IT A

43

IT A

fifteenth century, as is evident in many of the windows,some of which have the intrados of their archivolts semi-e *rcular, while the extrados is carried up in a pointed arch ;others again are composed of two lights with semicircularheads, both enclosed within a larger semicircular arch, andfhe lights divided by a central column. The apertures onthe ground-floor are usually square and unimportant, and then aked of the wall of this and the other stories most frequentlyRusticated, a mode of decoration very much in vogue. Thefacades are usually continued in an unbroken line, and therels little diversity in plan. A bold cornice runs round the8 Unimit of the edifice, which is proportioned to the entirebuilding, although smaller cornices frequently intervenebetween every two stories. A very important distinctionbetween this and the other two classes of Italian architec-ture, is evidenced in the absence of columns from the exter-® a l facades.

The court in the interior presents often a very differentAspect from that of the exterior ; indeed, the external distri-bution scarcely ever indicates that of the interior, whichScnerally consists of a colonnaded or arcaded quadrangle.

“ The buildings of Florence,” says a French author,a Ppear to be not the work of ordinary men ; we enterthem with respect, expecting to find them inhabited by beingsa nature superior to ours. Whether the eye is arrestedby monuments of the age of Cosmo de Medici, or of the'Ules which preceded or followed it, all in this imposing cityCar ries the imprint of grandeur and majesty. FrequentSolutions obliged the chiefs of parties to consider their per-?? n al safety along with the magnificence of their dwellings,h^ternally, they are examples of the skilful union of grace''f'th simplicity and massiveness, internally models of exqui-8lte taste. After Rome, Florence is the most interesting city ; 0 every artist.”

Brunelleschi may be said to have been the founder of this^e, and he was succeeded by Alberti, RafFaelle, Sanzio,pUimanati, and others ; the style dating from A. D. 1400 tobOo. Some of the finest examples are the cathedral, the1 places Strozzi, Pitti, Medici, Riccardi, Vecchio, Podesta,jbd the churches of SS. Michele, Maddelina, Pancrazio,°Renzo, and Spirito.

„ -Descriptions of a few of the above edifices may not beut of place.

j The Cathedral of S. Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo, as ittermed, was the first building in which the Italian features® l 'e introduced; several of the peculiarities of the old style■ l t* remaining, so as to give to the edifice a kind of transition-. uracter between the Gothic and Italian , of which it is a‘Rture. The edifice was commenced, A.D., 1298, by Arnolfo,not entirely completed by Brunelleschi , who constructed

dome. The plan is that of a Latin cross, the lengthUsuring 520 feet, and the width across the transeptfeet. The nave is divided into three aisles by arcades

' Utei

®l3

j^dng on piers, decorated with Corinthian pilasters, thej?'"ht of the central avenue being 153 feet, and that of the, 8 8 , s > properly so termed, 96£ feet. The space at the inter-| in 61 '? 11 of the arms of the cross is octagonal, being 140 feet, 8( , ' v 'dth, and the terminations of the choir and transepts areI O j. ll| i-octugonal, covered with semi-cupolas. Above the toprise 86 uupoDs, at the intersection of the nave and transepts,

a J? 8 a u octagonal drum, with a circular window on each side,u terminated at the top by a horizontal cornice, from whichOn ln ®? Bie octagonal dome. Above this again is a lantern,

; ^ ,' v bich rests an octangular pyramid, surmounted by a ballj j s b cr° SS- qq le (j runl rests on four massive piers, its height■ i s feet, and the thickness of its wall 16 feet. The domej °uble, consisting of two shells one within the other, with

an interval of 5 feet between: the thickness of the outershell being 4 feet 3 inches at the lower extremity, and 1.0 footat the vertex; and of the inner one, 5 feet 6 inches atbottom, and 2 feet 1 inch at vertex. The span of the domeis 140 feet, the radius of internal curvature, 120 feet; heightfrom drum to lantern, 116 feet; from ground to cupola,280 feet ; height of lantern, 45 feet; diameter, 24 feet.

The arcade in the nave consists of pointed arches, eachsegment being described with a radius equal to two-thirds ofthe span. From the top of the piers, or rather of the pilasterswhich adorn them, rises a second order, to support the ribsof a pointed vault. The aisle-windows are of two lights,divided by a central column, and having trefoil heads to eachlight, both of which are included under a larger pointed arch:on the exterior they are crowned by a rectilinear pediment,with a pinnacle at either end. The upper windows arecircular. The external wall is almost entirely encased incoloured marbles, and is ornamented with pilasters, whichat the eastern extremity are connected by semicirculararches.

Attached to the cathedral is a separate campanile, erectedby Giotto and Taddeo Gaddi , a.d., 1334, which consists offive stories, ornamented on the exterior with pilasters, likethe cathedral. The three lowermost stories have narrowrectangular windows, the fourth two tiers of pointed windows,of two lights each, divided by a twisted pillar, and havingtrefoil heads, and the uppermost one wide pointed windowof three lights. At the summit is a gallery supported onbrackets.

The Pitti palace was designed and partially erected byBrunelleschi , at the close of the fourteenth century. Themain body or central portion of the building, is in plan aparallelogram, with a wing projecting at right angles at eachextremity ; behind the centre is a small cortile. In eleva-tion, the edifice consists of three stories of equal height, eachstory being somewhat less in frontage than the one below it,so as to give to the whole the appearance of a pyramid, whichappearance would have been increased, had the originaldesign been carried out, in which a fourth story was con-templated. Each of the stories is of rustic masonry, andcrowned by a cornice supporting a gallery with balustradein front. The windows are placed one above another, andnumber alike, except in the lower story, where there is onlyone window under each alternate one above. They aresemicircular-headed apertures, and have the voussoirs groovedat the joints. The elevations of the cortile consist of threeorders, one to each story ; the lowermost of which is Tuscan,with shafts fluted horizontally. The second order is Ionic,with square blocks ranged at intervals up the shaft, andbetween the columns are semicircular-headed recesses, con-taining windows, which have architraves and pilasters on thejambs, and are crowned by pediments ; underneath eachwindow is a projecting table, supported by two corbels placedunder the architrave. The uppermost order is Corinthian ,also with square blocks on the shafts, and between thecolumns are recesses with horizontal lintels, formed byvoussoirs; within which again is another semicircular-headed recess, and windows crowned by a curvilinearpediment.

The Palazzo Strozzi is of rusticated masonry through-out the entire facade, in horizontal and vertical channels.The building consists of three stories ; in the centre ofthe lowest is a doorway, with semicircular head flankedon each side by three windows having square heads. Thewindows in the upper story consist of two lights sepa-rated by a column, and having half - columns in thejambs. Both the lights have semicircular heads, and are

-J