Twenty-five
Centuries
- c. 447 BC
Antiquity
The Parthenon is begun
- c. AD 30
Christianity
Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, Jerusalem
- 313
Christianity
Edict of Milan grants tolerance to Christians
- 325
Christianity
First Council of Nicaea
- 529
Christianity
St. Benedict founds Monte Cassino
- 537
Architecture
Hagia Sophia consecrated
- c. 800
Art
Book of Kells illuminated
- 1054
Christianity
East–West Schism
- 1163
Architecture
Notre-Dame de Paris begun
- 1274
Philosophy
Aquinas leaves the Summa Theologiae unfinished
- 1305
Art
Giotto paints the Scrovegni Chapel
- 1320
Literature
Dante completes the Divine Comedy
- 1436
Architecture
Brunelleschi's dome completed
- 1498
Art
Leonardo finishes the Last Supper
- 1512
Art
Sistine ceiling unveiled
- 1517
Christianity
Luther's 95 Theses; the Reformation begins
- 1543
Science
Copernicus publishes De revolutionibus
- 1545
Christianity
Council of Trent opens
- 1607
Music
Monteverdi's L'Orfeo
- 1626
Architecture
New St. Peter's consecrated
- 1687
Science
Newton publishes the Principia
- 1727
Music
Bach's St Matthew Passion
- 1791
Music
Mozart's Requiem
- 1869
Science
Mendeleev presents his periodic system
- 1903
Science
Marie Curie shares the Nobel Prize in Physics
Connections across centuries
Artistic excellence grows through encounters between faith, observation, invention and the written word.
Athens and Rome
The ancient inheritance
Greek philosophy and Roman building practices remained resources for later Europe. Renaissance artists did not merely imitate antiquity: they transformed its forms for new patrons and new questions.
Curator’s observation
Raphael's philosophers occupy an architecture inspired by contemporary plans for St. Peter's.
Images: Wikimedia Commons. Historical works and architectural photographs; source and attribution are available through the original image.
Image source