Apse: Quick Facts

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Illustration of a medieval cathedral with a cruciform, or cross-shaped, floor plan, showing labeled sections including nave, aisles, columns, transept, crossing, chancel, main altar, auxiliary altar, and apse.

Pumpkin Apse and Barrel Vaults

Apse of the church of St. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, second half of the 6th century.

Figure 19: Interior of the church at St. Luke's Monastery looking toward the apse, near Delphi, Greece, c. 1050.

Charles Méryon: The Apse of Notre Dame

Apse, basilica of S. Vitale, Ravenna, 526–547

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westwork Church Pulpit Crypt Nave Altarpiece Rood screen Baptistery iconostasis Ambo Choir Transept

Woman reading while perched on the edge of a blown-up stack of books.

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Hagia Sophia. Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople. Church of the Holy Wisdom. Church of the Divine Wisdom. Mosque.

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