Part 17
La Martorana, away down in the city, may have been as beautiful, but unfortunately in the year 1590 the nuns of the attached convent ordered most of the precious mosaics to be stripped from the walls, and a hideous choir added when these were demolished. Some few are left on the roof to tell us what a glorious thing this finely proportioned chapel must have been before religious zeal got the better of artistic taste. The central apse was likewise taken down a hundred years later, and with it more priceless mosaic destroyed. The inlaid marble on the walls was done away with in the eighteenth century. If anything better could have been found to take the place of the grand mosaics that covered the interior there might have been an excuse for these acts of vandalism but when one sees the hideous stucco and wretched mural paintings of bad design and colour, that have no religious fervour or tendency and nothing whatever to recommend them in any way, one stands aghast at the ignorance and stupidity which in the name of religious expediency destroyed such priceless treasures. Among the little that remains are two curious mosaics wherein King Roger is crowned by Christ, and the High Admiral, who founded the church, is dedicating it to the Virgin. The king is wearing the dalmatic. This he received, together with the mitre, from the Pope, who found it more diplomatic to confer ecclesiastical office upon the Norman king than to oppose him in useless wars.
A little to the south of the Royal Palace, and almost abutting on the old walls of the city, is S. Giovanni degli Eremiti. The beautiful cloistered garden, which is adjacent, forms an illustration to this chapter. The little church is a very early specimen of Norman work on the plan of the letter T with three apses. On its south side is a tiny mosque, incorporated with the building and utilised in the old days as a chapel. The monastery, which existed here in the time of Gregory the Great, had fallen into disuse when the Normans came to Sicily, and King Roger restored the old buildings. The interior now is absolutely bare and the windows unglazed. The Moorish domes give the little church a very eastern appearance, to which the flat members of the rustic stones of the cloister arches in no small measure add. It is a peaceful spot where exotic plants flourish luxuriantly, and vie with all sorts of flowers in wanton growth.
The traveller who has been in Spain will find in the old quarter of Palermo many palaces that will remind him of Seville, Salamanca, and other places in the Iberian peninsula. The tawny colour of the South predominates here, and the two or three courtyards possessed by many of these palaces will add to his reminiscences. This is not so strange as it may seem when one considers that from the year 1282, when Pedro of Aragon was crowned king, to 1713, when Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, ascended the throne, Sicily was under the rule of the Spaniard. The great square block of yellow stone in the Piazza Marina, the Palazzo Chiaramonte, served as the palace of the Spanish Viceroys and headquarters of the Inquisition. Now known as the Palazzo de' Tribunali, it is used as the law courts. The ante-chamber of the court room has a magnificent wooden ceiling. Hunting about in the narrow streets in this quarter one chances on many a piece of architecture and decorative sculpture in the grandiose style of the great days of Spain. One or two good fountains and fine portals add much to the historical charm of a part of the city which is now occupied by humble folk. The church of S. Agostino, difficult to find in the slums, has a remarkable façade with a beautiful wheel window. Delicate white marble pillars radiate from the Paschal Lamb, which is the hub of the wheel, and three rows of tiny but beautifully-carved arches interlace and form the tracery of the window. The chevroned arches of the portal are decorated with acanthus leaves and arabesques. The capitals of the supporting columns are pomegranates, and a flat canopy with dripstone of acanthus leaves, beneath which are almost obliterated frescoes, completes one of the most fascinating relics of bygone days to be found anywhere in Palermo. It is in the old quarters, too, that the life of the _cittadini_ is seen in its most picturesque garb. Fruit shops, full of golden oranges and pale lemons, prickly pears and great citrons, make gay patches of colour in the street vista. Glazed tiles, earthenware, and vividly coloured cotton goods displayed outside the shop fronts or hanging from the walls add to the variety of the scene. Cookshops, with _pizzi_ and _scaglozzi_, and olive oil in the frying pan, excite the olfactory nerves in a pleasanter degree than those in which a particularly strong-flavoured cheese finds ready purchasers. Excellent wine may be drunk at a very small cost at the drinking bars, where a jet of clear water is for ever playing over the marble slabs of the cistern-like counter. Fowls scurry about in the midst of the throng, and hungry dogs scent a meal in the refuse heaps of the gutters. All is animation, and all has a touch of the South that is something more than Italian. It is almost worth while going to Palermo in order to perambulate her fascinating streets and observe the ever-changing crowd that peoples them.
It is certainly worth the voyage to enter the harbour when the sun is well up and from the ship's deck watch the splendid panorama unfold itself as the vessel glides into port. At the foot of Mte Pelligrino, and where the famous valley of the Conca d'Oro, or Golden Shell, touches the blue waters of the Mediterranean, lies Palermo. Beyond, with an inclination upwards to the lower slopes of Mte Cuccio in the distance, stretches the triangular shaped valley, Mte Cuccio forming the apex of the triangle. Mountains hem the landscape in on two sides. The whole of the country between them and the sea is one vast grove of orange and lemon trees. On the edge of the receding wall of mountains to the right of the valley in the middle distance, a stately building stands above the brow of a steep hill. Round it cluster roofs and walls in irregular lines. This is Monreale. To Monreale we go to study the mosaics. For though its cathedral boasts of grand twelfth-century bronze doors, and a very fine portico, the magnificent mosaics that cover the walls of the interior are its pride and glory.
The decoration of this fine basilica may be described as a coherent mass of superb mosaics and well selected slabs of grey and white marble inlaid with panels of Moorish design. Here more than in any other church in the world has architecture been subordinated to a scheme of gorgeously coloured decoration. Its Mosaics are Greek in style, with Greek inscriptions. Moorish designs and arabesques also rival in colour the extraordinarily intricate gold pattern which sets off the beauty of the marble walls. On the semi-dome of the central apse is a very impressive colossal half-length mosaic of the Saviour holding an open book. Below, are figures of the archangels, Gabriel and Michael, and the twelve apostles. The vault of the south apse contains a gigantic figure of S. Peter, and in the corresponding one in the north apse, one of S. Paul. These two figures are robed in white, and light up the dark recesses of the deep-toned gold background of the apses in a remarkable manner. In the choir there is a mosaic over the royal throne very similar to that in La Martorana, wherein King Roger is being crowned. In this case Christ places the crown on the head of William the Good. Over the Archbishop's throne William is represented offering the church to the Virgin. Sicily was never a fief of the Popes, and these two mosaics no doubt express the idea that the sovereigns derived their authority from God alone.
Round the whole of the nave two sets or series of mosaics are arranged which, beginning at the Flood, illustrate different episodes in biblical history. Forty-two scenes are depicted in the nave and ten in each aisle which deal with our Lord's life as well as themes from the Old Testament. At the west end is a mosaic of S. Castrense, Monreale's tutelar saint, casting out a devil, and also walking on the sea.
Comparing these wonderful decorations with those at Ravenna and in S. Mark's, one may at first be more impressed with the apparent magnificence of the scheme which we find here. The cathedral is larger than any of Ravenna's churches, and has this advantage over S. Mark's, that one is better able here to grasp at once the whole idea of the colour scheme. In S. Mark's one sits and quietly discovers things at leisure. At Monreale one enters and is immediately overpowered by the magnificence of the dull gold _tesseræ_ and the gorgeous arrangement of the sequence of figures which, like a flash, strike one at first sight. Ravenna can show us better schemes of colour, subtler and more refined. Ravenna gives us earlier work, and work more naïve, and is for this reason more attractive and interesting. But it must be admitted that in no other building of the kind is one impelled to stop suddenly and catch one's breath, as when first entering Monreale's great basilica.
Eight bays divide the nave from the aisles. Their stilted arches are supported by granite monoliths. The capitals of these are pure Corinthian, and Corinthian with cornucopiæ volutes and medallion heads. Above the abacus of each capital is the simple Norman bowl capital inlaid with rich mosaic. It is from these that the glorious colour-scheme springs--above and around, the eye finds nothing but mosaic. The lower portion of the walls of the aisles is composed of marble slabs separated from one another by inlay of Moorish design. In the north chancel aisle are the tombs of Roger, Duke of Apulia, and Henry, Prince of Capua, two sons of William the Bad. In the south chancel aisle are the tombs of William the Good and William II. Just as Palermo's cathedral is a fit resting-place for the remains of some of the Norman kings, so is this grand fabric for the bodies of those of the same royal line who here repose in peace.
Adjoining the cathedral, on the south side, is all that is left of the original Benedictine monastery. The celebrated cloisters, of which we speak, are more Arab than Norman, and more infidel than Christian in their architecture. The two flat members of the Moorish arches are decorated with black _tufa_ lozenges and spearheads. The coupled columns are nowhere approached in beauty and delicacy, save in S. Paolo fuori at Rome. Arabesques cover some of them; all were at one time richly inlaid with mosaic. Some are chevroned, others of lozenge pattern, or billeted, or twisted and spiral. Their capitals are one and all of extreme interest. One shows on its carved surface Norman knights in chain mail engaged in combat with Saracens; another, Roman gladiators slaying Christian victims. Birds, beasts, and subjects from the Old Testament, intricate foliage and vines add to a variety which is not to be found anywhere else in the cloistered courts of Italy. The illustration gives a corner of this beautiful spot where a fountain splashes and plays, adding to the delights of a well-kept garden and the sweet scent of flowers.
INDEX
Ahrler, Heinrich, 9
Alberti, Leo Battista, 93, 195
Alexander II, 170
Alexander III., 67
Alfred the Great, 21
Amalfi, 280
Ambrose, S., 13
Angelico, Fra, 197, 236, 255
Angelo, Michael, 136, 188, 191-3, 223, 236, 244, 247-8, 252
Antelami, Benedetto, 141
Antenor, 49
Anthony, S., 49
Ariosto, 101
Arnulphus, 15
Assisi, Church of S. Maria, 211-13; cathedral, 214; general description, 214-15
Attila, 7
Augustine, S., 18-19
Augustus, 107
Baldus, 57
Bank of Genoa, 148-9
Barbarossa, Frederick, 67
Bastianino, 103
Bellagio, 2
Bellini, 25
Benedict XI., 205
Benedict XIV., 250
Benenato, 164
Bergamo, cathedral, 24-26; other buildings, 23-24, 27
Bernardino, S., 202, 204, 224
Bernardone, Giovanni, 215
Bernini, 243, 246-7
Bisone, Bono da, 139
Boethius, 21
Bologna, Giovanni da, 126
Bologna, history, 123-5; cathedral, 130-1; other buildings, 125-9, 131-6; university, 133
Bonannus, 160, 164
Bonaventure, Nicholas, 10
Borromeo, S. Charles, 10-12
Borsi, Pier, 181
Bouillon, Godfrey de, 145
Bramante, 4, 9, 17, 126, 244
Breakspeare, Nicholas, 248
Brescia, Roman remains, 29-30; la Rotunda, 30-31; Duomo Nuovo, 31-32; other buildings, 32-33
Browning, Robert, 81
Brunelleschi, 186, 194, 196
Bruni, Leonardo, 193
Burlammachi, Francesco, 169
Busketus, 159
Byron, 109, 166
Cadenabbia, 2
Caedwalla, 253
Cæsar, Julius, 91, 170
Caligula, 261
Calvin, 101
Camaldoli, 275
Cambio, Arnolfo di, 183, 187, 189, 194, 222
Capri, 265, 277
Carabelli, 9
Caretti, Ilaria, 173
Carracci, 130-1
Carrara family, 51
Catherine, S., 224
Cellini, Benvenuto, 184, 248
Ceolfrid, 192
Charlemagne, 39, 115, 242
Charles V., 130, 230
Chiusi, 202
Cimabue, 196, 213
Clement VII., 230
Colleoni, 26
Columbus, 150
Como, history, 1-2; cathedral, 2-4; town hall, 4-5; industries, 5
Constantine the Great, 241, 243, 250, 253
Correggio, 137, 139, 140, 142
Dante, 37, 49, 109, 180, 185, 193
Diotisalvi, 162, 165
Dominic, S., 134-5
Donatello, 52, 55, 58, 77, 166, 181, 185, 194, 223, 252
Donizetti, 27
Doria, Filippo, 154
Ducci, Agostino, 203
Duccio da Siena, 196
Embrianco, Guglielmo, 145, 151
Enzio, 124, 127, 135
Este family, 99-101
Fabris, Emilie di, 187
Fanti, General, 200
Farnese family, 138
Felsina, 125
Ferrara, history, 99-100; cathedral, 101-4
Florence, general description, 179-82; Palazzo Vecchio, 182-4; Campanile, 186-7; cathedral, 187-9; Baptistery, 189-90; other buildings, 184-186, 190-8
Fiesole, Mino da, 206
Foix, Gaston de, 108
Francis of Assisi, S., 211-2, 215-6
Francis II., King of Naples, 266
Frederick II., Emperor, 57
Frediano, S., 170, 174
Fuga, 289
Gaddi, Agnolo, 194
Gaddi, Taddeo, 186
Galileo, 57, 164
Gambara, 140
Garibaldi, 156, 207
Genoa, history, 145; general description, 146-8; cathedral, 151-4; churches, 154-6; palaces, 148-51; rivalry with Pisa, 166
Ghiberti, 189
Giaconda, Fra, 36
Giotto, 49, 52, 58, 186, 194, 198, 213, 248
Giovanni, Fra, 58
Giudetto, 171, 176
Giugni, 175
Glycon, 267
Gozzoli, 165
Grail, Holy, 145
Gregory the Great, 283
Guiscard, Robert, 279-80
Hadrian, 262
Hauteville, Roger de, 291
Hecuba, Queen of Cyprus, 212
Januarius, S., 268-9
Julius II., 244-5
Julius III., 201
Ketterick, John, 194
Lanfranc, 21
Leo XIII., 205
Leopardi, Alessandro, 77
Lombardi, Martino, 77
Lombards, 126, 129, 136
Lucca, history, 169-70; cathedral, 170-3; other buildings, 173-8
Luini, Bernardino, 4
Lurago, Rocco, 150
Malatesta family, 93-98
Matthew, S., 282
Mazzuola, 140
Medici family, 12, 183, 190-3, 197-8
Mehemet Ali, 254
Michelozzo, 183
Milan, history, 7, 15; cathedral, 8-12; Church of S. Ambrose, 12-15
Mino, Giacomo di, 223
Misericordia, Compagnia della, 181-2
Monreale, 299-303
Montaldo, Leonardo, 155
Morone, Andrea, 51
Myrra, 154
Naples, history, 265-6; museum, 267; cathedral, 268-269; other buildings, 270-5; general description, 275-7
Nero, 263
Nesso, 1
Nicodemus, 173
Offamilio, Gualterio, 287
Orsini, Niccolo, 75
Orvieto, general description, 229-31, 236-8; cathedral, 231-6
Pacifico, Beato, 79
Padua, history, 49; cathedral, 50; university, 57; other buildings, 50-59
Palermo, general description, 285-8, 299; cathedral, 288-292; Cappella Palatina, 292-295; other buildings, 295-303
Palladio, 33, 82
Parma, history, 138; cathedral, 138-141; Baptistery, 141-2
Parmesan cheese, 22
Paul III., 200
Pavia, history, 17; cathedral, 17-19; other buildings, 20-21
Pellegrini, 10, 11
Pepo, 133
Perugia, general description, 199, 208-9; cathedral, 200-3; churches, 203-6; other buildings, 206-8
Perugino, 206-7
Petrarch, 50
Piacenza, Bartolino da, 142
Piacenza, Giovanni da, 143
Pietro, Lorenzo di, 222
Pisa, general description, 157; cathedral, 158-62; Baptistery, 162-4; other buildings, 164-7
Pisano, Andrea, 189
Pisano, Giovanni, 205, 219-20, 222, 232
Pisano, Niccolo, 53, 135-6; 163, 165-6, 177, 199, 221-2, 232
Piscopia, Elena, 57
Pius IV., 11
Polo, Marco, 146
Porta, Guglielmo della, 248
Procida, John of, 282
Puccio, Pietro di, 235
Quercia, Jacopo della, 129
Quercia, Giacomo della, 223
Raphael, 231, 256
Ravenna, history, 107-8; mosaics, 109-13, 115-7; cathedral, 113-5; other buildings, 118-21
Reggio, Niccolo da, 142
Reni, Guido, 135
Ricchini, 12
Riccio, Andrea, 55
Rienzi, 253
Rimini, history, 91-3; cathedral, 93-8
Robbia, Della, 174, 186, 188, 197
Rocci, Cristoforo, 17
Rodario, 2-3
Romana, Ezzelino da, 141
Romano, Giulio, 9
Rome, general description, 239-41; S. Peter's, 243-9; Colosseum, 250; S. John Lateran, 251-3; other buildings, 241-3, 253-63
Rossi, Alessandro, 41
Rusca, 9
Salerno, history, 279-80; cathedral, 280-4
San Marino, 98
Sanmicheli, 36, 40, 45, 55
Sansovino, 33, 54, 62
Savonarola, 182, 184, 197
Scaligeri, 37-9
Siena, general description, 217, 227-8; cathedral, 218-23; other buildings, 223-7
Signorelli, Luca, 235-6
Spazi, 2
Talenti, Francesco, 186
Tasso, 101, 145
Terribilia, 126
Theodoric, 108, 120
Thomas Aquinas, S., 273, 279
Tiberius, 179, 265
Titian, 66
Tivoli, 249
Torcello, 86-90
Tours, 14
Trent, Council of, 11
Tribolo, 128-9
Ugolino, 235
Varenna, 2
Vasari, 166, 188, 193
Venice, S. Mark's, 62-73; Church of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, 73-7; of the Frari, 77-9; Doge's palace, 82-5; other buildings, 61-2, 79-82, 85-6
Verona, history, 35-7; cathedral, 39-41; other buildings, 36-38, 41-7
Verrochio, Andrea, 77, 184
Vinci, L. da, 9, 77
Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 9, 17
Wolvinius, 13
Zeno, S., 43
Zenobius, St., 188
Zuccaro, 188
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End of Project Gutenberg's Cathedral Cities of Italy, by William Wiehe Collins