Naples, Italy’s 3rd largest city and a major port in
southern Italy, is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the
world. Architecturally it is also known
as the capital of Baroque with its many 17th century Baroque
buildings. While Baroque is the primary
architecture of Naples many buildings, you can also find buildings constructed
in the Medieval and Renaissance styles.
It was originally founded as a Greek colony (called Parthenon)
in the 8th century BCE. In
the 6th century BCE, the Greeks renamed it Neopolis or “New City.” When the Romans took control, it became a
significant cultural center of the Roman Empire. From 661 – 1139 AD it was the capital of the
Duchy of Naples, then became the capital of the Kingdom of Naples from
1282-1816, and finally was the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until
Italy was unified in 1861.
As with many European cities, Naples suffered extensive damage
from Allied bombings during WWII.
Following the war, the city embarked on a reconstruction project to
restore Naples to its post war beauty.
Its main square – Piazza del Plebiscity – was originally built as a
tribute to Napoleon, but after the unification of Italy, it was renamed after
the plebiscite (vote) of 1860 which formally brought Naples into Italy. I will cover more on this square during a
later blog.
The Old Town of Naples, the largest in Europe, is a maze of
narrow alleyways dotted with historical buildings from its long history. Underneath the Old Town are catacombs and
caves created from years of mining, as well as the foundations of earlier Greek
and Roman markets and temples. The city
has over 1000 churches with over 500 designated as historical structures. In addition, the city has more patron saints
than any other city in Italy – 52 – the most popular and best loved being San
Gennaro or the English translation of his name – St.Januarius. I will write more about him in the blog where
we visit the Cathedral of Naples which is named in his honor.
After flying from Denver and spending the night in Newark,
NJ, we left the US on 31 August and arrived in Naples on 1 September. We are staying at the Bovine Modern Suites in
the heart of Old Town Naples.
Unfortunately, this trip did not start the way we had planned. Somewhere over the Atlantic, a nasty little
bug found its way into my stomach, and I spent the next two days in bed and in
the room not doing anything. But things
are looking up so we are hopeful that we can spend part of tomorrow exploring
the old historic district of Naples. I
will say Naples is not a quiet city. It
is a city of little streets and alleyways filled with very loud motorcycles and
scooters. In addition, we have a church
right next door to our room that chimes each hour with a loud bell. We are also right under the departure route
for the airport, so from about 7 am to 12 am, it sounds like the plane is right
next door to us.
Comparison of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque Styles of
Architecture Blog
As we start our Sicilian adventure, I will be describing a
lot of the architecture that we see as Romanesque, Gothic, or Baroque. Most of the medieval structures and churches
on this trip will be Baroque in style.
Even after all the trips I have taken, I really cannot tell you (without
some help from Wikipedia) which style is which.
I will try in this blog to differentiate the differences between the
three styles. And quite a few of the old
buildings are a combination of the three styles as they have been rebuilt or
renovated over the years.
The Romanesque style
is the oldest of the three, used mainly during the 9th-12t
centuries. In many cases, buildings
designed in the Romanesque style were later rebuilt in either the Gothic or
Baroque style. The style used during
this timeframe actually got its name in the 18th century for the
resemblance it had to the classic Roman arch.
This style was characterized by semi-circular arches. Churches were built in the shape of a cross,
using the basilica (a type of Roman building) as the basis for the design. Another important feature of Romanesque architecture
was the use of a separate bell tower, or campanile, that was built beside the
main church. Other characteristics
include:
·
Large internal spaces, barrel vaults, thick
walls, and rounded arches on windows and doors, making the building appear
massive.
·
A clearly defined form and frequently built with
very regular, symmetrical features giving the structure an appearance of
simplicity.
·
Windows were generally small and as such the
interior of the buildings were dimly lit.
By the middle of the
12th century, Romanesque was replaced by the Gothic style,
characterized by pointed arches. This
style lasted until the 16th century.
Gothic was intended to make the churches look like heaven – pointed
arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.
The buildings were very tall and pointed to the sky. This was the style in which most of the great
cathedrals in Europe were built. It was
also used very frequently in the building (or rebuilding) of castles, town
halls, palaces and guild halls. Other
characteristics include:
·
Use of buttresses.
·
Larger windows, many with stained-glass that made
the churches bright, colorful and soaring toward the heavens.
·
Ornately decorated round windows called “rose
windows.”
·
Interiors that included high ceilings and
decorated with woodwork and paintings hung on the walls.
The Baroque
architecture emerged in the late 16th century as a counter to the
Protestant Reformation. It tarted in
Italy and then spread to Germany/Austria and colonial South America. One of the characteristics of the Reformation
was the removal of the statues, icons, artwork from inside the church so the
congregation would feel closer to God and could worship without any
distractions. The Catholics, on the
other hand, turned to the Baroque architecture as a sensory appeal that
combined architecture with art in the hope that it would keep their followers
from converting to Protestantism.
Baroque architecture is a very opulent style that combined detailed
forms, marble, large-scale decorations, bright colors, and a lot of silver and
gilded god to appeal to people’s sensory feelings. It was meant to represent the glory of the
Roman Catholic Church. Characteristics
of the Baroque style include:
·
Architecture that was based on ovals and
circles, such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
·
With their wide windows and gilded statues, they
gave the impression of great grandeur and light.
·
Ceilings contained vividly painted frescoes and
walls had painted mosaics and murals.
·
Walls and doors were adorned with gold patterns
and shapes.
·
The interior of most buildings, especially
churches, are very highly decorated.
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