Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/299

 ITALIAN (south) ROMANESQUE. 24I Roger de Hauteville, conquered the island, and a descendant of the latter was crowned at Palermo, 1 130. During this period Sicily prospered, and her fleet defeated the Arabs and Greeks, but civil wars as to the right of succession led to the island passing in 1268 to Louis of Anjou. 2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER. The change from the Byzantine to the Mahometan dominion, and from the latter to the Norman in the eleventh century is traceable. Byzantine influence is shown in the plans of certain churches, as in the Church of the Martorana at Palermo, where a square space is covered by a dome supported on four free- standing columns. Mahometan influence is evident, particularly in the decorative parts of churches, as mentioned above. Architecture developed considerably under the Norman rule by the erection of cathedrals, and a school of mosaic was maintained in the Royal Palace during this period. The churches have either wooden roofs, or a Byzantine dome, but are hardly ever vaulted. Dark and light stone was used in courses externally, and rich mosaics and colored marbles were employed as a facing internally. The architectural features of the interiors, of which Monreale Cathedral (No. 97) has typical examples, were subordinate to the mosaic decorations which clothe the walls. 3. EXAMPLES. Monreale Cathedral (begun 11 74, No. 97), on the high ground to the south-west of Palermo, illustrates mixed Byzantine and Mahometan influences. In plan it resembles a Roman basilica, with apses at the eastern end of nave and aisles, the choir being raised above the nave. The nave columns have well carved capitals of Byzantine form, supporting pointed arches, which are square in section, and not in recessed planes as in northern work. Pointed windows without tracery occur in the aisles. The walls are ornamented with mosaics in color, representing scenes from biblical history, surrounded by arabesque borders. A dado, about 12 feet high, of slabs of white marble, is bordered by inlaid patterns in colored porphyries. The open timber roofs, intricate in design, are decorated in color in the Mahometan style. The interior is solemn and grand, the decoration being marked by severity, and by great richness in the material employed. The low, oblong, crowning lantern, the early bronze doors, and rich cloisters, are notable. The Capella Palatina, Palermo (i 132) (in the Royal Palace),