DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.51509#0164
128 THE STORY OF ARCHITECTURE
the leaning tower (a.d. 1174)—form one of the
most interesting architectural groups in Italy,
(pl. xiii., p. in).
The Tuscan designs are lighter and more
elegant than those of the northern cities.
Timber ceilings were adhered to, in connection
with the basilican forms, permitting the use of
columns instead of piers for the interior nave-
and-aisle divisions. The faqades were almost
entirely covered with a lavish arrangement of
wall-arcades and galleries, as seen in the Pisan
buildings ; or they were divided into panels of
dark and white marbles, as at S. Miniato in
Florence. The arcading was highly decorative,
the tendency to become monotonous being in
most instances averted by skilful and varied
treatment of the different tiers. The tower at
Pisa forms an exception, for the constant
repetition of bands of arcades of almost equal
height, from the base to the summit, destroys
the interest of the building as an architectural
design, and almost justifies Ruskin’s description of
it as “ the one thoroughly ugly tower in Italy.”
Tuscan-Romanesque was much influenced by
the Byzantine methods of building and of
decoration, for Pisa was a port maintaining
an extensive trade with Byzantium. This fact
probably accounts for the use of the marble
panelling, which became characteristic of
Florentine architecture, and influenced that of
the later Gothic period.
Lucca and Pistoja, neighbours of Florence,
have good examples of the Pisan style ; and
the leaning tower (a.d. 1174)—form one of the
most interesting architectural groups in Italy,
(pl. xiii., p. in).
The Tuscan designs are lighter and more
elegant than those of the northern cities.
Timber ceilings were adhered to, in connection
with the basilican forms, permitting the use of
columns instead of piers for the interior nave-
and-aisle divisions. The faqades were almost
entirely covered with a lavish arrangement of
wall-arcades and galleries, as seen in the Pisan
buildings ; or they were divided into panels of
dark and white marbles, as at S. Miniato in
Florence. The arcading was highly decorative,
the tendency to become monotonous being in
most instances averted by skilful and varied
treatment of the different tiers. The tower at
Pisa forms an exception, for the constant
repetition of bands of arcades of almost equal
height, from the base to the summit, destroys
the interest of the building as an architectural
design, and almost justifies Ruskin’s description of
it as “ the one thoroughly ugly tower in Italy.”
Tuscan-Romanesque was much influenced by
the Byzantine methods of building and of
decoration, for Pisa was a port maintaining
an extensive trade with Byzantium. This fact
probably accounts for the use of the marble
panelling, which became characteristic of
Florentine architecture, and influenced that of
the later Gothic period.
Lucca and Pistoja, neighbours of Florence,
have good examples of the Pisan style ; and