Neopolitan Gothic...

Before we go back to endless Classicism, I'll take one last trip back to the Maschio Angioino, for a little bit of Gothic.

I don't associate Gothic architecture with Italy.  If someone asked me to describe an Italian church, I'd opt for the heavy walls and coffered ceilings, oodles of Classical details, and a whole lot of Renaissance or Baroque painting covering every available inch.  But I've stumbled across one or two Gothic examples in my time:  I find it quite refreshing to find something more familiar and homely in a place that often seems very alien and refined in its medieval archiecture...  

I'm featuring today the Palatine Chapel in the Maschio Angioino.  The entrance doesn't really prepare you for what's inside - there's a nice sculpted doorpiece which seems to combine elegant aspects of both Romanesque and Classical architecture:-

But once you step inside, you find an interior that's unmistakably Gothic in its style:-

 

It's said that the interior once housed paintings (presumably frescos) by Giotto, but the previously colourful interior has now been given a rather Puritanical covering of whitewash.

Some traces of paintwork survive around the windows, but I couldn't get any decent photos.   And the plain white walls have been used as a striking backdrop for the display of fragmentary medieval frescos:-
 

 

And there are some lovely pieces of sculpture, too:-

 

And tomorrow, it's back to Pompeii.  That is, if I have the strength the post...  The weather is still marvellous, which means I'm running around like a mad thing watering loads of thirsty plants...

Neopolitan Gothic...

Before we go back to endless Classicism, I'll take one last trip back to the Maschio Angioino, for a little bit of Gothic.

I don't associate Gothic architecture with Italy.  If someone asked me to describe an Italian church, I'd opt for the heavy walls and coffered ceilings, oodles of Classical details, and a whole lot of Renaissance or Baroque painting covering every available inch.  But I've stumbled across one or two Gothic examples in my time:  I find it quite refreshing to find something more familiar and homely in a place that often seems very alien and refined in its medieval archiecture...  

I'm featuring today the Palatine Chapel in the Maschio Angioino.  The entrance doesn't really prepare you for what's inside - there's a nice sculpted doorpiece which seems to combine elegant aspects of both Romanesque and Classical architecture:-

But once you step inside, you find an interior that's unmistakably Gothic in its style:-

 

It's said that the interior once housed paintings (presumably frescos) by Giotto, but the previously colourful interior has now been given a rather Puritanical covering of whitewash.

Some traces of paintwork survive around the windows, but I couldn't get any decent photos.   And the plain white walls have been used as a striking backdrop for the display of fragmentary medieval frescos:-
 

 

And there are some lovely pieces of sculpture, too:-

 

And tomorrow, it's back to Pompeii.  That is, if I have the strength the post...  The weather is still marvellous, which means I'm running around like a mad thing watering loads of thirsty plants...