medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Tuesday, January 4, 2005, at 9:27 am, chris crockett wrote:
> you left out
>
> [ http://dlritaly.home.comcast.net/June03/slides/65460016.html ]
>
> complete with graffiti.
It seemed likely enough that this would be discovered by anyone clicking
on the slide-show thumbnails. But in the course of dealing with an
erratic Internet connection I did accidentally omit a couple of other
examples of "gothic" domestic architecture from Verona very similar to
what's shown here (though without the nice balcony).
> many of the examples of Italian "Gothic" you so kindly offer
> demonstrate --to
> all who might have eyes to see-- that the "style" frequently
> (usually?) took
> quite radically different forms there than it did in its own
> _patrie_,
"frequently", yes. "usually", perhaps. This depends in large measure
on one's construction of "quite radically different". One big
difference is the frequent preference for barn-like churches somewhat
broader and squatter than the familiar French examples. These are often
hall churches and seem to have been favored by the mendicant orders.
most
> often, it would seem, unable to fully overcome the entrenched
> traditions of
> Italy's "romanesque" and/or Byzantine past.
Or, at least, unwilling to let these go. Though in this offering from
the Venetian terraferma I privileged combined or transitional structures
often lumped together under the term "romanico-gotico". Additionally,
there are regional differences to consider: greater French influence in
the Val d'Aosta and in Piedmont and again in Naples and other parts of
the Angevin-ruled mostly mainland kingdom of Sicily leads to forms that
are less "romanesque" in esthetic.
Another instance of this unwillingness to abandon beloved forms can be
seen in Italian "gothic" polyptych frames, very many of which still
prominently feature the rounded arch. E.g.,
http://www.museionline.it/percorsi/marche/crivelli/CRIVELLESCHI/PARTICOLARI/VITTORE%20CRIVELLI/20/02003001GR.htm
TinyURL for this: http://tinyurl.com/6cs8r
or these:
http://www.smseveri.ar.it/Home%20page%20archivio/la%20pieve/lorenzetti-pieve.jpg
http://www.comune.osimo.an.it/museo/images/pietro-polittico.jpg
Yet Italians were clearly able to use more pointed forms too:
http://www.promonza.monza.net/images/polittico.jpg
http://www.bibliotecazugliano.it/album/album10.htm
Whereas Italian "Renaissance" polyptych frames abandon these for the
Roman round arch and rectangular panel (two familiar forms that Italians
seem often to have preferred):
http://www.webitalianet.com/fotografie/foto%20piemonte/foto_novara/s.gaudenzio%20g.ferrari-polittico.jpg
http://digilander.libero.it/pignaonline/Polittico.jpg
Returning now to Padova
> eg., there is really nothing whatever "Gothic" about the exterior
> of this
> building
>
> http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/gfx/visita/basi01.jpg
>
> save for some of the more or less "ornamental" details which your
> other views
> of it showed.
>
> it appears to be thoroughly "Romano-Byzantine", with a touch of
> Muslim (those
> minarets!!) thrown in for good measure, heywhynot.
That particular shot was chosen for just this purpose: to show the
stylistically mixed nature of Sant'Antonio as a whole, before going on
to its "gothic" features, either in the other views I linked to or in
the ones on its very own page that people could be expected to scroll
down to on their own. Additionally, I thought some might be interested
in the buttresses (since to some the "flying" versions of these are
apparently part of the very definition of "gothic").
> yet, the interior
>
> http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/gfx/visita/int11.jpg
>
> http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/gfx/visita/panor.jpg
>
> http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/gfx/visita/ben.jpg
>
> is acceptably "Gothic", save for that curious reluctance amongst the
> Eyetalians to exploit the structural possibilities of the style to
> open up
> their walls to the light
>
> http://www.basilicadelsanto.org/gfx/visita/pre.jpg
>
> for whatever reasons we've mentioned before --or others which might
> be closer
> to the Truth.
Indeed.
Best,
John Dillon
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