Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/466

 408 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. 3. EXAMPLES. NORTH ITALY. Milan Cathedral (a.d. 1385-1418) (Nos. 175, 176 a, b. c, 177), erected by the first Duke of Milan, is the most important work of this period, and there is a marked German influence, both in character and details. It is the largest mediaeval cathedral, with the exception of Seville, and is built entirely of white marble. The roof is very flat in pitch, being constructed of massive marble slabs, laid upon the upper surface of the vaulting. In plan it consists of a nave with a very small clerestory, and double aisles of extreme height, the nave terminating with a circlet of columns in the French manner, but inclosed in a German polygonal apse. To the Ambrosian ritual is due the absence of side-chapels in the original scheme. At the crossing of the nave and aisles is a vault crowned with a marble spire, designed by Brunelleschi in a.d. 1440. The feature of the interior is the range of immense shafts to the nave (No. 177), whose summits are treated with canopied niches, filled with statues, in the place of the ordinary capitals. Externally, the character of the whole design is expressive of richness and lace- like intricacy, which is aided in effect by the numerous pinnacles of glittering marble (No. 175). " O Milan, O, the chanting quires ; The giant windows' blazn'd fires ; The height, the space, the gloom, the glory ! A mount of marble, a hundred spires." — Tennyson. S. Petronio, Bologna, commenced in 1390, in emulation of Florence Cathedral, would, if completed, have been one of the largest churches of this period. It was to have consisted of a nave and aisles and outer chapels on either side, and resembled in section the Cathedral of Milan (No, 176 b, c). Many archi- tects, including Palladio, have produced designs for the unfinished west front. The Certosa, Pavia, commenced in 1396, having a central lantern in stages, crowning an internal dome, and the great Hospital, Milan, where terra-cotta was largely used, exemplify the influence of brick and terra-cotta on the architecture of the district. The churches and palaces at Bologna, Vicenza, Padua, Verona, Cremona, and Genoa contain specimens of brick architecture with pleasing moulded details. S. Antonio, Padua (i 237-1 307) is a remarkable design, closely resembling S. Mark in plan (page 208), but with seven domes instead of five, and the front porch omitted. The domes were added in 1475.