A Gothic Saint Peter's? Peruzzi's designs for S. Petronio in Bologna

In 1388, the Italian architect, Antonio di Vicenzo, began with the construc tion of the parish church of Bologna. The facade, the vaults and the entire southern section of the nave, with its dome, transept and apse remain inco mplete. Although plans to complete the structure were made at the beginning of the sixteenth century, up until the present only the vaults and apse ha ve been completed, so as to make the church functional. The "fabbricieri"-the contractors of the church, who obliged their architec ts to use the "maniera tedesca," contracted, in 1521, the Roman architect, Baldassare Peruzzi (1481-1536) and gave him the commission to complete the structure. Had Peruzzi's plans been realised, the result would have been a Gothic Cath edral with an entrance full of decorative elements to symbolize the power a nd freedom of the once self-governing community of Bologna and therefore ac ceptable to its wealthy conservative citizens. For the popes on the other h and, who resided in their palace opposite the church(Bramante had already t ransformed the palace to mimic the Vatican palaces in Rome) S. Petronio wou ld have fulfilled all their expectations for the largest cathedral in the s econd most important city of the Papal States. The Popes would have celebra ted mass with their dignified Roman standards in a Gothic St. Peter's.