| There could have been a practical reason for this construction. Eighteenth century engravings depicting the Doge's annual visits show that for the occasion a type of porch was erected, covered by a huge canopy which was attached to the pedestals. In this manner, the whole of the impressive guardian columns was visible. The Latin cross plan is attributed to the Benedictines, but the overall form of San Giorgio Maggiore, in its ambiguity, is typical of the late Renaissance. It has strong similarities to St. Peter's Church in Rome (by Andrea Sangallo) as well as the one created by Sebastian Serlio in his Treatise on Architecture. San Giorgio fully reflects the religious sensitivity of the Humanist period, one which shifted the attention away from original sin and its inevitable corruption of human nature towards the concept of man as a being created in the image of God, and that of world harmony. This new idea meant the end to oppressive Romanesque medieval architecture and the tension of the so called Gothic style. The darkness mysteriously illuminated by stained glass windows was abandoned in favour of large, well lit churches, airy, symmetrical, uniformly bathed in tranquil light. The colossal order which dominates San Giorgio, however, was nothing new; Palladio was inspired by late Roman architecture, in particular, the thermal baths of Agrippa, Nero, Caracalla, and Diocletian. |
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Art in S.Giorgio