Identifier: historyofarchit01cumm (find matches)
Title: A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Cummings, Charles Amos, 1833-1905
Subjects: Architecture
Publisher: Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin and company
Contributing Library: PIMS - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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de, or west front, is generally of the simplestoutline, — a high-shouldered unbroken wall, terminating in a singlebroad gable covering the whole breadth of nave and aisles. Evenwhen the roof itself is broken by a clerestory, the facade commonlytakes no note of it, and that portion of the walls which closes theaisles rises far above their roofs. But the division of the interior isindicated on the fagade, which is generally divided vertically intothree compartments either by engaged shafts or by flat pilaster strips,.or by a combination of both, rising from the ground to the eavescornice. In most examples an arched doorway occupies the lowerportion of each compartment, with two or three ranges of windowsabove, sometimes in the form of broad arched openings ; oftenersmall and coupled, with dividing mullions in the form of columns 126 ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY with base and capital. In San Anibrogio (Fig. 78) this type offront is widely varied from, because the front is covered in its whole
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Fig. 7S. S. Ambrog-io, Atrium and Facade. breadth and height by a narthex with two stories of broad openarches, of which the lower story makes the fourth side of a nobleatrium, — the only remaining example of that feature among theearly Lombard churches. But even in S. Ambrogio we have thesimple unbroken outline, the five com))artments marked by pilasterstrips in the lower story and slender engaged shafts above, and thearched corbel-table following the rake of the cornice. In S. )\Iichcle (Fig. 79), we have a perfect example of the earlys Micheie, Lombard fa(;ade, before the feeling for grace and compo-Pavia. sition had l)egun sensibly to ameliorate its rudeness and formlessness. The three vertical divisions are strongly defined byfour comi)ound piers, which rise from semicircular ))linths at theground level and terminate abruptly at the eaves. Of these piersthe two nearest the centre are comi)osed of three round shafts alter-nating with four square members ; the other two are simi)

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