TRIUMPHAL ARCH

Triumphal arch: translation

In the Roman era, triumphal arches were monuments used to commemorate the great deeds of emperors and military leaders. They usually consisted of a single arch supported by a heavy pier at either side, the whole structure then capped by a quadrangular attic onto which a commemorative inscription was added to explain the reasons for its construction. After a successful military campaign, the person honored would enterRometriumphantly by passing through the arch in grand procession. In the Early Christian era, the triumphal arch motif was used to separate theapseof a church from thenaveas symbolic reference to the triumph of Christianity over paganism. In the Proto-Renaissance, the triumphal arch became a surface where religious scenes that instructed the faithful could be rendered, as Giotto'sfrescoof theAnnunciationon the triumphal arch of theArena Chapelin Padua (1305) denotes. In the Early Renaissance, architects began utilizing the triumphal arch motif for the façades of religious buildings.Filippo Brunelleschiwas the first to do so in thePazzi ChapelinSanta Croce, Florence(1433-1461).Leon Battista Albertifollowed suit with theTempio Malatestianoin Rimini (beg. 1450) and atSant'Andrea, Mantua (beg. 1470).