Italian Gothic Architecture

• Italy is the home of classical art, abundant in marble stone with a range of white, black, red, pink, and green.
• Italian Gothic is characterized by long, narrow windows with thick walls — as the style did not match with the climate of Italy
• Italian Gothic maintained the use of mosaics and frescoes over the use stained glass windows
• Romanesque / Italian Gothic has thick supporting walls with clear glass windows and thick towers
• 5 no's of Italian Gothic:

  
  

  • External Buttresses
  • Narrow Naves
  • High Towers
  • Large Windows
  • Gargoyles
• Milan Cathedral is the 2nd largest in the world, and the largest in Italy— with more than 50 architects
• Doge's Palace in Venice is a mix of Islamic and Gothic Architecture— "Porta Dela Carta" is the late gothic entrance of the palace
• Ca d' Oro has a lower loggia that overlooks the grand canal — its architects were Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon
• Florence Cathedral has its exterior faced with green and pink marble bordered bordered by a band of white marble
• The Florence Cathedral Baptistery is made in the Florentine Gothic style and has an octagonal plan with an internal dome
• Siena Cathedral is made of sienna red and prato green marbles — it is famous for zebra stripes on its piers and walls
• Orvieto Cathedral has a striped marble face with a mosaic facade — it has basalt and travertine windows with alabaster filling
• S. Croce is the Gothic version of a Basilican church — the Basilica of the Holy Cross. It is the largest Franciscan church with 16 chapels and houses the tombs of Michaelangelo and Galileo — nicknamed the "Temple of the Italian Glories"
• Messina Cathedral is made in the Sicilian-Norman style with an open timber ceiling decorated with colorful Arabic motifs. It is famous for its automated astronomical tower
• Palermo Cathedral was turned into a mosque in the 9th century by the Saracens — it was dedicated to the assumption of the virgin mary
• Development of Italian Gothic:

  • Early Italian Gothic
  • High Italian Gothic
  • Late Italian Gothic
• Basilica de San Antonio Padua is a 7-domed pilgrimage church
• S. Giovanni e Paolo is a Dominican Church in Venice with beautiful brickwork
• S. Andrea, Vercelli is the closest in spirit and form to the French Gothic style — its facade is finished with green-grey stones
• Florence Cathedral's Bell Tower was designed by Giotto, Pisano, and Talenti