An aula regia (lat. for "royal hall"), also referred to as a palas hall, is a name given to the great hall in an imperial (or governor's) palace in the Ancient Roman architecture and in the derived medieval audience halls of emperors, kings or bishops as part of their palaces (for example the German Kaiserpfalz – Imperial palace). In the Middle Ages the term was also used as a synonym for the Pfalz (palace) itself.
Architecturally, the medieval aulas followed the model of the ancient Roman audience halls in the imperial and governor's palaces such as the Aula regia in the Flavian Palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, completed in 92 AD or the Aula Palatina in Trier, Germany, completed in 311 under Constantine the Great. This emperors's mother Helena lived in Rome in the Sessorium Palace; She had its smaller, hall-shaped aula converted into the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme for the relics she had brought with her from Jerusalem, while of the palace's larger civil basilica, built in the style of a three-aisled columned basilica, only the apse remains as a free-standing ruin.
The aulas usually followed the single-nave building type, not that of the Basilica with a higher central nave flanked by two or more lower longitudinal aisles [1] which was more commonly used for market halls in the Roman era. Both ancient types of halls became models for Christian church architecture. The monumental aulae regiae served as venues for court ceremonies at audiences and receptions, and in the Middle Ages also for Hoftage , the irregular gatherings of the powerful of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as for coronation meals, wedding feasts or other banquets. The ruler's throne can be assumed to be in the apse (which became the chancel in churches); the entrance is opposite the throne. The Carolingian hall buildings, unlike the ancient ones, were usually not accessed across the longitudinal axis despite the apses that had been adopted, but - as in the traditional Franconian and Middle German house - via the transverse axis, on the long side of the building, like the aulae of the Palace of Aachen or the Palace of Goslar. [2]
An example of a surviving aula regia of the early middle ages is the church of Santa María del Naranco near Oviedo, built around 850 as an aula regia for Ramiro I. [3] Most Imperial Palaces, royal palaces or bishop's palaces of the early and high Middle Ages contained such an audience hall, for example the aula regia in the Palace of Aachenː it later became a part of the medieval Town Hall of Aachen. The royal hall of the Imperial Palace Ingelheim (c. 780) has been digitally reconstructed.
Trier, formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves and Triers, is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region.
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name to the basilica architectural form.
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly popular in the Ancient Roman world.
Relics that are claimed to be the Holy Nails with which Jesus was crucified are objects of veneration among some Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. In Christian symbolism and art, they figure among the Arma Christi or Instruments of the Passion, the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus. Like the other Instruments, the Holy Nails have become an object of veneration among many Christians and have been pictured in paintings.
The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran, informally the Lateran Palace, is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in Rome.
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about 780 to 900—during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs—popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of important monasteries under Imperial patronage; survivals from outside this charmed circle show a considerable drop in quality of workmanship and sophistication of design. The art was produced in several centres in what are now France, Germany, Austria, northern Italy and the Low Countries, and received considerable influence, via continental mission centres, from the Insular art of the British Isles, as well as a number of Byzantine artists who appear to have been resident in Carolingian centres.
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilican church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is located in the rione (neighborhood) of Ripa. Constructed first in the sixth century as a diaconia (deaconry) in an area of the city populated by Greek immigrants, it celebrated Eastern rites and currently serves the Melkite Greek Catholic community of Rome. The church was expanded in the eighth century and renovated in the twelfth century, when a campanile was added. A Baroque facade and interior refurbishment of 1718 were removed in 1894–1899; the exterior was restored to twelfth-century form, while the architecture of the interior recalls the eighth century with twelfth-century furnishings. The narthex of the church contains the famous Bocca della Verità sculpture.
The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.
The term Kaiserpfalz or Königspfalz refers to a number of palaces and castles across the Holy Roman Empire that served as temporary seats of power for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Early and High Middle Ages.
The Basilica Ulpia was an ancient Roman civic building located in the Forum of Trajan. The Basilica Ulpia separates the temple from the main courtyard in the Forum of Trajan with the Trajan's Column to the northwest. It was named after Roman emperor Trajan whose full name was Marcus Ulpius Traianus.
The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus, and attributed to his master architect, Rabirius.
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian dynasty dominated west European politics. It was a conscious attempt to emulate Roman architecture and to that end it borrowed heavily from Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, though there are nonetheless innovations of its own, resulting in a unique character.
The Mausoleum of Constantina, also known as the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, was built in the 4th century AD for Constantina, the daughter of the emperor Constantine I. It later became a church. It is located in Rome on the Via Nomentana, within the monumental complex of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura.
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I. The name "old St. Peter's Basilica" has been used since the construction of the current basilica to distinguish the two buildings.
The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political, and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the center of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located north of the current city of Aachen, today in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. Most of the Carolingian palace was built in the 790s but the works went on until Charlemagne's death in 814. The plans, drawn by Odo of Metz, were part of the program of renovation of the kingdom decided by the ruler. Today much of the palace is ruined, but the Palatine Chapel has been preserved and is considered a masterpiece of Carolingian architecture and a characteristic example of architecture from the Carolingian Renaissance.
Aula may refer to:
The Aula Palatina, also called Basilica of Constantine, at Trier, Germany, is a Roman palace basilica and an early Christian structure built between AD 300 and 310 during the reigns of Constantius Chlorus and Constantine the Great.
The Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier are buildings and monuments of particular historical importance in Trier, Germany, that were together listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. These sites demonstrate the political, economic, and historical importance of Trier during the Roman Empire as one of the four capital during the Tetrarchy period, and as a prominent city during the early days of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages.
The Ingelheim Imperial Palace was an important imperial palace erected in the second half of the 8th century in Germany. It served kings of Francia and later Holy Roman Emperors and Kings as a residenz and place for governance until the 11th century.
The Electoral Palace in Trier, Germany, was the residence of the Archbishops and Electors of Trier from the 16th century until the late 18th century. It now houses various offices of the federal government and often hosts classical music concerts.
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