Dana's Architecture Review
Of the 1000+ photos that I took during our travels in Italy, approximately half are pictures of buildings! Everywhere I looked, I saw beautiful works of architecture, and these images feature some of my favorite sights. The architectural details in Venice differred the most from the other cities we visited in Italy. As our tour guide explained, Venice’s position as a center of trade opened the city to Eastern influences, the result of this can be seen in the shape of the windows on the pink building. This style of architecture is called Venetian Gothic, and it appears to be unique to Venice.
The simple entry way of this home in the medieval village of San Gimignano may not strike everyone as particularly noteworthy, but I included this photo because I like the way the shapes of the doorway, window, and display case move in an upward vertical direction, contrasting with the downward vertical direction of the potted plants. This image captures the importance of the Virgin Mary, whose image is everywhere in Italy, and it also shows that architectural beauty is not limited to the ornately decorated churches and famous public squares.
In another medieval town, Assisi, the beauty of the Basilica of St. Francis was matched by the splendor of the surrounding countryside. Rather than include a photo of the village or the Basilica’s exterior, I chose this view of the courtyard as seen through the swirls of the wrought-iron railing on the upper level of the building. The courtyard is very simple—no elaborate landscaping, no works of art—which stands in stark contrast to the inside of the church, the walls and ceilings of which are covered in beautiful frescoes. Looking down into the courtyard, I was able to observe the men and women of the Sacro Convento, wearing their religious habits while relaxing and chatting with each other in the breezeway.
Along with windows and doorways, I took many photos of rooftop and balcony gardens. I love the lush, romantic feel of these spaces, which provide a lovely escape from the concrete surroundings of the large cities. I chose a photo of this particular balcony for the rich colors of the building and the veil of green shielding this space from the crowds (and cameras) in the Roman Piazza di Spagna below. Of course, the most famous sites in Rome are its historical sites. The ancient Pantheon, once a pagan temple and now a Catholic church, rises up in the middle of the Piazza della Rotunda, surrounded by modern apartment buildings and shops. The odd proximity of the ancient and the modern, the pagan and the Christian, is ubiquitous in Rome—a city built on and from its own ruins. In what remains of the Forum Romanum, visitors can walk through what used to be the center of Roman politics, business, and life in general. Among these ruins is the House of the Vestal Virgins. These priestesses were seen as essential to the well-being of the Roman state, charged with the task of keeping the sacred fire burning. At the time, I could recall hearing something about these women somewhere at some point, but my knowledge was really limited to the name only. Seeing this structure and the nearby (reproduction of) the Temple of Vesta has sparked my curiosity, and I look forward to learning more about these women and their role(s) in ancient Rome.