, following the Roman example with great devotion.Also, Alberti had a focus on
nature, and that anything built should follow in nature's footsteps, that ... everything is to be measured and put together with the greatest
exactness of lines and angles, that the beholder's eye may have a clear and distinct view along the cornices, between the columns on the inside
and without, receiving every moment fresh delight from the variety he encounters... (Gadol 140).This notion was derived from antiquity, so it
only makes sense that Alberti believed in it religiously. As we examine his design of Sant' Andrea, we shall see that he built the church with the
above two beliefs in mind, and due to such devotion to these rules he created a magnificent church that was a prime example of excellence and
revival of antiquity in the early Renaissance.Sant' Andrea in Mantua was begun just two years before Alberti died in 1472, so much had to be
carried out by his assistant. The church itself was not considered to be fully finished until well into the 18 th century (Murray 53). By the time of
the church's design, Alberti had been studying and building classical architecture for the majority of his life, and his Ten Books of
Architecture had been published and considered a valuable source for all aspiring architects. While some similarities can be found among the
various churches he designed, Sant' Andrea has some unique additions that make it special and an iconic example of such devotional study in
regards to antiquity.To begin, let's look at the plan of the church. Alberti designed Sant' Andrea following the Latin cross plan with a narthex,
nave, transept, choir and rounded apse. The transept is about the same width as the nave, and both indeed are rather wide, making it to be rather
spacious at the crossing. The heaviness and thickness of the walls indicate to us that the church uses a stone roof. This is different and certainly
more popular than the Greek cross plan that Alberti had used in creating Sant' Sebastiano, also in Mantua, which had been the first usage of that
particular plan during the Renaissance period (Wittkower 12). However popular Latin cross plans were in church building, we can simply take
one look at the design and see that there is something different about the plan. Alberti made Sant' Andrea oddly unique in that he did not include
side aisles along the nave, rather he decided to create spaces alternating in size along the length of the nave and some in the transept, the larger of
which were used as chapels (Murray 54). These spaces, when looking at the plan, are similar to that of chapels found normally in the apse end of
the church, seen commonly for example, in many Gothic style cathedrals. Even so, they are different in the sense that their usage eliminates the
common side aisles and ambulatory found in a great majority of churches in history, and would create an entirely different visual experience for
the individual when they enter the church. Despite its oddities, it is important to note that even with such a different design, Alberti's architectural
works were admired and used as inspiration, for it is known that this variant of a Latin cross plan was widely copied in the later sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries (54-55). Through designing something so unique, but not without its Roman ties, Alberti was able to create a design that
paid homage to antiquity but also added his own personal touch.Next let us move on to the facade of Sant' Andrea, which is bursting with style
not seen since antiquity. One look at the facade and we are clearly reminded of ancient Roman architecture we may have seen before, for
example, the large, deep-set triumphal arch of the entryway. In Rudolph Wittkower's article on Alberti's approach to antiquity, we see a
convincing picture showing the remarkable similarity of the facade compared to that of the Arch of Trajan in Ancona (4). It is very possible that
Alberti could have used the arch as inspiration for this facade, given the likeness of the two structures. They both have the large arch in the centre,
with four pilasters, two on either side in the Corinthian style. The result of this is to give a form which consists of a small opening at ground
level between two pilasters, followed by a large round-headed opening, and then a repetition of the smaller form (Murray 55). We will see later
on that this style is imitated within the interior of S. Andrea in a different manner, that being the alternating spaces in the design we mentioned
previously in discussing the plan.Alberti's decision to use a triumphal arch speaks to the importance in which he viewed church buildings,
commemorating that the revival of Roman architectural influences should be celebrated, and of course, the elaborate decoration and
ornamentation of all structures. The facade focuses on geometrical shapes, the rectangular side doors, the rounded arch windows, the horizontal
linear divisions, and the triangular pediment. Aside from a strong resemblance to a triumphant arch, it also bears resemblance to a temple. The
entire facade of S. Andrea is an homage to the past, with its many ornaments and characteristics of antiquities long before its time.Which brings
us to discuss the interior of Sant' Andrea. The lack of side aisles, despite what one may assume, did not take away from the size and grandeur of
the interior. Normally seen in churches, the facade tended to be larger than the rest of the church, giving it an appearance of being bigger than it
actually was, coinciding with the meaning of the actual term. However, in S. Andrea, the facade is smaller than that of the church, which is
unusual, and gives visitors quite a surprise when they walk in. The church boasts an enormous barrel vault over the nave with rounded arches,
with a coiffured ceiling that reminds us of such structures like the Roman Pantheon. The width of the barrel vault spans over seventy feet, which
made it the largest and heaviest created since antiquity. We can gather from this that not only did Alberti want to revive and derive inspiration
from buildings of antiquity, but he also was interested in rivalling them, and he certainly did so impressively, with his own personal twist that
deviated from known Roman architecture, which was the above mentioned alternating spaces. Murray's piece on S. Andrea says specifically of
the barrel vaulting: ...Alberti used the prototype provided by such Roman buildings as the Baths of Diocletian or the Basilica of Constantine, in
which enormous abutments carried the weight of the vaulting, but at the same time could be hollowed out to form openings at right angles to the
main axes. (54). These openings that are mentioned are the alternating chapel spaces that allow the interior to appear so unique.

Following with his aforementioned fascination and study of ornamentation, we can see from the interior that he spared no expense on lavish
decoration. Coiffered ceilings, sculpture on the walls and pilasters, large paintings, a large dome on the crossing letting in a vast amount of light
to the otherwise fairly dark interior. Windows are few and a far in-between, mainly found on the facade and at the apse, due to the massive weight
of the barrel vaulting. Geometrical shapes, like on the facade, are everywhere. In Gadol's book, Leon Battista Alberti: Universal Man of the Early
Renaissance, this is said in regards to the interior:... Arches, rectangles, and circles, too, appear and reappear in a complex variety of sizes and
positions. Rectangular doorways are set in the arched walls of the interior, and high above the doors, circular windows 'respond' to the great circle
of the dome and single, circular window that dominates the entrance wall. (Gadol 138).This, no doubt, required careful planning on Alberti's
behalf, and succeeds in appearing beautifully simple yet complex at the very same time, and succeeds in achieving both beautiful decoration,
design and what Alberti sought for, ... a triumphant intelligible harmony which binds a manifold of relations in a perfect whole... (Gadol 139-
140). Reviewing the interior, it is safe to say that Alberti achieved doing just that. He made the design unique but inserted references to ancient
Roman architecture everywhere within, and focused on decorating it lavishly.We can see clearly now the great devotion that Leon Battista Alberti
put into studying and replicating the architectural designs of antiquity, and how he implemented various designs, specifically in the ways of
ornamentation and beauty when designing and building the church of Sant' Andrea in Mantua. The church contains many classical attributes,
derived from ancient structures such as triumphant arches, temples, and Roman baths. The combination of his own personalization, such as the
alternating spaces both outside and inside in the design of the church was a creative gamble that came to be an inspiration for those architects
who came after him, using his design of the church specifically as a reference for hundreds of years afterward. Alberti succeeded in aiding the
revival of the attributes of classical architecture through his study of the works of Vitruvius, the writing of his own treatise The Ten Books of
Architecture and through his own designs and structures. Sant' Andrea was a great example of a Renaissance church, for Alberti succeeded in
creating a structure that looked, both inside and out, like it was straight from antiquity.Sources:1. ALBERTI, LEON BATTISTA, COSIMO
BARTOLI, AND GIACOMO LEONI. THE TEN BOOKS OF ARCHITECTURE: THE 1755 LEONI EDITION. NEW YORK: DOVER
PUBLICATIONS, 1986. PRINT.2. GADOL, JOAN. LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI: UNIVERSAL MAN OF THE EARLY RENAISSANCE.
CHICAGO: U OF CHICAGO, 1969. PRINT.3. MURRAY, PETER. "3 - ALBERTI." THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE.
NEW YORK: SCHOCKEN, 1964. 45-56. PRINT.4. WITTKOWER, RUDOLF. "ALBERTI'S APPROACH TO ANTIQUITY IN
ARCHITECTURE."JOURNAL OF THE WARBURG AND COURTAULD INSTITUTES 4.1/2 (1940): 1-18. JSTOR. WEB.Mantua's relic In the
Fifteenth Century, pilgrims flocked to the Basilica of SantAndrea to venerate the most famous relic in the city of Mantua, drops of Christs blood
collected at the crucifixion (or so the faithful believed). In fact, the church SantAndrea was erected to accommodate the huge crowds that arrived
on holy days and who, in turn, helped fund its construction. Today, art historians admire SantAndrea's Early Renaissance design for elegantly
bringing the grandeur of ancient architecture into a Christian context. Who built that?SantAndrea is built of bricks, though they are mostly
concealed by painted stucco. The patron, Ludovico Gonzaga, estimated that at least 2 million bricks were needed. The bricks were baked in onsite
kilns, making the church far less expensive and faster to erect than a building made with stone, which had to be quarried, transported, and
finished.Gonzaga was the Marquis of Mantuaand in addition to employing Alberti, he appointed Andrea Mantega as court artist. His portrait is
featured in the frescos Mantegna painted in the Camera degli Sposi (also known as the Camera Picta), in the Marquis' palace.
The sections of the building constructed in the Fifteenth Century, including the Western faade and the nave up to the transept, are usually
attributed to the humanist and architect Leon Battista Alberti, even though he died in Rome a few months before construction began in June 1472.
Alberti was an expert on all things ancient and he wrote the first Renaissance architectural treatise.Alberti probably made a model to explain his
design and he definitely sent Gonzaga a drawing (now lost), and a short description of his plan in a letter dated 1470. Despite this, it is uncertain
how much of the building follows Alberti's design, how much comes from the Florentine architect Luca Fancelli who directed construction, and
how much should be credited to Gonzaga, who closely supervised the project.Ancient modelsQuestions of SantAndrea's attribution are important
because it is such an ingenious, unified combination of three ancient Roman forms: temple front, triumphal arch, and basilica.On the faade, four
giant pilasters with Corinthian capitals support an entablature and pediment.Together these elements recall the front of ancient temples, such as
the Pantheon in Rome. There is also a grand arch in the center of the faade that is supported, at least visually, by two shorter fluted pilasters.
Taken together, the lower faade, with its tall central arch and flanking side doors evoke ancient triumphal arches such as the Arch of
Constantine.Ancient ritualsThe center arch extends deep into the facade itself, creating a recessed barrel vault that frames the main entrance to the
church. The arch and its coffered barrel vault form a perfect setting for processions of the holy relic and the celebration of Christs triumph over
death. Such spectacles would recall ancient processions where victorious warriors paraded through Rome's triumphal arches. When pilgrims pass
under the arch and into the nave (the long interior hall), after their eyes adjusted to the purposefully dim, mystical light, they would look up and
see a second, much more massive barrel vault, the largest constructed since ancient Rome.Then, on both sides of the nave they would find three
chapels with lower barrel vaults. Surprisingly, there are no side aisles or rows of columns, as at the old St. Peters in Rome or other early churches
like Santa Sabina. SantAndreas huge central space and buttressing side chapels strongly resemble the layout of the ancient Basilica of
Maxentius and Constantine in the Roman forum (below). The basilica plan is perfectly suited to large churches since it could accommodate
massive crowds. But unlike earlier basilica-plan churches, SantAndrea's plan seems to return more strictly to the ancient forms. Its even possible
that SantAndreas unusual plan and allantica (after the antique) faade impacted the new St. Peters and the Church of the Ges in Rome.

The Basilica of Sant'Andrea is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral and minor

basilicain Mantua, Lombardy (Italy). It is one of the major works of 15th-centuryRenaissance
architecture in Northern Italy. Commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga, the church was begun in
1462 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery, of
which the bell tower (1414) remains. The building, however, was finished only 328 years later.
Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti's design, the church is still considered to be
one of Alberti's most complete works. It looms over the Piazza Mantegna. The faade, built abutting
a pre-existing bell tower (1414), is based on the scheme of the ancient Arch of Titus. It is largely a
brick structure with hardened stucco used for the surface. It is defined by a large central arch,
flanked by Corinthian pilasters. There are smaller openings to the right and left of the arch. A novel
aspect of the design was the integration of a lower order, comprising the fluted Corinthian columns,
with a giant order, comprising the taller, unfluted pilasters. The whole is surmounted by a pediment
and above that a vaulted structure, the purpose of which is not exactly known, but presumably to
shade the window opening into the church behind it.

An important aspect of Albertis design was the correspondence between the faade and the interior
elevations, both elaborations of the triumphal arch motif, the arcades, like the facade, having
alternating high arches and much lower square topped openings.

The nave is roofed by a barrel vault, one of the first times such a form was used in such a
monumental scale since antiquity, and probably modeled on the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome.
Alberti possibly planned for the vault to be coffered, much like the shorter barrel vault of the
entrance, but lack of funds led to the vault being constructed as a simple barrel vault with the coffers
then being painted on. Originally, the building was planned without a transept, and possibly even
without a dome. This phase of construction more or less ended in 1494.

In 1597, the lateral arms were added and the crypt finished. The massive dome (17321782) was
designed by Filippo Juvarra, and the final decorations on the interior added under Paolo Pozzo and
others in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.[3]

The purpose of the new building was to receive the pilgrims who visited it during the feast of
Ascension when a vial, that the faithful argue contains the Blood of Christ, is brought up from the
crypt below through a hole in the floor directly under the dome. The relic, called Preziosissimo
Sangue di Cristo ("Most Precious Blood of Christ"), is preserved in the Sacred Vessels, according to
the tradition was brought to Mantua by the Roman centurion Longinus, who had scooped up the
earth containing the blood. The relic was "rediscovered" (secunda inventio) ca. 1049. Pope Leo
IX recognized this relic as authentic in 1053. It was highly venerated during the Renaissance. The
shrines are displayed only on the Good Friday, to the faithful and then brought out along the streets
of Mantua in a procession.

In the belltower there are five bells (A, C#, E, F#, A) cast in the 19th century. One of the chapels
houses the tomb of the early Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, with a bronze figure of him,
by Gianmarco Cavalli; his chapel has a Holy Family by him. Other artworks in the chapels include
frescoes of Giulio Romano's school (a work by Giulio is currently a copy) and Correggio.