Editing St Paul's Cathedral (section)

====West front====
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For the Renaissance architect designing the west front of a large church or cathedral, the universal problem was how to use a facade to unite the high central nave with the lower aisles in a visually harmonious whole. Since [[Leon Battista Alberti|Alberti]]'s additions to [[Santa Maria Novella]] in Florence, this was usually achieved by the simple expedient of linking the sides to the centre with large brackets. This is the solution that Wren saw employed by Mansart at Val-de-Grâce. Another feature employed by Mansart was a boldly projecting Classical portico with paired columns. Wren faced the additional challenge of incorporating towers into the design, as had been planned at St Peter's Basilica. At St Peter's, [[Carlo Maderno]] had solved this problem by constructing a [[narthex]] and stretching a huge screen facade across it, differentiated at the centre by a pediment. The towers at St Peter's were not built above the parapet.

Wren's solution was to employ a Classical portico, as at Val-de-Grâce, but rising through two storeys and supported on paired columns. The remarkable feature here is that the lower story of this portico extends to the full width of the aisles, while the upper section defines the nave behind it. The gaps between the upper stage of the portico and the towers on either side are bridged by a narrow section of wall with an arch-topped window.

The towers stand outside the width of the aisles but screen two chapels located immediately behind them. The lower parts of the towers continue the theme of the outer walls but are differentiated from them to create an appearance of strength. The windows of the lower story are smaller than those of the side walls and are deeply recessed, a visual indication of the thickness of the wall. The paired pilasters at each corner project boldly.

Above the main [[cornice]], which unites the towers with the portico and the outer walls, the details are boldly scaled in order to read well from the street below and from a distance. The towers rise above the cornice from a square block plinth, which is plain apart from large oculi, that on the south being filled by the clock, while that on the north is void. The towers are composed of two complementary elements, a central cylinder rising through the tiers in a series of stacked drums, and paired [[Corinthian columns]] at the corners, with [[buttress]]es above them, which serve to unify the drum shape with the square plinth on which it stands. The entablature above the columns breaks forward over them to express both elements, tying them together in a single horizontal band. The cap, an ogee-shaped dome, supports a gilded finial in the form of a pineapple.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stpauls.co.uk/6-western-towers-c-1685-1710 |title=6. The western towers, c.1685–1710 – St Paul's Cathedral |website=Stpauls.co.uk |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901195631/https://www.stpauls.co.uk/history-collections/the-collections/architectural-archive/wren-office-drawings/6-the-western-towers-c16851710 |archive-date=1 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The transepts each have a semi-circular entrance portico. Wren was inspired in the design by studying engravings of [[Pietro da Cortona]]'s Baroque facade of [[Santa Maria della Pace]] in Rome.{{sfn|Leapman|1995}}{{page needed|date=February 2016}} These projecting arcs echo the shape of the apse at the eastern end of the building.

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|image1 = St_Pauls_Cathedral_from_West_-_Feb_2007.jpg
|alt1 =
|caption1 = The west front of St Paul's Cathedral at night
|image2 = St Pauls Cathedral West Front.jpg
|alt2 =
|caption2 = West front from the street, between encroaching buildings
|image3 = St Paul's Cathedral, London, England - Jan 2010 edit.jpg
|alt3 =
|caption3 = St Paul's from the southeast, with the tower of the destroyed Church of [[St Augustine Watling Street|St Augustine, Watling Street]] to the right
}}