Venice Realized

For this assignment, we were asked to study the architecture of any campo in Venice.  On Friday I walked around until I found a campo that really struck me as interesting.  I chose the Campo San Silvestro located just off the Grand Canal near the Rialto in the sestiere of San Polo.  This campo is home of the church, San Silvestro di Venizia which was originally built in the twelth century.  It was rebuilt in the fifteenth century and again in the nineteenth century.  The final building was designed by Giovanni Meduna and while it was completed at the very beginning of the twentieth century, it still represents elements of other architectural time frames (noticeably the Gothic and Renaissance era).  The purpose of this assignment was to challenge us to see Venice from a more detailed perspective.  The beauty of Venice is often viewed only in a panoramic sense by tourists, but the truth is that there is so much more depth to Venice. 

After only a few seconds of critically looking at the Campo San Silvestro, I was able to locate many of the terms on our list of architectural elements.  While I was unable to enter the buildings surrounding my campo, including the church, I was still able to encounter many different things.  These are some of the pictures I took in order to share my findings.

In this image we see an aedicule.  This doorway is framed by 2 pilasters with Ionic capitals.  In the middle we see a Ionic pillar.  All three of these are adorned with volutes and are supporting the entablature across the top of the door.  The entablature contains the cornice, frieze, and architrave.

This picture illustrates a stilted arch framing a window on the side of the church located in the campo.  The pillars are of the Doric style and are supported underneath with corbels.  We can also see the inner rim of the arch (the intrados) and the upper curve of the arch (the extrados). 

Here we have a balustrade surrounding a balcony.  This too is supported by corbels.

This is the sign representing the calle near the campo.  A calle is a narrow street in Venice.

This sign represents the Rio Tera which is a filled in canal that is now used as a street.

Here we have the campanile attatched to the church.








This is the top of a pillaster framing the main door of the church.  This capital is of the Corinthian style.

 

This is an ogee arch at the top of a window.  Inside of the arch are 2 cusps.

Here we have a dogtooth pattern which is very common of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture.

This is a zoomed in photograph of the entablature over the main door of the church.  Here we see a very clear Ionic capital containing volutes.  We also see a clear dentilled molding on the underside of the cornice.

This is an exedra on the side of the campanile.

The sign for the sotoportego on the edge of my campo.  A sottoportego is a part of a street that passes underneath a building.  This one happened to lead to the traghetto stop nearby.

Here we have a crocket on the back portion of the church.

This is a lancet with its shudders closed.

Here we have a lintel across the top of the door.

This is a photograph of the buildings opposite the church.  Here we have a mezzanine.

This is a circular window called an oculus.

This campo is filled with different styles of windows.  This is an example of  biforate windows with stilted arches.

Here is a pediment over the main door.

Although I wasn't able to take a picture of the entire window, this is the majority of a lunette.

In Italy, the main living floor (the floor with the balcony in this photo) is referred to as the piano nobile.  The ground floor is called the pianterreno.

When a pillar is square, it is referred to as a pier.

The Greek cross has all four arms of equal length.

When the pediment is rounded (as it is in this picture), it is referred to as a segmental pediment.

Although not very clear in this photograph, this is the window concealing the lantern inside.  Lanterns are very common in campi in venice.

Here is an example of a thermal window located on the ground floor of one of the surrounding buildings.

This photo contains a six-light window topped with the quatrefoil pattern.

This is a picture of a tondo in my campo.

Although all of the other photos have come from around my campo, this one is truly from across the canal.  I decided to include it none the less because it is a great example of a serliana window.



When I began this assignment, I felt as though searching for these different architectural features was similar to completing a page in an “I Spy” book. I enjoyed taking photographs and realizing just how many things were present in my campo. What I was not aware of, was how this would effect my overall impression of Venice. After taking an hour to truly examine just one campo in Venice, I now find myself constantly searching for six-light windows and examining pillars to see which style of capital they have. I find it fascinating that all of these different attributes are a common thread throughout all of Venice. In a place where so many things have been rebuilt, and where the history is overwhelming, it is incredible that the common threads are still present in the architecture. I guess that just goes back to what Crouzet explains in Venice Triumphant when she speaks about neighbors eagerly imitating each others remodels during certain time frames when money was more plentiful. Those constant remodels and updates allow for the individual buildings to represent different eras of architecture within themselves.

This morning, I was particularly aware of the effect this assignment had on me and my appreciation for Venice as I walked into mass at St. Mark’s Basilica. I arrived around fifteen minutes early for the nine o’clock service and I could not help but sit down and just admire everything. From all of the domes and beautiful arches to the golden ceiling covered in Byzantine style mosaics. I have been inside of this church before and although I found it intriguing, I had been viewing it as I have so many other things in Venice. It was not until this morning, when I was able to examine just a small portion of the details distributed throughout every pillar and dome that I could see the true building as it was meant to be seen. To be honest, I found myself struggling to focus on the mass, the sole reason I had woken up so early.

I am already falling more in love with Venice as I am gaining the knowledge necessary to look at it with a detailed eye. I am anxious and excited to see how much more of this city there is to uncover.