ARCHITECTURE

IT is difficult to separate the study of the development of art among a people, from their political and social history, for in attempting to do so one would fail to grasp the significance of the successive evolutions, as may be clearly seen by simply comparing the historical facts and social events with the outward form of some monument, which is the expression of a particular society or period.

Having thus given a rapid glance at the transformations of art in Etruria, so as to see what were the antecedents of Tuscany, we have now reached the dawn of Gothic art (improperly so called), remarkable for the unanimity with which all the workers are obedient to the dictates of a master spirit who himself remains anonymous for us, inspired by the one thought of glorifying Him in whose honor the temple is built.

We are upon the eve of the desperate struggle which rent Italy for nearly two centuries; upon the one hand the Pope, and upon the other the Emperor, each regarding the Peninsula as his domain, and each representing an opposite principle. During this continuous conflict civil and military architecture came into existence, their respective forms revealing in a striking manner the troublous circumstances out of which they were evolved.

The most ancient monuments of Florence those which are characteristic of the thirteenth century, and retain a certain unity, despite the modifications which time has effected are the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the churches of Santa Croce and Santa Maria del Fiore, the Bargello, and the Palazzo Vecchio.

Though Tuscany gave the signal for the movement which brought about the regeneration of art, the first important work was carried out, not at Florence itself, but at Pisa, where the Duomo, erected by Buschetto, though composed in part from antique fragments of the most various kinds, none the less revealed, in its conception and shape, new tendencies and aspirations.

It is worthy of remark that Italy at no time became wholly subservient to the taste for Gothic architecture. With the examples and recollections of ancient art before her eyes, she adhered to the rules which the architects of an earlier age had laid down, and looked upon the Gothic system as one of parasitic ornamentation which had been grafted on to the main body of her own architecture.

It has been remarked with truth that the cathedral of Milan and the upper church of St. Francis of Assisi the only strictly Gothic churches in Italy were built by Germans. Neither those of Siena, Arezzo, and Orvieto, nor any of the Florentine churches can, near as they may come to it, be spoken of as Gothic, so many are the differences in design and shape. In the order of civil architecture the granting of the municipal franchise and the communal power brought about a new style, of which Florence possesses one of the most remarkable specimens.

But before considering this point, some reference must be made to the basilica of San Miniato.

THE BASILICA OF SAN MINIATO

The basilica of San Miniato, one of the most venerable monuments in Florence, embedded in the fortress built by San Marino, is of great architectural interest, besides being an ornament to the city of Florence, of which a splendid view may be had from the heights of Miniato al Monte, the ancient "King's Mountain, which legend says derived its name from an Armenian prince.

There was formerly an oratory dedicated to St. Peter there, built, as is supposed, in the third century of our era, and this oratory having fallen into ruins in the year 1013, the Emperor Henry, Queen Cunegonde who was afterwards canonized and Hildebrand, Bishop of Florence, built the basilica in its present shape. While the building was in progress the body of San Miniato was found at the spot where the Porta Santa, to the left of the facade, now stands. and was interred beneath the high altar.

In Italy, as in other countries, there is always some annex for the dignitaries and staff of a basilica, who form a small colony gathered around the mother establishment. In 1295 Andrea de Mozzi, Bishop of Florence, built as his episcopal residence the large crenellated palace which adjoins the church on the southern side. Ricasoli, the successor of Mozzi in the see, added a vast dormitory, the campanile of which falling down in 1499, was rebuilt in 1518 by Baccio d'Agnola. It was on this side that Michael Angelo, transformed for the nonce into a military engineer, constructed his bastion for the defence of the city, and placed those batteries which finally averted the enemy's fire and saved the tower.

The noble outlines of this basilica recall those of the primitive churches, from which, however, it differs very much in respect to the style of its ornamentation. The system of incrusting the facades of buildings with marbles of different colors, which, next to the massive walls of the Palazzo Vecchio, and the solid substructures of the Strozzi and Riccardi Palaces, is the most salient feature of the Florentine school, had its origin in the necessity of using in building and ornament the materials which lay ready to hand. The neighborhood of Florence is rich in quarries of different colored marbles, so that the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, the proud campanile of Giotto, the Baptistery, Santa Maria Novella, and the facades of the other principal buildings in Florence naturally contain incrustations of variously colored marbles, arranged according to the fancy of each architect. Additions were made to San Miniato in each succeeding century, a sculptor adding a group of statuary and a painter designing some brilliant cartoon; but as all of them were men of genius, the homogeneousness of the great basilica was not impaired.

The interior, in every respect worthy of the exterior, is an admirable type of the ancient Latin basilica with its nave and aisles and three great arches spanning the nave and choir. The altar and chapel of the crucifix are very well-placed for decorative effect between two grand marble staircases leading up to the tribune and choir. This picturesque chapel was built by Michelozzo Michelozzi for Piero de' Medici, who deposited in it a crucifix supposed to be endowed with miraculous power, which is now in the church of Santa Trinita. The most striking feature is the crypt reached by a short flight of stairs, the vaulted roof being borne up by thirty-six marble columns. In the centre of this crypt, now used as a place of burial, is an altar beneath which repose the remains of San Miniato. Reascending the staircase, the attention is caught by the singular arrangement of the bays which light this part of the edifice. The architect, in order to heighten the solemn aspect of this spot, employed for the windows a transparent marble which filters the sun's rays and gives them a golden tinge. The walls of the choir are covered with traces of decoration of a very ancient period, executed, no doubt, by Greeks who were contemporaries of Turrita and Taffi. The beautiful sacristy is of the fourteenth century, and it was constructed by Nerozzo, of the Alberti family, the pictures which it contains representing episodes in the life of St. Francis, being attributed to Spinello Aretino.

The fifteenth century did much for San Aliniato, as it was then that Piero de' Medici erected the chapel of the crucifix, and that Bishop Alvaro dedicated the chapel where are deposited the remains of Jacopo da Portogallo, a cardinal who died in Florence at the early age of nine-and-twenty. The tomb, like the chapel itself, is the work of Bernardo Gamberelli, surnamed Rossellino (see chapter on Sculpture), who arranged with Luca dells Robbia for the ornamentation, and the effect produced by the combination of his marble incrustations with the terra-cottas of the latter is very pleasing. The tomb is the main feature in this chapel, and it may be regarded as only inferior to the two splendid mausoleums of Santa Croce, the heavy looped curtains which fall from the top of the arch on either side of a roundel being the sole defect.

The church of San Miniato is not only remarkable for its architectural beauty, but it lends an additional charm to Florence, the view of it from the banks of the Arno at the extremity of the Cascine being very fine. The contrast between the wooded scenery of the park and the mountain covered with ancient buildings is most striking, and from afar the traveller approaching Florence beholds above the battlements of the episcopal palace the declivities of Monte Miniato sloping gently down towards the town. A wide piazza with terraces, containing among other statues a bronze copy of Michael Angelo's David, is reached by the beautiful Viale den Colli ; and farther on, half hidden in the verdure, is the quiet little church of the "Reformed Franciscans " of San Salvador al Monte, which Michael Angelo called the "Bella Villanella."

Florence is paying dearly now for the days of triumph which lasted so many centuries ; but the aspect of the city, with its domes, its towers, its overshadowing mountains, its rushing river, its Cascine, and its innumerable statues, remains as impressive as ever. A debt of gratitude is due to those who, in attempting to embellish her when she became the capital of New Italy, adhered as closely as possible to the principles of art laid down by the Florentines of the Renaissance, endeavoring, with true artistic sense, to establish a harmony between the natural aspect of Florence and the outlines of its monuments.