The colonnade next the church was frequently the only representative of the atrium, and then—perhaps indeed always—was called the narthex, or place for penitents or persons who had not yet acquired the right of entering the church itself.
From this narthex three doorways generally opened into the church, corresponding with the three aisles; and if the building possessed a font, it ought to have been placed in one of the chapels on either the right or left hand of the principal entrance.
The choir, with its two pulpits, is shown in the plan—that on the left-hand side being the pulpit of the Epistle, that on the right of the Gospel. The railing of the bema or presbytery is also marked, so is the position of the altar with its canopy supported on four pillars, and behind that the throne of the bishop, with the seats of the inferior clergy surrounding the apse on either side.
Besides the church of San Clemente there are at least thirty other basilican churches in Rome, extending in date from the 4th to the 14th century. Their names and dates, as far as they have been ascertained, are set forth in the accompanying list, which, though not altogether complete, is still the best we possess, and is sufficient for our present purpose.[[265]]
| BASILICAS OF ROME. | |||
| W. | St. Peter’s | Constantine (5 aisled) | 330 |
| W. | St. John Lateran | Ditto | 330 |
| W. | St. Lorenzo (west end lower storey) | Ditto | 335 |
| N.W. | S. Pudentiana | Ditto | 335 |
| E. | St. Paul’s | Theodosius and Honorius (5 aisled) | 380 |
| N.W. | S. Maria Maggiore | Pope Sixtus III. | 432 |
| St. Lorenzo (nave) | Ditto | 432-40 | |
| E. | St. Peter ad Vincula | Eudoxia (Greek Doric columns) | 442 |
| N.W.W. | St. John and St. Paul | Leo I. | 450 |
| N.W.W. | Quattro Coronati | Ditto | 450 |
| N.W. | St. Martin di Monti | 500 | |
| W. | S. Agnes | 500-514 | |
| N.E. | S. Sabina | 525 | |
| St. Lorenzo (galleries to west end) | Pope Pelagius | 580 | |
| W. | S. Balbina | Gregory the Great (no side-aisles) | 600 |
| St. Vincent alle tre fontane | Honorius I. | 626 | |
| N.W.N. | St. Giorgio in Velabro | Leo II. | 682 |
| N.W.W. | St. Crisogonus | Gregory III. | 731 |
| St. John in porta latina | Adrian I. | 772 | |
| S.E.E. | S. Maria in Cosmedin | Ditto | 782 |
| S.W.W. | SS. Nereus and Achilles | Leo III. | 800 |
| N.W.N. | St. Praxede | Paschal I. | 817 |
| N.W. | S. Cecilia | Ditto | 821 |
| W. | S. Maria in Domenica | Ditto | 823 |
| N.W.N. | St. Mark’s | 833 | |
| St. John Lateran | Rebuilt by Sergius III. | 910 | |
| N.W.W. | St. Clement | Paschal II. | 1100-14 |
| St. Barthelemy in Isola | Ditto | 1113 | |
| W. | S. Maria in Trastevere | Innocent II. | 1139 |
| St. Lorenzo (the two churches thrown into one) | Honorius III. | 1216 | |
| S. Maria sopra Minerva | 1370 | ||
| (?) | S. Maria in Ara Cœli | Gothic | 14th cent. |
| St. Agostino | Renaissance | 1483 | |
Three of these, St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, and the Lateran church, have five aisles, all the rest three, with only one insignificant exception, Sta. Balbina, which has no side-aisles. Two, St. Agnes and the old part of St. Lorenzo, have their side-aisles in two storeys, all the rest are only one storey in height, and the side-aisles generally are half the width of the central aisle or nave. Some of the more modern churches have the side-aisles vaulted, but of those in the list all except the two last have flat wooden ceilings over the central compartment, and generally speaking the plain ornamental construction of the roof is exposed. It can scarcely be doubted that originally they were ceiled in some more ornamental manner, as the art of ornamenting this new style of open construction seems to have been introduced at a later date.
396. Plan of the original Basilica of St. Peter at Rome. (From Gutensohn and Knapp.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
Of the two last named, the Sta. Maria sopra Minerva might perhaps be more properly classed among the buildings belonging to the Italian Gothic style; but as it is the only one in Rome that has any claim to such a distinction, it is hardly worth while making it an exception to the rest. The San Agostino might also be called a Renaissance specimen. It certainly is a transitional specimen between the pillared and pilastered styles, which were then struggling for mastery. It may either be regarded as the last of the old race or the first of the new style, which was so soon destined to revolutionise the architectural world.