Exterior
The site is on a ridge overlooking the Tiber valley, and sloping down to the main area of the EUR on the other side. It is in the north-west corner of the EUR, and is not very conveniently situated; the intention of the planners was that the building should be visible from afar and that it certainly is. The monumental approach from the east side, up a slope,
The surrounding is spectacular and is improved by planted trees. The edifice is a cube in brown brick with stone trim, and with four gigantic pylons attached to each face forming the Greek cross. These pylons are banded with six horizontal stone string courses. The hemispherical dome is covered in hexagonal tiles and sits on a drum having six rectangular recesses containing porthole windows. The lantern is a cylinder with fourteen rectangular slits, capped with a conical finial crowned by a statue of Our Lady. The entrance is in the eastern pylon, and in the enormous rectangular recess above the doors is a relief of the resurrected Christ with the apostles. Immediately above the door is the Confession of Peter in Latin, and above the recess is a dedicatory inscription.
Read more about this topic: Ss. Pietro E Paolo A Via Ostiense
Famous quotes containing the word exterior:
“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“This idoll which you terme Virginitie,
Is neither essence subject to the eie,
No, nor to any one exterior sence,
Nor hath it any place of residence,
Nor is’t of earth or mold celestiall,
Or capable of any forme at all.”
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
“It’s not a pretty face, I grant you. But underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.”
—Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986)