Bk. VIII. Cif. III. CERTOSA, PAVIA. 343 been in the same proportion, they would have been the tallest in the world. lu that case the effect here, as at Cologne, would have been to shorten and overpower the rest of the building to a painful extent. A design raidway be- tween the two, with spires rising to the same heiglit as the cen- tral one, or about 360 feet, would ] )erhaps have the happiest effect. 772. Design for Fa?ade of Milan Cathedral. i r II (From Bassi.) At any rate, the want of some such features is greatly felt in the building as it stands. The Certosa, near Pavia, was commenced about the same date (1396) as the cathedral at Milan. It is seldom that we find two buildings in the Middle Ages so close to one another in date and locality, and yet so dissimilar. There is no instance of such an occurrence on this side of the Alps, till modern times ; and it shows that in those days the Italians were nearly as devoid of any distinct principles of architecture as we have since become. The great difference between Pavia and Milan is that the former shows no trace of foreign influence. It is as purely Italian as St. Petronio, and by no means so complete or consistent in design. Nothing, in fact, can be more painful than the disproportion of the parts, the bad drawing of the details, the malformation of the vaults, and the meanness of the windows ; though all these defects are com- pletely hidden by the most gorgeous coloring, and by furniture of such richness as to be almost unrivalled. So attractive are these two features to the majority of spectators, and so easily understood, that nine visitors out of ten are delighted with the Certosa, and entirely forget its miserabl(^ architecture in the richness and brilliancy of its decorations. Externally the architecture is better than in the interior. From its proximity to Pavia, it retains its beautiful old galleries under the ]-oof. Its circular apses, with their galleries, give to this church, for the age to which it belongs, a peculiar character, harmonizing well with the circular-headed form, which nearly all the Avindows and openings present. Even in the interior there are far more circular than pointed arches. The most beautiful and wonderful part of the building is the facade. This was begun in 1478, and is one of the best specimens in Italy of the Renaissance style. It would hardly, therefore, be appro- priate to mention it here, were it not that the dome over the inter- section of the nave and transepts is of the same age and style, but reproduces so exactly (except in details) what we fancy the mediaeval Italian Gothic dome to have been, that it may be considered as a feature of the earlier ages. Referring to Woodcut No. 765, it will be
