As with many Christian traditions and symbols, Christian architecture began with the pagans in ancient Greece, who constructed perfectly proportioned temples and civil buildings that played major roles in giving form to what would become Christian architecture. (See our custom map to sites highlighted in this guide)

This Approach Guide has special meaning to us: it was one of the first guides we wrote with the idea of giving travelers a quick reference guide that complements their travel guidebooks. Now, when a writer identifies a church as the perfect example of, for example, Gothic architecture, the reader can quickly flip through this guide to find the defining characteristics of that style, how it relates to the architectural style that came before it and, if appropriate, what characteristics make it distinctly “Italian”.

In this Approach Guide, we begin by examining Greek and Roman “pagan” architecture and its earliest influences (Egypt, Mycenaean); we then continue with the Christian architectural tradition, including Early Christian, Byzantine, Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque church styles.  For each period, we discuss its historical evolution, its influences, and its characteristic design and structural elements.

Plan Your Travel Itinerary Using Approach Guides

Whether you are visiting multiple cities on your trip or focusing on a single city, traveling as a couple, with friends or with your children, our Approach Guide to the Italian Baroque will help guide your itinerary.

Half/Full-Day City Tour: Use this guide to plan a half-day or full-day tour of the most important Baroque structures in one city. You will gain intimate knowledge of the Baroque elements specific to that city and will naturally begin to make comparisons between the sites you visit during the tour and others during your trip.

Multi-City Tour: Experience the unique regional elements of the Baroque style by using our guide to identify one or two “must-see” sites in each city you visit. Not only will you gain an appreciation for the Baroque style in general, but you will be able to understand how each city fits into the development of Italy’s Baroque style.

Download a FREE PREVIEW (4 of 26 pages)

Price $9.99 (Format: PDF; available for immediate download)

This Approach Guide will be useful when visiting any Christian religious building, however, we have listed the areas that we highlight as having the most quintessential examples of religious architecture as it pertains to the Christian tradition (see our custom map). This list includes many UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

• Greek architecture. Athens, Turkey (Ephesus and Didyma), Sicily (Agrigento and Selinunte), Paestum (Italy)
• Roman architecture. The best examples are found in Rome.
• Early Christian architecture. Rome, Milan, Jerusalem
• Byzantine architecture. Istanbul, Venice, Ravenna (Italy)
• Carolingian architecture. Corvey (Germany)
• Romanesque architecture. Conques (France), Milan, Pisa (Italy)
• Gothic architecture. Paris, Milan
• Renaissance architecture. Florence, Mantua (Mantova) (Italy)
• Baroque architecture. The best examples are found in Rome.

All Approach Guides are offered as PDF files that can be downloaded and printed immediately after purchase.

St Peter's Cathedral, Rome, Italy