Cantharus (fountain)
The Cantharus was a purification basin in the center of the forecourt of early Christian basilicas . The basin was fed by a spring, which mostly rose from a fountain in the shape of a large antique kantharos .
The forecourt, also known as the peristyle , was surrounded on three sides by colonnades like the atrium of a Roman house , the fourth side formed the portico in front of the facade of the church. The basin in the center was therefore a transformation of the impluvium or the well in an ancient Roman peristyle. It was used by the faithful to wash their hands before entering the basilica as a sign of purification. The catechumens who were preparing for baptism were not allowed to enter the church. They waited in the garden of this forecourt called " Paradise ".
The Canthari were particularly well known in Rome in front of the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul . A cantharus in front of the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere has been preserved to this day.
The Cantharus of St. Peter was built in the fifth century under Pope Symmachus . Already under Pope Damasus (366–384 AD) the springs of the Vatican hill were taken and led to St. Peter's Basilica. In the center of the Cantharus was a huge bronze pine cone . The water was passed through it via a lead pipe and fed the rectangular basin. The cone is said to come from the roof of Hadrian's tomb ( Castel Sant'Angelo ). It is more likely, however, that the pinecone was first brought here from the Baths of Agrippa behind the Pantheon under Pope Hadrian I (772–795 AD) . In the time before that, a vase in the form of a kantharos could have been used to feed the basin, as in other basilicas. When St. Peter's Basilica was built , “paradise” had to give way to the new building.
Remarks
- ^ Roman Monographies, Fountains - part I ( Memento of August 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
literature
- Margaret Finch: The Cantharus and Pigna at Old Saint Peter's. Gesta Vol. 30, No. 1, 1991, pp. 16-26.