Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/297

 ITALIAN (SOUTHERN) ROMANESQUE. 239 admit light to the internal staircase, or sloping way ; the windows increase in number from one in the lowest story to five or more in the uppermost story, which is thus practically an open loggia, and the whole is generally crowned with a pyramidal shaped roof, as is the Campanile of S. Zenone, Verona, which is typical (No. 96). For comparative table of Italian Romanesque, see page 242. SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY. " Therein be neither stones nor sticks, Neither red nor white bricks ; But for cubits five or six, There is most goodly sardonyx, And amber laid in rows." I. INFLUENCES. i. Geographical. — Being situated centrally in the Mediter- ranean sea, and being of triangular form, Sicily presents one side to Greece, another to Italy, and the third to North Africa, and its history is a record of the successive influences of the powers to whom these countries belonged. ii. Geological. — The deposits of sulphur contributed to the wealth and prosperity of the island, while the mountains afforded an abundant supply of a calcareous and shelly limestone, which influenced its architectural character. iii. Climate. — The climate of South Italy and Sicily is almost sub-tropical, for palms grow in the open air, and there are cele- brated orange and lemon groves near Palermo. On the south- eastern coast of Italy the towns have the general characteristics of Oriental cities, the buildings having flat roofs and other Eastern features. iv. Religion. — In Sicily, owing to Mahometan influence, the fa9ades were ornamented with intricate geometrical patterns, which were invented because the Mahometan religion forbade the representation of the human figure (page 654). V. Social and Political. — The Mahometans introduced into Sicily valuable commercial products, such as grain and cotton. Their civilization was, however, considerably aided by the previous Byzantine influences. Southern Italy has always maintained a close connection with Sicily, and has yet to be fully explored for traces of its architectural development. vi. Historical. — In a.d. 827 the Mahometans landed in Sicily, and gradually overran the whole island, and the latter part of the tenth century was the most prosperous period of their sway. Sanguinary struggles amongst certain sects led to the insurrec- tion of several cities, and hastened the downfall of the Mahometan dynasty. From 1061-1090 the Normans, under Robert and