Tag Archives: Architecture
A brief but affectionate history of the arch
I have a crush on arches. Technically an arch is any rounded architectural structure that spans an opening. The curve of the arch disperses the vertical weight it holds horizontally to allow for greater distance between supports. But let’s leave the technical details to the engineers–what you need to know is this: arches are practical, arches […]
The Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay: thumbs up from Bernard of Clairvaux
You know those fantastical hybrid animal monsters abounding in Romanesque church art? They really pissed off Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux. I love to read and re-read his attack on Romanesque art extravagances in his Apologia c. 1124: But these are small things; I will pass on to matters greater in themselves, yet seeming smaller because they […]
I hope that you, my friends, might also one day find yourselves at the door to Villa La Rotonda in Vicenza while a security guard sings you the theme to Married… with Children.
“Where are you from?” asked the gregarious guard at the entry to Palladio’s Villa La Rotonda. After replying, “Chicago, USA” we braced ourselves for the usual “Al Capone, bang bang bang!” only to be surprised by the guard’s delighted smile and cheery rendition of the theme song to Married… with Children. While Chicago may be […]
Rendezvous with my favorite artist, Gislebertus, at the Cathedral of Saint Lazare in Autun
The stone carvings at the Cathedral of Autun by my favorite artist, French Romanesque sculptor Gislebertus, knocked my socks off, made me laugh, and terrified me all at once. Listen to me people: this is the real deal, some of the finest art you can ever see. Sure, I want you to look at the pictures, […]
Abbaye Saint-Philibert in Tournus: tranverse barrel vault FOR THE WIN!
We visited stark Abbaye Saint-Philibert in Tournus on a chilly winter day. (If you’re also visiting in winter, bundle up!) The interior was….ingenious. Apparently transverse barrel vaulting was invented here and it’s an engineering feet which turns the vaults that normally run the length of the church’s nave sideways, like a half barrel, and transfers the […]
Urbino: Ideal Renaissance city drowned in a sea of drunken students
How could I help it? I idealized Urbino. Even though I’ve long maintained a vigilant stance against romanticizing people and places alike, this was Urbino: Renaissance mecca for humanists, scholars, art and architecture. The location, in the isolated and mountainous region of Italy’s Marche, combined with being a university town filled me with visions of […]
Saint Sernin Basilica, Toulouse: Romanesque enchantment (just ignore the parking lot)
By now you know that I feel all warm in my ladyparts just thinking about Romanesque art and architecture, most especially French Romanesque. The juiciest of all French Romanesque buildings are the pilgrimage churches, and Saint Sernin is a delightful representation of a French Romanesque pilgrimage church, complete with stunning well-preserved stone carvings, medieval frescos, capital carvings, an […]
Practical and pragmatic Frankfurt: post-modern architecture, hideous historical reproductions, and a visit to the red light district
Frankfurt is a model of efficiency and pragmatism with superior infrastructure. The ride from the train station to the airport takes 12 minutes. Cars politely defer to bike riders and pedestrians. Everything is clean and orderly–even the red light district. We walked by a “fix cafe” where drug addicts meet with social workers for clean […]
Goosebumps in Speyer cathedral
Monumental but austere and a superb space to hear organ music: Speyer’s imperial cathedral is glorious. And because we seem to be the luckiest travelers ever to wear matching Rick Steves backpacks, we happened to enter just as a first-rate organist performed on the cathedral’s organ. It filled the church with sound, turning the entire building […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 