Architecture in Italy, from the sixth to the eleventh century; historical and critical researches . e. One is that thewindows, Avhich had before l>eenmade large, begin in this churchof Alliate to become more narro^\, Fig. 130.—Esteinal Willi of the eiiief and finish in its baptistery byApsis of ,S81. resembling true loop-holes. The other is that they present a double splaying, a natural con-sequence of the narrowing of the window in order to gain a compensation in light for the in-terior. Now, the very narrowwindows with the doul)le ol)li(piitywere, dating from this epoch, oneo
Architecture in Italy, from the sixth to the eleventh century; historical and critical researches . e. One is that thewindows, Avhich had before l>eenmade large, begin in this churchof Alliate to become more narro^\, Fig. 130.—Esteinal Willi of the eiiief and finish in its baptistery byApsis of ,S81. resembling true loop-holes. The other is that they present a double splaying, a natural con-sequence of the narrowing of the window in order to gain a compensation in light for the in-terior. Now, the very narrowwindows with the doul)le ol)li(piitywere, dating from this epoch, oneof the most marked characteristicsof Lombard architecture. Archa--ologists have put themselves tomu(di trouble to discover themotive which could have inducedthe constructors of churches fromthe tenth to the twelfth centuryto al)andon large and luminouswindows for these miserable holes,avaricious of the daylight andworthy of a prison. Some have sought in it the intention torender the place a little sombre for the sojourner, and thus togive it a certain air of meditation and nnsterx. Others have. Fig. 131 External Wall of tlie Bap-tisteiT of Alliate—.\.D. 881. 2 6o sought a reason in tlie foresight ^^hich built the church so that,in case of war, it couhl be converted into a fortress capable ofresisting the attacks of the enemy. In such a contingencythere would be no need of large and dangerous A\indows, butmerely of true and useful loopholes. Finally, others havefound a reason in the fear to prejudice the real solidity of theedifice by too large openings. This last conjecture is fashionable to-day, but, to my mind,it lacks reasonableness as much as the second; for it does notappear logical to believe that such fears had begun to manifestthemselves at the moment Avhen the constructors abandonedthe ancient manner, reputed Aveak, to adopt a very robustsystem, such as that of the Lombard churches with , of the three suppositions, the first appears tome to be the
Size: 1512px × 1653px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectarchitecture, bookyea
