Hagia Sophia

    Hagia Sophia was built in the amazingly short time of five years.  The daring of the design, and perhaps the speed of the construction, made the structure unstable. Its first dome fell after an earthquake, and its replacement (in 563, with a higher profile than the original) had to be repaired after partial collapses in the ninth and fourteenth centuries.

    The choice of plan was decided and imposed by Justinian himself. Santa Sophia does not have the basilical plan generally adopted for large buildings, but is on the centralized pattern. The architectural form of Santa Sophia is concealed by the richness of decoration. The walls, from the ground up, are covered in identical manner. Plaques of red, yellow and green marble blend with the mosaics, and these are further embellished by the capitals, imposts, architraves and friezes.