CATHEDRALS OF THE OLD AND NEW WORLD 



111 



impression of mysterious solemnity and 

 majestic repose.* 



FRANCE AND ENGLAND JOINTLY RESPON- 

 SIBLE FOR GOTHIC STYLE 



The Gothic style found its most perfect 

 expression in the French cathedrals of 

 the thirteenth century and the English of 

 the fourteenth, the French developing 

 later the luxurious Flamboyant and the 

 English the rigid but stately Perpendic- 

 ular style. 



Although France and England were 

 conjointly the birthplace of Gothic, the 

 new style exercised, as it was bound to 

 do, a profound influence upon church 

 architecture throughout the whole of 

 Christendom, and notably in Italy and 

 Spain. In each country it was modified 

 by the climate, and bore the impress of 

 the historic associations and the artistic 

 tastes of the peoples among whom it was 

 introduced — so much so, indeed, that we 

 have come to speak of Italian and Span- 

 ish Gothic as individual types in cathedral 

 architecture. 



When the fires of persecution died 

 down, and the early Christians of Rome 

 were free to worship as they would, they 

 found in the Roman Basilica or Law 

 Court, with its central nave and side 

 aisles, a building well suited to their sim- 

 ple form of service. To the Roman Ba- 

 silica, therefore, we are indebted for the 

 general plan of the Romanesque churches, 

 of which Italy contains so many fine ex- 

 amples. These are characterized by the 

 use of the round arch for door and win- 

 dow openings, and by the modified classic 

 character of their details. Famous among 

 such churches are St. Paul's Without the 

 Walls at Rome, and the smaller but more 

 beautiful cathedral at Pisa (page 102), 

 whose blind arcades, open galleries, and 

 many-colored marbles render its exterior 

 one of the most elegant among the an- 

 cient churches of Italy. The oriental in- 

 fluence upon early Italian church archi- 



* In a subsequent issue The Geographic 

 hopes to present a detailed description of the 

 National Shrine of the Immaculate Concep- 

 tion, another majestic religious edifice de- 

 signed for the National Capital, the corner- 

 stone of which was laid on the grounds of the 

 Catholic University, September 20, 1920, and 

 which, it is anticipated, will be completed 

 within 30 years. 



tecture is seen in the use of the domical 

 roof, as in St. Mark's at Venice (page 

 107), whose five domes and general treat- 

 ment are suggestive of the Christian 

 churches of the Byzantine Empire. 



In spite of the natural preference of 

 the Italians for the classic forms, to 

 which they were drawn by the ties of a 

 proud tradition, it was inevitable that the 

 splendors of the new Gothic style would 

 appeal to the artistic feeling and stimulate 

 the rivalry of Italian architects. But in 

 making use of the new style, they left 

 upon it the deep imprint of their own tra- 

 ditions and tastes. Their genius for paint- 

 ing, carving, and sculpture led them to de- 

 pend as much upon these arts as upon 

 architecture for effect. 



Partiality for the classic forms, more- 

 over, caused them to include these, in 

 modified form, not only in the details but 

 sometimes, as in Milan Cathedral (pages 

 103, 104, and 105), as a main feature of 

 the church itself ; for here we have a 

 Gothic church with a Gothic-Renaissance 

 facade. 



MILAN CATHEDRAL BUILT OE MARBLE 



Milan has the distinction of being the 

 third largest church in Christendom, a 

 position which it will ultimately yield to 

 the Church of St. John the Divine, at 

 New York. Its nave is of vast propor- 

 tions, being 60 feet wide and 150 feet 

 from the floor to the apex of its vault. 

 Milan has the distinction, moreover, of 

 being built entirely of marble, and it is 

 thoroughly Italian in the superabundance 

 of its carving and sculptural adornment. 



The Italian architects never seem to 

 have been quite at home when working 

 in the Gothic style ; and when Pope Nich- 

 olas called for the erection of a church, 

 upon the banks of the Tiber, that should 

 transcend in size and magnificence the 

 temples of all lands and of every age, the 

 master architects of the day returned to 

 their first love, and, working in the forms 

 and using the orders of ancient Rome, 

 they built the great Renaissance Church 

 of St. Peter. So vast is this structure 

 that it stands in a class by itself. With a 

 total length of over 700 feet, it covers a 

 ground area of 230,000 square feet. Next 

 to it in size is the Spanish Gothic cathe- 

 dral at Seville, with an area of 128,570 



