In late September we took a two-week trip to the northern half of Italy. Needless to say, we saw more churches that you can shake a stick at. In Italy, one can't go very far without running into a church. I was less interested in the church interiors than in the many ways that stone was used as ornamentation on the facades of the buildings. The church that amazed me the most was the Duomo (cathedral) in Milan, shown above and in the following two photos below. I was so glad that our entry ticket included a visit to the top of the cathedral, where we were able to walk on the roof all the way around the building. The amount of decorative detail and number of statues is overwhelming. No wonder it took about 600 years to complete.
Another famous Duomo that we visited was the one in Florence, shown in the following two photos. The photos don't really do justice to the colors of the facade, which are not painted on but are due to the different colors of marble that were used. So much intricate detail carved into the stone - so many statues. . . . The famous dome was engineered by Philippo Brunelleschi. This cathedral took less than 150 years to complete.
The church in the three images below is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Matricolare in fair Verona. One could say that it's rather plain in comparison to the two duomos in the previous photos. However, beautiful detail has been incorporated where it really matters: at the entries and capping off the roofs. The sides of the cathedral have less sculptural ornamentation but are still decorated with alternating stripes of stone.
The Basilica of Saint Anastasia, in the one photo below, is also located in Verona. However most of its facade shows off the sculptural quality of brick rather than stone.
I'm fascinated by all of the different textures and patterns that were created with only minimal use of color in the facade of the Duomo of Siena, below. The striped tower on the right looks like it belongs to a different building but is nonetheless beautiful to look at.
Last is the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Monterosso Al Mare, one of the five towns of the Cinque Terre. Although it is a relatively modest church, I still find its striped facade, gothic entry and simple rose window to be striking.
RSS Feed
