The basilica, which has a long axis that focuses attention on the altar, has been the most popular type of church plan. The other common plan is the central plan, usually based either on a circle (as ...The basilica, which has a long axis that focuses attention on the altar, has been the most popular type of church plan. The other common plan is the central plan, usually based either on a circle (as here in the Tempietto), or on a Greek cross (a cross with equal arms). For some thinkers in Antiquity and the Renaissance, the universe itself was constructed in the form of concentric circles with the sun, moon and stars moving in circular orbits around the earth.
