Hagia Sophia

A Byzantine monument with a vast central dome on pendentives, whose uses have changed between cathedral, mosque, museum, and mosque.

Pendentives make it possible to set a circular dome over a square bay.

Light, mosaics, and scale create an image of the heavenly realm.

Its imperial, religious, and urban histories overlap, so each period’s name and use matter.

Byzantine

Architect Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus