Gothic Architecture

The ancient cities of Rome and Florence are layered ones. If one has the chance to walk the streets of these cities it is clearly that the they have had far more than the nine lives of the feline: Layer upon layer of human life and human ingenuity is displayed in the many different styles that line the streets. While we may tend to think of Rome and Florence as the classical city that they once were (and of which they still bears many elements) they are also in many ways Gothic cities, for some of the cities' finest examples of architecture date from the Gothic period. This paper examines two particular Gothic churches - Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and the church of S. Maria del Fiore in Florence is no exception. Each church is examined for the combination of specific historical forces and styles, the building...
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