St Nicholas [serial] . ne in the market-place, the pride ofsome noble family. Most of the towersof Italy were builtduring the MiddleAges, that is, fromfour to twelve centuriesago. Almost all are square, though some have six or eight sides,and a few are circular like those connectedwith the two churches of San Apollinare inside and outside the city of Ravenna. The earliestare without ornament, and built of stone orbrick; they are heavy and massive, and haveeither very few windows or the walls aremerely pierced with small loop-holes throughwhich little light can enter. At a later timethe windows
St Nicholas [serial] . ne in the market-place, the pride ofsome noble family. Most of the towersof Italy were builtduring the MiddleAges, that is, fromfour to twelve centuriesago. Almost all are square, though some have six or eight sides,and a few are circular like those connectedwith the two churches of San Apollinare inside and outside the city of Ravenna. The earliestare without ornament, and built of stone orbrick; they are heavy and massive, and haveeither very few windows or the walls aremerely pierced with small loop-holes throughwhich little light can enter. At a later timethe windows became larger, especially in theupper story, or belfry stage, and were gen-erally arched and decorated with moldingsand colonnettes — that is, small columns. Thebody of the tower was also ornamented withfalse arcades composed of flat pilasters andarches placed on the outer surface of the stone-work. Afterward many changes were intro-duced in the construction and finish of thetower: the number and size of the windows. PALAZZO VECCHIO, FLORENCE. were increased, so that instead of being in onlythe two upper stories, they filled the sides fromtop to bottom; many ornaments were used and 496 THE BELL-TOWERS OF ITALY. [April, sculptures and even mosaic-work and elaboratestone-carving decorated the surface. Let us first make a tour together among thechurch campanili of Italy, and glance at someof the most famous. We may begin withVenice, the Queen of the Adriatic. Thetraveler glides noiselessly through the cool,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidstnicholasserial251dodg
