Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/361

Rh Bk. VIII. C,H. III. COMO CATHEDRAL. 345 seen how like it is to that of Chiaravalle in outline. It is less tall, however,^ and if translated into the details of the great church at Florencd, would fit perfectly on the basement there prepared for such a feature. Like many other churches in Northern Italy, the principal parts of the Certosa are built in brick, and the ornamental details executed in terra cotta. Some of the latter, especially in the cloisters, are as beautiful as any executed in stone in any part of Italy during the Middle Ages ; and their perfect preservation shows how suitable is the material for such purposes. It may not be approj^riate for large details or monumental purposes, but for the minor -parts and smaller details, when used as the Italians, in the Middle Ages used it, terra- cotta is as legitimate as any material anywhere used for building purposes ; and in situations like the alluvial plains of the Po, where stone is with difficulty obtainable, its employment was not only judicious but most fortunate in itsi'esults. It would be a tedious and unprofitable task to attempt to particu- larize all the chui'ches which were erected in this style in Italy, as hardly one of them possesses a single title to admiration beyond the very vulgar one of size. To this Santa Croce, at Florence, adds its association with the great men who lie buried beneath it, and Sta, Maria Novella can plead the circumstance — exceptional in that city — of possessing a facade ;i but neither of these has anything to redeem its innate ugliness in the eyes of an architect. There are two great churches of this period at Venice, the San Giovanni e Paolo (1246-1420), and the Frari (1250) ; they are large and richly ornamented fabrics, but are both entirely destitute of architectural merit. A much more beautiful building is the cathedral at Como, the details of which are so elegant and so unobtrusively usecV'as in great measure to make up for the bad arrangement and awkward form of the wdiole. In design it is, however, inferior to that of the Duomo at Ferrara (Woodcut No. 774). The latter does not display the richness of the fajades of Siena or Orvieto, nor the elegance of that last named ; but among the few Italian fagades which exist, it stands pre-eminent for sober pi'opriety of design and the good proportions of all its parts. The repose caused by the solidity of the lower por- tions, and the gradual increase of ornament and lightness as we as- cend, all combine to render it harmonious and 2:)leasing. It is true it wants the aspiring character and bold relief of Northern fa9ades ; but these do not belong to the style, and it must suffice if we meet in this style with a moderate amount of variety, undisturbed by any very prominent instances of bad taste. ' Within the last few years a facade j which the less said the better. It is has been added to Sta. Croce, but about | wretched in design.